There are many styles of man-management. Some of those which worked in the past just wouldn't work today. Sadly I think the wonderful Brian Clough might find it hard today with the 'modern' footballer. Which brings me to John Ward, Joe Anyinsah and some others. Ward is ever ready with the arm around the shoulder. Substitutions are marked by the player leaving the field getting applause from Ward and always a handshake; and the player going on is patted on with obvious words of encouragement. Ward hides most of his feelings well. If one of our players makes a mistake you seldom see arms raised heavenwards and a water bottle kicked skywards. Ward has many skills, and one of those is making every player feel valued.
Indeed P49, and that could well be at the nub of our current revival. As we all know, confidence plays a huge role in many jobs and most certainly is integral to the performances of professional footballers. Getting slagged off by the manager and having the crowd on your back is generally counter-productive and doesn't encourage players to produce. Unfortunately, Rovers had got stuck in the Catch 22 situation of poor performances breeding negative reactions from the crown and McGhee. Ward's approach is the breath of fresh air that the club needed. You can see from the moment the players step on the pitch that they're up for it - they're better organised, more confident and performances are improving as a result. I hope that we can keep this run going and move on up out of danger.
if you hear his interviews, everything good or bad he says is "we". like were in this together. buckle and mcghee, when it went good they said "we". but went it went bad they both said "they" like its was the players fault only and often said "when the players cross the line its down to them", basically passing the buck. think the players know ward is a people person with good people skills and is able to interact with the players. however with buckle and mcghee they didnt have these skills. how many time did mcghee publically slag off players like richards not stepping up. some may say thats a tactic to get the best out of players but how does that player feel? playing virgo up front when you have strikers on the bench like richards. playing parkes left wing when you have harrison who obviously can do the job. playing players out of position which does effect the whole team when you have youth buzzing to get minutes and want a chance to help the team - get no chance at all but be disheartening. ward definately is the person to get the lads from feeling very low like they were to looking positive like they are now. well done ward, we are all in this together. well done higgs for getting ward back on board.
Gotta behonest, I didnt think Ward would do much here (second stints rarely work and all that), but he has obviously proved me wrong big time, and how glad am I of that?! Im confident (especially now O'Toole has signed on for another 2 months!) that we will survive relegation and build on it next season under Ward UTG
exciting times i hope. i wasnt going to get a season next season but pick the games instead. just too expensive for struggling league 2 side. but if we continue as we are under JW (not expecting to win every game of course) then next season will be exciting. where have we said this before!
Lets face it we have all had high hopes everytime we get a new manager in (and we've had our fair share over the last few years). Even McG looked good when he took over last season and don't get me started on Buckle. I truly believe JW will do wonders here.
Fear not I shall eat some dog **** and for that matter Horse **** in advance. That should fix the jinx (Mrs Gas's cooking)
won't be long until he's in the category with paul buckle and mark mcghee.. And comparing him to Brian Clough because he's won 2 games in the trot.. well..
LoL calling us fickle, unbelievable! After you lot beat the team fourth from bottom at home in the 90th min you lot think you will beat Watford
i even heard on saturday someone say to twentyman that under SOD that they will bomb up the league and fight for play offs! mind you, someone said the same about rovers too. some fans to get carried away dont they!
umm whats so funny about us appreciating ward for everything he has done so far in turning things around? in management, its rare to find a manager in the job for 2 seasons so im sure ward will at some stage go down hill like it happens everywhere including city. however at the moment its going well and were taking advantage of this as fans which fans of every club would do. we give credit where its due which im sure SOD has received from some of you? cant see the 'pure comedy on this board' apart from my signature
Didn't think your new ground was that bad Have you worked out which is Chris and which one is Gas in my signature?
I wonder when the SOD love in will end in tears? After relegation, or when he fails to get the **** promoted in the first attempt?
something does really annoy me about your signature. i know you will keep it just to keep annoying me but i will tell you anyway, the letter 'c' before the picture. get rid of if ffs
Yeah - I noticed that too - it's bloody annoying ROD! By the way, I'm currently sat in the most beautiful pub I've ever been in, the Crown Liquor Store in Belfast, ****ing amazing place, like stepping back in time 150 years - a bit like going to Ashton Gate really.
Monday night in an Irish pub equates to the sound levels found at Ashton Gate on a Saturday. There's about 40 people in here and they're making more noise than the 12k down AG last Saturday!
