I didn't see anything of your performance last night and you do have to take into account that PNE are proving amazingly capable of stopping anyone and everyone playing, which I never would have imagined would be in the wildest reaches of their manager's abilities, but your worries about Fotheringham haven't surprised me at all. Was it after his first or second game in charge that he made a statement about not being in the job to be the players' friend?
Very few people perform better out of hatred or fear. There have been examples, like Jock Wallace at Leicester, where a team full of young players were so terrified of their manager they would run the legs off any opposition rather than face his anger in the dressing room, but even Alex Ferguson realised that an arm around the shoulder could sometimes be more effective than a public bollocking.
Young Camara in midfield is a seriously good player, but last season with Russell alongside O'Brien you had incredible work rate and perceptive passing. In a tight division losing that alone would be a massive swing of fortune, but you've lost your raiding wing back, Lees is now performing as he was at Wednesday before you got him, Ward's mojo was never really going to last and even Sorba Thomas and Nicholls have experienced dips in form and confidence. The situation is close to a crisis and is being demonstrated in every area of the pitch. It is going to require intelligent, creative and thoughtful solutions in which everyone at the club can enthusiastically share. If all you've got at the top is bombast, "creek", "paddle", "without a" and " up shit" will quickly form a phrase. I hope that, unlike Liz Truss, Fotheringham has more to bring to the table.
Very few people perform better out of hatred or fear. There have been examples, like Jock Wallace at Leicester, where a team full of young players were so terrified of their manager they would run the legs off any opposition rather than face his anger in the dressing room, but even Alex Ferguson realised that an arm around the shoulder could sometimes be more effective than a public bollocking.
Young Camara in midfield is a seriously good player, but last season with Russell alongside O'Brien you had incredible work rate and perceptive passing. In a tight division losing that alone would be a massive swing of fortune, but you've lost your raiding wing back, Lees is now performing as he was at Wednesday before you got him, Ward's mojo was never really going to last and even Sorba Thomas and Nicholls have experienced dips in form and confidence. The situation is close to a crisis and is being demonstrated in every area of the pitch. It is going to require intelligent, creative and thoughtful solutions in which everyone at the club can enthusiastically share. If all you've got at the top is bombast, "creek", "paddle", "without a" and " up shit" will quickly form a phrase. I hope that, unlike Liz Truss, Fotheringham has more to bring to the table.