Probably one of the reasons along with the fact we don't have tons of money floating about to spend on players so we're obviously hoping he can introduce more academy players into the 1st team !
I read recently, forget where, that one of the expected/hoped for big benefits of the new training ground will be that it will pull junior and senior players together in one place. They have been training separately but plan to be together before the next season starts, even though work on the new place won't be completed by then.
Yes, comes across as intelligent, articulate with an enquiring mind, conscious of the psychology of players and their motivation, and, of course, has invaluable experience in management at top clubs. Now, he's stepped up. He's bound to make mistakes with us early on, but the potential for a decent manager is there.
MB shows all the skills and abilities you would expect of a coach. Will be interesting to see what changes he makes to our play and how long it takes the team to settle into his way of thinking and playing. I like the balance of discussion on defence and midfield; looks as though he likes to build on a good defence and a balanced, grafting midfield. It will be interesting to see how he deals with our attack and getting goals to win more games than we draw. He doesn’t have long before the season starts. What are your expectations for the first 10 games? Has to be 16 points minimum for me.
Not sure about your organisations Sb, but it’s common to set aims for staff. Support them to get there. And build on achievements (hitting aims or not). You have to start somewhere. But there’s no negative calls for sacking, just my opinion on what we should be aiming for. 1.6pts per game is a low number and allows him to succeed and fail in the first 10 games. That’s a platform to build upon and raise the stakes to 2pts per game thereon. If we can’t do that top 6 is highly unlikely and we will have resigned ourselves to mid-table far too early in the season. We have players that will want to build on their personal success and will need to be in an achieving team to get the big moves they are looking for.
I think it will be interesting to see how we are in possession. We played around far too much and for too long in front of our keeper under Warburton.
I'm sorry I disagree with most of that. For a start Forest and Luton made late runs as did Sheffield United and Middlesbrough. Second, we need to avoid setting targets which smack of short-termism. It just ups the pressure before a team has had the chance really to gel and settle down and gets the coach abandoning his principles - by filling vacancies with proven ie experienced loanees and abandoning the youth that got him the job. It also leads to a points on the board at any cost mentality. This guy has to develop as a manager - he's not done it before. He won't with us if the fans and the owners are expecting promotion next season instead of progress in the key objectives.
I agree. I have no targets for next season, other than hopefully playing entertaining, progressive football and seeing a plan from the coach. Obviously if we're in relegation trouble and playing poorly, his position will need to be considered.
Good points Yorks to be fair. However I don’t want to abandon our progress as a club for a gap year while we develop one guy. We have a team and we should be looking to progress year on year. Surely the reason for changing manager is to move forward, so we need to have short-term aims/medium- and longer-term aims. It’s not a pressure thing or abandonment of principles - it’s about getting the right results within a window while developing some of the inevitable changes a new manager will want to bring in. It’s a fair aim for the first 10 games, it’s not points at any cost, it’s a reasonable and achievable basis to reach. On pressure … it’s the Championship, of course there’s pressure; live with it, it’s what the players and managers are paid for.
Yep, metrics are common, but not often that short term, especially not for someone new to the organisation and job. I hope we are at the beginning of a project, one which will take several seasons and end up with something sustainable. Evidence that we are on the journey is enough for me for next season, through style and attitude. Comfortable mid table will be fine. If you look at the squad, especially the acquisitions of Austin, Johansen, Albert etc for last season that was a short term one off push for the play offs. Didn’t work. I think the World Cup break is going to play havoc with a lot of teams next season, hopefully not us.
Mid table is where I expect us to be, unless we really hit the ground running, but just can't see that without some top acquisitions, which probably won't happen. A definitive style and ethos would be progression, and as long as we aren't flirting around the relegation zone come the World Cup break, think I'd be fairly happy. How many have we got who could potentially go? Three I think at most, but not sure what African countries have qualified. Keeping the others match fit will be key to restarting the season. How long is the break? Six weeks, or is it longer?
Well mid-table at the beginning of the season would have been around 1.4-1.5pts per game at around 10 games. So with an experienced squad, playing good football, 1.6pts per game doesn’t seem unattainable to me. Sounds like you’re all going soft in your old age and settling for mediocrity. Mediocrity last season was 1.39pts per game (we achieved 1.43ppg and sacked the manager).