Can anyone shed light on the “multitude of reasons”? For us, Adkins could point to our shambolic summer transfer window. It was arguably worse than the previous summer, when we were close to administration. His tactics were poor though, so he had to go. Hopefully this doesn’t have a galvanising affect on the players for Tuesday
I really wouldn’t pay too much attention to what James Norwood says, the guy is absolutely full of ****. Nobody gets everything their own way but Cook was given more than most.
Have to say I'm surprised that Cook has been sacked. I thought he would have been given the next transfer window to make some tweaks to the squad but it seems like the new owners think that Cook has already been given what he needs to be doing much better. Some bad results against lower league opposition has sealed his fate. I wonder how the players feel? Some came specifically to play for Cook, are they now going to sulk that their man has gone? Maybe the players that dropped down were expecting better results and started to cause some unrest in the squad. I don't know what's going to happen going forward but I hope that whoever is in charge can get the best out of the players, using them in the best positions. As a manager you should talk to your staff, ask them what they prefer, what their strong and weak points are and then find a task that suits them best. I don't like managers who just try to shoehorn people into the team for the sake of it, you won't get the best results that way.
I’m surprised it happened so quickly we are used to these things being drawn out…..it had to happen though so for me it’s the perfect timing with enough time to look at what we have before January.
Interesting how Morsy said in the eadt piece that the coaches were as good as any he’s worked with and that basically the players simply hadn’t turned up enough.
Very inexperienced coaching staff but they might have been good coaches for me it was more about having an experienced no.2 beside Cook to bounce ideas off. It's felt like Ashton built a whole team around himself but Cook was happy to go it alone with a few apprentices
https://www.eadt.co.uk/sport/ipswich-town/paul-cook-on-his-itfc-sacking-8601180 Now we know a little more
The most interesting comment for me was to hear Cook touch upon the new performance department created back in the summer. He says there were daily 'challenges' with the department around training and fitness, but he doesn't go into any detail. I imagine the performance department are in charge of tracking players' fitness and training stats (if Scowey was still a regular contributor here, he might have something to say as he seemed clued up on that type of thing). I'm guessing they had a say on what level of training players could do, particularly if they were coming back from injury. It's not rare to see performance departments in top-flight/Championship football clubs these days - so it seems like a strange aspect of the club to bring up. Clearly, there doesn't seem to be joined up approach between Cook and Ashton. Somebody like McKenna appears be more natural working with a wider backroom staff, presumably from his experiences at Manchester United. Cook also focuses on this season and drives the narrative of 'only being given 20 games' in charge of the club. Presumably, this will play well to prospective employers watching Sky Sports, as I'm sure Cook is eager to go back into management - and why not, he's got a great CV, the blip at Ipswich aside. I'm surprised he wasn't asked about last season, considering he took over a club on the outskirts of the play offs and proceeded to slump to a mid-table finish. The overhaul of players in the summer was also Cook's idea, particularly considering he had thrown most of last season's players under the bus (rightly or wrongly) for their perceived complacency and lack of ambition. I would agree with him that his sacking was harsh and he maybe wasn't given enough time at the club, but I have little faith he would have improved on the results we've picked up since his sacking. It is clear that his coaching staff had a lack of experience and tactical nous to get the most out of this squad. In McKenna's one game against Wycombe, I saw more tactical flexibility and intelligent in-game decisions than Cook managed across his 44 odd game stint here. It is also clear that Cook's preferred style of play and 4-2-3-1 formation was mishandled and poorly implemented with both last season's squad and, eventually, this season - most notably as opposition managers realised we were a predictable team to play against. I wish Cook all the best in his career. I hope he gets a patient owner and a squad that more naturally adapts to his style of management and way of playing. I think it's vital that he surrounds himself with better coaches and hires an assistant manager that allows him to broaden his football philosophy a bit.
I thought he would be given the season and had we not made the play offs, then he would be sacked. However, he was not forced to get rid of 29 players and bring in 19 new ones. He chose to do this. We were in the play off positions when he joined and barely won another game for the rest of the season. In bringing in as many players as he did, he wasn’t sure what his best 11 was (similar to Hurst in this respect) and completely refused to change his formation, most fans could see that with the players we had, 3 at the back made more sense. Finally, I know Norwood is not everyone’s cup of tea but you know what you’re getting with him, he’s going to harass defenders the whole game and give 100% - yes, he goes too far sometimes but to banish him to the under 23s was biting off his nose to spite his face
Well crafted post! Same as Royston. the EADT guys said in a pod today it was very much MA and the Yanks that wanted him out as he didn’t fit the new culture of the club. but you know what. I’m quite happy not to extend his deal. I agree with all the evidence people present in support of Norwood but he’s 31, his transfer value is diminishing and he’s expensive. I’m completely open to the idea there is a younger guy out there with all the same qualities we could bring in and see rocket in value as he contributes goals towards our (eventual) promotion. And I’m pretty sure KM will have quite a few names he can suggest because which new manager doesn’t want to sign their own ideal striker? Unless you’ve got lewandowski there’s always options to improve on what you’vw got.
I don't think there is any huge cause for concern at the moment although there are certain things that do make me feel uncomfortable and a number of things Bristol City supporters warned us about have happened already. It does concern me that a man with such a big Ego has pretty much total power at ITFC and far more significant that the manager. I know Cook certainly made mistakes but it says something when one of the most successful managers in recent years at this level can't make a success of it and is disposed of due to a man who is universally unpopular with fans of all the clubs he's been at: https://www.twtd.co.uk/ipswich-town...ich-i-felt-i-was-in-control-of-my-own-destiny
It is hard to know exactly what has gone on behind the scenes and Cooks ramblings much like his post match comments are difficult to decipher and full of blame but I do find it concerning that such a successful manager is indicating he didn't have the level of control over first team matters nor the opportunity to bring in his men into certain positions. Perhaps I'm being old fashioned but I think the manager should have the power to bring in his own team on first team matters whether that be to do with recruitment and/or fitness, you need to empower a manager not disempower them. I get the club needs a structure because managers come and go quickly now (something I also disagree with) but Ashton seems to move around a reasonable amount and seems to take his whole team with him. I'm not saying it's wrong because I've liked what I've seen of McKenna so far but it's hardly surprising Ashton likes giving young coaches a chance because they don't have the experience to stand up to him yet.
What does he mean by ‘no recruitment room’? There’s a lot of bleeting from Cook and he’s clearly pitching himself for new jobs by separating the footballing failures this season from himself. Notice he mentions the games he won but not those he lost or drew! I thought MA and his team were the recruitment people? I’d bet my mortgage cook had the say on who he wanted to sign and they then made the phone calls and got the cheque book out. Afte all lots of the signings were his ex players. I really don’t think MA is signing who he wants and telling the coach to crack on with it. I don’t mind this structure. The idea is it lets a coach focus on doing just that. David Platt said when he managed forest it was a disaster because he was doing contract negotiations, scouting players, signing players, endless meetings with club hierarchy, meetings with external people like local MPs and dignitaries, he hardly had time to plan and run training ans work with his squad. in leaving the coach to name his wish list of players and let him train them that gives KM surely the best chance of doing his job and still leaves him accountable for footballing success. If KM isn’t any good. MA can probably have one more chance to get it right then the accountability shifts to him. im pretty sure KM will be very good.
I'm assuming by no recruitment room he means no scouting team that he was able to bring in. And I think that's exactly the point with regards to Ashton and his team being the recruitment team. This is one of the Bristol City gripes with Ashton that it was his team doing the recruitment and he was like a kid in a candy shop signing loads of players. I don't think anyone has ever said the manager should be doing the negotiation etc because in modern football that's not football and it was a disaster for us when ME was in charge with far too much being put on the manager however the manager should still have a big input on negotiations because it matters to the first team dynamic how much someone is paid and how much they cost. I'm not against these new structures around the manager what I am against is when these structures undermine the manager (let's face it, this means our set up we now have a coach not a manager). And whilst in a certain way I means they can concentrate on coaching the first team it's also alot of pressure on 1 person because despite the 'manager' having very little say on matters who will be the one to lose their job...the manager and everyone else knows they'll be safe in their job. I've been impressed with what I've seen of KM so far but what makes you sure he will be very good based on 1 game and 2 weeks of being a football manager? But you are right due to the structure of the club if KM is a failure responsibility will sit with 1 person and if he goes, so does the whole structure
Cook being a tad bitter, he had nearly a seasons worth of games and we were still **** when he left, performances were poor, if only he had not been so bloody regimental in his tactics/formation! It was the CORRECT decision!! Oh and give me Ashton over the likes of Clegg every time!
There’s absolutely nothing in this. A man with any class would leave it a while before talking about it. The fact he’s come out with this says everything about why he failed. It sounds as though the only thing we got right, which was recruitment, was out of his control.
Well it’s always a case of making the most informed educated guess on these matters but that’s what’s fun, whether you’re into football manager, playing a fantasy league or taking on the bookies with your money. fwiw, I’m wagering the yanks aren’t stupid, that MA isn’t as useles as BC fans think he is, that KM isn’t the reason Man U are crap and put them altogether they might actually be a good combo. The big thing for me is these yanks have a lot on the line especially the Arizona state pension fund so they must be condident in what they can afford to spend and how that will equate to success/increase in asset value. Otherwise they’ve got a lot more to lose than us… so I have made an assessment of what percentage bump in performance we can enjoy under KM and the squad he will build over time and I think that will do better than we are before his arrival. Then I’ll use that to make informed choices at the bookies…so far I’m 10% up for the season which beats any ISA.
