Managerial merry go round | Page 151 | Vital Football

Managerial merry go round

clanfordimp said:
.....well after all that he started fcucking about at the back, which was the start of his downfall.

Nobody would deny he gave the club one fantastic season but unless he is winning football matches to keep the fans onside his personality and demeanor was about as dour as the football he eventually served up.

Yes he unfortunately had his health problems and he might have been a completely different character away from football but as a manager and a leader of a football club he was about as inspiring as a dead fish.
Click to expand...
After all that he started mucking about at the back? Did you see any of 19/20? Appleton was dogmatic as anything (for better and at times for worse), the idea that the playstyle changed to being on the deck at the back and was his downfall seems a difficult position to take.
 
Rasenimp said:
After all that he started mucking about at the back? Did you see any of 19/20? Appleton was dogmatic as anything (for better and at times for worse), the idea that the playstyle changed to being on the deck at the back and was his downfall seems a difficult position to take.
Click to expand...

19/20 was a brilliant season, nobody would deny that, I'm talking the following season when things started to break down and clearly remember giving goals away and even passing backwards from our own goal kicks!

At home the football, which beared out in the results was absolutely diabolical. We won 2 games at home that season before January and ended up losing 11 matches at home in the season. Only one other team who had lost that many home games managed to stay up so you could class that as an 'achievement' if you want.
We really struggled against Bowers and Pitsea in the FA Cup and I think we were put out the League Cup by a League 2 team and the relegation trapdoor was staring us in the face right up until Easter time.

I accept that wage cap was lifted and wouldn't of done us any favours but in no way was that an excuse for the dross we had to endure in home games and it was consecutive home games that season.

I really couldn't pick who's football eventually bored me the most in Appletons or Kennedys.
 
Didn't we go something stupid like 20+ games without a clean sheet?

I think the high of the PO season clouds judgement a little. Don't get me wrong, it was an excellent season and a brilliant achievement, so close to the Championship, but either side of that was pretty painful. You can make an argument against the first season because of the calculated gamble we took in January by selling players, reducing the age of the squad, change of style etc and it was a time of upheaval so that was always had the potential to be a bit rocky, which is why we enjoyed good results against Bolton, Posh, Ipswich and Sunderland yet also had the Southend, Coventry and Sunderland kamikaze games.

The thing I always felt with Appleton was that he had a reputation for developing young players and he wanted to protect that. At times, it felt like results were secondary to him and he often said similar in post-match interview, "...the Club have brought me in to develop players", which isn't incorrect, but you've got to tie that in with reality of senior football, too. Yes, PL and Championship sides might only loan players to Clubs if they play a certain way but football people aren't stupid, they know that you can't play an U21/U23 way at senior level and play silky football all the time. He struck me as someone who liked the buzz of a match day in senior football and wasn't keen on everything else it entailed, whilst not feeling as though Academy coaching quite whetted the appetite enough. Stuck between two areas of coaching.

Generally speaking and not specific to this forum, I find with Appleton that some give him too much credit, and others are more disparaging of his time here. Of course, as is often the case, it's somewhere in the middle.

I dunno, I think he absolutely deserves credit for the PO season and you'd be stupid to suggest otherwise but there was always that nagging feeling as his time here went on that he prioritised how he was perceived in terms of developing individuals rather than developing a team. And let's be right, he's had exactly the same things levelled at his sides (soft under belly etc) at Lincoln, Blackpool and now Charlton so he's hardly looked to change that.
 
Rasenimp said:
After all that he started mucking about at the back? Did you see any of 19/20? Appleton was dogmatic as anything (for better and at times for worse), the idea that the playstyle changed to being on the deck at the back and was his downfall seems a difficult position to take.
Click to expand...
Most of the top sides in League One now try to play the MApp way. Bolton, Posh, Derby and Oxford all feck about at the back and take risks but with the right good footballing players it is a great strategy. MApp was possibly one of the first to try to the Premier League style of play down in league One. Having the likes of Montsma, Joe Walsh and Tayo Edun playing out from the back was a bit better than the likes of Bozzie and Liam Bolger trying to do the same thing.
 
Danny and Nicky have just been interviewed on the local Look East evening news slot, we got a mention ! , and as you would expect they did their usual smooth talking stuff, a slot on the training Ground, no sign of Ali Smith, but I think they have their hands full there but as we know they can work miracles !
 
where did we come from?
worth noting that cowley left the club at total nosebleed levels on the pyramid.

under appleton
season 1. imps first season at l1 level for 20+ years (since 1998-1999) - finished 16th - best finishing position for 30+ years (14th in 1983-84)
season 2. brilliant anomaly. best finishing position since 81/82.
season 3. 17th - leaving appleton with the 1st, 2nd and 3rd best finishing positions since 83-84.

just relive all those seasons below that level.

even top of the bottom 8 (and better) in l1 for three years running was a massive achievement for this club. by that metric, he got results (end of) and developed players.
 
nlondonimp said:
where did we come from?
worth noting that cowley left the club at total nosebleed levels on the pyramid.

under appleton
season 1. imps first season at l1 level for 20+ years (since 1998-1999) - finished 16th - best finishing position for 30+ years (14th in 1983-84)
season 2. brilliant anomaly. best finishing position since 81/82.
season 3. 17th - leaving appleton with the 1st, 2nd and 3rd best finishing positions since 83-84.

just relive all those seasons below that level.

even top of the bottom 8 (and better) in l1 for three years running was a massive achievement for this club. by that metric, he got results (end of) and developed players.
Click to expand...
Where does that leave Kennedy than in the ratings?
Not saying he’s not a better coach than many who’ve held the post in the last 40 seasons but he had a bit of a helping hand in getting those exalted positions by taking over a stable club on the rise in L1 already. If I’d taken over from the Cowleys I would have had one of the highest finishes in the pyramid in the last 40 years.
 
Davidimp said:
We'll not mention the home record....
Click to expand...
His Achilles heel, throughout his career. Would the play off season home record been any better with fans in? The following season suggests not, and impatience from the stands may have had a negative impact.

All what-if, but the football at times that season......
 
Chesterimp said:
His Achilles heel, throughout his career. Would the play off season home record been any better with fans in? The following season suggests not, and impatience from the stands may have had a negative impact.

All what-if, but the football at times that season......
Click to expand...
I was actually referring to our home form in general since promotion in 2019
19/20 10 wins in 17
20/21 9 in 23
21/22 7 in 23
22/23 7 in 23
23/24 4 in 13 so far.
Not great bar the first season, interesting post from the chairman himself regarding 20/21.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.