Is Keates Good Enough?

Perhaps they are silent because they haven’t a clue as well!!

1 Like

For all those who have decided that Keates is not good enough, can they please not start abusing him, booing him, or chanting for his dismissal?

It was awful to see the way that Jon Whitney was treated when things were not going well. Whitney had been a brilliant and loyal servant for the club for 14 years, he was doing his best and giving the job everything. He was not making a success of it, but being manager of a low spending club in League One is not easy. Most managers’ careers end in failure and the sack. Whitney certainly did not need to be ridiculed and demeaned in the way that he was.

Keates gave everything when at Walsall as a player, and is doing the same now. He should be supported by the fans while he is still in charge.

We know that players, managers and their families read social media. Perhaps they should not, but while we are entitled to express our opinions and criticise, there is a big difference between criticism and abuse.

16 Likes

Well said Bernie, couldn’t agree more

2 Likes

Everybody is entitled to there opinion . He has had no grief at all up to now its up to him to sort it out . Deano knows how it works . He will will be given more time as one of our own and I hope to god it works out . But at the end of the day he has been backed as much as possible in my opinion. Fans are starting to get restless and he Walsall legend or not he will get abuse if things don’t improve. That’s football I’m afraid.

1 Like

Never a Whitney or Hutchings fan but if they where in charge now they would be getting absolute pelters from all angles for our recent form.Dean is getting a bit more patience because of who he is and his connection to the club which i understand i have not criticised him so far but things are getting worse and you cant keep blaming Bonser for everything that happens on the pitch.

6 Likes

Yes killer agree. We all want him to succeed but you can only take so much. I think the next 3 games are vital as to weather the fans back him or turn against him.

1 Like

Is he good enough long term? I don’t know.

Has he been good enough so far? No.

Do I want him to stay and succeed. Absolutely. He has my support 100%. That doesn’t mean I won’t criticise him though. He’s made a lot of mistakes.

7 Likes

At this very moment in time , no he certainly isn’t good enough. Constant poor tactical decisions , poor signings, lack of player development, the list is building and could see us relegated.

Only time will tell if he ever will be.

Why do people bring up Whitney when talking about Keates?

Whitney was crap. Keates is floundering but still less than a year in charge…

I think we will see Bonser’s resolve in the next few games. I wouldn’t put it past him to sack him if we lose at Blackpool, and then at home to Wimbledon. We would most likely be in the relegation places under that scenario…

That said, there have been some good performances in this run - so there is a glimmer of hope.

Dean, however, needs to be ruthless and sack off Devlin, Guthrie, Leahy, and Osbourne.

1 Like

No, not good enough. Not yet at least.

But can we not revert to the kind of outlandish vitriol disgorged upon Whitney? Not every club is prone to such spasms of wobbling when the going gets tough. I’m afraid we have become cast from the same disfigured mould as the Molineux imbeciles.

Things we’ve learned:
Dean Smith was a good manager and those who so vociferously called for his head have utterly devalued their credibility.
Smith leaving was a blow from which we’ve yet to recover.
Whitney wasn’t all that bad then.
Keates is at best a work in progress and potentially not ready / good enough.

Rochdale was a big game, but there are still plenty left. Will we survive? We have the players to carve out more than enough wins, but it depends both on how they are used and motivated.

5 Likes

Saturday was the first time I questioned Keates, just after we went 2-1 down and didn’t ever look like getting back in it. I think a couple more defeats on the bounce and as Thanatos said he could be sacked.

However he has a couple of things in his favour that Whitney didn’t - an excellent previous managerial stint at Wrexham, and cult status (Whitney served the club with distinction but in a different way) - plus potentially more good than bad signings, something that’s always been hit and miss at WFC!

I desperately want him to succeed, and at this moment in time that unfortunately means nothing more than avoiding relegation - we have to now accept that. Whether Keates is good enough is going to take longer than this season to establish, and hopefully that means we’ll know the answer in League One (and not Two) next season.

5 Likes

Why the comparison? Because it’s an obvious one and a fair one. This time last season, Whitney was suffering vitriolic abuse and was eventually hounded out of the club after many years of fantastic service, and yet after 30 games he had achieved more points and an infinitely better goal difference. I’m really pleased keates isn’t getting that abuse and I hope he never does but it’s fair to say he’s not doing a good job as manager and actually achieving less than someone we sacked. Now I would certainly be arguing for giving him much more time if it looked like we were heading in the right direction and he had a plan to improve us but, right now, it looks like the opposite.

And someone mentioned his much better record on signings. Personally, I love that he’s using non league to pick up some players, we’ve all gone on about it for years, but if we want to talk his success with signings, I give you… Wilson, Johnson, Fitzwater (shadow of the player he was last season), Ferrier (who’s going backwards), Ismail, Osbourne, Ronan, Dunn and, best of all, Martin. Against those, cook has been a roaring success, ginnelly was a good one and some of the new ones have potential.

3 Likes

You know what’s genuinely sad for me? If Keates was sacked tomorrow I wouldn’t actually care. I don’t want it to happen, but if it did I wouldn’t lose my ■■■■. He’s been poor for months and months. I’m not saying it’s time for change, far from it. But my lack of enthusiasm for all aspects of the club is overwhelming and quite frankly, sad.

8 Likes

You’re right, it’s turning into a miserable, predictable cycle. The hope for that one good season is what drives supporters of clubs like Walsall, but I’m losing hope of seeing another '94-95, '98-99 or even a '15-16.

1 Like

It’s breaking my heart. Personally I have got more out of this football club than just the football. But I cannot keep investing hundreds and hundreds of pounds on a hobby which is becoming a chore.

2 Likes

I understand why you’re saying that Simon but I do think we’ll have those seasons again but, unfortunately, that won’t be under keates. Whitney was the wrong long term appointment after Smith and keates even more so. But the chairman does manage to conjure up a gem now and again and it will happen.

2 Likes

I admire your optimism, Shrops!

I didn’t say it would be at this level :wink:

1 Like

So if you’d have asked me;

After the first 10 games - Yes abso-bloody-lutely. We are unspectacular, concede a number of chances, but most of the goals are coming from mistakes and we look solid…

After the last 10 games - Hmmmm - I think he doesn’t know his best 11, he’s choosing experience over effectiveness (Dobson and Kinsella - Osbourne)

I think he needs to sit in the stands for a game and look at the shape of the team, its so disjointed.

2 Likes

I want him to be more than anyone, but its looking less and less likely. Most of the performances ive seen this season have been largely awful, without being effective. Always a bad sign.