|
Post by Block 22 on Feb 20, 2024 12:46:17 GMT
I think the situation needs full context of all contributing factors to enable a manager to make the correct decision with regards to ill discipline at a Football Club.
I worked as a manager for a large, highly regarding technical company, when I joined, all of the fundamental structure in terms of policies, procedures, leadership and expectations was already in-place. Both in terms of the business and the existing staff knowing what was expected of them.
A couple of years ago, I moved to a smaller organisation that was very immature in terms of that structure. No policies, no leadership, no structure and staff ultimately did what they wanted. A few months into my new post I added that structure and laid down the 'non-negotiables' as Schuey would call them. Staff seemingly respected those expectations and new structure and there was a significant upturn in our output and service levels. However, over 50% of the staff, most of which were long timers that had become so used to working with no leadership, with no expectations secured jobs elsewhere and moved onto other roles. Looking at their profiles now, they made sideways moves and are all still working at the same level they had done for considerable time.
This is where the difference lies, in my role, I could literally get a job advert out within 10 minutes and be filling those gaps within a matter of days/weeks. In football, due to transfer windows, you can't just replace players mid-season. Regardless, we were diligent with our recruitment and employed individuals to match the newfound company ethos, people that lived and breathed the industry, not clock watchers or coasters that turned up at 9am bang on, did the bare minimum and had their bags packed to leave at 4:59. We've since gone on to grow by over 40% and are now recognised by industry recognised awards.
I totally agree that poor discipline needs action and a law needs to be laid down to prove that rotten behaviour is not acceptable and will be punished. But, I do think had I been forced to stick with the same staff for 4/5 months, until I could next fill the gaps, I would have approached the situation differently. I'd be a football manager if I could give you an easy answer to Schuey's predicament, because there isn't one. However, the reality is we are up shit creek without a paddle and desperate for goals and putting all your eggs into the 'behave or your out' basket, could, in SCFC's case, have disastrous consequences. Especially when we are so desperate for attackers regardless of their ability to perform. It's only going to have a negative impact playing players with limited experience or in unfamiliar positions from now until the end of the season when you compare it with the alternative. To be pragmatic and dynamic with your approach, get players who've 'served their time' playing in their natural positions on a Saturday at 3pm, is obviously going to give you your best shot.
If we do crawl over the line, which I really hope we do. Serious questions need to be asked from the top down. The recruitment process is obviously flawed and at the very least RM should be sacked to give us any chance of having a real go at top-half next season. For now, we just need to get behind Schuey and the team at any cost and pray that we have enough in the locker to see us through.
|
|
|
Post by Block 22 on Feb 18, 2024 10:12:57 GMT
It is, but you don’t pin the blame for not being clinical in attacking areas on your Left Back when Lowe, Cundle, Gooch, Baker and Laurent all did absolutely nothing. Thompson at least got in some threatening positions, decision making wasn’t great but let’s look at the players further up the pitch that did Zilch before we start blaming defenders. I’m not pinning it on him am I 🤣 You are saying he had a bad game based on his attacking ability. We wouldn’t blame Nathan Lowe for his defensive positioning if we didn’t keep a clean sheet.
|
|
|
Post by Block 22 on Feb 18, 2024 10:07:47 GMT
That isn’t Thompson’s problem. Criticise the manager for not playing attackers, yes, but Thompson played well and was not the reason we couldn’t score. Gooch, in contrast, in a more familiar role to his natural position was terrible. Played well!? His commitment is good and he works hard, but his passing is dreadful. I don't know how many times he misplaced passes during this game, and most of his crosses go behind the goal as well. I think he is a very limited player that really should play in a lower league, but I guess he is a cheap squad player so maybe not the worst signing after all. Anyway, he should never be picked in our best starting 11 unless we are down to bare bones. Yes, I thought he played well.
|
|
|
Post by Block 22 on Feb 18, 2024 10:01:49 GMT
That isn’t Thompson’s problem. Criticise the manager for not playing attackers, yes, but Thompson played well and was not the reason we couldn’t score. Gooch, in contrast, in a more familiar role to his natural position was terrible. It’s not his problem he can’t do what should be pretty simple for any footballer? Eh? Gooch was abominable agreed. It is, but you don’t pin the blame for not being clinical in attacking areas on your Left Back when Lowe, Cundle, Gooch, Baker and Laurent all did absolutely nothing. Thompson at least got in some threatening positions, decision making wasn’t great but let’s look at the players further up the pitch that did Zilch before we start blaming defenders.
|
|
|
Post by Block 22 on Feb 18, 2024 9:45:10 GMT
Yes, he started plenty of attacks down that side and looked to get our more technical players on the ball. The fact that our attackers didn’t deliver the goods he isn’t accountable for. We didn’t have any attackers on to start with. He got into good positions and his crosses were shite. That isn’t Thompson’s problem. Criticise the manager for not playing attackers, yes, but Thompson played well and was not the reason we couldn’t score. Gooch, in contrast, in a more familiar role to his natural position was terrible.
|
|
|
Post by Block 22 on Feb 18, 2024 9:31:11 GMT
He was excellent defensively, won all of his duels down that side and put us on the front foot for a lot of the attacks. So pretty much exactly what he is supposed to do in that role. We went on the front foot? Yes, he started plenty of attacks down that side and looked to get our more technical players on the ball. The fact that our attackers didn’t deliver the goods he isn’t accountable for.
|
|
|
Post by Block 22 on Feb 18, 2024 9:21:53 GMT
Whether you like it or not. Thompson had a really good game yesterday and as it stands is the best LB at the club. Did he? What did he do? He wasn’t bad but he didn’t play well. No one played well. He was excellent defensively, won all of his duels down that side and put us on the front foot for a lot of the attacks. So pretty much exactly what he is supposed to do in that role.
|
|
|
Post by Block 22 on Feb 18, 2024 9:14:46 GMT
Whether you like it or not. Thompson had a really good game yesterday and as it stands is the best LB at the club.
|
|
|
Post by Block 22 on Feb 17, 2024 21:12:38 GMT
John Coates has a degree in law and worked as a lawyer, you calling him a "village idiot" is clearly not factually correct. It's what i said it was, a childish insult. You say he was born into privilege but he was born in 1970, Peter Coates empire was barely started at that point, he didn't get his first betting shop for another four years. I could go on but that'll do for proving you're talking utter bollocks. He is certainly not a village idiot and in fact a very clever man by all accounts which makes it all the more baffling that he hasn't surrounded himself with people who know exactly how to run a football club and how to make it tick along nicely. This is the nail on the head for me. Clearly he isn’t stupid, but if he was truly intelligent he would acknowledge that our best chance of success is to employ experienced, proven, subject matter experts to run the show. You couldn’t run a successful technology business with only money if you had no clue about technology, you’d need a strategic technical expert to build the cornerstones of the company. Money and law degrees alone wont make this club successful. The facts are there to be seen. We need to stop being so small minded and work towards a model of employing proven experts in their retrospective areas. Employing Ricky Martin because he was pals with Alex Neil is a fine example of this small time mentality. Zero due diligence, just a tip off (a very bad one) from a manager who was currently in post at the club. Stop giving specific individuals too much power, run the club like an institution, where any member of staff can leave at any given moment and we still operate at the required standards to move forwards. Cliche, I know, but at the moment all we keep doing is spending fortunes on the roof tiles when we’ve not even done the groundwork to bed the foundations.
|
|
|
Post by Block 22 on Feb 12, 2024 14:32:46 GMT
You can have all of the money in the world, if you don’t have the intellect and strategy to run a football club, or employ people that do, you will go nowhere. Coates is a glowing example.
|
|
|
Post by Block 22 on Jan 14, 2024 14:33:16 GMT
I'm a bit stunned by some of the negativity, I thought we were excellent and controlled the game. Very impressive win today, never looked in trouble. Vidigal was a lot better. Controlled the game really well but didn't create a lot and that's our biggest problem. I agree we are struggling to create goal scoring opportunities but given the new gaffer has only just had his first full training week with the players I think there are more than enough signs that we don’t need to be splashing for the sake of it. There’s night and day difference between Schumacher’s Stoke and Neil’s Stoke.
|
|
|
Post by Block 22 on Jan 6, 2024 11:39:45 GMT
Welcome Dan. If you’re half as good as the last Danish stopper we had there will be a lot of happy Stokies You’ve forgotten who that is I presume. Which I’m very pleased for you for because it’s a very bad memory. Jakob Haugaard, of course…
|
|
|
Post by Block 22 on Jan 6, 2024 11:30:11 GMT
Welcome Dan.
If you’re half as good as the last Danish stopper we had there will be a lot of happy Stokies
|
|
|
Post by Block 22 on Jan 6, 2024 11:28:17 GMT
Performances do. Ultra negative under a manager who was scared of his own shadow. Hence relatively low goals conceded. I've never rated Pearson as highly as some do on here, before he signed and after. His performances have backed up my opinion 100%. Appears STS agrees with me. That's just excuses. We've conceded few enough for a playoff place, you can't get away from that. Also I disagree that he hasn't played well. He's been one of our most important players under AN. His form have dipped a bit recently, but nowhere near as bad as some nutters on here seem to think. But when we don't win, the same people get on here slating everyone including the janitor, not just Pearson. He's just the latest in the long line of boo boys, like Campbell, Laurent, Bonham, Rose, Hoever, Wilmot, Mmaee, Leris, Baker, and before that Brown, Tymon, Thompson (who's now improved in stance), Fox, Clucas, Bursik, Powell, Smith Allen, Chester, Baath, the list is endless. It's a bit early for saying STS don't rate Pearson. You might be right that he doesn't of course, but he's played, he's not been frozen out. I've seen no indication that he won't play - that's just in the heads of his haters. I agree with this. Pearson has been injured and suspended for most of Schueys time at the club. Why have people decided automatically he’s not going to be considered?
|
|
|
Post by Block 22 on Jan 4, 2024 18:23:59 GMT
Facts. He’s very good. I think some fans expect players to be perfect. We are Stoke and have been finishing low in the championship table. I’ll take a goalscoring winger over the players we’ve seen since we’ve come down. I think you need to change your username from sensible, to either thick or deluded. 5 goals (mostly against the bottom 4) and Zero assists. Relegation form players. Keep applauding it though and lapping up our bottom third finishes. Your lack of context is baffling and the comparisons you’re making are Oranges to Apples. No one is ever going to take your opinion seriously by firing insults when someone has a different opinion. As far as Andre Vidigal goes, and any other attacker we’ve signed, they shouldn’t be judged until Schumacher has had a while longer with them. It was pretty impossible for any attacker to flourish in the systems and tactics Alex Neil was serving up.
|
|
|
Post by Block 22 on Dec 19, 2023 19:04:50 GMT
A far better manager in Cooper becomes available and here we are pissing about with this risky manager who wasn’t having much luck at a smaller club. Cooper would’ve been fantastic! Feel like we’ve fucked it again. Have we ever had a manager that’s won the league with over 100 points? Regardless what level.
|
|
|
Post by Block 22 on Dec 18, 2023 21:46:27 GMT
Glad we got this one over the line
|
|
|
Post by Block 22 on Dec 18, 2023 21:19:32 GMT
Talksport are reporting that he has accepted and clubs are discussing compensation. No idea if it is true We’re past that mate. Expecting an announcement tonight or tomorrow morning at the latest.
|
|
|
Post by Block 22 on Dec 18, 2023 21:11:29 GMT
Has to be put into perspective with the team and budget from what were a League One team last season though. When they went up they lost just five games away all season and lost just two at home. Don't think it's fair to point to his away record this season in a new division with a small budget(compared to most in our league). He’s overachieving. Their expectations with their squad are to stay up.
|
|
|
Post by Block 22 on Dec 18, 2023 17:02:52 GMT
How is Schumacher like Jones? There must be thousands of managers who’ve only had 1 job/club up to yet. It doesn’t make them like Nathan Jones.
|
|
|
Post by Block 22 on Dec 18, 2023 13:08:18 GMT
pasoti.co.uk/threads/schuey-to-stoke-city.126090/page-16"They're bigger than Plymouth, but not massively so" "I wouldn't say bigger, just richer lol. Just the 62 seasons in the top flight to ZERO. Couple of decent seasons and they're getting delusional. It's an absolute no-brainer, 50 miles from Liverpool with one of the richest owners in British football. I hope we get him now just to piss those Cornish pastie eating wankers off. Bunch of delusionals.
|
|
|
Post by Block 22 on Dec 18, 2023 13:04:45 GMT
You’re going to fucking hate Schumacher🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 If he gets us playing gung ho attacking football, loses 4-5 every week and gets us relegated then damn right I'll hate Schumacher. And you will be the only one left at the ground gurning away at the wet dream fuck up you seem to want to happen. Thing is I don't have a problem with Schumacher because I don't think he's the fool you think he is and like every manager knows full well it's results that matter. It’s literally only you that has alluded to this gung-ho attacking football. Not one Stoke fan expects that. How about some of the basic niceties fans of almost every other club in the country get to see regularly. Scoring 2 goals in a game. Starting a football match with the intention of taking the game to the opposition. That dreaded stat of however many games it took us to score 3 goals. That dreaded stat of however many games it took us to come back and win from behind. Whether you like it or not, football is an entertainment sport. I can honestly say I have only been entertained a handful of times since we got relegated. I’ve only walked away from a match thinking we’d put on a really good, assuring performance in over 90 minutes. Winning games of football and playing an exciting, goalscoring brand of football are not mutually exclusive to one another. Some people think our only chance at success is to play like TP had us playing.
|
|
|
Post by Block 22 on Dec 18, 2023 11:33:31 GMT
One of them is a modern-day manager who wants to play fluid attacking football. The other wants to hoof it up from the back and settle for winning every game 1-0. Then I’d go interim until the end of the season in favour of the win every game 1-0. We’ve shown the last two games that to get any kind of point on the board we have to play ugly. Play fast progressive fluid football with this current team and defence, thrown in with half a dozen half arsed players (who won’t change one bit if some no mark league 1 manager walks through the door btw) and be prepared to get beat by 3s and 4s most weeks. The standard in this league is terrible. Look at West Brom yesterday and from the fair amount of championship football I’ve watched this season, bar Leicester and maybe Ipswich, there’s nothing to suggest there’s a much higher bar that needs to be hit. I’m not expecting peak Barcelona, just a manager with an enough idea and bollocks to know how to set us up to win a game of football rather than not lose. Plymouth won the league with over 100 points with a shoe string budget, playing good football along the way. I think you’re wrong about the current squad, I think they’re far better suited to playing good front footed football than they are playing direct and shutting up shop. The players we’ve signed have good technical ability and with someone who knows how to bring that all together there is absolutely no reason why we can’t finish top half comfortably this season. We only need a couple of wins over Christmas and we’re back around the top half. People are talking like we’re cut adrift at the bottom of the table or something.
|
|
|
Post by Block 22 on Dec 18, 2023 11:15:59 GMT
Honestly wouldn’t mind Schumacher at all. For me he’s a more exciting choice than Eustace or Mowbray. I'd have him for sure, but not really sure why some appear to be so anti-Eustace whilst being pro-Schumacher. There doesn't seem to be much between them as far as I can see. One of them is a modern-day manager who wants to play fluid attacking football. The other wants to hoof it up from the back and settle for winning every game 1-0.
|
|
|
Post by Block 22 on Dec 18, 2023 11:12:05 GMT
He is doing fine. As a caretaker manager he was never going to walk in and try to become the next Guardiola. He has taken a very pragmatic approach (to put it mildly), but that is not necessarily surprising bearing in mind that this is his first managerial gig and he has only had a handful of days to prepare for two games. It does nobody any good if he goes all guns blazing and we get a couple of spankings. He has steadied the ship and that will do. However, he is not going to be our long term solution and we need to appoint the new man as soon as possible. My comments were about Eustace. Not Gallagher, btw.
|
|
|
Post by Block 22 on Dec 18, 2023 10:45:20 GMT
Stoke fans obsessed with sentiment. He has very little experience and when you look at the statistics of his very little experience, they’re abysmal. Take the sentiment out of it, on statistics and playing style alone, had he not played for us, the idea of getting him in as manager would be unanimously rejected. He’s so far from what we need right now as a football club, especially with this group of players. It would be a terrible appointment. His playing style at Kidderminster was widely praised and his style at Birmingham last season was dire and pragmatic - which isn't a surprise given they were a poor side widely tipped to be relegated. I really don't get how many people ignore the fact that only last season he kept a team in danger of relegation in this league and that is a massive tick given where we are, It's almost like people are in denial that we are in a relegation battle and expect the new manager just to come in wave a magic wand and get us playing scintillating football at the top of the league this season. Get real - we are in a relegation battle and survival is the name of the game. Anyone who wants pretty needs to look away now. As to his appointment being unanimously rejected - no it won't. There are plenty on here who recognise our situation for what it is and appreciate what a good job Eustace did with a very poor side. I don't think anyone would have him down as first choice but in the circumstances a lot of people, me included, recognise we could do a lot worse. Gallagher is doing a decent job in the circumstances but has no managerial experience. If Eustace were to come in I can't see why he wouldn't keep Gallagher on board and build on his good work. With some of the other managers being touted that would be far less likely and result in yet more disruption. Any manager that comes in with this squad should be looking up the table not down. The league is absolutely shite, West Brom are in the play off places and they look bang average. I’ve watched other sides at the top of the league also, barring Leicester, who have a Premier League side, our squad of players is more than capable for a top half finish. All we need is a manager who wants to attack and win football matches and not a manager who’s going to come in and shit his pants playing to nick every game 1-0. Birminghams basket case situation last season vs us now are polar opposites. We shouldn’t be shitting ourselves and employing a steady, uninspiring, dull and defensive manager. We’ve a squad capable of top half easy. No one expects us to turn into Barcelona over night. At this point, just trying to win a game of football or even god forbid, try to score more than 1 goal a game without parking the bus would be a great start.
|
|
|
Post by Block 22 on Dec 18, 2023 9:28:00 GMT
I get it you want names. Big name manager, big name players. I just want goals. If we drop we drop and learn how to play positive football again. We’ll never get anywhere with this scared football of these so called names. I don't agree with that, this fresh young manager from lower things to an expectant fan base is a disaster waiting to happen. It's small club mentality (tin pot even). Get a manager that can meet the fans expectations if the club have ambition. We don't need to play roulette. It all stinks of wanting yes men for me. I've not seen another man at Stoke that wasn't one since TP In the last 15 years, I have lost count of the seasons we’ve been one of, if not THE lowest scoring team in the division. Even in the TP days and most certainly since relegation. Fans want a bit of excitement, match days have been boring for far too long. We’ve been plagued with boring, defensive, backs to the walls managers. The soul is gone from the club, the magic of match days. We need to appoint a modern coach, with modern ideas and an attacking philosophy. Not some village bike dinosaur that will continue to bore us to tears playing dull football and put us back another 12 months.
|
|
|
Post by Block 22 on Dec 17, 2023 21:24:08 GMT
Eustace has a managerial career though, Gods. You can’t just close your eyes and pretend it doesn’t exist. He only has 15 months at Birmingham City at football league level doesn't he? I think he briefly did non-league at Kidderminster before that perhaps. Stoke fans obsessed with sentiment. He has very little experience and when you look at the statistics of his very little experience, they’re abysmal. Take the sentiment out of it, on statistics and playing style alone, had he not played for us, the idea of getting him in as manager would be unanimously rejected. He’s so far from what we need right now as a football club, especially with this group of players. It would be a terrible appointment.
|
|
|
Post by Block 22 on Dec 17, 2023 13:04:50 GMT
After 10 games though. The league isn't formed at all at that point. Only 5 points or so off the relegation places at that point too. It's just not a lot to go on, is it? When the previous season had been a goal-a-game survivalball hard watch - even factoring in the fact the Brum board had washed their hands of it It doesn't matter how you go about avoiding relegation it's achieving it that matters. If Birmingham had started the season in another relegation battle then you might have a point but they didn't - the Birmingham board got starstruck and ditched a manager who was doing a good job for them for one that would up their media - which is what many on here are calling for. If recent record was the sole criteria Eustace would be the clear and obvious candidate. I'm not saying that should be the sole criteria or that Eustace is the best overall candidate but to say he isn't the right man given where we are is nonsense. 10 games is not a ‘record’ that’s the point. Like alluded to already, some of our fans have a weird obsession with players who’ve played for us, or have a history. He should be nowhere near the running. I’d rather keep Gallagher or even give Ryan Shawcross a go if we’re so intent on ‘keeping it in the family’.
|
|
|
Post by Block 22 on Dec 16, 2023 21:25:22 GMT
Mate he’s as dull as dishwater So how much time have you spent in his company and by the way what’s that got to do with anything. Actually it has quite a lot to do with things considering he will be managing our players.
|
|