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Post by OohMac on Dec 5, 2015 21:49:31 GMT
Neil Lennon is like The Apprentice candidate you want to win. Enthusiastic, honest and likeable but ultimately out of his depth and when push comes to shove a bit useless.
Neil for me is lucky to be in a job after seeing so many of his counterparts fall. Only last week Steve Clarke was sacked for being in the "unfortunate"position of 9th in the league a whole 2 points from play-off. Yes, he went to Fulham to have talks because Kit Symonds who was also seen as being 'not up to it' -mediocre. The fact that they were wanting Clarke in the first place must show he was doing alright.
Gary Bowyer was faced with embargo and sold their best players and he's also been axed(again unfairly for me). Joined with Chris Powell, whose been "under pressure" for all his managerial career. Chris Ramsay was also sacked. Fair enough for me.
Warbuton was criminally 'let go' off last year and Lee Carsley chose not to take up the hot seat. And Leeds have been Leeds.
Sacking managers is not the way to go. You can easily embarrass me by quoting me a year ago and saying what we need is a manager to stick by, through thick and thin.
But enough is enough now.
What little Lennon has had to spend he has absolutely wasted. You could almost field a team on the players he has brought in who have added little/nothing. Wilson,Pisano, Derick, Prince, Lussey, Bratten(ok, free) Silva, Dobbie, Heskey, Twarzik.
When Freedman came in we said "he's working with Coyles side" When Lennon came in we said "he's working with Freedman's side" Now we know Lennon has brought his players in and is STILL working with Freedmans side, which were the worst side we've had in 30+ years.
Neil is tactically inept. What does he work on in training? He's brought in a new number 2 who we have yet to win under. Once favourite for the Leicester job, literally what job would Neil be touted for after this? No idea but maybe data entry some place.
Why now? Well i've no idea on employment law.But if the new people, if there are any, could stipulate that the Eddie sacks Lennon, then surely they could appoint who they wish(God knows? But Moyes at the last game) and Lennon's grievance would be with the old realm who have nothing to give. They obviously should give Lennon the offer to walk first.
Owen Coyle and Neil Lennon might be decent guys with the best intentions but we need more than that. Remind me again what the road to hell is paved with?
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Post by riochforthereebok on Dec 6, 2015 0:01:32 GMT
Great post that OoMac, you've pretty much said what I wanted to say but haven't . AND
I was going to use The Apprentice strap line too, how wierd's that?
I too find it strange that all these managers that have been fired recently have been unlucky and no doubt you can add Gary Monk, Alex Neil and Steve McLaren to that list shortly, with David Moyes waiting to replace them. It's typical of the managerial merry go round. No sooner had the new manager found the changing room and then he's shown the exit door, but at Bolton, you've pretty much got to drag the name of the club, the town and the fans to the lowest level ever before anyone has the balls to fire you. The days of me wanting Lennon to turn this around have now diminished, I just want him out, I mean, come on, whoever takes over with that bunch of no marks will have their work cut out, but at least give the club and fans a lift by trying a new manager with new ideas, regardless of lack of cash. Any things worth a go when your rock bottom.
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Post by Trotter on Dec 6, 2015 6:21:06 GMT
I have to disagree with the above posts in that previous surveys have backed Lennon as well as the fact that look what he has to work with on severe limited budgets so for me we should stick with him support him and stand together until the straight jacket is taken off him.
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Post by one2many on Dec 6, 2015 8:32:19 GMT
Lennon is a nice guy. Our club is a financial mess. But he has made an absolute pigs ear of it this season. I would not trust him with funds. I am in no hurry to see him go but I believe he is only on borrowed time while the takeover goes through.
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Post by whitesince63 on Dec 6, 2015 8:34:16 GMT
Absolutely right Trotter let's stop this managerial merry go round and stick with a genuine, honest and caring manager. His hands have been terribly tied by the idiot called Gartside who wouldn't allow Lennon to sign the one or two quality players he wanted, including ALF presumably because the wages were too high yet sanctioned numerous also rans who NL was forced to take a chance on and who's total wages add up to the same thing. Madness or what? Furthermore once again he was let down yesterday by sitters missed by Madine and Dobbie that you and I could have scored and inept defending by Casado and Dervite for all of Cardiff's goals. This is what you get from second rate players which is all Lenny's been allowed to buy. Get real guys, this isn't a picture of Lennon's ability just Gartside's ineptitude. I just want someone new in who will let Neil buy some decent players to add to those I believe we already have and then judge him. Quite frankly I don't care if we do go down this year, as long as we're rid of the dross we've got and build on youth and quality to start the building process again. I know you're frustrated, aren't we all but let's put the blame where it really lies and that's firmly at the door of Gartside. Lennon's a good manager I firmly believe and given time and resources will get it right.
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Post by andyl on Dec 6, 2015 8:44:45 GMT
It's right, I think, not to hang Neil on the basis of incoming players during his reign - if you are obliged to shop in Pound land you cannot expect luxury items. He has done ok in the antiques market. In my opinion Ameobi generally and Emile and Eidur were good captures but one has gone and the others can't achieve for long periods. Even so Emile was a force for 20 mins yesterday.
But Neil's strengths are of motivation and attack. He is not the build from the back Big Sam we currently need
I hope he gets the season to turn things round and he probably can.
All of this said I continue to have marked reservations about his tactical acumen and selection.
Unfortunately one who did well introducing youth has trapped himself into not trusting it. I cannot imagine Big Sam tolerating a player as slow and soft as Dervite in central defence unless partnered with someone quick. It's too easy to run past him
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Post by riochforthereebok on Dec 6, 2015 12:01:25 GMT
We need to remember where we've come from (1980's) whilst we're dive bombing to League One - 5 6 7 8 thousand crowds, which wouldn't have looked so bad dotted around Manny Road, Burnden Terrace or the Great Lever end, but them sort of crowds are surely waiting for us for when we do go down. It's bleak at the ReeMac when we manage a 14000 crowd with all those empty blue seats, it'll look even more bleak with 18-20,000 empty seats next season.
I can't help thinking, after watching the Football League Show, that all this doom and gloom has been orchestrated by Darkshite and Davies but at the end of the day, we've gone 13 or 14 games without a win and we're firmly rooted to the bottom spot, so I won't have it that Lennon is not to blame. If we hadn't won after 7 games you would make significant changes, but to go that many games without a win, well then who else can we aim the flack at?
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Post by one2many on Dec 6, 2015 16:02:22 GMT
Lennon has neither sorted out a formula for our misfiring "strikers" nor a solution for our defensive frailty. 3 months without a win. Two Right backs brought in (why?  if you have such a limited budget? )and neither in the squad. Dervite plays every week and every week seems to be at fault for a goal. Dobbie, Heskey, Ameobi, all three his signings. You can count their goal contribution on one hand and still have fingers over. Lennon every week keeps going on about how he could of had this player or that. Those are the excuses of a drowning man. Our club needed a manager who could spot a bargain in the transfer window and devise tactics to suit the players at his disposal. He is only still in a job because what goes on on the pitch at the moment is very much secondary to the boardroom negotiations. |
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Post by OohMac on Dec 6, 2015 16:03:49 GMT
It's right, I think, not to hang Neil on the basis of incoming players during his reign - if you are obliged to shop in Pound land you cannot expect luxury items. But if you only had a very limited budget you would make sure you only bought essentials. Neil maybe shopping at Poundland but he seems to have gone for his weekly shop and come back with a cap gun and silly string. Lennon likes to have a squad of 34 fringe players who he can rotate. When he first came in he was the anti-Freedman. In came the kids and the attacking football and out went the dross. A few defeats has knocked his confidence and he sees the kids as being too "risky". Yes sometimes Walker will fade and Woolery might not have the impact but no reason to write them off completely. His handling of Wilson has been downright horrendous. The lad was having a decent run before he was publicly criticised and exiled. He's brought in a 'number 2' who, very apt because since he came we have been that, shite. Madine calling him on the field in front of the cameras shows me theres no love lost in that dressing room. Think much better managers have been sacked for much less. Nigel Pearson springs to mind. I understand the Lennon sympathizers, i was one too but I cannot see any improvement. No idea what he does all week in training. He had enough players there to field 2 teams with subs. He choose to bring in Dobbie, Heskey, Madine, Prince, Wilson, Pisano, etc. He's chosen not to use Medo, Vela(for 12 weeks), Woolery, derick. And I just cannot see why. |
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Post by whitesince63 on Dec 6, 2015 16:42:29 GMT
It is hard to argue a case for Lennon right now but we are only losing by narrow margins and most games this season we could actually have won if we hadn't missed easy chances or given away soft goals. That said, I do also agree that by now Neil should have worked out some kind of formation to stop the rot. It's not easy though when players just make mistakes at both ends of the pitch and whilst I don't think we're anywhere near play off material, neither do I think we're bad enough as a squad to be adrift at the bottom. I also agree about the transfers we have made. Not anywhere near good enough and surely we could have at least tried some of our young players. How could they have done worse? I actually think though that if Holdsworth's group do take over Neil will be gone anyway so either way something should happen soon.
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Post by Pedro on Dec 6, 2015 21:29:27 GMT
It is hard to argue a case for Lennon right now but we are only losing by narrow margins and most games this season we could actually have won if we hadn't missed easy chances or given away soft goals. That said, I do also agree that by now Neil should have worked out some kind of formation to stop the rot. It's not easy though when players just make mistakes at both ends of the pitch and whilst I don't think we're anywhere near play off material, neither do I think we're bad enough as a squad to be adrift at the bottom. I also agree about the transfers we have made. Not anywhere near good enough and surely we could have at least tried some of our young players. How could they have done worse? I actually think though that if Holdsworth's group do take over Neil will be gone anyway so either way something should happen soon. Spot on ws63. That's exactly how I feel right now. He just doesn't learn from his mistakes. Same old same old that we have been seeing since BSA. It drives me nuts and I finally have lost my patience. Bring in the goal scorers from the under 18's and development squad for goodness sake Neil. They CANNOT be any worse than the ********* you pick who miss the huge target by miles every week.  |
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Post by westandlower on Dec 7, 2015 19:29:44 GMT
Lennon should take a lesson from Big Sam's policy on taking over struggling teams: drill the team to make us hard to beat. Defend, defend, defend for 75 mins. Starting with the centre forward - close down any of their defenders with the ball, harry them and make them panic into a poor pass, give away or throw in. In the last 15 minutes be a bit more adventurous and try to nick one to win the game.
He should also work on set pieces and have more than one ready. Our current ploy seems to be to let Casado have a shot. Wheater is capable of scoring with his head from corners and free kicks but he's hardly used except for the last desparate 5 minutes.
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Post by whitesince63 on Dec 7, 2015 20:41:10 GMT
Lennon should take a lesson from Big Sam's policy on taking over struggling teams: drill the team to make us hard to beat. Defend, defend, defend for 75 mins. Starting with the centre forward - close down any of their defenders with the ball, harry them and make them panic into a poor pass, give away or throw in. In the last 15 minutes be a bit more adventurous and try to nick one to win the game. He should also work on set pieces and have more than one ready. Our current ploy seems to be to let Casado have a shot. Wheater is capable of scoring with his head from corners and free kicks but he's hardly used except for the last desparate 5 minutes. Can't disagree with that westy except that Sam has quality players now even though under-performing and employed quality players whilst he was here who he could rely on to do what they were told. Unfortunately NL has a bunch of no hopers who can not be relied on which is why we could afford them. We've all seen the inconsistency so do you really think Lennon could rely on them to concentrate for 90 minutes each game? It doesn't really matter what he does with them, it won't change the fact the majority of them are just not good enough. Without an infusion of quality we're sunk and it wouldn't matter who was managing them, including BSA. |
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Post by riochforthereebok on Dec 7, 2015 21:10:56 GMT
Be interesting to see if Eastleigh tear us apart in the FA Cup cos I really can't see us winning that at all.
No doubt the usual Lenno suspects will be in show
OR
Could this be the win we need to turn out season around? You know!! A 7-0 hiding with a hat trick from MadGazMadine.....
Behave Rioch, that's just fantasy football...
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Post by OohMac on Dec 7, 2015 21:16:29 GMT
Not sure about the first bit it seems to me that's exactly what Dougie Freedman tried and it was dire. But the second point about set pieces is something we should definitely be doing more of. Drilling them constantly. See Matt Mills scored twice on Saturday and even though Dervite netted his first in a white shirt we haven't been seeing anything like the return you'd expect from a team with Ameobi, Madine, Pratley and Wheater in amongst the box.
The difference between Freedman and Lennon at the start was night and day. Positive, attacking football. We looked so much fitter than opponents too. Neil rarely used subs but you couldn't tell. These days its completely changed.
If Lennon does go there will no ASDA announcements greeted with cheers like Freedman. I do think he's still got the support of 60% maybe. I'm just of the thinking now that he's not learning, he doesn't look like he's bothered, his interviews are more introvert. He's picking players well off form like Pratley, Danns because he thinks he can trust them. He said he won't throw kids into a relegation fight....What? When does he ever think we won't be in one? The time is now.
All the games are winnable in this league and yet we've managed just 1. Most of the time its down to individual mistakes but these mistakes don't matter as much if you can score 2 or 3 in a game but if you don't create at all then the mistakes get highlighted.
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