But Carson isn't pulling on his shorts and hoofing the ball upfield. Dave Allen isn't getting by-passed in midfield.
Gateshead really did lose their squad in the close season and still won 0-3 ...........
DA and AC are to blame for the atmosphere at the club, but MA is totally to blame for the poor management in evidence. Yes maybe he's been at it too long ....... but Justin Edinburgh is top ...... same generation as Allen, lots of experience, been round the block, struggled last season .........
We've come down from the EFL bemoaning the inexperience and naivety of our last two managers. Now we've got loads of experience and you're not the only one saying that's a bad thing. He's out of date. Gary Caldwell and Jack Lester certainly weren't out of date, but they couldn't win a game or recruit a half-decent player. What do we want?
Five teams in our division have older managers. Then Tim Flowers, Paul Doswell, and Andy Hessenthaler are very much the same generation, within a couple of years. Certainly there are young managers like Luke Garrard, Matthew Bates, Sam Ricketts, Darryl McMahon, Harry Wheeler, Ian Evatt and Brad Quinton - all under 40. The rest are 40 somethings, not many with a record of success, that would have led you to jump for joy at their appointment. Jamie Fullarton (44) got Halifax off to a flyer, how long did he last at Notts County as manager, was it 12 games? Steve Watson got the chance to take over a team which barely existed, with no management experience. Would we have jumped at him? Graham Alexander (mid 40s) lots of experience, bursts of exciting success, interspersed with longer-term failure ..... we'd have said okay, but there wouldn't have been any street parties. Challinor at Fylde, doing fine, but could we pay more than them and why opt for increased stress? A young man like Matthew Bates, doing well at Hartlepool, but he got that chance because the club fell apart? Would he have been a runner for us ....... even if he's on course to be the next Brian Clough? And then there's Sutton, whose manager Paul Doswell is an amateur who sponsors them and bought their artificial pitch and who is just a bit younger than MA. We'd have loved his money, but would we have let him run the team?
So we want someone young, but not totally inexperienced like our beloved Jack Lester. We want someone with up-to-the-minute ideas whose plans aren't so obscure that an experienced player like Sam Hird ends up shouting to the touchline to ask what the hell is going on ........ a la Caldwell. We want someone who is focused on winning matches, but who plays football the way the crowd wants (even though what the crowd wants seems to change with the wind). We want him to be a good communicator who explains what he is doing and why. We want him to care ......... We don't want someone embarrassing. And of course he has to be able to cope with the bizarre internal politics of a club in freefall, not irritate the owner, maintain a distance yet foster a working relationship with AC and still be liked and trusted by the fans.
I'm kind of edging towards Benedict Cumberbatch, but I'm worried about his apparent absence of interest in football. Or we could go for Matt Smith, best Dr Who since John Pertwee, used to be on Leicester City's books in his youth .... popular, personable ......
Gateshead really did lose their squad in the close season and still won 0-3 ...........
DA and AC are to blame for the atmosphere at the club, but MA is totally to blame for the poor management in evidence. Yes maybe he's been at it too long ....... but Justin Edinburgh is top ...... same generation as Allen, lots of experience, been round the block, struggled last season .........
We've come down from the EFL bemoaning the inexperience and naivety of our last two managers. Now we've got loads of experience and you're not the only one saying that's a bad thing. He's out of date. Gary Caldwell and Jack Lester certainly weren't out of date, but they couldn't win a game or recruit a half-decent player. What do we want?
Five teams in our division have older managers. Then Tim Flowers, Paul Doswell, and Andy Hessenthaler are very much the same generation, within a couple of years. Certainly there are young managers like Luke Garrard, Matthew Bates, Sam Ricketts, Darryl McMahon, Harry Wheeler, Ian Evatt and Brad Quinton - all under 40. The rest are 40 somethings, not many with a record of success, that would have led you to jump for joy at their appointment. Jamie Fullarton (44) got Halifax off to a flyer, how long did he last at Notts County as manager, was it 12 games? Steve Watson got the chance to take over a team which barely existed, with no management experience. Would we have jumped at him? Graham Alexander (mid 40s) lots of experience, bursts of exciting success, interspersed with longer-term failure ..... we'd have said okay, but there wouldn't have been any street parties. Challinor at Fylde, doing fine, but could we pay more than them and why opt for increased stress? A young man like Matthew Bates, doing well at Hartlepool, but he got that chance because the club fell apart? Would he have been a runner for us ....... even if he's on course to be the next Brian Clough? And then there's Sutton, whose manager Paul Doswell is an amateur who sponsors them and bought their artificial pitch and who is just a bit younger than MA. We'd have loved his money, but would we have let him run the team?
So we want someone young, but not totally inexperienced like our beloved Jack Lester. We want someone with up-to-the-minute ideas whose plans aren't so obscure that an experienced player like Sam Hird ends up shouting to the touchline to ask what the hell is going on ........ a la Caldwell. We want someone who is focused on winning matches, but who plays football the way the crowd wants (even though what the crowd wants seems to change with the wind). We want him to be a good communicator who explains what he is doing and why. We want him to care ......... We don't want someone embarrassing. And of course he has to be able to cope with the bizarre internal politics of a club in freefall, not irritate the owner, maintain a distance yet foster a working relationship with AC and still be liked and trusted by the fans.
I'm kind of edging towards Benedict Cumberbatch, but I'm worried about his apparent absence of interest in football. Or we could go for Matt Smith, best Dr Who since John Pertwee, used to be on Leicester City's books in his youth .... popular, personable ......