Didn’t I literally just say most of the work they do is both not seen directly and all a product of Keates instruction anyway?
Agree with El Nombre here. How can anyone know if they’re good or bad (albeit id guess the latter).
Same when Whitney is held up as an amazing physio… who actually knows that?
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We’ll, as a physio, his work with Osbourne and Manton for a start. Both were looking like they might not play again and he coaxed them both back to football. Add in the fact that hamstring strains and similar injuries were ridiculously rare when he was in that role, a sign that players were looked after properly. I don’t think there is any question that he is an excellent physio and also, under Smith, a really important piece of the success as our performance coach. Whitney would lead a lot of coaching sessions and was always responsible for getting players ready in the warm up.
However, I do agree with the main point in that we can never quite be sure whether backroom staff are doing a good job or not and it will be determined, to a large extent, by the role given to them by the manager. Smith was always one to give staff and players some freedom of expression in the role. We see no evidence of that on the sidelines at the moment, with only keates standing up and nobody at all animated.
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You can have the best backroom staff money can buy , but if the leadership is not right it will never work.
It’s unfair to suggest some of these guys aren’t talented , we lack facts.
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Exactly MAZZA…how anyone of us can criticise those who run all our teams from the under 8s up to the development squad is beyond me.We just don’t know do we ? My guess is that like any other organisation we will have a mixture of abilities and skills. The end results over the past 2 years have been disappointing as far as material for the first team is concerned but if the youngsters have found gainful employment and are good characters we have done some good.
Agreed , we also need to take into account that these guys are trying to coach sub standard players.
Another good point Mazza.
To be fair how do we know that? They are never given a chance. Outside of Kory Roberts, who was signed, and Liam Roberts, who looked a brilliant prospect when he first broke into the side and has since gone backwards none of them are.
Cockerill-Mollet perfect example. I wasn’t overly impressed when I saw him preseason but he’s got recognition for his performances in all of the youth teams. He plays at left back and we so lacked the confidence to give him a go that Keates sent him out on loan and went with one left back! we literally had to play Luke Leahy for most of the season no matter what happened. Fast Forward to January, I couldn’t even tell you where CM is at the moment. But Keates (or I still suspect The Club) have gone with a nice bloke who played well for us for a bit but can’t get into Forrest Green Rovers side as competition for Leahy rather than our own talent.
And these endless loans, people say ah well they are getting game time. Yeah in the conference and below. I’m sorry but how does that prepare you for league one football. Andy Cook has taken the best part of 10 years to develop into a football league player in the conference, is that the kind of time frame we are looking at?
Mitch Candlin was on Englands radar not that long ago and got a loan move to the championship based on nothing but youth team football.
I can’t help but feel that the talent is being squandered rather than isn’t there at all.
Nail and head there…CM is at Chasetown with Vann until the end of the season. Vann was player of the month in December but they are both doing well. Whether they will be retained in anyone’s guess.
Chasetown though? ■■■■■■■ Chasetown? I’ve had mates that have played for Chasetown. How on earth is that preparing them for league one?
CM is an under 19 international and he’s playing at Chasetown…
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Yep …like you I do wonder what we are doing!!! If that is his level you have to ask why did we give him a 2 year deal along with Vann and some others.
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In answer to the original question.
Nowhere ■■■■■■■ near.
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Very few people would be.
Exxactly. The way the club is “run” means it’s a poisoned chalice for any wannabe manager. We’ve been standing still and repeating “well run club” too long, and everyone else is laughing at us as the run by. There’s been no evolution at WFC since the Sunday Market was introduced. Nothing has changed, nothing will, until Uncle Jeff walks away. So, never, in other words.
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Firstly, call me an idiot and clueless but I’m not buying into this blaming the board, there are faults and issues there but that cannot be the route cause of the issue on the pitch. Blackpool have similar issues but are fighting for the play offs…
Secondly, I’m putting am aside any playing days affiliation with Keates. Whether he was the legend in various promotions and the player who won us a league title or are Judas who buggared off to Peterborough. His playing days are over and it’s time to judge Dean Keates the manager…
It’s clear something has happened to this team following the opening ten games. You don’t go from a team who look to have the ability and hunger to beat anyone to a team who can’t string two passes together and losing to the rock bottom side…? That can only be blamed on something to do with the playing side…
This is also Keates’s squad, he’s had the opportunity to get rid of dead wood he doesn’t want from the Whitney reign and being in his own players. And arguably he’s been backed in doing so financially (at least more than previous managers).
I can’t point the finger anywhere other than Keates on this assessment…
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I would guess someone with Premier League experience had been signed. It failed, terribly, so this mess now is direct consequence of severe mismanagement. But on the other hand, first Whitney, now Keates. Club lost part of its identity in the process.
We need an experienced manager until the end of the season, and hope we get 4/5 wins with a bit of basic organisation. Irrespective of how good or bad individuals are we had a team for 2 months that was greater than the sum of its parts, fought for one another, and picked up results. We need two more months of that, and not even to the extent we did back then. Dither and we are certainly down, especially with the fixtures in late March.
And personally I would go for Paul Hurst.
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Deano trying to boost the players’ confidence ahead of the run in after tonight’s defeat…
“We are free-falling and we will be considered everybody’s favourites to go down even though we are eighth from bottom and there are seven teams below us”.
Great, and apparently, “It’s confidence, confidence and momentum are massive in football”.
No “Steve Gritt” Sherlock, which is why it was utterly ludicrous banging on about staying up when we’d just had our best ever start to a third tier season. Maybe make some attempt to keep that momentum? Further build that confidence??
Unbelievable. Not just assasinating Deano, and picking on his every word, but it seems to me that its him that lacks belief and confidence. Both in himself and the players. I reckon the whole “get 53 points and its success” mantra was just a ploy so that when we got 55 the season could be declared better than expected and therefore “i’m a success too”.
Its the old tell your wife you’ll be in at 11, then turn up with a bag of chips at 10.45 and she won’t notice you’ve been out all day with your mates routine…just in football management terms.
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Couldn’t agree more mate.
Nay, nay and thrice nay.