Is Keates Good Enough?

#222

I would take out the end of the 15/16 where he was in charge of a team that “managed itself”.

That side may have “managed itself”, but it was not managing itself very well when Sean O’Driscoll was in charge. Under O’Driscoll we played 16, won 6, drew 5 and lost 5. Whitney deserves full credit for his work in renewing our promotion challenge, with P12, W8, D1, L3 up to the end of the season getting more points per game than Smith did during the season.

I think that it is really sad how such a dedicated and loyal servant of the club, who had been a hugely successful physio for 12 years, was treated by the fans.

#223

I agree to a point. I think he knew the 15/16 group very well and knew exactly how they individually and collectively ticked. O’Driscoll patently didn’t. That said, the players were hardly clamouring to play for him the following summer.

To my mind we got those two appointments completely the wrong way round.

But he lost some good faith with his “if you jumped off the bandwagon, don’t expect to be allowed back on” when some fans were a tad miffed early in his first full season when we let a 3-0 lead at home to Bury slip. Fans who had also been loyal to him over a long period of time were very quickly described as “bandwagon” jumpers.

But he got a far tougher ride than Keates is now getting and that isn’t fair. We were disappointed with a draw at Blackpool about this time last year. This year, against a Blackpool side that didn’t appear much better, we would have seen a draw as a fine result.

Whitney was an inexperienced manager out of his depth. Keates is an inexperienced manager out of his depth.

#224

Dobson was signed by JW but other than that you have got it right.We paid fees for Ferrier,Gordon,Norman and Scarr and some of the others will not have come cheap e.g. Martin and Jarvis. It is nonsense to say he hasn’t been backed and the money we have spent could have been spent better as you say on 4 or 5 decent League one players with one or two back up loans. That would also have allowed space for some of the many younger players we have to be on the bench and get some minutes on the pitch.
Clearly there will be a massive clear out in the Summer whatever happens and I have my doubts whether DK is the man to carry out yet another rebuilding.

#225

I still say back to back wins changes everything, unfortunately its now at the stage where that would have to be the next two games for me. A look at March’s fixtures doesn’t exactly ease the relegation fears. DK himself said, and I think everyone knew that after the poor run we had from October onwards, February was always going to be key, so far its been shocking, and only 7 points from the remaining three fixtures will put us on the minimum return we would have been looking for at the start of the month.

#226

And what will we be able to attract in place?
The wheel just keeps turning and the rent keeps getting paid.

#227

Well that will be down to the Manager. I don’t accept that we cannot be competitive in this League irrespective of the rent as 2015/16 showed but we do need a shrewd and competent Manager.

#228

Agree with all of that WalsallOne but to just call for a massive clear out in the summer as if it will put things right is just an emotive knee jerk reaction that every fan of every club not doing as well as they think should be will be saying.
The good players available will always go for the money and that will always put us at the back of the queue and as usual scrapping around for the left overs.
Serious change from the top down needs to happen for this cycle to be broken.

#229

That’s one season out of 12 since we came back from League Two though.

Can we have any faith in Bonser and co. identifying, or more importantly, attracting a “shrewd and competent manager”? Since Colin Lee went we have hired 10 managers, only Money and Smith can be considered successes.

Good managers want to be paid well and they also want to move to a club with ambitions that meet their own and will provide them with the funds to achieve those ambitions. Fat chance of that here.

#230

I am not calling for a massive clear out . I am just saying it will happen. It is inevitable when you look at the list of players we have…some signed by JW (mainly youngsters) and some signed by DK. To be fair to DK he has signed a number of players on 2 or 2.5 year deals . Whether they are good enough is another matter. Only time will tell.

#231

I agree with most of that…it is time for change but will it happen? if it doesn’t JB will be appointing the next Manager and I hope he goes with someone who is experienced at our level.

#232

I agree, and Richard Money decided that he could not make a success in League One with our budget.

Changing the manager is putting someone new in charge of re-arranging the deckchairs on the Titanic, while Captain Bonser is steering the ship.

#233

I think we are now so high on the football grapevine of places to avoid that we would struggle to attract a decent bog cleaner.( i know, i know )
Crap penny pinching owner, crap falling to pieces stadium, crap money, crap matchday atmosphere. (Left Deano off this for the moment).
What decent manager/players in there right mind would come here except well past its looking to extend there league careers before non league becomes the last refuge, or average kids/journeyman non league players and hope one comes good, who will grab any chance offered to get into league football.
We are now in such a sorry state as a football club that i seriously think we will struggle to even have a clear out as at the end of the day we have to put some kind of a team out albeit a crap one.
Any semblance of pride has vanished as has been well and truly sucked out of the club, and with the Bonser`s going nowhere i really do fear for the future of Walsall FC.

#234

Strangely enough Dickie Dosh is sitting @ home scratching the bits you scratch when you got nothing better to do after leaving the Monkey Hangers just a few weeks ago.

How about Keates and Money working together ( old head and young head ) and get rid of the Andy Davies & John Ward who seem a total waste of money

#235

From wiki:

On 11 December 2018, Money was appointed as the new manager of Hartlepool United.It was later announced on 23 January 2019 that Money was to take a senior role overseeing football matters strategically and that first team duties were to be passed onto the club’s director of football and former manager, Craig Hignett. After just five days in the role, Money departed the club after being verbally abused in a fish and chip shop.

What on earth happened?

#236

Maybe DD was just leaving a busy fish shop in a rush to scoff his chips and forgot to wave on the way out

Think its still a hanging offence in Hartlepool

#237

Can’t see that happening. Too many strawberries were shat on when he left.

#238

He is just a strange guy, anyone else would have just given it back and thought no more about it, he was the same at Walsall, he used to listen to the window lickers sitting behind the dugouts, I don’t think that he realises that every club has fans that are intellectually challenged,but they make up about 10% of the contingency, but for some reason he thought it necessary to listen to them and engage in arguments?instead of just taking it for what it was, and letting it go over his head.I think that I have posted this before but one of the funniest reactions from a manager was when Colin lee told my mate he would wait for him outside and kick his fat arse around the carpark :joy::joy::joy: after he had criticized him for the loss at home to Sheffield Wednesday.

#239

WE pay them? for what?

#240

Always amazes me when there is criticism of the backroom staff. Particularly somebody like John Ward who has enough about him to withstand multiple managerial changes including one of his own.

We see very little of their direct work and even that is under Keates’ direction. The book stops with him.

#241

Please show us what this amazing ‘backroom staff’ do on a Saturday/Tuesday when Keates wanders about like a little boy lost?