Meh! Its a name and one I would like but our progress hinges on the board and their intentions. If we have hit a glass ceiling and wont invest much more then he wont come.
I think the concept is that if we appoint a name like this it will indicate that the intention to progress is there. Like the concept of Poch staying being an indicator that the intention to progress was still there. Or appointing/keeping redknapp meant that we were unlikely to pinch pennies. this post isn't going well.
If we get Yakin, Koeman or... I will go as far as to say Laudrup then the board want to progress. A malky, maclaren or Lennon would show we are happy with a mid table team that will flirt with the bottom. Rather than the three before who would flirt with the top. End of the day I'm much happier with the uncertainty now than I was in 2009. We will have a Premier League club come August. Back then we didn't even know if we would have a club full stop!. UTS! COYR's!
He doesn't excite me as much as Yakin, not because I think he'll do worse. He's probably a safer choice, really. He's just kind of blah to me. Probably why it's not a good idea to appoint coaches based upon excitement level. The gamble on Yakin seems like a fun ride now, but if we're in 18th place in January I'll be singing a much different tune. Conversely, if Koeman ends up utterly devoid of quirks and we don't play a particularly unique or exciting style but we finish fourth or better Southampton's in Champions League will be more than interesting/exciting enough for me.
Not just because Yakin/Koeman are excellent, but because I can't see them having much interest in joining without iron-clad commitments to push on, with the financial backing that entails. It'd put to bed most or all of the concerns I've had about the current regime, really.
I remember a Woody Allen film where he and his lover were asked how often they had sex. Him: Hardly ever, twice a week. Her: All the time, twice a week. It's all a matter of attitude. Les Reed says there is money and that we can act fast if needed. Whether the available funds are a lot or a little depends on expectations.
Trouble with that stats sheet is that it makes him seem like an awesome manager. High win percentages at nearly every team. However getting a high win percentage in Holland isn't all that hard if you have the right team. And in Portugal if you manage Porto, Benfica (or Sporting at that time) you should be getting at least the win percentage he got if not more and the Valencia one brings a little more reality in that in a league where Valencia at that time were in the 3rd to 5th area they should be doing better than 32%. So I'm not overly impressed by his record there. The only 2 impressive records in my eyes are his spells with Vitesse and AZ where he seems to have got a smaller team to perform better.
Yeah, the worrying thing to me is the one time he managed in an actual league, he took one of the bigger clubs to within two points of relegation. There must be a reason he only seems to spend a year wherever he goes, as well.
His current job, Feyenoord, is surely his most impressive. Finishes since he's been there - 2nd, 3rd, 2nd. Their finish the season before he joined - 10th. Their last top 3 finish before he joined was in 2005/6.
Valencia had a lot of problems that no manager could solve. You could hardly blame any Deportivo manager for their downfall, and from what I understand of the situation it's a similar thing. Also let's not forget where Pochettino left Espanyol.
