Vals got the sack at Watford

You don’t have to apologise old chap. People on here are both right and wrong about things. For instance Mowatt being almost ever present at WBA. That is if you ignore the second season when he was loaned out.
Why even I’ve been known to be wrong now and again

 

Imo For watching. absolutely mate. they were the dream team. (2/3 may have got in from Danny's promotion lot and I'm not knocking that team, loved that one as well) to watch. that's what I put. But I also honestly think if that side had got promoted. We'd have stayed up.
I dont know if you were watching us under Norman. But you'd probably appreciate why I say what I do. And what was said about us throughout football at that time.

 

Sorry - he was loaned to Middlesbrough for the season. I did miss this. And played 28 games for them. In the Championship. The league above us.

Ruined by Val.

But yes, people shouldn't apologise. Unless they're being personal or insulting.

 

Yes I don't think he's featured for Luton much this season. But I get why they kept him as they don't pay massive wages.
Spl imo apart from rangers and celtic is probably similar standard to league one. Although I liked Sibbick and he was a big part of vals game plan to play the high line.
I just think Styles isn't great in central midfield. We saw his best days under val at wing back.
My opinion of val is he got the best out of the players he had and had the side incredibly organised and worked to a game plan. The players bought into it it worked. If your a manager who can organise a side like he did you've always got half a chance. I remember us beating Bournemouth away 3-2 they had solanke who they paid about 27million for think there squad was worth well over 100million. The bournmouth commentary team weren't happy. Good Times.

 

I thought Covid came to his rescue, we were so poor our last home game before the enforced Covid break

And Val was sacked at WBA when they were in the top 6. That went well!

 

He had West Brom 5th in the league. They did a lot worse under Bruce after he was sacked.

It was Bruce who loaned Mowatt out too

 

Yeah exactly, and its like I said on here in a recent thread about Val. You just can't educate fans with that ridiculous sounding mentality, because they just won't listen.

 

Well, I loved your time with us, Ismael. I wish you the very best in the future.

 

Hey up Hooky kid lol.
Yeah I know, I've thought that as well, that Val and we as a team had been found out a bit, before we even got to the Play offs.
The season stuttered near the end no doubt, but because we'd more or less clinched a place by then, could that be excused a bit ?.
My biggest regret about him leaving, is that I/we never got to see if he did have a Plan B after all, and if he'd got any new ideas at all for the following season etc.

 

Cheers pal, there's no doubt Val getting us to the championship playoff semi was a great achievement, my personal view is that his way of playing got sussed out, the actual standard of football was exciting but poor in technical quality and long term progression of the players and our club technically playing wise was affected by his coaching style.
Mowatt was a great footballer who under Val changed from being a neat ball player to someone who just hooked the ball forward as quick as possible. Which to me although was short term semi successful isn't longer term beneficial.
I am also pretty sure if Val had stayed we may not have gone down the following season but we would have struggled.
Schopp by the way was the worst appointment ever.

 

The score was 1.1 when we missed the penalty just before HT at Wembley in 2000

 

I think Barnard scores that pen and we win the game. Goals change games. All irrelevant now like.

 

I don't care along as we win games. I've seen enough bad football watching barnsley where we lose week in week out so to watch ***** football and win isn't so bad.

 

My recollection was that they scored their equaliser just after the miss but I’m happy you will be right[

 

Some of the games under Val were absolutely shocking to watch even the wins but he realised that the only way to be successful with the players he had was to play a aggressive long ball game which caused major problems for most of the teams we played , in my opinion he was a very clever manager.

 

I don’t care what he’s done since he left, when he was here he got a team playing and winning, was it swashbuckling one touch football no, it was effective and achieved results.
As for Alex Mowatt comments, the guy left us went to West Brom, played 34 games before getting injured and even when loaned out to Middlesbrough was part of a team that finished 4th and let’s not forget this player was also voted by other Championship Managers into the EFL team of the year in the Val season.

 

Surely third. Wilson promoted to prem, basset play off final, Val play off semi.

 

I think Arthur Fairclough should get a mention as well.

 

Best manager since Dave Bassett at Oakwell. What he did with that squad was unbelievable and that was including the poor start Struber went with.

Michael Beale is being linked with the job. Imagine the scenes if he gets it after the calamity he’s been this season in two different jobs.

 

Bassett’s players at his disposal were better though. He had a gem called Craig Hignett.

what Val did with the resources he had was pretty miraculous. We did have some good players but still, he did a wonderful job for us.