The only time we've truly looked stable at boardroom level since Fernandes took over was when Amit started to call the shots and brought in Warnock. To think that's 12 years ago is frightening, I wish he'd do it now and put Fernandes and Les in their place. If the next managerial appointment goes to pot we could be on a long road to nowhere without David Byrne doing the vocals !
Just remembered the lunatic Italians were in charge then not Fernandes. Oops lack of sleep, still wish Amit would play a more active role like he did then though
We don't even seem to look after the first team Players with their gear in storage fgs How much say does Amit have How much ownership do the mittals have If Les knows the clubs ethos put him in charge for next season
That was before Fernandes arrived at the club. Briatore had lost interest at that stage and Ecclestone never had any interest.
There can be many things said about the Briatore era but he knew what he wanted and he knew how to get it.
No, it's not my word, it's opinions of fans that have seen these players. Hard to know really when you don't see these younguns playing. Agree Johansen went backwards. I saw him play for Norway before we signed him, one of his last games for his national team, and he was well way off the pace, probably not fit enough, hadn't been playing much football, and was subbed off at HT. He looked to have improved a hell of a lot from that with us last season, but has gone backwards this. I've read he hasn't been able to train since November, so very hopefully it's a fitness issue that he can come back from again with a break and then a good pre-season's training. Maybe not a majority but some players improved surely. Dieng, Dunne, Moses, Albert, and most of all Willock looked to me to improve until they got injured.
It shouldn't be a question of a new manager having to stand up to Ferdinand and Ramsey though, surely? The DoF should set out the style of play and attitude towards youth development that's expected and a new manager should be required to sign up to that. It appears that Warburton became unwilling to go along with the club's stated ethos and it was therefore absolutely right that he should go.
I've been going on all season about how with 4 qualified CB's (Dickie, Jordi, Barbet and Dunne) for 3 CB positions we didn't have enough cover for when injuries/suspensions hit. We've been lucky it's not been a problem until very recently. Masterson has been out on loan nearly all season for experience as I remember. I think Jordi going on loan and Sanderson coming in was done because of Jordi's repeated injuries.
But they also wanted a top 6 position apparently and he may have considered correctly that there weren't youth players available and good enough to help us make top 6.
Clearly the non youth player alternatives weren’t up to it. You can’t say that Warburton ‘correctly’ considered the youth players not good enough if they were never tested at the level. He might have been right, but no evidence. You can say he incorrectly thought the players that he did use and the formations that he tried would be enough to win 7 games out of 18 to guarantee a play off place. Because they could only manage 3 wins, with a possible 4th at Swansea, but dead rubber. I’m happy to share the blame around between Warburton, Ferdinand, Ramsey, Hall and whoever, but this has been a failure of monumental proportions. You can’t pin it all on injuries, other clubs have those as well. We’ve lost to some of the worst performing teams in the league. Warburton had to go, he had leadership and accountability for first team results, but from what we are reading now from WLS we might need a bigger broom.
Good points Strolls. But if the manager doesn’t think the youth set-up is meeting it’s expectations he has to stand up and be counted and be able to say so. If Les & Co think he should be filling spots on the bench they need to be having that discussion (even if agreeing the youngster won’t be used). They’re experienced football management after all. If you don’t have the discussion you’re shirking your responsibilities to the club and the youth players in my opinion. No point making all these statements about our youth development of potential first team players if they’re not making the right progress. That said MW has always pushed to send players out on loan for real first team experience down the leagues - some of those have struggled to get into those teams (some returning earlier than their agreement) which is a message in itself telling the development management that aren’t getting them to the grade they should be at. Worrying signs.
Again some good points. The issue does seem to be deeper than just the manager. The report said “While Warburton’s communication with Ferdinand and the board has been limited, communication with Under-23s boss Paul Hall and his staff has been virtually non-existent.” - that’s pretty shocking. Based on our youth drive I’d have expected regular discussions between the football coaches, manager and DoF - surely they’re level of success for this key policy depends on these talks and resolutions. Screams lack of ownership and too much delegation to point of ‘it’s not my fault guv’.
I said "he may have" correctly considered the available youth player weren't good enough to contribute to a top 6 place. I don't know I haven't seen much of those players. Not sure many on here have. From what I have seen and heard excluding the players already on loan, there weren't any obvious candidates to step up to the 1st team, and contribute to a top 6 place.The only one on loan I know of who I would think may have helped us, especially recently at CB, would have been Masterson.
Considering our 1st team has been absolutely dog **** for 3 months (barring 2 or 3 players) then the youth lads must be really piss poor not to get a sniff.
Yes, but we shouldn't forget that this "report" is a lot of Dave Mac's opinion. I wouldnt argue with his factual knowledge but opinions? We all have them.
Dont buy that for a second. Some of these lads are 20, 21 and even older. If they arent good enough to lose to Peterbrough or Barnsley yet, then they probably never will be.
