Bold Seagull
strong and stable with me, or...
This. Moreover, I think people have made far too much of the 'no Premier League managerial experience' issue. All world class managers have to start somewhere.
It's not even as if Potter doesn't have any managerial experience under his belt. I would much rather have a young up-and-coming manager who has already cut his teeth by developing a club from the bottom up in Sweden, and learnt how to contend with all manner of scenarios. Equally, we have a tendency to forget just how tough the Championship can be; to guide a team that has been asset stripped of its best players to 10th in the league is an amazing achievement - specially when relying on youth players to see you through.
The appointment of Potter would be far more preferable to some of the other names circulating. Lampard might be a glamorous name with a huge contact book, but he had inherited a Derby side with good players and he received significant backing from his Board, yet still managed to only sneak into the final play-off position. Equally, Neville has much more limited experience than Potter, albeit in a more high-profile position in England's women team. Evidence suggests that he's doing a good job there, but he has absolutely no experience of club management on a day-to-day basis.
Equally, Arteta has a reputation as an excellent coach, but so did Clement. While these names might be more instantly recognisable than Potter's, their managerial CVs don't even come close.
I think that much of the negativity surrounding NSC's discussion of Potter stems from the fact that we might not have been familiar with him or or his style of play, especially when compared with many of the other names in the frame. As such, many of us are underwhelmed by the suggestion. However, the Board are much better informed than the average NSC contributor and I have a degree of faith in their decision-making. I for one will withhold judgement until I see what Potter can actually bring to the Albion, if he is appointed.
If we make a comparison from along the coast, Ralph Hasenhüttl got Ingolstadt into the Bundesliga, then got Leipzig to runners up, as well as previous experience at other clubs to back that up.
That is perhaps the type of experience I'd be looking for to be honest. Maybe not to that degree, but I think it is an incredible risk to take on a young manager such little experience.
Javi Gracia, Nuno Espírito Santo, also with good experience, or clubs that have stuck with their managers they were promoted with, I'm not seeing a lot of teams taking a punt on inexperience and surviving that often.