Go On Derek

[Tales From The Front]

It's not as simple as 'persona'.

It became apparent that Millen had been at AG too long in various positions and because of that ( with hindsight ) his appointment was the wrong one. Steve Lansdown had a lot of time for Millen and rated his potential as a future manager. Sadly the only experience in management that Millen had was at City under firstly Tinnion and then Johnson, neither of them hardly role models.

Millen was also not seen by the players as 'new blood'. They all knew him well and maybe that was a problem as well. It was probably more difficult for him to get his message across, and at the same time difficult for players to have faith in his idea's. Familiarity breeds contempt.

Then Millen gets sacked. It comes McInnes. Immediately the players have no idea what to expect, his idea's are different just like his training regime. New blood, new eyes and a different style have all made a vital impact on the players and they've responded brilliantly

So the effect McInnes has had is not simply down to his 'persona' but also down to the fact that he's new and unfamiliar.

It would be no surprise to me to see Millen succeed in management at another club. New blood and all that.

You make it seem it was only in the presentation, why Millen failed and McInnes has started so well. Its much more fundermental than that, its his technical appreciation and vision on how the game should be played coupled with apparent excellant man management and motervational skill.

The familiarity argument is just to simplistric, sure its difficult when one of the boys becomes boss but not impossiable if the message and tactics resonates with the players and most of all the system and tactics can be accomodated by the ability of the players in question. Playing long ball up to a sub 6ft strikers who preferes the ball to feet or to run on to is frankly embarassing and the fact it was endorsed by the U21 coach, from a national perspective is deeply worrying.

All those that went to Watford on Tuesday night quickly saw where Millen's football philosophy came from, work rate, and a high percentage of long balls to a target man. Whilst I do not perosnaly like this style of football, I would have had more time for it had we had players that could play this system, clealry we do not. Hense the same players that six weeks ago were not good enough, to my pleasant surprise indeed are.

[redsontour]

"Now I'm at a club with huge plans for the future, like a new, 30,000-seater stadium a mile up the road from Ashton Gate.

"The right team on the park will get us 25,000 every home game even before that's constructed."

I'm not sharing my seat with anybody before the club asks...