That PH interview was seriously depressing

Having listened again to what Hecky said in his interview, I would be interested in knowing how THE PLAN works, in detail. Amongst other things, Hecky said that we had too many players of a similar type, and he gave Mallan and Moncur as examples. He also complained that he is asked questions about players in isolation, that is, he seems unaware of his budget for either transfer fees or pay, therefore he has to answer the questions that are put to him without full knowledge of what the consequences might be for team budget, shape and balance.

It is not clear whether Hecky is beginning to become defensive because of the pressure of results, or whether there are genuine problems with the organisation and structure surrounding transfers. If it is as bad as Hecky's interview suggests, then the club has a problem, and the first thing that should happen should be that the parties get round the table and sort it out, because it has to be said that something went badly wrong during the summer transfer window, and this window just has to be better.

The problem might be that the problem is not about the size of the transfer budget. It might be that the problem is about pay structure and total pay budget, which also affects the size of the squad. This might limit our options to young players and players from lower divisions. However, Hecky might be being deliberately obtuse, and he may be looking for external support in order to encourage the board to loosen the purse strings, without acknowledging that some errors in the summer window were down to him, and that the board want him to rectify those errors, to transfer certain players, before they allow him to spend again (Hecky said that the club would probably not be in the market early). Whatever way you look at it, there does not seem to be a lot of accord at the top of our organisation. At best, it sounds like a problem that needs to be addressed. At worst, it sounds like someone is headed towards the exit door, and given his language skills in French/English, it is unlikely to be Gaultier Ganaye.

 

He’s said previously that he gets the final say on all signings that the spreadsheet throws up. I’m not sure he can then bemoan the number of similar players. He must have realised at the time. Personally think he’s trying to deflect for the reasons for our terrible run and let’s be honest most managers/head coach would be on the verge of being sacked now. Hecky is lucky that he’s not in that position at the moment due to the majority of our fans understanding our ethos.

 

Going by the general way the forum works, I'd say yes, someone has to be to blame. It's the theme most Saturday evenings

I don't blame Keith Hill for anything. Had his team ripped apart and that was that, and I don't blame Hecky for the same reasons.

But by mentioning Keith Hill you've helped with my point. Why is one still thought of as the best manager we've ever had and the other one the worst?

Take away popularity and they're neck and neck at this level. One decent half season each up to now.

 

I was joking about Keith hill and making my point that there’s always someone to blame, the current plan at the club makes everything that’s gone before irrelevant, Hecky working under these conditions and against the others in the championship is our greatest ever manager.

 

In which case he's our only ever manager.

 

Hence the best

 

But this brings me back to my original comment about him soon to be tested.

Hopefully soon he won't be working within the same restraints so that excuse won't be as valid.

 

There are loads of knowledgeable, intelligent reds fans with many years of support under their belts.

I feel the new regime could do a lot worse than meet and speak to the fans to get an idea of what we've done well or badly in the past, and what would put bums on seats etc.

 

I know there's a very real risk of relegation, but I'd give Hecky/Spreadsheet at least three transfer windows before I'd judge him with any serious intent, we're basically starting from scratch and assuming there's the scope to bring a better quality player in from next week, something Hecky himself admits is needed, then imthink we all expect, Hecky included, to see an improvement. Hopefully short term improvement to keep us in the Championship, but longer term over 3-5 years. I'm not quite sure what I'd define improvement over that timeframe as being though? Consistent mid table?

Good point with the Hill comparison to be fair mate, can't really argue with that. Perhaps Hill didn't help his cause by his more fractious approach to the supporters. But can't deny both Hill and Hecky had the quality ripped out of the squad.

 

I don't think anyone is suggesting sacking him.

 

Seriously depressing? try watching the effin news....

 

Yep. Mid table, but based on a more consistent season as oppose to a good half and a bad one, or vice versa.

Agree about giving him time as well, but will the new guys? That was my point really.

He's got to do enough to justify their belief that he's the right guy, hence my comment about him being tested.

 

I hope so mate. Not so much from the "I think he deserves it" perspective, but from giving any manager reasonable time to make an impact and taking a longer term view. The new regime resets the clock for me in many ways, and their communication last week seemed to indicate their belief in our coaching structure and so on. The real unknown quantity for me is what they mean by giving more support and resource to Hecky and his staff. It can't just be money, and I'm quite intrigued. Add all that up and I think he'll be given time.

Hecky will ultimately be judged on results but I hope we don't fear relegation and panic if it happens. Hecky may even make his own judgement if that were the case. But it would be down to collective decisions if we did drop, not purely ones made by the Head Coach.

Progress will be a slow burner I reckon.

 

But presumably if he says no to a player then it's back to the list. So he can only pick from a set pool of players. Maybe the other options in the summer were worse than what we went with?

 

But he’s saying we have got too many players in the same position. By his own admission he said yes to them all.

 

Yes the point I making is the alternative may have been worse. So he thought we just have to try 3 in the middle. Maybe he'd never heard of any of them, I know I hadn't!

 

Yeah, I've never been for sacking managers at this level. It's only ever a short term fix.

Anyway, see what January brings. I'll be glad to get this "horrible anus" out of the way.

Barring Derby in the cup, I've seen every single game and it's been heavy going at times

 

May God Have mercy on your (ar)sehole

 

It's the curried turkey leftovers

 

Two scenarios where you are the manager and have to say yes or no to players:
1. You are offered a player. He's very similar to what you already have. You know what your budget is for the squad and know this will seriously eat into it. You also know that your scouts are hard at work seeking out players who aren't as similar to what you already have and will be better fits for your squad.

2. You are offered a player. He's very similar to what you have already got but because someone else is finding players for you you have no idea if they are seeking out anyone different. You also don't know what your total budget is for the squad or how much this eats into it. You do know however that your boss has been extremely slow in highlighting any players to you so far and know that the season is fast approaching. You also know that because your boss operates using a very narrow minded system of identifying players within a small age range, value and with set statistics that fit 'the plan' that finding players will be much harder.

If I was the boss in 1 8d say no ta we'll find another. If I was the boss in 2 I'd take anything I could get my hands on. Fielding a side of 11 left backs is better than playing just 5 players