Podcast 8pm

I've just watched the Pod through after an enjoyable Valentine's Day evening, far removed the phhhht feeling hanging in the air from that shambles last night. I agree with Raggy's summary of the Fan engagement meeting, which was a strange affair indeed. There is a lack of excitement and ambition about our great club at the moment that you can touch and feel. It really feels like we are going through the motions. Like for like subs on 70 minutes if you will..... The official minutes didn't reflect a number of things, including the fact that both MSG and BST (yes) voiced a wish to see true and fair representation. This wasn't minuted, but believe me it was said. Let's face it, most fans don't want to be a member of anything. Most fans don't see the need for any organised or even informally constituted group/s to represent their views - unless maybe there is a true crisis to respond to, creating a need circle the wagons - like during the boycott. Do those fans deserve any less of a say in their ambitions for our club? Of course not. We are all Blackpool fans. The unaffiliated might even have the best ideas, but without a voice, those ideas will be lost and existing and future future Blackpool supporters will be lost as people give up and drift away.

After all we've been through, we find ourselves at something of a crossroads as a club. Do we slip back to being comfortable somewhere in the lower reaches of Div 1 or worse, on crowds of 4, 5, 6 or 7 thousand, or do we actually push for where we should be - as stated by the club's representatives at the fan engagement meeting - competing in the upper levels of the Championship? This season has probably slipped away from us, but in it's own way, now is every bit as critical a moment for Blackpool Football Club and its fans as the boycott. We can't just assume everything will be alright. We and the club need to re-find the passion.
 
Love Raggy, great speech he gave there.

Sadly all the evidence seems to point to SS not sharing his ambition, I keep going back to Appleton's first interview, he's just got the job and the first thing he comes out and says is that we over-achieved, like he was laying down the expectation that in all likelihood we were going to unable to sustain the success of the previous 2 seasons.

At the time I put it down to Appleton being Appleton, but think about it - that attitude must have been endorsed by the board. If I have just gotten a managerial position at a firm coming of a quarter of record success and after meeting the owner and outlining our plans for the next year I come out and say "eyy lads, we need to be realistic here, this success is unsustainable" i'm not saying that unless my new boss has validated that position.

It's incredibly deflating and the polar opposite of the attitude Ian Holloway rode to the unprecedented success of 2009-12, football has sadly changed for the worse since then but you've gotta inspire people and there isn't much inspiration coming out of the club right now.

Raggy is right though, we love Simon Sadler for what he's done and if we need a few years of consolidation to build to a point where we can dream of regular championship football then so be it, but more open and honest communication is needed.
 
But why does Sadler have this mindset. I still think he bought the club with the best of intentions admitting he knew nothing about running a football club and it turning into a bit of a nightmare for him.

If the rumours are true, and he reads this board and other social media then I am sure it is going to bother him. If this is the case he should be avoiding social media and just getting on with it.

It’s all gone so flat and boring so quickly after he took over I think that was the last any of us expected and ts really disappointing when we should still be on the crest of a wave. At the end of the day, taking back Critchley was a mistake and it hasn’t worked and isn’t going to work so the best thing he can do is get rid and stop these ridiculous 4 year contracts, after the way Critchley behaved last time I would have given him 12 months and told him prove you are worth longer (I wouldn’t have employed him at all).

Sadler has put a lot of money into the club, particularly in off the field staff and analytical Support and for me we haven’t seen the results from them that merits their cost. The club is also terrible at communicating with the supporters and you feel that Sadler sees the supporters as the enemy and we’re not, but the odd sound bites we do get are defensive and closed or things like the Critchley interview with Sadler which was just cringeworthy, and the dossier business just goes to show all these algorithms and chucking data is just a load of total bollocks and is the same as doing one of these questionnaires in a magazine to find out who your perfect match is. Just get out there and speak to managers, if you want someone like Wellens then go and get him, stop being so “nice” and stop taking on managers who the supporters are obviously going to be unhappy with, don’t fight your supporters, listen to them.

So I would get rid of Critchley, put Debbie in as caretaker with Thommo and Eardley and tell them they have the job until the end of the season but you will be actively looking for a new manager but if they do well between now and the end of the season they will be in with a very strong chance of getting the job permanently. If they don’t then we get a new manager.
 
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hertfordseasider said:
But why does Sadler have this mindset. I still think he bought the club with the best of intentions admitting he knew nothing about running a football club and it turning into a bit of a nightmare for him.

If the rumours are true, and he reads this board and other social media then I am sure it is going to bother him. If this is the case he should be avoiding social media and just getting on with it.

It’s all gone so flat and boring so quickly after he took over I think that was the last any of us expected and ts really disappointing when we should still be on the crest of a wave. At the end of the day, taking back Critchley was a mistake and it hasn’t worked and isn’t going to work so the best thing he can do is get rid and stop these ridiculous 4 year contracts, after the way Critchley behaved last time I would have given him 12 months and told him prove you are worth longer (I wouldn’t have employed him at all).

Sadler has put a lot of money into the club, particularly in off the field staff and analytical Support and for me we haven’t seen the results from them that merits their cost. The club is also terrible at communicating with the supporters and you feel that Sadler sees the supporters as the enemy and we’re not, but the odd sound bites we do get are defensive and closed or things like the Critchley interview with Sadler which was just cringeworthy, and the dossier business just goes to show all these algorithms and chucking data is just a load of total bollocks and is the same as doing one of these questionnaires in a magazine to find out who your perfect match is. Just get out there and speak to managers, if you want someone like Wellens then go and get him, stop being so “nice” and stop taking on managers who the supporters are obviously going to be unhappy with, don’t fight your supporters, listen to them.

So I would get rid of Critchley, put Debbie in as caretaker with Thommo and Eardley and tell them they have the job until the end of the season but you will be actively looking for a new manager but if they do well between now and the end of the season they will be in with a very strong chance of getting the job permanently. If they don’t then we get a new manager.
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I'll listen to he podcast later.
Picking up from what's been mentioned on the thread and forgetting the most important issue for the moment, which is the team's performance on the pitch, a pet subject of mine is communication which gets a mention again.
I actually had a go at Karl about this on both occasions when I met him which of course he ignored. It's actually no better though sadly.
I do fully appreciate the many, many things that Simon has done for Blackpool FC since he became it's custodian communication doesn't feature heavily.
I know his background is a world where secrets are King but that doesn't have to apply to the business where he is the custodian looking after "our" club.
This whole issue of fan engagement is because we have very little engagement. There is very little unpropmpted communication from Simon, the Board or any of the Clubs senior executives. I'm not saying a statement should be issued every time we enter into contract negotiations with a player but we could have a monthly update from the Board telling us what going on behind the scenes, the non-confidential stuff, where we are up to with planning permission, etc. We don't even have a staff directory on the Club's website ffs.
If everything that does goes on wasn't such a big secret fan engagement wouldn't be such an issue.
Rant over.
 
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SS is first and foremost a fan who has grown up supporting the club. It really shouldn't need an impassioned plea by Raggy to understand the fans, our history and just how good a match day experience can be by providing the right product. He really, really, really should know all that and after the Oystons regime what the fans are after.
 
I think it is crystal clear that there is an absence of experienced football league know how in the building and if we don't change that, nothing will change. The likes of Stephen Dobbie and Neil eardley do have a fair bit of that, as players. But SD turned down the opportunity to work with NC last summer. So we either need to change our head coach, or bring someone in to work with him, which he won't be keen on. Sadler shouldn't just sit on his hands, he was adamant NC was the best man and he needs to accept that he isn't very good at choosing head coaches and find a better way to go about it. Independent dossiers obviously don't work.

The Oystons were actually much better at it. Karl even was, and he hated football and wasn't interested in the football side at all. So it's about instinct, i guess. I reckon it helped that his policy was to break even with zero family investment. It meant everyone knew exactly where we stood and there was no fear of losing money and very little expectation. Holloway reeerse psychologised the whole situation to turn it into a positive. 20 blokes on a windy desolate training pitch with wheelie bins, against the world. With a 5m pot of gold over the rainbow. At the moment, we look capable of beating anyone on our day, even premier league Forest. But we look capable of losing to anybody, on ots of other days. So I think the problem is largely mental, not about team selection or formations. We have a pretty passive group of players, and NC is unable to get them firing on a regular basis. We need more character on the coaching staff, and more character on the grass.

edit: We will no doubt go and beat Posh on Saturday now, huge reaction - And I am sure SS is praying for that to happen. More likely, draw or lose at Posh, then beat them tuesday to reach Wembley. The players seem to self motivate. Or not.
 
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voyeur said:
I think it is crystal clear that there is an absence of experienced football league know how in the building and if we don't change that, nothing will change. The likes of Stephen Dobbie and Neil eardley do have a fair bit of that, as players. But SD turned down the opportunity to work with NC last summer. So we either need to change our head coach, or bring someone in to work with him, which he won't be keen on. Sadler shouldn't just sit on his hands, he was adamant NC was the best man and he needs to accept that he isn't very good at choosing head coaches and find a better way to go about it. Independent dossiers obviously don't work.

The Oystons were actually much better at it. Karl even was, and he hated football and wasn't interested in the football side at all. So it's about instinct, i guess. I reckon it helped that his policy was to break even with zero family investment. It meant everyone knew exactly where we stood and there was no fear of losing money and very little expectation. Holloway reeerse psychologised the whole situation to turn it into a positive. 20 blokes on a windy desolate training pitch with wheelie bins, against the world. With a 5m pot of gold over the rainbow. At the moment, we look capable of beating anyone on our day, even premier league Forest. But we look capable of losing to anybody, on ots of other days. So I think the problem is largely mental, not about team selection or formations. We have a pretty passive group of players, and NC is unable to get them firing on a regular basis. We need more character on the coaching staff, and more character on the grass.
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Our expectations were a lot less and I don't accept that the Oystons were much better than SS at choosing managers.

Oyston took over 1986/87 promotion 1992 after going through 3 managers.

SS takes over 2019 Promotion couple of years later .

So comparing the timeframes under SS we have been better

"During the long years of Oyston ownership, Blackpool were relegated into the fourth tier in 1990, promoted via the play-offs in 1992,"

Stop comparing SS to OO its not on. Compare the two after 30 years.
 
AngelBFC said:
Our expectations were a lot less and I don't accept that the Oystons were much better than SS at choosing managers.

Oyston took over 1986/87 promotion 1992 after going through 3 managers.

SS takes over 2019 Promotion couple of years later .

So comparing the timeframes under SS we have been better

"During the long years of Oyston ownership, Blackpool were relegated into the fourth tier in 1990, promoted via the play-offs in 1992,"

Stop comparing SS to OO its not on. Compare the two after 30 years.
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SS has chosen Larry, Critch, Appleton, Mick, Critch. One out of five success rate.

KO appointed McMahon, Hendry, Grayson, Parkes, Holloway. 4 out of 5 success rate and a lot of excellent football. Then the club went into meltdown.

Stop telling people not to talk about the past. Nothing is ever 100% bad or 100% good. I detested the oystons from the outset, the empty chair bollocks, the Whyndyke chicanery, but I don't think every single aspect was bad. SS is a far better person but he seems to lack judgement.
 
voyeur said:
SS is a far better person but he seems to lack judgement.
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Sadler just isn’t a “people person”. I could tell that when all that stuff about his ranty work emails came out and it shows in his selection of managers and also his open letters to fans, and possibly why he is so close to a beige method man like Critchley. He is well meaning and probably is involved in things regularly but from afar via his appointed people but it often doesn’t have the desired effect. He is singularly uncommunicative but also vague.

KOKO was singularly uncommunicative but also very clear with his objectives (money preservation) could be a nice enough bloke when it wasn’t about money or football, and he could spot a disaster or someone who could do something for him easily and by and large left them to it. He had a lot of success that probably wasn’t warranted.
 
clappers said:
Sadler just isn’t a “people person”. I could tell that when all that stuff about his ranty work emails came out and it shows in his selection of managers and also his open letters to fans, and possibly why he is so close to a beige method man like Critchley. He is well meaning and probably is involved in things regularly but from afar via his appointed people but it often doesn’t have the desired effect. He is singularly uncommunicative but also vague.

KOKO was singularly uncommunicative but also very clear with his objectives (money preservation) could be a nice enough bloke when it wasn’t about money or football, and he could spot a disaster or someone who could do something for him easily and by and large left them to it. He had a lot of success that probably wasn’t warranted.
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Agree.
 
voyeur said:
KO appointed McMahon, Hendry, Grayson, Parkes, Holloway. 4 out of 5 success rate and a lot of excellent football. Then the club went into meltdown.
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Over 13 years. SS has owned the club less than 5. In the first 5 years the record is comparable. One promotion and one relegation both.

No probable with comparisons as long as they are fair.

Dont just jump on this bandwagon that Oystons were good at appointing managers and SS isnt. Think about what you are saying and back it up properly you cant just cherrypick.

The Oystons appointed plenty of duds and SS has appointed a few too. When he's been in charge as long as them you can compare properly.
 
AngelBFC said:
Over 13 years. SS has owned the club less than 5. In the first 5 years the record is comparable. One promotion and one relegation both.

No probable with comparisons as long as they are fair.

Dont just jump on this bandwagon that Oystons were good at appointing managers and SS isnt. Think about what you are saying and back it up properly you cant just cherrypick.

The Oystons appointed plenty of duds and SS has appointed a few too. When he's been in charge as long as them you can compare properly.
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I'm not comparing the whole thing, I'm comparing the selection of managers. I'm not saying the oystons were better owners or club managers. I'm saying that karl made a series of good appointments when he took over in spite of his attitude to the fans and the club, and in spite of how he behaved and how he refused to spend on the squad or washing machines or whatever. I'm simply saying he had a better gut feeling for who might make a good head coach for the club than SS seems to have. On other criteria, SS wins hands down. It's possible that his fear of seeing millions of pounds evaporate feeds into his 'safe' approach that keeps backfiring. We've oonly done well for one spell since he took over, under one coach. He seems totally averse to appointing any sort of unknown quantity, of assessing whether they may have the skills and personality to succeed. KO didn't worry about that and mad some good calls on a gut basis, I think. I'm sorry if that offends you or anybody else.
 
voyeur said:
I'm not comparing the whole thing, I'm comparing the selection of managers. I'm not saying the oystons were better owners or club managers. I'm saying that karl made a series of good appointments when he took over in spite of his attitude to the fans and the club, and in spite of how he behaved and how he refused to spend on the squad or washing machines or whatever. I'm simply saying he had a better gut feeling for who might make a good head coach for the club than SS seems to have. On other criteria, SS wins hands down. It's possible that his fear of seeing millions of pounds evaporate feeds into his 'safe' approach that keeps backfiring. We've oonly done well for one spell since he took over, under one coach. He seems totally averse to appointing any sort of unknown quantity, of assessing whether they may have the skills and personality to succeed. KO didn't worry about that and mad some good calls on a gut basis, I think. I'm sorry if that offends you or anybody else.
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Ok we've now gone from the Oystons to just Karl Oyston.

Lets look at that then .

Karl Oyston became chairman in 1999.

Appoints Steve McMahon 1999 we get relegated and then we get promoted 2004 McMahon leaves.

Same period of ownership SS takes over 2019 -2024 . One relegation one promotion.

Why is Karl Oyston so much better at appointing Managers ?

Nothing what you have said has offended me personally i just think its unfair to compare SS to KO even if its on the very narrow issue of managers . SS hasnt had as much time which is why the comparison is unfair.
 
I can't believe people are comparing SS to the Oystons. We were condemned to 30 years of lower league shit with very little prospect of that changing until Belekon came along. There were some good managerial appointments (aided by Bingham and Jimmy Armfield) and some average and some poor like most other football clubs. Managers knew where they stood, the usual one year rolling contract, take it or leave it. Any player who showed any promise was sold for the usual 250k release clause apart from Brett (the lack of any of that 1.8M re-invested in the team was a sign of things to come). Everything was done on the cheap, the groundsman who was a milkman, players washing their own kit, the "Stadium" rusting away!

I'm not saying SS is perfect, nobody is, but he has invested millions in the team and infrastructure of the club. The costs of running a football club even at Lg1 level have spiralled in the last five years given Brexit and Covid. With hindsight we were probably ahead of schedule and not ready for the Championship but you take it and do the best you can. Which we did but it is difficult to sustain that and compete especially with the vultures circling to pick off your best players and your Head Coach.

I agree with what Raggy said on the podcast, he is passionate but also has a clarity of thought that is compelling. All that putting fans into catagories, over 65, minorities and LBGTQ bollocks really misses the whole point of a football club. It is about all the fans and the players and pulling in the same direction. If the Head Coach thinks it's just about him, clever formations and systems of play then he is not only stubborn he is foolish. Yes, I would like the club to communicate in a more open way. PR and the timing of it is not their strong point but I don't think anything they could say would make me feel any better after that shit show the other night.

If the cost of running Blackpool FC has become too much for SS then I would hope he would sell to the right person or people. I would be very surprised if he would signal that to anyone in advance because that would weaken his bargaining position and I would n't expect there to be a long queue knocking on his door.
 
AngelBFC said:
Ok we've now gone from the Oystons to just Karl Oyston.

Lets look at that then .

Karl Oyston became chairman in 1999.

Appoints Steve McMahon 1999 we get relegated and then we get promoted 2004 McMahon leaves.

Same period of ownership SS takes over 2019 -2024 . One relegation one promotion.

Why is Karl Oyston so much better at appointing Managers ?

Nothing what you have said has offended me personally i just think its unfair to compare SS to KO even if its on the very narrow issue of managers . SS hasnt had as much time which is why the comparison is unfair.
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5 managers each seems a fair comparison to me. The oystons were terrible - try to understand what i am saying. It certainly isn't that the oystons were better than SS. But SS has been very poor so far in terms of appointments. If he doesn't improve he will lose a lot more money and we will wallow in L1 feeling more frustrated.

McMahon operated in very difficult circumstances - you are still comparing the whole thing, which is not what i am saying. McMahon was a good coach who did a good job in the circumstances. He got us close to the play offs in L1 before he left - I suspect KO was keen for us to stay in L1, and didn't back him when he needed it. We actually saw some good football, and won three times at Wembley in a short space of time, despite all the Oyston tightness and obnoxiousness. Grayson was an excellent appointment, first time - gut instincts from KO, who saw his potenrtial when he was coaching the reserves, doing Dobbie's job.

Bob Hatton said:
is the podcast still streamed on You Tube?
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See the OP!
 
Mark_GT said:
I've just watched the Pod through after an enjoyable Valentine's Day evening, far removed the phhhht feeling hanging in the air from that shambles last night. I agree with Raggy's summary of the Fan engagement meeting, which was a strange affair indeed. There is a lack of excitement and ambition about our great club at the moment that you can touch and feel. It really feels like we are going through the motions. Like for like subs on 70 minutes if you will..... The official minutes didn't reflect a number of things, including the fact that both MSG and BST (yes) voiced a wish to see true and fair representation. This wasn't minuted, but believe me it was said. Let's face it, most fans don't want to be a member of anything. Most fans don't see the need for any organised or even informally constituted group/s to represent their views - unless maybe there is a true crisis to respond to, creating a need circle the wagons - like during the boycott. Do those fans deserve any less of a say in their ambitions for our club? Of course not. We are all Blackpool fans. The unaffiliated might even have the best ideas, but without a voice, those ideas will be lost and existing and future future Blackpool supporters will be lost as people give up and drift away.

After all we've been through, we find ourselves at something of a crossroads as a club. Do we slip back to being comfortable somewhere in the lower reaches of Div 1 or worse, on crowds of 4, 5, 6 or 7 thousand, or do we actually push for where we should be - as stated by the club's representatives at the fan engagement meeting - competing in the upper levels of the Championship? This season has probably slipped away from us, but in it's own way, now is every bit as critical a moment for Blackpool Football Club and its fans as the boycott. We can't just assume everything will be alright. We and the club need to re-find the passion.
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Well said. I agree with all you and Raggy ( on podcast) said. An extra ( valid) point made was that we are not hearing from Mr Sadler and the good point that a lot of people will not be represented- they probably don’t want to be and therefore meetings should be available to all reva live stream
 
voyeur said:
5 managers each seems a fair comparison to me. The oystons were terrible - try to understand what i am saying. It certainly isn't that the oystons were better than SS. But SS has been very poor so far in terms of appointments. If he doesn't improve he will lose a lot more money and we will wallow in L1 feeling more frustrated.

McMahon operated in very difficult circumstances - you are still comparing the whole thing, which is not what i am saying. McMahon was a good coach who did a good job in the circumstances. He got us close to the play offs in L1 before he left - I suspect KO was keen for us to stay in L1, and didn't back him when he needed it. We actually saw some good football, and won three times at Wembley in a short space of time, despite all the Oyston tightness and obnoxiousness. Grayson was an excellent appointment, first time - gut instincts from KO, who saw his potenrtial when he was coaching the reserves, doing Dobbie's job.


See the OP!
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my work PC has restricted mode enabled so I cant see the OP screen - just a black block - hence the question
 
voyeur said:
5 managers each seems a fair comparison to me. The oystons were terrible - try to understand what i am saying. It certainly isn't that the oystons were better than SS. But SS has been very poor so far in terms of appointments. If he doesn't improve he will lose a lot more money and we will wallow in L1 feeling more frustrated.

McMahon operated in very difficult circumstances - you are still comparing the whole thing, which is not what i am saying. McMahon was a good coach who did a good job in the circumstances. He got us close to the play offs in L1 before he left - I suspect KO was keen for us to stay in L1, and didn't back him when he needed it. We actually saw some good football, and won three times at Wembley in a short space of time, despite all the Oyston tightness and obnoxiousness. Grayson was an excellent appointment, first time - gut instincts from KO, who saw his potenrtial when he was coaching the reserves, doing Dobbie's job.


See the OP!
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McMahon - Got us promoted .
So did Critch .
Grayson you say "an excellent appointment" by Koko. Also employed by SS.
What are you actually arguing here ?
 
It probably should be acknowledged that it's a lot easier for a fan to be massively ambitious than it is for an owner. And a fans has zero accountability. SS has spent a lot of his own money, tried various head coaches, paid some off, paid for a lot of support staff and managers and made plans for a new stand and a new training ground, as well as improving the current stadium and training ground. Could Raggy or Phil or Andy Grice or anyone else have done all that? I'm not having a pop at them, their views are valid, just saying let's be reasonable and appreciate that actually being the owner is very different from imagining being the owner.

H'e's been let down by people, I don't doubt, and he's struggled in identifying the best people for some roles, it would appear. But recruitment isn't a simple task, and it certainly doesn't amount to phoning Thommo or Holloway or Gary Bowyer. Get it wrong and you are back peddling and losing money. Your own money, if you are SS.
 
Were we in a better shape when Mansford was here? I think we were. He wasn’t popular with some but we seemed to go downhill after he left. Could it be that he was the driving force?
 
Cardboardshinpads said:
Were we in a better shape when Mansford was here? I think we were. He wasn’t popular with some but we seemed to go downhill after he left. Could it be that he was the driving force?
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I get the feeling there is only one person who makes the decisions at the club, it's more like a Dictatorship!
 
Westby said:
Well said. I agree with all you and Raggy ( on podcast) said. An extra ( valid) point made was that we are not hearing from Mr Sadler and the good point that a lot of people will not be represented- they probably don’t want to be and therefore meetings should be available to all reva live stream
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Great points. We asked for minutes of the meeting to be public and live streaming of future meetings right at the start of the meeting. We got the minutes though our amendments to the club's draft were not included this time. We will see what happens re live streaming and full disclosure 👍
 
voyeur said:
5 managers each seems a fair comparison to me. The oystons were terrible - try to understand what i am saying. It certainly isn't that the oystons were better than SS. But SS has been very poor so far in terms of appointments. If he doesn't improve he will lose a lot more money and we will wallow in L1 feeling more frustrated.

McMahon operated in very difficult circumstances - you are still comparing the whole thing, which is not what i am saying. McMahon was a good coach who did a good job in the circumstances. He got us close to the play offs in L1 before he left - I suspect KO was keen for us to stay in L1, and didn't back him when he needed it. We actually saw some good football, and won three times at Wembley in a short space of time, despite all the Oyston tightness and obnoxiousness. Grayson was an excellent appointment, first time - gut instincts from KO, who saw his potenrtial when he was coaching the reserves, doing Dobbie's job.


See the OP!
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Regarding Grayson first time round, maybe Koko saw him as a cheap option and just got lucky?
 
Victorsponge said:
Regarding Grayson first time round, maybe Koko saw him as a cheap option and just got lucky?
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To some extent certainly, he always went for the cheap option. But he sacked Hendry to appoint Grayson, and I reckon he at least had an inkling he was better suited than Hendry. Like i said before, his whole policy was based on minimum cost and no caring about success, so he could take risks that Sadler seems terrified to make. Some luck involved, no doubt.
 
voyeur said:
To some extent certainly, he always went for the cheap option. But he sacked Hendry to appoint Grayson, and I reckon he at least had an inkling he was better suited than Hendry. Like i said before, his whole policy was based on minimum cost and no caring about success, so he could take risks that Sadler seems terrified to make. Some luck involved, no doubt.
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And don’t forget Koko employed Tony Parks which was actually a fluke of genius. You can here the conversation between him and Matt

MW hey Karl, I was just thinking, Tony Parks would make a cracking assistant to young Simon

KO it will cost money, I think it’s a terrible idea

MW but we have to get rid of this stash here and he’s cheap

KO “Cheap” you say? Hmmm, we do need to offload that, okay…. Do it!
 
voyeur said:
To some extent certainly, he always went for the cheap option. But he sacked Hendry to appoint Grayson, and I reckon he at least had an inkling he was better suited than Hendry. Like i said before, his whole policy was based on minimum cost and no caring about success, so he could take risks that Sadler seems terrified to make. Some luck involved, no doubt.
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To a degree, the psychology of sporting success is about not caring about failure. I love how England play cricket now. It's about chucking away fear and enjoying the game. It's kind of odd to cite Karl in the same breath as a 'bazball' philosophy, but in a perverse way, the fact he wasn't really arsed about anything but balancing the books at all gave a kind of freedom where some success happened.

He did also appoint Worthington (or was that Vicky?) and Hendry and they were some eras of some ** awful football to be honest so lets not give him too much credit.
 
td53 said:
To a degree, the psychology of sporting success is about not caring about failure. I love how England play cricket now. It's about chucking away fear and enjoying the game. It's kind of odd to cite Karl in the same breath as a 'bazball' philosophy, but in a perverse way, the fact he wasn't really arsed about anything but balancing the books at all gave a kind of freedom where some success happened.

He did also appoint Worthington (or was that Vicky?) and Hendry and they were some eras of some ** awful football to be honest so lets not give him too much credit.
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Worthington was before Karl. Are we going to wangle Kazball into the avftt lexicon? I'm up for it.

I think managers put up with KO cos the flip side of the nonsense was that he had no expectations and left them alone to get on with it, albeit in massively under resourced circumstances! The pressure and hassle of most manager jobs was absent. Think of Macca's carefree total football period. We knew it was the best we could hope for, it was kind of fun, and there was no foul mouthed twitter mob kicking off every time we lost a couple! Holloway clearly thought the regime helped him do his job the way he wanted to. The evil bastard...
 
voyeur said:
Worthington was before Karl. Are we going to wangle Kazball into the avftt lexicon? I'm up for it.

I think managers put up with KO cos the flip side of the nonsense was that he had no expectations and left them alone to get on with it, albeit in massively under resourced circumstances! The pressure and hassle of most manager jobs was absent. Think of Macca's carefree total football period. We knew it was the best we could hope for, it was kind of fun, and there was no foul mouthed twitter mob kicking off every time we lost a couple! Holloway clearly thought the regime helped him do his job the way he wanted to. The evil bastard...
Click to expand...

Kazball lol.

There's definitely a sense at the moment that it's not 'fun' - Critch looks irritable and tired. The players look robotic and uninspired.

I think we need someone to go in and go 'Lads, this is a ** football club! - it's mental, we all get paid to do football?! How mad is that? Lets enjoy it for fucks sake. No point moping around with our heads up our arses'

That doesn't mean everyone loses discipline or it's about the squad going on benders or owt. It's just about a culture where we encourage the enjoyment of the game as that encourages all the positive things we want to see in the players. Coaching is great, coaching is important, but players playing with a bit of verve and self determination will always be the best outcome. Right now, I can't see past the coaching. I can't see players making decisions.

Morgan is about the only one I've looked at this year and thought 'he's got noticeably better'
 
td53 said:
Kazball lol.

There's definitely a sense at the moment that it's not 'fun' - Critch looks irritable and tired. The players look robotic and uninspired.

I think we need someone to go in and go 'Lads, this is a ** football club! - it's mental, we all get paid to do football?! How mad is that? Lets enjoy it for fucks sake. No point moping around with our heads up our arses'

That doesn't mean everyone loses discipline or it's about the squad going on benders or owt. It's just about a culture where we encourage the enjoyment of the game as that encourages all the positive things we want to see in the players. Coaching is great, coaching is important, but players playing with a bit of verve and self determination will always be the best outcome. Right now, I can't see past the coaching. I can't see players making decisions.

Morgan is about the only one I've looked at this year and thought 'he's got noticeably better'
Click to expand...
To the people sat near me in the South I said our football is like painting by numbers…very structured,boring and not much fun/ Flare…
 
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