Glad we won’t scrape promotion..

I feel very much the same way as I did when people were calling for Lambert to leave as they do now with saying the players should leave. Whilst they have undoubtedly under performed I have found PC chucking them under the bus difficult to swallow.

This squad has been put together based on potential and the reason for that is because ME didn't invest correctly and provide players with the structure then need to flourish. The squad has talent but it doesn't have enough characters and men who have played at a decent level season after season, it was always going to be difficult for all of these players with little experience to all click. Thats not to say if the right mix of players are brought in players from our current squad couldn't flourish that is unless they've had the confidence drained from them.

Add to the list of managerial failures since ME has been here you have a longer list of players again this surely reflects poor recruitment and structure environment in place. Over 13 years, I can think of very few players who have lived up to their potential.

Some individual responsibility needs to be taken by the players but the situation we find ourselves in is not their fault it is a systematic failure of the whole club over a number of years, mainly ME. We are now fortunate that it looks like that can and should change

 

On being in this league in the first place Marcus Evans can take all the credit and on the culture of underachievement and lack of quality professionalism and characters we have in the squad, he can take the credit there too.

Maybe you can excuse our defenders who have kept their fair share of clean sheets and you can excuse defeats but I struggle to excuse midfielders who can’t pick out a pass and forwards who can’t manage a shot on goal. To be as useless as that in any other profession would get you the sack.

 

I would have thought that if nothing else personal professional pride from players earning £1000s a week would drive them to give everything every time, even poor players in a poor league would strive to hit the big time and the huge money that goes with it, perhaps we've ended up with a squad of no hopers because its so cushy here ?
While we are on the subject I wish people would stop using the phrase " a great servant to the Club " they are pros who play for the Club that pays the most money or the only contract they can get.

 

If taken literally of course it’s nonsense but for me that phrase applies to players who have the opportunity to go to bigger clubs but stay put out of loyalty or spend the majority of their careers at or make an enormous contribution one club. Messi, Lampard, Terry, Gerrard, Giggs, Mills, Stockwell.

Luke Chambers doesn’t qualify because as club captain he shoulders a lot of the responsibility for leading the team to our worst position since King George VI.

 

I agree but it still doesn't sit quite right with me that PC has criticised the players how he has when in my mind it's not their fault they have been brought into this melting pot of a situation which had all the hallmarks of failure written all over it. How many teams chasing promotion would have a midfield with a history of long term injury problems plus the majority being academy graduates who have very little first team experience. Then rely on a strike force where the 2 lead strikers the best they've done in their careers is 1 good season in League 2. Add to this all the injuries and the poor contract situation its a mess

As I've said before i do think there is talent in alot of those players who may have flourished with more experienced players around them but we have chosen to take a risk on too many injury prone, lower league and academy players all in one go and as a result they haven't stood up to be counted and now completely had the stuffing knocked out of them by a manager who seems to blame them totally for our current position, when in my mind they are simply a collective product of MEs poor decision making over a number of years.

 

I find the young player argument hard to swallow when Phil Foden has already managed to win eight major trophies. It’s not luck that he finds himself in the best side in the country under the best coach in the world whilst Andre Dozzell consistently underperforms in a piss poor League One side.

If our forwards have only managed one good season at League Two level then maybe they should all do the honourable thing and find a different vocation.

 

I think the young players have been forced into the first team rather than earned the right to be there.

as for Pep being the ‘best coach in the world’ I’m not convinced he’s hardly had to put in the hard yards ...Barcelona, Bayern and Man City ......here’s the best players on the planet oh and loads of money to get more if you want, if he wants to truly test his skills drop down a league or two to a club with budget limitations then see how good he really is...I’m sure he could afford to do it for a few seasons..

 

Players have no loyalty it’s about money these days Messi stayed so long because they pay so well, Lampard was at West Ham, Chelsea then Man City loyalty? Terry stayed and was paid no loyalty to team mates, Gerrard used links to other clubs to get more money, Giggs was at Man Utd at their peak and shows no family loyalty or morals. Mills and Stockwell was before money took the game.

 

There are obviously other contenders like Zidane, but none that produce the quality of football that Pep has.

How he got there, the players he’s worked with, the money he’s had. He’s been entrusted with that because of his skill and qualities and he’s consistently delivered.

 

Whilst there was less money in SBR’s time I recall players who moved on were better off because of signing on fees,hence a lot of long serving players were rewarded with testimonial matches.

 

It’s a lot easier when your working with the best players in the world with an unlimited budget. I’m not suggesting he’s not a good coach but to call him the best is a stretch.

 

I think in those days the clubs had more power over the players but these days the player has all the power.

 

If you are looking for someone to have consistent success for over a decade in three of the top leagues in Europe and to do that without top players then I think you’ll be waiting a while.

 

I sort of agree with both of you. But wouldn't it be great to see Pep or Jose Mourinho say, sod it, I have won everything, made enough money for 10 lifetimes, let's see if Scunthorpe want a hand ! Then we can really judge them !

 

To be honest I’m not looking for anything I’m just saying that he hasn’t had to coach mediocre players into decent players, he has just been playing fantasy football with great players, I sound like I’m slating him but I’m not I just think that credit and greatness is thrown around to easily.......I think there is more people capable of doing what he has at the richest clubs than say what Hodgson has done at poorer clubs.

 

Exactly and I’m sure there is plenty of TV money around to film such a brave decision.

 

Perhaps Amazon prime have been doing one with Paul Lambert!!

 

Amazon slime

 

Hodgson made an absolute pig’s ear of working with top players at Liverpool and England. Pep would surely get frustrated with working with weaker players but had he done that before Barcelona who knows?

If there are more people capable of doing what Pep has then who are they? Where are they? And why aren’t they doing it?

 

Because the clubs with the financial clout that pep has been at are few and far between. I mentioned Hodgson as an example of working at poorer clubs, although Hodgson has a lot more years in management so much more likely to have poor spells.

Do you think Pep would have managed us to fifth in the Premier with the same team Burley managed it.