Hi all, Oxford fan here. We're currently managerless after Manning defected to Bristol City. Plenty of chat from a few ITK posters on our forum that Crofts is right in the mix to be our next boss having impressed in the interviews. What do you know about him? Is he likely to play the same sort of style as you, and is he thought of as someone who will take the step up to manage?
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[Albion] Andrew Crofts
- Thread starter oufc90
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stewart12
Well-known member
- Jan 16, 2019
- 1,924
very highly respected here having played for and captained the club over two spells, then moved up the ranks from youth coach to first team coach. Got a lot of credit for being one of the very few members of the coaching staff who didn't jump ship when Potter left for Chelsea
De Zerbi definitely likes him and I imagine has imprinted a lot of his coaching DNA onto him so I'd expect him to play a similar way
De Zerbi definitely likes him and I imagine has imprinted a lot of his coaching DNA onto him so I'd expect him to play a similar way
He can't dance.
That's interesting... Crofts has been with the first team since Potter left, he was actually supposed to be caretaker manager for a game vs Bournemouth, supported by Lallana, before everything was postponed due to the Queen's death.
He seems to be very involved on match days on the touchline along with RDZ and Maldera, and features prominently in training videos, as you'd expect a first team coach to be.
Other posters will know more about how our U21s/U23s performed under him, but we have a very aligned style of football between all age groups so expect possession based football. He's worked closely with De Zerbi for over a year now, and De Zerbi wouldn't have kept him so close to the first team if Crofts hadn't bought into his vision.
But you never know, he could be crap...
He seems to be very involved on match days on the touchline along with RDZ and Maldera, and features prominently in training videos, as you'd expect a first team coach to be.
Other posters will know more about how our U21s/U23s performed under him, but we have a very aligned style of football between all age groups so expect possession based football. He's worked closely with De Zerbi for over a year now, and De Zerbi wouldn't have kept him so close to the first team if Crofts hadn't bought into his vision.
But you never know, he could be crap...
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The Colonel
Well-known member
- Sep 4, 2023
- 224
You only get a gig in the team of a quality manager like RDZ if you know your stuff and buy into his way of playing which Crofts clearly does. I hope he stays but wish him well if he goes. Oxford is a great job for any young coach right now.
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Mancgull
Well-known member
Too bloke.
I wouldn’t mess with him either. Hard as nails.
I wouldn’t mess with him either. Hard as nails.
Machiavelli
Well-known member
The OP doesn't really need to know too much more than this^
Stumpy Tim
Well-known member
If he was to go, I could see Lallana taking his spot on the coaching staff. Not that the OP cares about that
Another former Albion (U21) coach.
You'd imagine that his partner (former Gully's Girl, Jo Wilson) would fancy the move back South.
Braggfan
In the beginning there was nothing, which exploded
- May 12, 2014
- 1,987
Our academy teams and development squad are geared to play the same tactics as the first team. The idea being that they want the youngsters to be familiar with how the first team play so they'll be comfortable if they ever get called up. This means the coaches have to be well versed on the first team tactics. You can never tell how this will translate for a coach if they go it alone, but Crofts has worked with Potter and De Zerbi, so will understand their tactics well.
My opinion is that he will make a very good first team coach somewhere, but I would imagine there will be a bedding in period for anyone taking their first job.
Mellor 3 Ward 4
Well-known member
I hope for our sake he doesn't get the job.
Bit sefish I know, but he's clearly rated highly by RDZ as well as by Barber/Bloom as he was getting the caretaker's job when Potter left.
Bit sefish I know, but he's clearly rated highly by RDZ as well as by Barber/Bloom as he was getting the caretaker's job when Potter left.
AZ Gull
@SeagullsAcademy @seagullsacademy.bsky.social
They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so I give you:-
This was November 2019. The player is Taylor Richards, a highly-rated lad who had spent five years developing through the academy at Manchester City. In the summer of 2019 he moved to Albion in the hope of breaking through into the first team. Andrew Crofts had re-joined the Albion that same summer in a new role as player-coach of the U-23 side.
On November 1 2019 the U-23s played at Southampton in a Premier League 2 fixture; Crofts was on the sidelines rather than on the pitch and Richards started. He provided one assist and then scored two very late goals (in the 3rd and 5th minutes of injury time) as Albion won 4-1. After scoring one of those goals, Richards instinctively sprinted to celebrate with .... Andrew Crofts. I have no idea exactly why, but it tells me everything I need to know about how he is regarded by the players he is responsible for (and he wasn't even their head coach at that point).
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Why not? - I very much doubt he's on their recruitment team scouting for a bit of inside knowledge!
Anyway, as per post#9 he doesn't appear to be on the short list anyway.
Whitechapel
Famous Last Words
I’d believe somebody who is apparently ITK with Oxford stuff on an Oxford forum over BetVictor and ‘SportingLife’
Not saying he’ll get the job, but that seems a pretty mental reason to shrug it off.
AZ Gull
@SeagullsAcademy @seagullsacademy.bsky.social
Post #9 refers to the betting odds - what has that got to do with the shortlist?
- Thread starter
- #17
Those odds are a bit of a nonsense and by all accounts Crofts interviewed and did well. Seems to be between him, Des Buckingham, Williams from Notts County and John Eustace.
OK, so apparently you know somebody who is apparently ITK with Oxford stuff on an Oxford forum! So maybe the OP should believe anyone who is apparently ITK with Brighton stuff on a Brighton forum - NSC is the fount of all knowledge on all things after all!
Fair enough - I've already been told off for 'shrugging it off'! I'm just off to try to find a way to chastise the poster who posted post#9 in the first place who seems to have got off scot free!.........................................
Whitechapel
Famous Last Words
OK, so apparently you know somebody who is apparently ITK with Oxford stuff on an Oxford forum! So maybe the OP should believe anyone who is apparently ITK with Brighton stuff on a Brighton forum - NSC is the fount of all knowledge on all things after all!
What the f*ck are you on about?
The original poster is an Oxford fan who has signed up to this forum based on posts on their forum from somebody who is apparently ITK.
I’m assuming that they’d have an idea who on their own forum is worth listening to.You’d have to be pretty silly to write the whole notion off because off an article listing the (out of date) odds from BetVictor.
Anything to get your post count up though, hey
