Warnock, would he come here?

[TonyW]

We had a problem having lost 12 in a row, but at the end of the day that was only 12 games with an inexperienced manager. I don't think there was a deep, underlying problem with the squad - I mean we had only just won promotion from the second division! By "in a mess," I'm talking about long periods of underachievement and no prospect of things improving, which we had in 1999 and again now. There's no way you can say we had that in 2002 after a mere 12 games of a season following promotion.

I know I've said it before, but those 12 games were lost during an injury crisis - we had a decent team that season, and should have done a lot better.

 

[JBizzleBeard]

No chance. Persuming he left Sheff utd as he couldn't stand the thought of dropping down into the Championship, why the fook would he wanna come and manage a 3rd division club with no ground (yet) and no money (ever). Like someone else said on this thread, as soon as a Premiership vacancy becomes available he will be in the mix for that for sure! And to be fair, he's a cont!

 

[Uncle Buck]

That's what I'm saying. We lost 10 games under a very inexperienced, and ultimately not good enough, manager who was put in charge far too late. We had numerous injuries (including Zamora of course), and were adjusting to a very decent division after two successive promotions. That's why I disagree with Uncle Buck - Coppell took over a squad with some very good players in it, and with the one or two quality additions he made, should have kept us up. There is no way you can compare his task to that of Adams in 1999, or the job on someone's hands now.

I do not think Coppell took over that greater squad. The one that started that season was weaker than the squad that won the second division. Morgan had retired and had not been replaced. Lewis had not been signed, so Oatway had to play and at that point looked out of his depth in that division. Other than Zamora we had no other strikers of note, Steele had scored goals the previous season, but had not been retained, meaning the spare striking options we McPhee, Marney and Wilkinson.

Coppell came in and strengthened both the defence and midfield (Blackwell and Rodger) as his first move. The strikers that Hinshlewood had signed (Kitson and Barrett) were either injured, suspended or incapable of scoring.

So I would say Coppell took over a demotivated mess that had just lost 10 games on the spin and turned it around to an extent and looking at the lack of quality in certain areas, he was able to motivate it beyond its collective talents. I mean, Mayo came second in the player of the season poll and played out of his skin under Coppell.

 

[Gwylan]

The evidence I would use is that last time we were in a big mess on the pitch (1999), we got Adams in who totally revolutionised the team (admittedly through releasing most of them), now I think we need a similarly strong man in charge.

That's a complete misreading of what happened. Adams did transform the team but he did it being the biggest-spending manager in the division. We paid £100k for Zamora; paid good money for Cullip and Oatway; outbid several teams for Steele, Jones and (hard as it is to believe) Pitcher. We might also have paid money for Carpenter and Watto too. I'm sure if Dick said to Wilkins that he could out-spend any manager in the division, he would transform the team too.

Nor do I think that Adams would be the manager to bring the young players on. He was not one for giving too many youngsters a chance (Zamora excepted of course) although he did give Virgo occasional outings. Adams was a definite believer in the experienced pro.

I do agree that Adams engendered a great team spirit and a never-say-die attitude but he had a much easier task than McGhee had and Wilkins has.

 

[Easy 10]

No, that\'s not what I mean by having a passion and determination to win. I don\'t judge a manager\'s passion on how he acts during a game - as far as I\'m concerned it doesn\'t matter if he behaves like Warnock or Sven. It\'s how his team plays. Regardless of the team\'s ability, you can just tell when a team is giving everything they have got, and are truly desperate to win. Under Adams, we undoubtedly had that - I remember going to games where, ability wise, we weren\'t on top form, but we played with such a desperation to win and gave it literally everything we had, and we almost always got results because of it.

That\'s my thinking now: we obviously have a team fairly lacking in talent, so what we need is someone to instill a belief and never-say-die attitude in them. Wilkins doesn\'t seem to have done that, and McGhee didn\'t have it for a long time at the end of his time here, hence the two whole seasons of half-hearted rubbish we have just witnessed. From what I can see, we play most games in second gear, and never get truly stuck in. It\'s that that is causing the total apathy amongst fans I believe, not a lack of ability (although that doesn\'t help, I\'ll admit). So, that\'s why I stick by my earlier comment. If a Warnock or Adams type manager came in now and demanded a far higher intensity in our performance, and focused some of the younger players on giving their all on the pitch rather than posing in various Brighton nightspots, then crowds would increase and there would be less abuse from fans regardless of the results. Plus, the thing is, if the results didn\'t improve those managers would start moving players out very quickly - Wilkins, and to a lesser extent McGhee in his last season, seem content to persist with rubbish. The evidence I would use is that last time we were in a big mess on the pitch (1999), we got Adams in who totally revolutionised the team (admittedly through releasing most of them), now I think we need a similarly strong man in charge.

Thats a good summary. What we lacked in ability, we used to make up with in sheer guts and determination (Cullip and Oatway being a driving force in that respect). Unfortunately at the moment we have nobody, either in the dugout or on the pitch, who can really lead by example and inspire the other players (particularly the younger ones) onto greater efforts.

Frankly, I;d have Adams back tomorrow. Not today though, I;ve got to creosote the fence later.

 

[B.W.]

It would just be nice to go into a game knowing the team were going to give it their all, the manager knew what he was doing, and we might actually win...

 

[Rookie]

We need a presence in the middle of the park that we have not had since Cullip or Oatway especially as our team is young. It does not matter who is in the dugout without a leader on the pitch

 

[JBizzleBeard]

Lead by example though eh?

 

[wehatepalace]

It says in the sun today he about to take over at Donny Rovers

 

[¤DãŃn¥ §êãGüLL¤]

I can see it actually. It'd certainly be a new kind of challenge.

 

[Yorkie]

It says in the sun today he about to take over at Donny Rovers

Although there could be a vacancy at Leicester very soon which would be more to his liking.

 

[TonyW]

That's a complete misreading of what happened. Adams did transform the team but he did it being the biggest-spending manager in the division. We paid £100k for Zamora; paid good money for Cullip and Oatway; outbid several teams for Steele, Jones and (hard as it is to believe) Pitcher. We might also have paid money for Carpenter and Watto too. I'm sure if Dick said to Wilkins that he could out-spend any manager in the division, he would transform the team too.

Nor do I think that Adams would be the manager to bring the young players on. He was not one for giving too many youngsters a chance (Zamora excepted of course) although he did give Virgo occasional outings. Adams was a definite believer in the experienced pro.

I do agree that Adams engendered a great team spirit and a never-say-die attitude but he had a much easier task than McGhee had and Wilkins has.

Most of the players you mention were actually obtained free of charge.
MA certainly didn't have a transfer budget - just a genius at getting the right mix of players at the right time.

 

[Basil Fawlty]

WE ALREADY HAVE A CRAP MANAGER !!!!!

Fourteenth Eye changes his view shock.