Tomo Posted November 30, 2013 Report Share Posted November 30, 2013 Harry, it did talk a great game didnt he ! At one point, he nearly had me fooled, Listening him drone on over and over about doing "the right things at the right time", "having the right behaviours" and "the processes" are simpy just words Harry, Im not sure if I enhanced my views/understanding of the game by listening to his words. In my eyes he was just saying "the right things and the right time", his behaviour was ok but then he acted like a child over a "stupid question" - with regards to his processes, he just sniffed and sniffed - not very good manners was it !. We move on.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Kaiser Posted November 30, 2013 Report Share Posted November 30, 2013 He did talk a very good game, I give him that. Where he fell down for me was the garbage his players and formations served up. Didn't seem to remotely link with what he preached . As a bloke though he seemed articulate, pleasant, informed and straight forward. This is a results business though so he simply couldn't stay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Mosquito Posted November 30, 2013 Report Share Posted November 30, 2013 He did talk a very good game, I give him that. Where he fell down for me was the garbage his players and formations served up. Didn't seem to remotely link with what he preached . As a bloke though he seemed articulate, pleasant, informed and straight forward. This is a results business though so he simply couldn't stay. Indeed, to be fair to SOD he had to save money and develop a relatively poor squad of remaining players as per the 5 pillars austerity business plan that the Lansdowns gave him. I never once called for SOD's head because I realized the pressure he was under to get results from - at times - some of the worst and most boring players I've ever seen wear the red of our club. Good luck to the next manager with that lot of players because he'll need it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marmite Posted November 30, 2013 Report Share Posted November 30, 2013 First time I heard him speak when he joined the club he said he did not know where we were in the table. Then two minutes later said we were in a relegation battle. How did he know that if he hadn't seen the table. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Right Honourable Les Q Posted November 30, 2013 Report Share Posted November 30, 2013 I don't disagree with anything "Harry" has said, here. And not just cos he might clout me one. But I will say, if you want to "educate" people, you have to get them to listen. To be ready and willing to listen. To get people to listen, you need to build or develop some sort of relationship with them. In football, you do that by winning some games. And with some of those phoney, social niceities SOD was reluctant to indulge in. To attempt to "educate" people during a relegation surrender, then in another winless run, and from the relegation zone, is optimistic. To do so while making some critical comments about the crowd, is wildly optimistic. Funny that, from a seemingly uber pessimist. But then, optimists are, by their very nature, deluded. Or stupid. There is a sadness about the chap, that he did go to greater lengths to communicate with fans than most in his position, while at the same time calling the crowd "the team's biggest obstacle." In many, if not most, of his comments about the fans, there were elements of truth. But there are truths and realities about your mother-in-law, or your missus in that dress, or the scale of her bumcheeks, (or your fella, in a dress or otherwise) or in an interview, or chatting with your boss, that it is ill-advised (stupid) to say openly. These are social niceities and norms that make the world work a little smoother. "Telling it like it is" has its place, but needs to be used with discretion. Ask a teacher, involved in education on a daily basis. Sean could learn a thing or two from his time here, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedBrizzleRobin Posted November 30, 2013 Report Share Posted November 30, 2013 Indeed, to be fair to SOD he had to save money and develop a relatively poor squad of remaining players as per the 5 pillars austerity business plan that the Lansdowns gave him. I never once called for SOD's head because I realized the pressure he was under to get results from - at times - some of the worst and most boring players I've ever seen wear the red of our club. Good luck to the next manager with that lot of players because he'll need it. This is my current fear. Have we finally bottomed out now or is worse yet to come? Over three season's we've been on the slide.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazooka Joe Posted November 30, 2013 Report Share Posted November 30, 2013 First time I heard him speak when he joined the club he said he did not know where we were in the table. Then two minutes later said we were in a relegation battle. How did he know that if he hadn't seen the table. He was predicting our future under his leadership - however, he got it slightly wrong; he said "battle". Relegation "battles" would have been more accurate. Anyway, he's gone. My prediction is he won't succeed in a division above ours. Time will tell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chinapig Posted November 30, 2013 Report Share Posted November 30, 2013 There was and is much to admire about SOD, including his intelligence and directness. I wouldn't necessarily characterise it as honesty though, more as bluntness. That led to what was for me an ouch moment, when he claimed we fans expected to beat the likes of Colchester 5-0. That was nonsense, a complete straw man argument unsupported by the evidence and my respect for him reduced a little at that point. We may not be qualified coaches but we are not as stupid as he implied. It certainly helps no manager to attack his club's fans in that way. Perhaps the most revealing thing though was when he said he knew it was going to be tough but he didn't expect it to be this tough. Honest certainly but those seemed to be the words of a man whose plan was not working and who didn't seem to have an alternative. A deep thinker but not a flexible one perhaps? Bloody shame, it would have been nice if someone like Sean had succeeded but there is a limit to how long you can wait for the point when the master plan suddenly clicks purely on the basis of faith and hope. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bemmyredjeff Posted November 30, 2013 Report Share Posted November 30, 2013 Snipe as much as you like folks, but you'll not see another manager here who is so honest and open with the fans. If you want the usual cliche's then good on you. I for one feel as if I've had an education under his tutorship. Fair enough - you can say what you want about the results and be fully justified, but with every word he said at every press conference, every programme note, every Q & A evening, every Fans Parliament, every interview with fanzines etc, he was trying to educate the fan base. It may not have worked out on the pitch for him, but I'd safely say a lot of fans have been enhanced in their views/understanding of the game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bangkok Red Posted November 30, 2013 Report Share Posted November 30, 2013 "It's about performances, not about points" Say no more. It's no wonder SOD failed repeating that sort of dogma. I can't believe a manager / head coach could come out with that sort of statement. I think he lost sight of the fact that professional football is first and foremost a results based industry. What sort of message is that to put over to the players?? If you imply that it's OK to fail as long as you do it with style then that's what you will get. Aim low and you will get low !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoyalRed Posted November 30, 2013 Report Share Posted November 30, 2013 SOD said a lot of things, but couldn't deliver on the pitch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petehinton Posted November 30, 2013 Report Share Posted November 30, 2013 Take the piss all you like but I would bet good money the next club he goes to will be promoted in his second full season there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Major Isewater Posted November 30, 2013 Report Share Posted November 30, 2013 "It's about performances, not about points" Say no more. It's no wonder SOD failed repeating that sort of dogma. I can't believe a manager / head coach could come out with that sort of statement. I think he lost sight of the fact that professional football is first and foremost a results based industry. What sort of message is that to put over to the players?? If you imply that it's OK to fail as long as you do it with style then that's what you will get. Aim low and you will get low !! whoosh ! he said how do you get points without performances,doing the right things.He also said he'd happily listen to anyone who could show him how to get points playing badly. it's all very well saying we want to get a win but it's more pertinent to ask how are we going to achieve our goal. SOD was an opportunity wasted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich_s Posted November 30, 2013 Report Share Posted November 30, 2013 I watched a snail crawl along the edge of a straight razor. That's my dream; that's my nightmare. Crawling, slithering, along the edge of a straight razor... and surviving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red-Robbo Posted November 30, 2013 Report Share Posted November 30, 2013 SOD's theme tune: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dj-aoxR9uxE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Mosquito Posted November 30, 2013 Report Share Posted November 30, 2013 Take the piss all you like but I would bet good money the next club he goes to will be promoted in his second full season there Indeed, usually a bad workman sometimes blames the tools he has to work with. In the case of SOD, SOD never blamed the tools (our players) he had to work with. Bring on the next manager to take the blame for our team of tools. Usually, players buck the trend and get a win once their coach/manager has left/ been sacked - not our lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bangkok Red Posted November 30, 2013 Report Share Posted November 30, 2013 whoosh ! Anti-whoosh ! No, that's exactly what he said. Spouting a load of useless dogma while we hit bottom of the league http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/21654283 he said how do you get points without performances,doing the right things.He also said he'd happily listen to anyone who could show him how to get points playing badly. it's all very well saying we want to get a win but it's more pertinent to ask how are we going to achieve our goal. ........basic fundamentals.......start by getting it right at the back and keeping clean sheets and the rest will follow. Remind me - how many clean sheets did we keep under SOD? SOD was an opportunity wasted. On the contrary, SOD wasted a great opportunity and it might be a long time before he gets a better one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bangkok Red Posted November 30, 2013 Report Share Posted November 30, 2013 Take the piss all you like but I would bet good money the next club he goes to will be promoted in his second full season there And you can speculate all you like but the facts suggest otherwise. SOD's last season at Doncaster and the pi$$ poor effort he made here suggest that he's a spent force as a football manager. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.