The New Manager Thread

[Guest]

Wasn't that you who said that you'll bet your house in Martin O'Neil becoming our manager?

Sorry, meant to quote Cream.

[Craig_H]

Dww, i've read loads from yourself and Reece about who you dont want, but i dont recall hearing who you ARE keen on.

I'd be quite interested. If you can keep it to within 500 words

[Craig_H]

Wasn't that you who said that you'll bet your house in Martin O'Neil becoming our manager?

No mate, it wasnt me.

I own a flat, for a start, not a house

I could see him becoming our manager, but i dont have such emphatic confidence on it happening that i'd bet a house that i dont own, never mind one i did.

[Maxiedge]

It's going to be another long term process starting from scratch again. There is no quick fix in football and I think this will be a massive kick in the teeth of those who advocated for his departure. The manager who will come in will want his stamp on things and there are going to be a lot of departures on the playing side, of that I am certain. We won't be challenging for honors for at least 3 years as I am expecting a mass exodus and a rebuilding process.

Had a couple of days to think of this

I think if we could get a manager like Rijkaard or Van Gaal (unlikely) , I don't see any reason why we can't start challenging sooner and no need for a mass exodus.

However, I think it's unlikely we'll get a big European name and that's why I've been advocating a slightly different approach which would be for Bilic. I'm also a bit disenchanted with football at the moment and I think Slaven would add that human touch the game needs.

[badpiggy]

Dww, i've read loads from yourself and Reece about who you dont want, but i dont recall hearing who you ARE keen on.

I'd be quite interested. If you can keep it to within 500 words

no way will that sort of potentially unlimited speculation that actually doesn't require a definitive conclusion come in under 500 words. better chance of starting a fight at a james taylor concert.

[Craig_H]

I agree, if we get a good replacement and the majority of the key players remain, we'll be there or thereabouts in terms of getting back into the top 4.

[Exiled_red]

Hodgson is also a strange choice from those who claim that Rafa is too rigid and want attacking football. His style is similarly possession based and in the two top leagues he has managed in he has struggled to move beyond that. He could be a good man to come in and prepare the squad for another manager to come in and finish the progression (much as he did at Inter) I suppose.

Also people make it sound like his time at Inter indicates he has handled big name stars but I'm pretty sure he was there just before that era.
He could do a very good job, but it won't be in the way many people wanted when they talked of Rafa being replaced when he was still in job.

I think there is a danger however of over simplifying the idea of man management - just because van Gaal is thought of as a disciplinarian doesn't mean that his way of doing it would not be more compatible with some players than others. Despite many people's misgivings it is clear that Reina and Mascherano are very loyal to Rafa.

At Inter he didn't have all the star players. About his time at Inter from wikipedia:

Inter Milan
Before the European Championships, Hodgson joined Italian Serie A giants Inter Milan, where he worked from 1995 to 1997. He presided over a rebuilding phase. Inter had finished 13th and 6th in the seasons prior to his arrival. After a terrible start to the season, Hodgson was brought in and guided the club to a 7th place finish in the 1995–96 season, qualifying for the UEFA Cup. The 1996–97 season saw Inter finish 3rd and reach the 1997 UEFA Cup Final, losing on penalties over two legs. Hodgson says of his time at Inter, "We lacked stars, apart from Paul Ince. It wasn't the Inter we see today of household names. They weren't the best technically but physically they were like machines. The Premier League is like that now, but back then Italy was far ahead."[4] The side Hodgson built would go on to win the UEFA Cup in 1998 and finish runner-up in Serie A under his successor, Luigi Simoni.

The comment about not being the best technically but being like machines sounds familiar...

[dww]

Dww, i've read loads from yourself and Reece about who you dont want, but i dont recall hearing who you ARE keen on.

I'd be quite interested. If you can keep it to within 500 words

I was in the early vanguard of people wanting Pelligrini (in fact I'm pretty sure I was the first to mention him when Rafa was sacked). Like Reece I can see plus points for Flores. The only worries I have about them is the problems that they might having adapting their methods to the physical preparation needed to compete in the PL.

I'm not sure there are any stand out candidates available to be honest. I'm anti-Redknapp and O'Neill but beyond that I think many of the targets being mentioned are much of a muchness - I'm not necessarily against them I just think that the cases made for them ignore many of the less positive points they possess.

[kris90210]

i find it strange that people criticise rafa for being a distant disciplinarian then want van gaal.

people critisie rafa for not producing free flowing attacking football and want maureen.

I dont know who i want.

what do we want?

do we want to win the league?

do we want to win the champs league in the next few years?

do we want a good academy and young players coming through meaning we dont need to spend loads on players?

do we want free flowing attacking football? (not sure why this is the liverpool way as apart from kenny in the very late 80s and maybe uncle roy have we been a free flowing club we tend to be very efficiant and destroy like last half of last season under rafa.


for me the question is what we want and then we can choose a manager who we think will deliver those aims?

We obviously want all of those things. Ultimately no one would give a **** about Rafa's approach if he was getting results. Take Capello for instance. Identical ethos and yet at the moment he can do no wrong. No one mentions his relationship with the players.

Personally, I would like to see a proven manager come in. Someone who would employ an attacking style. Van Gaal ticks the boxes for me. I quite like the fact that he is an abrasive character.

Of the people linked with the job so far, he has the greatest pedigree. Would be a bit of a coup if we managed to bring him in.

[dww]

Seeing as I'm commenting one thing I think was notable in Europe this season was that the English teams were no longer the fittest - Bayern in particular looked to be a lot fitter that the PL teams. Which I guess is a plus point for van Gaal should we be able to tempt him away from the most cash rich club on the continent.

[Guest]

Had a couple of days to think of this

I think if we could get a manager like Rijkaard or Van Gaal (unlikely) , I don't see any reason why we can't start challenging sooner and no need for a mass exodus.

However, I think it's unlikely we'll get a big European name and that's why I've been advocating a slightly different approach which would be for Bilic. I'm also a bit bored of football and I think Slaven would add that human touch the game needs.

What will change though, apart from having a new manager and a yes man? The levels of funding will be the same and there will be no chance of us competing with the likes of Man. City, Chelsea, Man. Utd and Spurs.

Torres, Gerrard and Mascherano would want guarantees that we will compete next season and I'm fairly sure that at least two of them would be pissed off that Rafa has gone (not Gerrard obviously).

Sacking Rafa was the least progressive thing because 1) they only gave him a 5 year contract only last season after giving him the power to oversee a complete restructure of the Academy 2) he was the only one who could rectify quickly from last season's debacle simply because he knows the club inside out already, which wouldn't be the case for a new manager.

In short, I think we're set for a massive rebuilding job, possibly starting from scratch.

[Exiled_red]

If we're looking at British & Irish managers as a number of people are suggesting there aren't too many around, who are either good enough or would come.

The best two are Ferguson and Moyes neither of whom would come so they can be ruled out. The only other real contenders IMO are Redknapp, O'Neill and Hodgson. The rest Hughes, Bruce, Allardyce, McClaren ... etc. aren't good enough.

The more I think about the 3 the more Redknapp seems to edge above the others, but the question is are there more suitable candidates elsewhere?

[Guest]

I agree, if we get a good replacement and the majority of the key players remain, we'll be there or thereabouts in terms of getting back into the top 4.

But our key players won't remain because they will know that we're in for a massive restructuring job. The new manager will have to first understand how the club functions, from top to bottom, then manage the expectations which would be something totally knew for him.

I can't see Steven Gerrard staying, he's the most likely to go. If he goes, Torres is gone too.

[badpiggy]

I was in the early vanguard of people wanting Pelligrini (in fact I'm pretty sure I was the first to mention him when Rafa was sacked). Like Reece I can see plus points for Flores. The only worries I have about them is the problems that they might having adapting their methods to the physical preparation needed to compete in the PL.

I'm not sure there are any stand out candidates available to be honest. I'm anti-Redknapp and O'Neill but beyond that I think many of the targets being mentioned are much of a muchness - I'm not necessarily against them I just think that the cases made for them ignore many of the less positive points they possess.

Seeing as I'm commenting one thing I think was notable in Europe this season was that the English teams were no longer the fittest - Bayern in particular looked to be a lot fitter that the PL teams. Which I guess is a plus point for van Gaal should we be able to tempt him away from the most cash rich club on the continent.

just under 200 and we're down to 3...

[Maxiedge]

What will change though, apart from having a new manager and a yes man? The levels of funding will be the same and there will be no chance of us competing with the likes of Man. City, Chelsea, Man. Utd and Spurs.

Torres, Gerrard and Mascherano would want guarantees that we will compete next season and I'm fairly sure that at least two of them would be pissed off that Rafa has gone (not Gerrard obviously).

Sacking Rafa was the least progressive thing because 1) they only gave him a 5 year contract only last season after giving him the power to oversee a complete restructure of the Academy 2) he was the only one who could rectify quickly from last season's debacle simply because he knows the club inside out already, which wouldn't be the case for a new manager.

In short, I think we're set for a massive rebuilding job, possibly starting from scratch.

Yeah absolutely. I have my doubts about tactical managers coming in as they would want the time and rebuilding you mentioned. That's why I'm 100% the name I mentioned but I don't think many on here are to be honest. There's also a few managers who seem to have this chameleon like knack of doing well wherever they go (Van Gaal and Hiddink) but I don't think we'll get either.