What the hell is going on?

comment by Vulpes (U6011)
posted 40 minutes ago

The ongoing delay can't be good for the morale of the players either.
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Agreed, they look absolutely miserable....

https://twitter.com/OfficialFOXES/status/620297532678103041

"Otherwise, whoever is signed has the squad that he has (along with that hole in midfield) and only has the option to motivate them and maybe haul in the odd loan until January."

Dunge - thats what happens when you sack your manager. Whoever comes in, even if its Klopp, will largely have to work with the squad he has. The only way to avoid this would have been to sack Pearson in May giving the new man time to bring in a new team if he saw fit, but a complete overhaul is not really sensible.

Agreed on transfer targets but the club are proceeding with targets identified by Steve Walsh. Steve Walsh is the chief scout who has been responsible for bringing in the likes of Mahrez and co. While he is still at the club then its sensible to continue to bring in targets he has identified.

90% of the time when a manager is appointed he has to work with what he has, because the majority of appointments happen OUTSIDE of pre-season and the transfer window. Get the right person in and he can motivate an under-performing side and then build it in his own image.

"And if we're poking our heads up like startled meerkats for people like Marcelo Bielsa, that concerns me. How does the conversation go? "Ooh, I didn't know he was available. Shall we chase him now instead?"

Where have you got this idea from? Is it because the Mirror have reported we've switched targets?

Again - a clear difference between what the media report, when they find out and what the owners are actually doing. Perhaps Bielsa isn't on their list at all. Perhaps he is. Perhaps he always was. Perhaps they have been frustrated with attempts for MON and now have to turn elsewhere - that happens in football.

Lets not start jumping to conclusions and make out that somehow the owners are scouring wikipedia because the options have run out

*thats often what happens when you sack your manager

Dunge - sorry just to add, Peter Schmeichel is a great example of what you are referring to earlier. Because we are struggling to get the right person appointed this week, would it be sensible to opt for Schmeichel for the sake of having a manager?

I mean he wants the job apparently, no compensation and is available immediately. Granted we shouldnt delay in making an appointment but equally there are clear dangers of just getting anyone in place

Of course we don't want Peter Schmeichel! There are several reasonable candidates who we could get before going for a crazy appointment like that. He's not at all an example of what I was referring to and it'd be just as ridiculous as you, I or Preki being offered the job.

Granted that most appointments happen at what could be described as a non-ideal time, but the squad in question have usually had a pre-season of some sort of direction; they at least have a plan to work to that a new manager can come in and adapt. The players will know right now though, that any such plan is up in the air. They'll know a new appointment is on his way at some point and it's this uncertainty that affects players. What exactly are Walsh and Shakespeare to do? They get the players trained up, playing and practising certain things, yet those players will know that shortly someone will come in and might tell them that everything they're doing is wrong. Not only that, but the fact that a new manager would have to adapt to the squad to get success rather than putting his stamp on it changes the nature of the role. He'd have to go through half a season working with what he's got, rather than 10/12 games or so, by which point you can be a long way down the table in the Premier League. It becomes a major handicap and I don't want us to fall into that trap.

As regards Bielsa, I don't know whether he's coming or not and this is probably just more media speculation. But the club's stalling adds the likelihood that there isn't a solid plan in place - or at least it's taken them a long time to formulate one.

"Granted that most appointments happen at what could be described as a non-ideal time, but the squad in question have usually had a pre-season of some sort of direction; they at least have a plan to work to that a new manager can come in and adapt"

Why does having a pre-season under a manger that gets the sack later in the year make an ounce of difference? Most of these appointments happen mid-season, which is my main point. Any manager coming into a club in these circumstances (Pulis with West Brom, Pardew with Palace), come in with a totally different philosophy.

Its not as if the players turn round and say "hang on a minute, we cant play your formation because we've been practicing ours all through pre-season". Players have to be professional enough to adapt and if you get the right manager in place to communicate his philosophies they can do, even during a season when you don't have the luxury of a 'pre-season' to implement what you want to.

Should we make an appointment next Monday - thats still 3 weeks with the squad before a game is played to drill them into a different style of play. It can be done, it has been done. Halfway through the season. With success.

"What exactly are Walsh and Shakespeare to do? They get the players trained up, playing and practising certain things, yet those players will know that shortly someone will come in and might tell them that everything they're doing is wrong"

Wrong. Why would it be wrong? Just because a manager comes in with a different philosophy, it doesnt mean he scraps everything thats been done by the current staff. Bielsa for example loves the high pressing game. Well thats suits the way Vardy plays for example and the way Pearson started utilising the players during our final run in. We stopped giving people so much time and space in our half.

We have a group of very good sports scientists and fitness coaches. Don't underestimate this. A manager won't have to come in and sort out the fitness of the squad (there are examples of where this had to be done) which is a very good part of what pre-seaon is about.

"But the club's stalling adds the likelihood that there isn't a solid plan in place "

What stalling? This is just perception based on the bookies not having a clue. How do you know a panel of 5 didn't get together and say "right - here is our shortlist, we need a candidate in place by 24th July latest. Our preference is x and y - if we cant get them then here is plan B"

We wouldn't know about any plans or stalling or changing of plans because the owners have decided not to lay everything out in the open. You can see the dangers of doing that - e.g. Cambiasso who we almost missed out on when his agent decided to leak the transfer and get a number of other clubs involved.

BS
Agreed, they look absolutely miserable....
https://twitter.com/OfficialFOXES/status/620297532678103041
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These clearly must be recycled old photos, what you can't see is NP, out of shot at the back, bullying them all into smiling for the camera

(You'd think the club would at least get them decent bikes)

"Why does having a pre-season under a manger that gets the sack later in the year make an ounce of difference?"

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It's far from ideal for a manager to be changed during the season anyway. The best time is right at the end of the season, giving a new manager time to assess his squad, identify areas of improvement and build for next season. But the window for that is closing now - we're reaching the point where the next available opportunity to improve the squad will be in January. If he's rubbish, we won't know he's rubbish - the excuse would be that he hasn't had a transfer window in order to build his side. If he'd had a pre-season and it was still rubbish then he could be given the boot like Sousa was. The opportunity for a new manager to influence pre-season, to encourage players to work on specific things before they get going for real - that is slipping away from us right now. And it's not about just telling players different tactics: Of course they can understand being pointed around a pitch, the question is one of practise, getting used to a style, learning how to make it work for you. A club in our position (i.e. one fighting against relegation next year) will need all the time it can get and I fear that the current delay will cost us points at the start of the season - points that we could depend upon come the business end. I don't see it as particularly controversial to believe this.

As for the delay itself, the club have generally kept very quiet and this is reflected in the bookies' odds. Now personally I don't care for what the bookies do; I'm more bothered about the lack of activity: In that, it's now two weeks with no new manager. If this is in the plan, it's either a bad plan for not being put into action fast enough or we keep being turned down by people who were ultimately unrealistic. Either way, it's still in the realms of being reasonable at present but this lack of action really shouldn't go on for much longer and my point is that the time is rapidly approaching when we need to bite the bullet and give someone reasonable if something of a gamble a proper go of it, instead of waiting another two weeks, still finding that no respected manager wants to come to us and then giving that person a very difficult job to do, either with (as I keep pointing out) a hole in central midfield or someone who's been signed when there was no manager here to even authorise it.

"I fear that the current delay will cost us points at the start of the season - points that we could depend upon come the business end. I don't see it as particularly controversial to believe this"

Its not controversial in terms of what you're suggesting, but equally I don't agree we are approaching crisis point as you suggested earlier. Crisis point would be where Blackpool were at the start of last season.

Its not ideal Dunge but its a hell of a lot better than giving a full pre-season to a total misfit who signs a load of garbage. I would just prefer to take more time to get the appointment right than getting the wrong person in for the sake of it, thats all

"I'm more bothered about the lack of activity: In that, it's now two weeks with no new manager. If this is in the plan, it's either a bad plan for not being put into action fast enough or we keep being turned down by people who were ultimately unrealistic"

2 weeks without a manager does not represent a lack of activity. Rob Dorsett said last week that the owners would take their time. A panel of 5 are part of the selection committee and they won't rush into an appointment. Now I know thats not a popular decision and its not shared by all the fans but equally, the fact we don't have an appointment yet, is not necessarily because we are targeting all the wrong people.

This is football. You draw up a shortlist, make an approach and sometimes you get knocked back. Had they approached Klopp I would share your concerns but theres no evidence they have. The only person we KNOW they are interested in is O'Neill and thats a very reasonable punt. He appears to want to stay with ROI, so fair enough, but that doesnt mean the owners were wrong to approach or are following an incorrect plan.

"someone who's been signed when there was no manager here to even authorise it."

Actually this happens quite a lot even when the manager is there (player signed by someone else). Most clubs in Europe follow a similar approach where the manager/coach has a partial say or sometimes no say. I have no problem with us signing Kante and Sako (too excellent prospects IMO) and then getting a top coach in to get the best out of them.

I trust Walsh's scouting and Rudkin to bring players in of sufficient quality to improve the squad. Its only when you bring in garbage that a manager comes in and leaves them on the bench. E.g Matt Mills when Pearson returned.....he kept playing Nugent for e.g (another Sven signing)