Twelve Months On....

[tully]

We are fast coming towards the 1st anniversary of the "Magic" Johnson regime, and have we made any REAL progress as a football club during that time??

Admittedly only five games have been played of this current season but i've already got a horribly flat feeling about events so far. So many things that were bad about last season are rearing there ugly heads once again:-

1. Unsettled team line-ups - the manager spent all of pre-season "finalising his best eleven" for the first game - then proceeds to change the so say "best eleven" every game since. including using a player (McAllister) who did no pre-season with the team, and was by his own admission not match fit, and he ends up in the starting eleven in game three!!

2. Manager talking bollix! - "Cole was happy to play there" following his awful treatment of Cole Skuse vs Blackpool! Of course he was happy to play there he's hardly going to ask to be dropped so that Lee Johnson could be shoe-horned into the team.

3. Pending court events. I'm not sure if this is really having any effect on individuals though it rumbles on unwantedly in the background.

4. A losing run. Four straight losses; and the Blackpool game in particular bringing back the memories of those dark days last Sept/Oct/Nov. Yes its "early days" but we were promised a team that had been prepared to "hit the ground running", "looking to make fast starts in home games" etc etc.

I really hope GJ gets the team moving in the right direction. Yes he saved us from what was looking like probable relegation last christmas, however as the likes of Colchester and Southend getting promoted proved, it was the weakest 3rd division for some years.

I have reseravtions about his "ethics". I have a real problem with anyone who, decides that they are unable to work with players of the calibre of Bridges, Wilkshire and Stewart in this poxy division. Yes he has brought in his own players, but are they Gary Johnson players that he is comfortable with, or are they really players that are going to gel into a team worthy, at least of a top six place this season??

[Southport Red]

I have reseravtions about his "ethics". I have a real problem with anyone who, decides that they are unable to work with players of the calibre of Bridges, Wilkshire and Stewart in this poxy division. Yes he has brought in his own players, but are they Gary Johnson players that he is comfortable with, or are they really players that are going to gel into a team worthy, at least of a top six place this season??

A manager in any other industry has to get the best out of his employees, irrespective of personal feelings etc. I wish I could just ship people out and buy new ones in just like that. In the real world, you have to get inside people's heads, treat them as individuals and help them minimise weaknesses/play to their strengths.

REAL management is not about 'showing them who is boss' but is about getting the very best out of everyone in the team/department/division etc, irrespective of personal issues. To this extent football managers do not live in the real world, you cannot put your ego first all the time (are you istening Jose?). It is GJ's job to maximise the output of those at his disposal, this is why, in my eyes, his handling of Phillips, Stewart, Bridges (& Wilkshire for all I know) has been very poor. It is not about showing them whose in charge but getting results from them.

By the way, are we still blaming Tinnion for all this? (just so I know)

[WTFiGO!?!]

A manager in any other industry has to get the best out of his employees, irrespective of personal feelings etc. I wish I could just ship people out and buy new ones in just like that. In the real world, you have to get inside people's heads, treat them as individuals and help them minimise weaknesses/play to their strengths.

REAL management is not about 'showing them who is boss' but is about getting the very best out of everyone in the team/department/division etc, irrespective of personal issues. To this extent football managers do not live in the real world, you cannot put your ego first all the time (are you istening Jose?). It is GJ's job to maximise the output of those at his disposal, this is why, in my eyes, his handling of Phillips, Stewart, Bridges (& Wilkshire for all I know) has been very poor. It is not about showing them whose in charge but getting results from them.

Your point has got me thinking about why I have such tremendous respect for the likes of Bobby Robson and John Ward - he treated all the players like his very own babbies - even Shaun Taylor!

But.....to counter the point, Fergie, Cloughie and even Jose - hardly un-bullish in their treatment of players but all very successful.

I think if you do approach things the Johnson way and it doesn't work people have no sympathy, take Graham Souness or Tony Pulis as examples, where as the good guys errr (say) Stuart Pearce, people will. But hey, it's not about people is it?

I think if Johnson does ever establish us as a Championship team us fans aren't particularly going to care for his man-management style are we?

[bh_red]

I have reseravtions about his "ethics". I have a real problem with anyone who, decides that they are unable to work with players of the calibre of Bridges, Wilkshire and Stewart in this poxy division.

very harsh, neither Stewart or Bridges had done anything last season prior to getting drop/released and bridges hasn't exactly set the world alight this season

as for wilkshire he didn't have a problem with wilkshire at all, just a case that we couldn't afford to keep him after his performances at the world cup, didn't matter who was in charge, he was off