New Head Coach

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Seriously mate, how many aren't a tad annoying ...

... managers are egomaniacs and quite often attention seekers.

Roy Keane is a prime example, annoying as f*ck if he's not on your side.

Can't argue with that at all. To even want to be in the role, it's possibly a prerequisite. Same could be said for Speakman and his role, I'd guess.
 
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Im with you. Not 100% sold on him, but hope we appoint him as he’s clearly first choice and I want the club to get the one we want

agree with those coaches voice videos. Not only are they one side of the story, but they’re also told completely with hindsight. Things that happened by accident can easily be pretended as intentional as well
The biggest positive if we appoint Still is that I doubt he'd come here without being happy with what's on offer and that we will be having a go at promotion. He's a coach on the up so this move is massive for him. If he chooses us then and it appears we went after him and got him. He won't be short of offers
 
Have to admit Still doesnt fill me with excitement. Obviously I am in a minority and it goes without saying I will be behind him 100%. Now it appears, judging by folk on here, he is coming in, I wanted to see if I could turn my opinion on him around a bit. Plenty on here are keen on him and we are full of posters who know their football so I am likely wrong.

My starting point is I think his record is over inflated. The Reims thing, in my opinion, is based on a run of unbeaten games and a game against PSG off the back of which he has done some of these tactical voicd videos (which I have a deep distrust of as they are only 1 side of a story). I have watched some highlights of the PSG game and they were poor and played with 10 men for 50 mins. Reims were defensively well set up, but lacked bravery imo when they had an extra man. Reims arent really a minnow in France and arguably the league position is ok, nothing exemplary. The run of form before he left is pretty awful.

I looked at his style of play. The pressing 1v1 over the park is impressive and the defensive organisation and shape out of possession is excellent. They are hard to play through. In possession there are some good things and I am keen to see if he can implement here. He plays around a hard running 9, they hit channels and try to get high quickly. That worked with Balogun, but not every side can get one of those. Then he has a CM running hard into the box to make a second striker. That could be tailor made for Jobe or Rigg. He relies on full backs in a back 4 that can go outside the front 3 and create overloads in the middle. That might well be tailor made for Pembele and Cirkin (if fit). He does though, in my opinion, to be a bit too direct. Now coaches adapt all the time, he will I am sure. I just hope he builds on the players we have who are possession orientated.

I do like how he talks (although as I have said I dont like the tactical videos). He explains things really simply and well. Players like simple guidelines in my experience. He doesnt seem to overcomplicate too much, not trying to be overly clever.

All in all I am likely to be proven wrong and he has the core tools. I hope so. The club, if this is their man, and they get him, need to sit tight on him for at least a couple of seasons. He will make mistakes, so will young players. No more shirt sighted sackings please. I trust the clubs judgement more than mine, so appoint him, back him, and be patient. First thing he will be demanding is that hard running number 9. Maybe that is something we will thank Still for.

Great post mate but my only gripe would be that Reims may not be minnows as such but if you look at the league table every club above them is someone you’d expect to be considering size and stature. PSG, Monaco, Lyon, Lens, Marseille, Lille etc much better squads. I think they were only 3 points off a European place last season too.
 
I wonder how they got to Beale?

In my opinion, if you are going to sack a coach mid season, you need to be clear on who your next man is. I have a worry we dont have any clarity in our plans, or realism. I think we have a bit of a blindspot when it comes to how to recruit a head coach. Then arguably the worst time to bring in a new coach is the busiest period in the season where you cam do very little actual coaching. Whether Beale was the cheap option or not he was dealt a pretty rough hand at the outset in my opinion.

If we wanted Still then and thought we could get him, I dont think our research was good enough. I dont believe Beale was ever in the frame and was a bit of a last minute knee jerk decision, because we couldnt attract others. Maybe we are an unattractive club for many? The length of the process this time around troubles me in the same way. If the fit is right for Still, assuming the chatter on here is correct about how long he has sat on the offer and his visits, it should have been done by now, in my opinion. I worry a prolonged process of negotiation and demands and counter demands is not a sound basis for a relationship.

All that said I hope this next lad is the right one. I also hope he gets a bit more leeway than other coaches have had regarding form. We have the youngest squad, and young playeds can be inconsistent. If we have a rough run of a month then we must not hit the ejector seat button. We need a period of consistency if the ambitions of premier league football are to be met, I believe anyway. Since KLD has come in we havent had a coach do a full season. Jack Ross did one, before that is was Moyes only in the last decade. I think that is a really poor record and folk looking to work for us take notice. It needs to change.



The one good thing in my opinion is KLD as owner.
He's a young lad and he's done well for the club. Especially where we have been .
I support his choices, if he sticks with Speakman and Dodds I admire him.
If they don't do well and hold us back another season I'm sure he will react.
If we improve then result.
KLD is getting older and wiser and if he sticks around hopefully he'll get it spot on.
 
People have been mentioning to me who are close to local journos that they’ve been told the club aren’t close to anyone. They must be in a real major media shutdown if Still really is a done deal. Hopefully we hear something very soon!
 
People have been mentioning to me who are close to local journos that they’ve been told the club aren’t close to anyone. They must be in a real major media shutdown if Still really is a done deal. Hopefully we hear something very soon!
Just my opinion, but I genuinely don’t think we are close to appointing anyone
 
Have to admit Still doesnt fill me with excitement. Obviously I am in a minority and it goes without saying I will be behind him 100%. Now it appears, judging by folk on here, he is coming in, I wanted to see if I could turn my opinion on him around a bit. Plenty on here are keen on him and we are full of posters who know their football so I am likely wrong.

My starting point is I think his record is over inflated. The Reims thing, in my opinion, is based on a run of unbeaten games and a game against PSG off the back of which he has done some of these tactical voicd videos (which I have a deep distrust of as they are only 1 side of a story). I have watched some highlights of the PSG game and they were poor and played with 10 men for 50 mins. Reims were defensively well set up, but lacked bravery imo when they had an extra man. Reims arent really a minnow in France and arguably the league position is ok, nothing exemplary. The run of form before he left is pretty awful.

I looked at his style of play. The pressing 1v1 over the park is impressive and the defensive organisation and shape out of possession is excellent. They are hard to play through. In possession there are some good things and I am keen to see if he can implement here. He plays around a hard running 9, they hit channels and try to get high quickly. That worked with Balogun, but not every side can get one of those. Then he has a CM running hard into the box to make a second striker. That could be tailor made for Jobe or Rigg. He relies on full backs in a back 4 that can go outside the front 3 and create overloads in the middle. That might well be tailor made for Pembele and Cirkin (if fit). He does though, in my opinion, to be a bit too direct. Now coaches adapt all the time, he will I am sure. I just hope he builds on the players we have who are possession orientated.

I do like how he talks (although as I have said I dont like the tactical videos). He explains things really simply and well. Players like simple guidelines in my experience. He doesnt seem to overcomplicate too much, not trying to be overly clever.

All in all I am likely to be proven wrong and he has the core tools. I hope so. The club, if this is their man, and they get him, need to sit tight on him for at least a couple of seasons. He will make mistakes, so will young players. No more shirt sighted sackings please. I trust the clubs judgement more than mine, so appoint him, back him, and be patient. First thing he will be demanding is that hard running number 9. Maybe that is something we will thank Still for.
Someone I trust said the closest manager stylistically to Still is (nobody shout at me here) Everton Moyes. Overloads, midfield runners, destructive defensive midfielders and hard working forwards. Alongside being very good out of possession.