Summary From Doug

Quite why you'd appoint a new manager now is beyond me personally. Just go with the staff you have.

 

He doesn't mention his Pro Licence on his LinkedIn page, which given he does mention many vague affiliations, such as "Academy member"...of what?
I'd guess he doesn't have one.

 

The only part I really disagree with, and to be fair it's not exactly an important point, is that Doug praises Collins for how he introduced MDG into the team. Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't Collins handle that awfully? Threw him in clearly unready and in his weaker position and made him look like a competition winner before hauling him back off again

 

I agree with lots of it but not on the set pieces bit. You can do all the coaching in the world but you can’t get players to grow taller.

It’s no coincidence that we looked a lot better at them when Pines was fit.

If everyone took Doug’s advice there would be no need for any 6 foot 3 + centre backs we’ll just all have 6 foot tall ones who are more agile & better ball players who we can just coach to defend set pieces better.

 

In fairness it was just 1 game, bud. He was fine after that, and then he was excellent for a period, picking up multiple MOTM awards

 

For the recent goals from set pieces the defenders didn't really need to be any taller , just better organised.

 

QUOTE="Jay, post: 3281061, member: 6655"]I think Doug has placed more blame on the manager than the situation he has had to deal with.[/QUOTE]
Agree 100%, to the point where I didn't like the piece at all.
Seen it before in his writing, where he plays to the social media vibe which - on this occasion - has been the 'Collins Out' vocal minority.
It beggars belief that there's no reference to Russell, considering he was one of our most consistent performers prior to his injury and the subsequent losses.
Compare & contrast with Macca being a brilliant find & the decision to bench O'Keefe being dodgy..... quality article?, you're having a laugh.

 

Think you may have guessed wrong

 

You are correct, found it now, hadn't stalked him thoroughly enough.

 

He was but the management of the start to his career here wasn't very good. Just seems an odd thing for Doug to praise Collins for when personally I think the start of MDGs career here was handled terribly and he basically disappeared for a month after that disastrous first start

 

But then the managers association will just come out and say we've 50 of our members out of work.. don't think any appeal would succeed. This deal looks dead in the water..

 

MDG's confidence could have been shot after that debut. I don't think anyone could have predicted how off the pace he would have been in that match. The assertion is that he was handled well and didn't let that setback affect the rest of his season. I agree with Doug on that one.

 

Doesn’t happen like that with players does it, so not sure why it should for managers

 

I read a post yesterday that said that there was the threat of a players strike because of the way Collins wanted them to play. I’d like to know more about that and if there’s any evidence for it.

 

Agree on some but the lack of heights been an issue all season barring the few games we had Pines

 

For me the players let Collins down. Simple as that. I cannot see how his coaching can be to blame for the lapses in concentration, silly errors, failure to play for ninety minutes (good coaching does not 'run out' after sixty minutes, the players are not clockwork) and poor home form. All the above is largely on the players. Failure to beat the first man or keep it in play on a cross is not due to the head coach (and I find it bizarre that some think this will improve because Devaney was a good crosser - in fact, wouldn't Devaney have been the coach who handled that training anyway, assuming professionals need such basic technique development). Decisions such as deciding to stoop to knee height and head a ball wide or back heel tamely to the keeper where on both occasions there was time to take a touch and tap it in are not due to Collins. How many times this season have we seen shots that look like back passes to the keeper?

For what it's worth I think Collins can think himself very unlucky. His first season in English football management, he was learning as he went. He can only get better. He inherited no established defence, his CB loanee from the division above who would be expected to significantly strengthen things has been very disappointing, his star player was unavailable for large parts of the season and a shadow of his potential when he did play, his wingbacks and midfield had to compromise to protect the defence and that seems to have lingering effects on their confidence. His much needed big man in defence got injured before getting up to speed. Despite these setbacks and recent form in all likelihood Collins did deliver a playoff spot.

I take comfort that the sacking is so strange there must be more to it than is available publicly. We have to assume that the CEO and director of football had their reasons.

Alternatively, we can yell at JAQ every time she posts positivity about the women's game because summink abart a rumour.

 

This. The warning signs were there early season. Bristol rovers getting about 3 1 on 1s with our defensive line all over the place, Roberts was on top form.
The 3 goals we shipped against Horsham a bunch of part time players.
Most of the goal were coming from poor organisation set plays especially.

 

Zonal marking system, we just need to go man for man

 

This is the bit I disagree with, and presumably the Board did too.

The evidence was very clear in showing that he was getting worse. If he'd had a run of form like the current one at the start of the season, it could be forgiven for being the consequence of the recruitment and having an inexperienced manager in the role. Collins' relegation-form run was after the January transfer window, when some of the summer errors had been addressed, and when he'd had the benefit of 3/4 of a season in role. It was clear that he'd regressed to a point where he again didn't know what his best starting XI was and, based on his post-match interviews, he was typically describing a performance that no-one else recognised.

Add to that the very obvious reactions to the pressure he was under (West Stand incident, not shaking hands) and I would very much question his ability to improve in the role in the long-term.

Hopefully, he learns from the experience and is able to use it in future roles, in which case he may well have more success in future. It wouldn't surprise me if he found another role in the US where he ultimately achieved some success.

 

Earl is 6ft 4 and MDG is 6ft 1, hardly dawfs, how tall does a player need to be to win a header. The last few we have conceded from set plays have been free headers.