Dave Watson.

Left Southampton.
Would we have him as manager down here.

 

No, get him in as goalkeeper coach

 

He's never managed a pro club for a minute of his life. Throwing him in at the deep end of a rebuild job in league one when the fans are all up in arms is a criminal move.

Wasn't he valued as one of the best british goalkeeping coaches recently? I'd be massively shocked if he didn't get a bigger move in all fairness (Unless for some reason I'm getting names mixed up)

 

Well respected coach. Not someone to dismiss out of hand but probably not on balance.

 

I actually would.

He hasn’t just been the goalkeeping coach at Southampton recently, he was promoted into being one of the assistant head coaches.

No he hasn’t got managerial experience - but he has the club in his blood, and has top level, including international, coaching experience.

If he’s wanting to step up, here would be a great place to do it.

 

Can you imagine hiring him and 85% of the fans bemoaning the hierarchy again because, yet again, we haven't appointed an 'experienced' manager?

 

The latest bonkers name someone wants to be part of our staff just because they played here.

Any other keeper coach who's no managerial experience at all and the idea would be slated.

 

We have a 100% success rate with managers from Royston Comprehensive so far so it's a yes from me.

 

Who is the next daft name to come out of the bag ehh ?.
The bloke in the local fish n chip shop, who does a rather good impression of Simon Davey!.

 

We've had a lot of ex-players go on to coach at decent levels, but Watson has gone higher than most. He deserves a helluva lot of respect.

if he were looking to get into management, I'd like to think our club above all others would want to find out what he's about. That's not to say he's the man for the job necessarily, but we'd be daft not to talk to him.

Everyone has to start out somewhere. 'Experience' doesn't just have to mean experience of managing a team in league 1.

 

Just don’t get the thought that because he played for us ‘get him in’ at the moment we need an experienced coach now more than ever.

 

Very true, but there's a major difference between what he's been doing and actual managerial duties

 

We don’t employ Managers we employ coaches.
3 years as an Assistant in the biggest league in the world at a club that are known for developing and selling players, more years prior to that as Goalkeeping coach.
They also play a pressing style with a 4-4-2 formation on paper but plays out more like 4-2-2-2 on the pitch.

His experience ticks a lot of boxes the club look for and should warrant a consideration.
The fact he’s a local lad for me is a very small plus.

That said the fact he was part of a team that were sacked suggests he wasn’t on our radar.

 

He was the set-piece coach apparently. Not sure how you can go wrong with that job when you have somebody like James Ward-Prowse.

 

Watto part of the management team definitely 100%! Is it likely probably not.
One way to get the fans back onside would be a Barnsley through and through management team.
Eaden, Watson, Liddell and Tonge all part of the setup. All well respected coaches in their own right.

Redders is coaching Sheffield United women at the moment, lives in Ponte. Would the academy job interest him? Good coach, rubbish manager statistically.

 

I think there are some who make top class assistants / coaches etc. Then there are those that make excellent managers / head coaches. I think he is in the former category. Leadership is what we need right now. I dont know if Watson, stand alone, has that. You never know though until you are doing the job.

 

Or...how could Ward-Prowse go wrong with Watty coaching him?

 

He was only promoted to assistant coach about 2/3 years ago, and ward prowse was quality at set pieces long before that mate. (Not saying he Watson wasn't coaching him btw, just don't think he'd do it as an outright GK coach previously would he?) Does it say why Watson left?

He will get absolutely slaughtered here as a "head coach" especially under these lot

 

I'm Sure Watson was also also involved with the England set up.
Would be a very good addition to the coaching set up.
However I am sure he will coach at a much higher level than League 1 tbf.

 

Three of them were effectively sacked.
Southampton did a review and chose to remove the coaches rather than the manager.
Apparently the Manager had a reputation for taking the glory and blaming the coaching team when it went wrong.