Despite the disappointment of throwing away a two-goal lead yesterday at Bloomfield Road against Blackpool, we canât deny that we have made a good start to the season. As of yesterday, we are just two points off of the play-offs in what is turning out to be the most competitive season in the Championship. Looking at the table shows that those favoured before the season like Birmingham, Bolton, Leeds and Wolves are really struggling in the bottom half, whilst the likes of Crystal Palace, Millwall, ourselves and Derby are looking up the table. Zola took a bit a flak at the beginning of the season when we were very inconsistent, but I feel he deserves a lot of praise for what he has done this season. Tactically, he has clearly made a very good formation move to change from a 4-4-2/4-3-3 that we've persisted with for years, to 3-5-2. It has suited our squad, and is a very risky formation that not many managers would try. Like Martinez at Wigan, who has also adopted this formation, it is clearly getting positive results on a fairly regular basis. Also, like Martinez, Zola doesnât get a huge amount of credit for this. He has also clearly energised particular players at the club. For example, Mark Yeates, who was widely criticised when playing out wide. Now that he has shifted in the middle, he is receiving much praise from commentators, and once again Zola should be praised for this. 3 centre backs I feel gets the best out of likes of Doyley and Hall, who aernt blessed with pace but still have a good football brain and positionally are of a good standard Will we get promoted this season? No, I donât think so. Iâm not sure we will even make the play-offs. Yet then again competition is so rife this year without any outstanding candidates running away with things like QPR and Southampton in the past couple of years. At the end of the day, if a squad like that of Crystal Palace and a team that have Helguson (legend that he is for us) as their main striker in the automatic promotion positions shows that this division is not of a fantastic quality in my opinion. So if we gather momentum and can maintain it, who knows?
Always worth trying to amuse people on here ! Compared to some on here, I'm almost speechless !! Why Norway ?
Yep, Zola is doing nicely - so far so good. I also think the comments after the games are genuine. I'd give him a pat on the back but let's see where we are at the end of the season before I could give him real credit...
He said he needed time to adjust when he first came in and I was willing to give it to him. I think considering with the influx of players he has had, he has done a great job. Hopefully we stay above mid-table for the rest of the season!
Regardless of how well he does this season, the true test will be next season and the one after that and the one after that..............you cannot judge any manager over less than half a season (well you can, but it would be an exercise in futility). There have been a number of Watford managers who have done well in that first season, then struggled to build on it thereafter. Glen Roeder, Aidy Boothroyd, Steve Harrison & Mike Keen all come to mind. So Mex has it in one - so far so good!
Always assuming, of course, that he is given that long - the Pozzos appear to be almost as bad as QPR when it comes to retaining managers.
i think he had a wobbly start, but who wouldn't. He seems to understand his players, and knows where he's going with them. His post match interviews show him as honest, and i think yes, he deserves a lot of credit for seemingly building a team from a lot of confusion...credit for where he's got us so far...let's hope he carries on the way he's going
Havent posted on here for months (feels like decades!), i hope everyone is well!! Considering the well-documented challenges Zola has had to face, so far he has done an excellent job. On the pitch, we have progressed in a matter of months to the level that many of us thought we would be at in 2 or 3 years. To take this cosmopolitan squad that has been thrust upon him and turn it into a side that is both challenging for promotion and playing attractive football, really is incredible. And despite our multi-national squad of exotic talent, there is still that community-orientated feel about the club, for which Zola should also take at least some credit. The fact is that we cant give all the plaudits to one man - from the coaching staff to the players, from the new owners to the bloke who sells pies, everyone is pulling in exactly the same direction, and that is the real key to success.
Zola deserves a lot of credit, but I think he's getting it in fairness. Not everyone likes the idea of the only wide players being wing backs, but he made the decision and few can argue that it has helped us pick up points. There are mixed opinions about all the loanees, but most people accept that Zola only sticks with those that perform. If you put to one side Forestieri's boots, he has been pretty honest about what he's seen, win lose or draw, he's not afraid to challenge good players to get even better, and where homegrown talent is good enough and capable of fitting into the system, he's giving it a chance. All fantastic things, but all things that I think he actually gets credit for. And I don't want him getting too much credit, because the bigger clubs might start snooping.
Agree with some, that so far so good. But i'm a bit more positive, in that i think he will continue to deliver with the resourses at his disposal. So far he has been given a good pick of players from a large squad with the influx of the loans, if he is given the money to strengthen the squad where he feels it's needed over the summer then next year i believe we will really be a force in this league and could surprise a few.
When he came in I expected another year where mid table would be a good result given all the changes. He has now raised my level of expectation - as BBT says we have arrived where I thought we might take 2 years to reach. In all honesty I now would be surprised if we are not challenging for a play off place come the end of the season
It's a good point and I always said I would see what happens after Christmas as Jan & Feb can be pivotal for table position. Having said that the recent run is showing a lot more promise than I had hoped for although it would be nice to hang on to a lead sometime. For one, I would not like to see a push into the playoffs this Season but a really good bash at it in 2013 when we might be more solid as a team and a Club. Just my own view as I think success will come. I was reading through the Chelsea/Rafa thread earlier, not good reading and quite comical in parts but I would hope we give Zola a few years before he moves on to Udinesse!!
My suspicion now is that the level of expectation has been raised and should we simply fade into mid-table then people will start to question his ability. We started slowly as the players became used to each other and the new system, but during November the line on the graph is going up steeply. If that line starts to tail off then some might regard that as failure.
He still doesn't seem to know his best 11, which I find worrying as it's nearly December!!! But to be fair he's got 40 odd players to choose from so it cant be easy.
As the man said passing the window of the 24th floor after falling off the skyscraper roof; "So far so good." There's been some skilful football at times which I've enjoyed. Without being predictable we approach most games now feeling we have a good chance. And you can't, or perhaps shouldn't, judge a manager on less than half a season.
One thing I do like about Zola is that is he honest post match in terms of how we've played and knows areas we can improve on whereas previous managers would have made endless excuses about a defeat or drawing.
