We were very poor under Hock, and that Brighton game was an all time low ... his tactics were confusing, and his public support for Noel Hunt was just daft ... the one thing that was very clear was that the players were unhappy, and it showed in the slopey shoulders on the pitch ... it's clear they did not believe in Hock and Junior, and it must have been difficult going in to training every morning knowing you were going to hate it ... The point of my post? There is a lot of euphoria following our results since Hock's departure, and rightly so ... there has been a lot of support for Redders taking the job, but this is where I still don't agree ... I always said that when Hock goes we will see a different attitude from the players, and don't be surprised if we suddenly look a different outfit, and so it proved ... yes, Redders had some input because he set up the team, but I firmly believe the biggest factor in our little run has been the Hock Effect, and the dark cloud that lifted and allowed the smiles to return when Cellino sacked the negative fool ... Redders is superb in the Academy, but I don't see him as a manager, ever ... being caretaker is fine when you follow an awful act like Hock/Junior, there is no pressure and the players have a spring in their steps knowing they have more freedom because nobody expects them to win anyway ... this breeds confidence and makes the caretaker's job easier, and it can skew the impression you get of the bloke's ability to be a successful full time boss and to cope with the mountain of pressure ... just saying, think every detail through when looking at Redders as a manager ... Fulham are in a similar position right now, and I for one don't think Kit Symons is the answer ... of course, it would be great if Fulham gave him the job full time, it would cement their place in the relegation dog fight ... So the Hock Effect has been clear for all to see in the smiling faces in Leeds shirts, and the togetherness of the players ... amazing how different things are when a dark(o) cloud is lifted Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Good post Billy but I think you missed one point. I believe Cellino knew exactly what he was doing employing the Hock. Players would be confused, get a few batterings, media delight in our impending relegation and so on. Cellino then brings in a half dozen quality signings, lets redress sort out the mess, and next thing you know it, the players are flying and we slip to the top of the table virtually unnoticed by virtually everyone. A master plan indeed
Also it gave him the excuse to hire a foreign coach. He wanted a British coach, he got one, he was terrible, he was sacked. A foolproof excuse not to hire another Brit. Billy, the worrying thing for me is that I heard a lot about how the players apparently really liked playing for Hock certainly didn't seem like it on the pitch!
Lets hope that this new broom sweeps away remnants of the old guard the likes of White Hunt Norris and Ajose loan him pout though I still feel he won't make it and with the money saved on this lot buy young Gray from Brum what a player he will be! Totally agree with your statement about Redders I think his time will come but he was very nieve on Sat not taking Berradi off after he was getting skinned by BUNN
good points lads ... the only player who publicly supported Hock was Pearce, so read into that what you want ... also agree Cellino wanted an "intelligent foreign" coach ... as for young Demarai Gray at Brum, he is some prospect, and was the subject of a failed £500k bid from Palace on deadline day, so I'd go for him in January and offer Ajose as part of the deal so that Brum don't end up a player light ... come on Mike, get on the blower to Cellino and make it so Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Hock had to go because he was out of his league. Although Redders has done an excellent job I still noticed that a couple of the old guard are still playing or bench warming. Warnock I can accept because he's been top quality since he knew his career was on the line, but Morison we can do without and have better options up top, and Tonge too can go for me. I jst hope that Darko sits back and watches for the first week at TA, so that Redders can show videos of the last 2 games and Darko can see his squad in training before he weilds the axe and set up his new team the way he wants it. We still have players to slot in yet and can't wait to see how Zico performs when given his chance
If Morison's on the bench it's probably because he's been good in training, so I see no problem there. Redfearn obviously feels Montenegro needs a little time to adjust and I have no problem with that - we're winning games and picking up points so it seems silly to needlessly upset that rhythm by chucking in untried youngsters in. Same applies to Adryan and Benedicic. Surprised that Tonge was on the bench ahead of Murphy though - perhaps Murphy's still paying for being a prat in the Bradford game.
Kiwi or maybe Cellino's 20-minute 'football chat' before the match was asking Redders to give shyte some game time to see if we can get them off the books. He made changes when things were safe?
Good point. Unfortunately I don't think it's a case of putting them in the shop window - players like Tonge, Morison and Norris could easily find a club at the bottom of the Championship/top end of league 1 (Blackpool are screaming out for players!) - but nobody wants them for the wages they're on. Probably easier for us to just pay them off.
Warnock supported him publicly too, btw. Spoke very highly of him and at length too! Also, can't see any wheeling & dealing in January. Aren't we lined up for a transfer embargo?
forgot about the possible transfer embargo, dang ... Redfearn has persisted with Tonge because he has in effect been his "assistant" on the bench ... Redders stated that he turned to Tonge for advice as a senior pro, and asked him to assess play and then feed info to Redders ... somehow feel this won't be happening with Darko, who will be bringing his own assistant with him anyway Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
That's interesting about Tonge. Perhaps he could go into coaching at the academy in some capacity? He's not a bad player, he's just lost too much pace to be in a counter-attacking side.
