10 good reasons for JE to go before he starts. 1 If he does not start he cannot do any harm. 2 The existing management team do not deserve to step down. 3 It will be easier and cleaner to pay him off now than after losing the first four games of next season. 4 Living 40 mins from Priestfield is no qualification for appointment. It did not work for Dimson. 5 Gills have built the youngest team in the league. Seven players 22 or less yesterday, average age of outfielders 22. Average age of Newport outfielders yesterday 27. Good times ahead for Gills, bad times ahead for Newport. No Newport thinking wanted at Priestfield. 6 Since 1 Nov (which coincides with Loft returning) Gills have lost just 4 times in the league (as well as reaching P Pot southern final). Points per game 1.54 which, if applied to the full season so far would place Gills just behind PNE in a playoff place. Stupendous for a young team learning the trade. Why spoil it? 7 He has not got a coat. 8 He played for Tottenham. 9 His calling card is worthless at clubs who might lend us players. 10 All the hard work has been done by PT in assembling the squad and making the team young again. Why let an interloper claim the credit? All this is tongue in cheek and of course the new bloke deserves a chance but there is a serious side to this analysis. Form in the last three months has been really good especially for such an inexperienced group of players who are bound to make some errors. If it aint broke don't try and fix it.
The interim management team have done very well and I think it is wise for JE to keep them on. But as an aside Bristol, do you think the club should have kept PT on? I only as you were very much in the pro PT camp and were fairly outspoken on his sacking. I believe the playing squad assembled by PT was good but I think the performance of the team after his departure suggests that he wasn't getting the best out of them consistently...
BSG I have tried (with difficulty) to keep away from the subject of PT because (as Pegleg reminds me) what has happened has happened. But, since you asked the question, sacking PT was the most stupid thing anyone, even Scally, could ever have done. To replace almost an entire team with a bunch of promising youngsters in half a season is a mammoth undertaking. PT needed two seasons but probably JE is going to reap the benefits. The craziest thing was that PT was on such a good run. Sure they lost to Bristol City (a different class) and errors cost them the game against Chesterfield, somewhat unluckily, but performances were really good in Nov and Dec and, no, the football was not defensive and in recent weeks more and more football critics are swinging behind a back 5 concept. Only 3 teams in league 1 have scored more than Gills at home. One thing has changed in Jan. Gills got lucky with Marquis.
Bristol I give Taylor some credit for the average age coming down BUT we are so much better he has gone so well done Scally. Finally enjoying watching Gills play again. Taylors signings are playing so much better now they have the freedom to play attacking football not position football without going forward. Loft has still not lived up to expectations yet. A decent player but not outshone any one yet. No more than 3 teams have scored more than Gills at home except before Taylor left played 12 at home scored 15 goals since Taylor left 3 games scored 8 goals. Sorry Bristol that is fact.
Point 8 will mean that he worked with good coaches including Terry Venables, Gerry Francis and George Graham, he played over 200 matches in the top division of English football and he played in a team that won trophies (Only 3 are given out each season), playing in 2 cup finals, these would appear to be good things in my opinion. He has done a good job in his management career so far and he sees this has a good challenge and a step up from his previous job. He has had the good sense to keep the existing people around him who have been working well with our team and getting us playing a brand of football that has got the supporters actually cheering again because they are not being sent to sleep by the negative tactics previously employed.
Things are definitely looking up. I was a supporter of Taylor who brought in the youngsters needed but did not get the best out of them, and yes I admit things had to change. Something in the co-operative has worked....this needs to be built upon and managed carefully. JE has arrived at a very opportune time. How he manages his resources on this upward climb will define his future. 'The future's bright, the future's blue".............
Gio, your point on goals at home is well made. Your half hearted approval of Loft is mean minded. He is the most influential and busiest player even if a few too many passes go astray. To illustrate the point, without Loft, 10 league games 2 wins. With loft, 19 games 7 wins. Telling FACT.
You are right it was half hearted praise of Loft but he was the stand out signing by Taylor and i was expecting so much more from him. Has he really been as good as you thought. You keep bigging him up but his passing is so often poor. When he loses the ball, cant be bothered to chase back. Has a good shot but how many goals has he scored. FACT when Dack has played 9 wins in league.
I was surprised by the timing of the Taylor sacking and was less than convinced that the 'gang of 4' could do a good job, however since they have come in i've come to realise how truly dire the football was under PT. If we lose (which we will, a lot) then lose by having a go, this NEVER happened under Taylor and players were confined to tasks they did not want to do. Additionally, are you seriously suggesting the gang of 4 continue? I mean surely everyone must see they have done a good job but there's no way a committee can run a team, given time there would be fall outs and thigns would go sour, it's human nature when everyone is trying to convince us of their input. Edinburgh for me is a good fit, an up and coming manager who may not have been interested in us if we were half way up the country (location is not the appeal to us but it is for the staff coming in be it player or Manager) therefore we have to give him the opportunity to succeed. Targets for me would be safety this year, then progression next season. Progression for me would be playing good football and never being in danger of relegation, so if we look at teams like Chesterfield, Walsall and Rochdale as benchmarks then we can't go far wrong.
"Gio, your point on goals at home is well made. Your half hearted approval of Loft is mean minded. He is the most influential and busiest player even if a few too many passes go astray. To illustrate the point, without Loft, 10 league games 2 wins. With loft, 19 games 7 wins. Telling FACT." I don't know the stats,but perhaps you do. With those 19 games and 7 wins,how many were under Taylor and how many under the gang of 4 ? And again,those 2 wins in 10 games without Loft, were they under Taylor ?
This was intended to be tongue in cheek (but with more than a touch of realism thrown in). Statistics can prove whatever you want but using my reference point after 1 Nov (which coincided with Loft returning after a long absence) the league performance was Gang of 4 P6 W3 D1 L2 Pts 10 Taylor P7 W3 D2 L2 Pts11 This would suggest a marginal improvement under the gang of 4 just below 0.1 points per game. I think any fair minded person who looked at the quality of the opposition though would have to conclude that the January fixture list, which included Crewe, Port Vale, Oldham, Coventry, Walsall was hardly of the standard encountered in Nov and Dec which included the form teams of Bristol City and Chesterfield which were the only defeats. This analysis also excludes the Paint Pot which shifts the conclusion even more favourably towards Taylor. As I said, you can paint whatever picture you want manipulating numbers but there are two serious points. Firstly, Taylor's side were showing steady improvement and with such a young and inexperienced squad it was a reasonable expectation that January would be better than December and 2015 would be better than 2014 and so on. The reaction to being beaten in the league by Bristol City and Chesterfield was ludicrous. Secondly, be careful what you wish for. To use a Gillingham analogy it is all very well cheering the substitution of a misfiring Norris Dickenson or Kedwell until you realise the substitute is German.
Bristol - I can only assume that you hadn't seen the Gills play in the Taylor so called good run. Perhaps you're thinking about the two one win at Colchester who have now lost 9 at home when Colchester had two goals disallowed and numerous efforts on target where we scraped a win. The truth is the style of football was absolutely dreadful. The results might have improved but the performances most definitely hadn't. The improvement in performance since the GO4 took over is dramatic and we suddenly have a team that actually looks like it is enjoying playing football. Far from being a mistake, relieving ourselves of Taylor is currently looking to be a master stroke.
I'm glad Taylor has gone despite him bringing in the Youth, just a shame he was such a negative manager tactically. The four man management team did an excellent job on PT's departure and maybe the format was the way to go until the end of season. Welcome to Justin Edinburgh, I think your crazy to leave Newport because at the Gills your task will challenge you no end, as the supporters will be very unforgiving at the first sign of any weakness, but i wish you well on the GFC merry-go-round, rather you than me. What am i looking for, youngsters supported by experience, entertainment and pace, fighting for the full 90 minutes and never giving up even in the dying seconds, applaud the supporters and with all this you will be rewarded by appraise...any failure you might as well leave now...said in jest. Good Luck (your going to need it)
And take a leaf out of Martin Allen's book and communicate with the fans. It works wonders when things aren't going quite to plan. That was one of Taylors faults. He always appeared to be above us mere mortals who paid his wages. Even at a pre season friendly at Dover he had a go at a fan who annoyed him when there was really no need. When the going gets tough you need fans to be with you.
Im just glad we've actually got a manager!!! Lets not forget the gang of 4 had a very easy fixture list and lost the first three from memory???
