Skip to main content

Heckingbottom

  • Thread starter Thread starter SF
  • Start date Start date

Heckingbottom

Our three best managers since the turn of the millennium have been Scottish. That’s the place to start

The place to start would be someone with a fresh innovative approach. I've advocated for a foreign manager previously but nationality shouldn't be the decisive factor. Anyone with a safety first mentality should be the first names put in the bin.
 
No idea on what formation, style of play or anything about him but Falkirk’s manager could be one to look at.
As long as he brings their young forward Barney Stewart with him

Kids Show Animation GIF by Universal Kids
 
Not totally defending him, but there is some mitigation.
Out of our 25 man squad, not many of these players are not getting games at any other Champ side.

2 back up goalies, Smith, Lewis, Lindsay, Thompson, Lukovic are not Championship standard.
Add that to Pol, Hughes, Storey, Vukcevic, Potts, Brady (should have gone ages ago). That are debatable at least. As much as I like Vukcevic, I am not sure he can physically stand the rigours of the Championship.

Then you have Small and Offiah, who are at this level for the first time.
Then add for some strange and bizarre reason we spaff our record signing on an injury prone 27 year old, who is...wait for it...injured.

He is not left with many options.
To be honest, when you look at the squad, to get us where we were in Jan was a massive credit.

Yes, it is negative and after watching Swansea v Boro, I hope we can play to that level. So I understand concerns, but there is some mitigation to take into account.
 
I’d like to think that the club are starting to look at underlying data these days.

I know that some people don’t like it, but it’s very important in judging a side and how they are likely to perform over a season.

Currently, we are 22nd in regards to xG created (we create nothing). We are also 22nd in regards to xGA (we let opposition create loads). Our expected points also puts us in the bottom 3.

(For people who think xG table is nonsense, Coventry, Ipswich, Boro and Southampton are all in the same places in the xG table as they are in the actual Championship table).

I’d argue with Dobbin, Devine, Osmajic, Jebbison, Small, we should be creating a hell of a lot more than we are currently. Lang will obviously come back at some point and I think the management of Lukovic has been absolutely abysmal, but we should still be creating more than teams like Oxford, Charlton etc.

We are also known for being quite ‘resolute’ at the back, atleast in previous seasons. Again, we are shipping a huge amount of chances and it’s thanks to Iversen that we aren’t in the bottom 3 (he is in the top 6% of keepers in the league when it comes to goals prevented).

All of this to me points towards us being very badly coached and having a manager who does not excel either offensively or defensively.

I was never excited by the appointment in the first place. It was the usual ‘steady’ appointment, however, he’s been anything but that and he’s actual had us close to relegation, arguably twice.

Hopefully this takeover gets done and Mr Zedan hires people who know what they are doing and realise we need a new, progressive young coach with fresh ideas rather than some tedious, rigid, turgid, 3-5-2 merchant who plays garbage football.
 
Not totally defending him, but there is some mitigation.
Out of our 25 man squad, not many of these players are not getting games at any other Champ side.

2 back up goalies, Smith, Lewis, Lindsay, Thompson, Lukovic are not Championship standard.
Add that to Pol, Hughes, Storey, Vukcevic, Potts, Brady (should have gone ages ago). That are debatable at least. As much as I like Vukcevic, I am not sure he can physically stand the rigours of the Championship.

Then you have Small and Offiah, who are at this level for the first time.
Then add for some strange and bizarre reason we spaff our record signing on an injury prone 27 year old, who is...wait for it...injured.

He is not left with many options.
To be honest, when you look at the squad, to get us where we were in Jan was a massive credit.

Yes, it is negative and after watching Swansea v Boro, I hope we can play to that level. So I understand concerns, but there is some mitigation to take into account.
The majority you’ve named are either players he’s brought in & signed or players he’s given contact extensions to? This is his squad & he’ll be judged on it
 
The majority you’ve named are either players he’s brought in & signed or players he’s given contact extensions to? This is his squad & he’ll be judged on it
If this club are to go anywhere, first and foremost Hecky has to be got rid asap- then all the hoof ball merchants who can’t control possession with an opponent near them gone with Hecky-Storey-Lindsay,Hughes ,Vukovic ,Whiteman ,Potts …..the list is endless but you know who they are!!
Then new owners please with some cash to recruit a manager and players who play possession football through the thirds WITH A MIDFIELD 🤔!
 
If this club are to go anywhere, first and foremost Hecky has to be got rid asap- then all the hoof ball merchants who can’t control possession with an opponent near them gone with Hecky-Storey-Lindsay,Hughes ,Vukovic ,Whiteman ,Potts …..the list is endless but you know who they are!!
Then new owners please with some cash to recruit a manager and players who play possession football through the thirds WITH A MIDFIELD 🤔!
How dare you disrespect my boy Andy like that. Guy is nowhere near the same category as the ones you’ve listed
 
I cant even argue with the points being made about him.

Absolutely terrible management of Offiah today for example, the poor lad is flogged out at RWB and then taken off at half time.

Meanwhile Jordan Storey gets absolutely bullied for 90 mins against Kone and was crap on the ball.
Offiah was subbed at half-time due to an injury
 
The majority you’ve named are either players he’s brought in & signed or players he’s given contact extensions to? This is his squad & he’ll be judged on it
I understand all this but when a manager is given peanuts to spend you get monkey. Had he been given a mid- table budget for a championship side then he would have had higher quality players to choose from and not have to give contract extensions to those who are past their best or no longer of Championship standard.

This in a way is our current owners’ squad because it is the result of giving PH a bottom 3 budget for the Championship and why we have players being chosen who are in pain and playing with injuries.

Hopefully, whoever is our manager next season will be backed correctly to be able for us to be competitive and have a realistic chance of the play-offs as a minimum target/goal.
 
I understand all this but when a manager is given peanuts to spend you get monkey. Had he been given a mid- table budget for a championship side then he would have had higher quality players to choose from and not have to give contract extensions to those who are past their best or no longer of Championship standard.

This in a way is our current owners’ squad because it is the result of giving PH a bottom 3 budget for the Championship and why we have players being chosen who are in pain and playing with injuries.

Hopefully, whoever is our manager next season will be backed correctly to be able for us to be competitive and have a realistic chance of the play-offs as a minimum target/goal.
Personally, I wouldn't have extended certain players and when we have a squad of 15 players, pressure is then placed upon the IoM. They'd have no choice but to act.
 
Personally, I wouldn't have extended certain players and when we have a squad of 15 players, pressure is then placed upon the IoM. They'd have no choice but to act.
I wouldn’t bet on it unless it was a case of ‘sell one of the players for £1m and you can bring two in for £450k each
 
Ultimately i think Hecky's own downfall has been his inability or stubbornness in failing to change the system.

The 352 system is just outdated and yet its been used at this club for 5 years.

I don't just blame the manager for this, its also down to the dinosaur Ridsdale for appointing coaches who play such a turgid formation.
 
Obviously an important aspect of this debate is his budget.

The question should be , if he has millions to spend, is he the right man . And nobody knows that because we don't have a crystal ball.
 
No idea on what formation, style of play or anything about him but Falkirk’s manager could be one to look at.
If we’re looking north of the border the one you’d want is Askou at Motherwell. Got them playing the best football in the league having spent nothing. He’s probably set for bigger things than North End but he’d be my shout tomorrow if a change had to be made.
 
Back
Top