At least it looks like we got a bloke who plays similar style to how we did last season. I've been pretty negative these past few weeks but I'll give him a chance hope he comes good.
Got to admit this looks a good appointment, time will tell I suppose but the board have got to back him and give him the tools to do the job!
Honestly don’t know what to make of this appointment. The rumours of the bloke from Derry followed by the appointment of another guy we haven’t heard of leave a feeling of low quality list of applicants. The fact is that I don’t know anything about this guy in English football so it’s hard to assess what we can expect. We have to keep the faith and hope for the best. Youuuureeeds
Definitely grounds for optimism, knee jerk reaction is who dig a bit deeper and you can see why they went for him onwards and upwards hopefully.
with all due respect he’s played over 200 games for Sheffield Utd plus played for Leeds, wolves and Sunderland. If you’ve not heard of him maybe it’s your knowledge that isn’t up to scratch. I had no idea about his managerial career but seems to be extremely highly rated and is only 39 year old. For me this would be the equivalent of appointing someone who has recently won league 2 or got a team punching above their weight in league 1.
Sorry, I should have said, as a coach I don’t know about him in English football. I thought we were measuring the guy’s potential as a coach. The other thing is I know sfa about American football. Another gap in my knowledge. I’m clearly not qualified to be on this board.
Surely if we are measuring is potential as a coach then his experience in the English leagues will be invaluable especially when you consider he has played locally to us & will know the area, the club & the fan base but will have a very good knowledge of the EFL .
A better option than Higgins, managed for a bit longer and has tons of EFL experience as a player, also spent a fair amount of his life in Yorkshire so he’ll adapt sooner. If you compare Duff (prior to his appointment with us), Collins and Higgins, they all: Were in their first managerial appointment No history of failing or sackings as a manager Had all won something or come close: Duff: League 2 title/play off loss Higgins: FAI Cup/Euro Qualification Collins: West/east overall league play off finalists twice Progressed their club from where it was before their appointment and sustained that progress or improved upon it in following seasons Play pressing football All made significant advances at their club: Duff: Highest league position Higgins/: Highest league pos in 17 seasons, first cup in 10 Collins: Is referred to as transforming the club into a modern club Duff did have league 1/2 managerial experience, so on paper for me was better at the time of appointment, but other than that there’s not much difference between how Duff looked when he joined and how Higgins/Collins CVs look
For me, I think had he been American, or gone straight to coaching there, there might be cause for concern. But he hasn’t. He’s got over 500 football league games under his belt, he’s played under proper managers and his biggest spell in South Yorkshire. So he knows the English game and this neck o the woods very well. Not my first choice, and I suspect probably not the Club’s either, but he’s here now, so let’s see how he gets on. Recruitment critical now. 4 weeks to kick off and about 6-8 first team squad players short for me.
I am not having a go at the guy. I just said that I don’t know what to make of the appointment because he wasn’t on my list of ten potential coaches. If he was on yours then well done you have my respect. I hope he’s the best coach we’ve ever had and I don’t want to open the debate about the best players making the best managers. If that were the case we’ve employed the wrong Neil, we should have gone for Redfearn.
yeah I didn’t know anything about him as a coach. Obviously only the one job but he’s been there 5 years and got them as title contenders. Fans love him. Would be like poaching a top end league 2 manager which is our level. Crazy how anyone thought we’d end up with wilder or Moore. I’d rather this fella than a journeyman
Thanks for that, you’ve helped me make up my mind and I feel much more confident about the appointment now. I didn’t have too much knowledge of his playing career by the way.