Coach Posted May 9, 2011 Report Share Posted May 9, 2011 Latham: Have you learned a lot as a manager from your first season in charge? Millen: I now believe that man-management is a more important quality than being a great coach, which is something I wouldn't have said a year ago. My assistant, Steve Wigley, has done more of the coaching as time has gone on because I feel it is important for me to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. I'm happy to read this as I feel that is how a manager / assistant set-up should be. It is entirely possible that Wigley is a far better coach than Millen and with this arrangement I believe we can really progress. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 9, 2011 Report Share Posted May 9, 2011 Surprised Lathan didn't start with 'The job really should have been awarded to John Ward, but you've turned it around well...' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chinapig Posted May 9, 2011 Report Share Posted May 9, 2011 Latham: Have you learned a lot as a manager from your first season in charge? Millen: I now believe that man-management is a more important quality than being a great coach, which is something I wouldn't have said a year ago. My assistant, Steve Wigley, has done more of the coaching as time has gone on because I feel it is important for me to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. I'm happy to read this as I feel that is how a manager / assistant set-up should be. It is entirely possible that Wigley is a far better coach than Millen and with this arrangement I believe we can really progress. I read the interview also and it was encouraging he seems to be learning from experience. If he also learns from some of his odder selections and tactics this season that would also be encouraging. One thing struck me as odd though in that he said the squad needed to be reduced by 3 or 4. This seems to contradict previous statements and implies some players we might have expected to leave may not (assuming the majority out of contract will not be retained). Though he may not have been speaking literally; Gary Johnson would say we needed to sign 1 or 2 players then sign 8! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJC Posted May 9, 2011 Report Share Posted May 9, 2011 Very pleasing to read that. Ive said before that I questionned Millen's man management when he first took the job. He seemed too desperate to distance himself from the Coppell stint, almost immediately resigning Stewart, Cisse and Hunt to the wilderness. Stewart and Cisse came back fighting while, along side some incredibly poor performances, Hunt seemingly threw the towel in and never recovered. For all the stick Hunt takes I cant help but feel that he was poorly managed, if only initially. It would appear clear that there is some underlying issue and it would be unfair of me to speculate on what that might be, but football players are ultimately human beings, all of which require different approaches to get the best from them. While it's very easy to say 'he's shit', 'worst player ever', even 'man up' perhaps, the skill of man management is optimising performance from different characters, whether that be an arm around the shoulder or a stern telling off. For me, and clearly I could be wrong, Millen came in and, after an initial period, scapegoated the three mentioned which Hunt couldnt mentally recover from. Wigley is obviously a decent coach being involved at international level so if, as this comment suggests, Millen is leaving that side to him while placing more personal emphasis on man management, that can only bode well. Encouraged. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monkeh Posted May 9, 2011 Report Share Posted May 9, 2011 its been a crap season I've been a big critic of millen but he's learning and willing to be a bit less stubben only a good thing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robbored Posted May 9, 2011 Report Share Posted May 9, 2011 Latham: Have you learned a lot as a manager from your first season in charge? Millen: I now believe that man-management is a more important quality than being a great coach, which is something I wouldn't have said a year ago. My assistant, Steve Wigley, has done more of the coaching as time has gone on because I feel it is important for me to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. Millen's reply about man-management is surprising. Surely he would have learnt how important they are after witnessing 'my way or the highway' Johnson's lack of man-management skills first hand? As for stepping back and looking at the wider picture - that's pretty obvious. Very few Premier League and Championship managers actually take coaching/training sessions. They leave that to their assistants and rely on their feedback. In virtually all large management structures its important to for the boss to maintain a buffer between themselves and the staff. Its common sense Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CotswoldRed Posted May 9, 2011 Report Share Posted May 9, 2011 In virtually all large management structures its important to for the boss to maintain a buffer between themselves and the staff. Its common sense Spot on. John Prescott was a large management structure. He forgot to keep a buffer between him and his secretary and that went terribly pear shaped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sephjnr Posted May 9, 2011 Report Share Posted May 9, 2011 Spot on. John Prescott was a large management structure. He forgot to keep a buffer between him and his secretary and that went terribly pear shaped. If he'd kept a buffet between them instead he'd have had more success. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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