It really is a big shame, I was so looking forward to seeing us under Val next season especially with a full pre-season and players that he’s had some input on signing and releasing. I believe he was very much more than a ‘one trick pony’ regarding tactics and style of play that some are saying. I believe we would’ve seen much more open football and when we hit it long we wouldn’t be as wasteful ie kicking straight out of play or straight to an opponent. Having said that we move on, I just hope, and indeed, it’s crucial that a permanent replacement is found ASAP so that that they too can have a full -pre-season etc. Of Course if Dane goes as is being reported then that could slow things down
I agree entirely , I dread to think that who ever takes over has us playing out from the back , very few premier players are good at it never mind championship quality , look how we rattled Chelsea for example , I want the next coach to carry on with a similar style, get the ball forward quickly & press , you cannot score in your own half & we do not have the players to string 20 passes together , more of the same please .
I can see the logic for all types of reasons. Money, team budget, promotion potential are all obvious. However he possibly also thinks he may have taken the squad as far as they could go. All the stars aligned last season, but we still just ran out of steam at the end. There wasn’t a Plan B, and for some reason he even started fiddling with Plan A towards the end. Increasingly teams figured out how to nullify us, and we didn’t seem to have a response. For me he was balancing a fine line. The style of play was divisive, but the results justified it. He knows football. He knows that if next season didn’t start well with us, the style of football would look awful and with crowds back, he would soon know about it. Warnock was probably talking a lot of sense when he said it was a one season wonder. I’m pretty numb to managers/coaches now. Gone are the days when they build legacies. Heckingbottom knocked all sense of loyalty out of me. 12-18 month shelf life is the norm now. They either do well and move on, or don’t and get sacked.
Aside from the style of football, he seemed to be a great man manager and motivator. He got the team to give 100% every single game and the players loved him. That fast paced football without the hoofing is the football I like to see especially with a crowd to roar them on. I hope the new manager has them playing at the same pace.
Way I look at it is, I would have loved him to stay but look at it this way , according to some it was going to be a disaster when DS, it wasn't , we were in deep **** when GS jumped ship, we weren't . We improved each time. Personally I think its a kick in the teeth if he does move so soon ( particularly when we are shaping the squad for next season). But do we really need managers who move on so regularly? For sure we don't need one that stays because he isn't good enough to get a job somewhere else, but is it asking too much to get a forward thinking young guy who is willing to commit to two or three years to build something?
Maybe west from have the players that mean he doesn't have to play like that. Val got the very best out of what we had and instilled a huge winning mentality and desire into the players. Lets hope we can build on that. Important appointment in that we need to get someone who can keep the players fired up and inspired just as he did and maybe we can add the missing pieces of the jigsaw like a bit more pace and composure so we can play more flowing football.
Our next appointment has to have some sort of affinity with the club, someone who “gets” us & our core values, someone who isn’t going to jump ship at the first opportunity. Who that could be god knows!? But then again we had Hecky & he jumped quite quick. Past caring now to be honest, we get who we get, and it’s rinse & repeat within a year.
It's not really surprising, given Ismael's record of how long he stays at clubs, and our record of changing coaches every year, but it's still disappointing. Probably the most disappointing thing for me was Murphy's interview a few weeks ago, where he was saying he'd be staying but basing it on the fact there had been no approaches. Head in sand stuff, probably because he knew he would be doing one as well.
Im fairly sure neither Murphy nor Ishmael had any idea that they might be leaving when he gave that interview. For sure the WestBrom stuff has come up only in the last couple of weeks no clue about the Forest stuff but guessing thats quite recent. We dont even know for sure Dane is going to Forest yet just assuming he will but he may decide top stay for all we know. Ive been approached in the past and offered a chance to move jobs for more money and decided Id rather stay where I was - of course I might have decided different if I was tripling my Salary
Affinity with the club isn’t important . What’s point of having someone with the Affinity of the club who doesn’t connect with the players? Next manager has to be able to connect with the players ,that’s all that matters nothing else . The players on the pitch or ready to slot into vacant positions are the ones we need on board . There’s no club loyalty, there no fan loyalty the only loyalty players know these days is to themselves . If a coach comes in and doesn’t unite them and give them belief he won’t/ can’t give his best IMO.
I think my frustration from that interview was the fact that it gave me the impression that he would only stay if nobody came in for him, not because he wanted to stay. Hopefully in the background, the club would've had an idea that he'd be off if the option was there, and started to identify targets. But it would be nicer if we could be a club where people wanted to stay.
He did brilliantly for us but has no emotional ties to the club so of course he's going to leave for more money, he's not an idiot
All those who are happy to see the back of him because of the style of football - you wait until we're Keith Hilling the ball between the central defenders like a poundshop Barcelona again, and paying the price by finishing 23rd. Eeeeeeeeee, but it's pretty to watch.
https://www.expressandstar.com/spor...brom-set-to-announce-valerian-ismael-as-boss/ Looks like its going to happen, nothing like being 4th choice to really make you feel wanted though
I don't know much about west broms squad but im not sure he will be able to play the same style if west brom have aging players. The style suited us with young players full of energy and collins did a great sweeper keeper job.
I honestly can see a struggle for him, and as far as I’m concerned if he does pi5s off after such a short time and to a Championship rival, I thank him for his time here but wish him nothing but failure!