I used to think there’s no benefit in appointing early, but I’m not so sure now.
There’s a real feeling of positivity about the club right now, and I suspect that could start to dissipate if the players and (most) fans feel JJ isn’t being treated fairly.
But: Appoint him on Saturday, and we lose (we might with Plymouth in form and us losing key players) and some will say he was appointed too soon and the pressure will mount.
But overall I say give him the job now, as I think he’s the right man at the right time, and if it goes wrong, it goes wrong. That’s always a potential outcome whoever you appoint as manager.
One thing to consider is that other clubs will notice how well JJ is doing... what's to say TS keeps delaying and another club comes in with a firm offer. Yes he's Charlton but he also seems desperate to manage
Personally I think TS is still looking for a 'sexy' 'big name' to appear, which I think that's disrespectful to JJ.
Also was that tweet this weekend a bit of a concern? Something about " not the prettiest game" he didn't make those kind of comments after a win from his guy Adkins.
There will be a riot if he doesn't get it!
Lol, yes we have a long history of rioting at The Valley when things do not go our way.
Roddy: "Steve, do you realize if JJ can continue to get positive results and we can rise up the table then you won't get sacked as chief scout and I won't have to shift the blame on to you for the last window as the new boys continue to improve"
Gallen: "What you are forgetting Ged, it was you who told Thomas to bring in Nigel Wordsworth Adkins despite him being out the game for a few years and wandering lonely as a cloud around Sparrows lane.
Roddy: Ok Steve, let's move on from Nads and focus on saving our jobs.
Gallen: Fortunately for me Ged, I have never said 4-3-3 is set in stone and tried to implement that for the manager and I have always believed that a black box belongs on an aeroplane
Roddy: As I said Steve, let's move on, I will make sure that Jackson gets the job, as he is loved by 99% of Charlton folk and is a winner which I'm not used too, plus I will get Thomas to give you a two year extension on your contract with a wage increase.
One thing to consider is that other clubs will notice how well JJ is doing... what's to say TS keeps delaying and another club comes in with a firm offer. Yes he's Charlton but he also seems desperate to manage
Personally I think TS is still looking for a 'sexy' 'big name' to appear, which I think that's disrespectful to JJ.
Also was that tweet this weekend a bit of a concern? Something about " not the prettiest game" he didn't make those kind of comments after a win from his guy Adkins.
There will be a riot if he doesn't get it!
You’re not convinced by TS so expecting him to do the opposite of what the majority want.
I’m sure he wants JJ to do well and get the job as much as we all do. We know TS wants the fans onside and wants to be liked, he won’t replace JJ if he keeps getting results.
It wasn’t long ago some (not necessarily you) were insisting TS made a mess of the summer window, wouldn’t sack Adkins as it would be too expensive, and that he’d appoint JJ as it’s the cheapest option. Instead he’s done there right thing by sacking Adkins and giving JJ a chance rather than rushing to bring in a replacement. Overall the summer signings also look better than we thought they were.
I don’t think it’ll be confirmed yet but I expect it will soon enough.
I used to think there’s no benefit in appointing early, but I’m not so sure now.
There’s a real feeling of positivity about the club right now, and I suspect that could start to dissipate if the players and (most) fans feel JJ isn’t being treated fairly.
But: Appoint him on Saturday, and we lose (we might with Plymouth in form and us losing key players) and some will say he was appointed too soon and the pressure will mount.
But overall I say give him the job now, as I think he’s the right man at the right time, and if it goes wrong, it goes wrong. That’s always a potential outcome whoever you appoint as manager.
If that happens then those people are at a level of misery and pessimism where you can’t win either way.
We’ve got a dream set up at the moment. An owner who’s passionate about the club, a management team of Johnnie Jackson and Jason Euell, and a squad that people are beginning to bond with. Sure, there are tweaks and optimisations to be made, but it’s a lot better than anything we’ve had for years.
I’d rather follow that up and down the country than say Neil Warnock or Chris Hughton, regardless if Jackson hits a poor run of form.
So are we now saying that in fact, the transfer window was a
success and the only reason we were in the bottom 3 was down to Adkins? Because
if it ain’t, I just think it a little bit short sighted to be crying out for Jacko
to get permanent terms, all the while ignoring the “system” that helped put us
in the bottom 3.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m a staunch traditionalist, for want
of a better word, and love the idea of ex-players coming in and doing well
(like Powell and Bowyer etc before) so really hope Jacko continues with his
success. He’s come in and made the changes that virtually everyone else was
crying out for under Adkins and he’s getting the results. He’s also a bit more
down with the players (maybe because of his age), so seems to have them on his
side, which is also great.
But, if the last transfer window did play a part in the
terrible performances and league position, then this would feel like a bit of a
stop-gap to me. Sure give Jacko the job, but I just don’t think it’s the answer
to the bigger problem, if other things don’t change at the same time. Reckon it
highly likely we’ll be having the same conversation at the end of the season.
Still also find it very frustrating that no one seems to
know exactly who is responsible for what.
So are we now saying that in fact, the transfer window was a
success and the only reason we were in the bottom 3 was down to Adkins? Because
if it ain’t, I just think it a little bit short sighted to be crying out for Jacko
to get permanent terms, all the while ignoring the “system” that helped put us
in the bottom 3.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m a staunch traditionalist, for want
of a better word, and love the idea of ex-players coming in and doing well
(like Powell and Bowyer etc before) so really hope Jacko continues with his
success. He’s come in and made the changes that virtually everyone else was
crying out for under Adkins and he’s getting the results. He’s also a bit more
down with the players (maybe because of his age), so seems to have them on his
side, which is also great.
But, if the last transfer window did play a part in the
terrible performances and league position, then this would feel like a bit of a
stop-gap to me. Sure give Jacko the job, but I just don’t think it’s the answer
to the bigger problem, if other things don’t change at the same time. Reckon it
highly likely we’ll be having the same conversation at the end of the season.
Still also find it very frustrating that no one seems to
know exactly who is responsible for what.
I personally think the whole “not getting business done until late” excuse is a bit of a myth. Sure, it’s much better to get everything done early but that almost never happens. Very few (if any) clubs got all of their business done early - I honestly couldn’t name one club who didn’t take key business down to the final day.
The issue we faced that others necessarily didn’t was the player churn every season, meaning we had a whole squad to recruit rather than 5-6 players. That’s not a fault of the current regime, it’s years of neglect that will take years to rectify. Adkins may have been a victim of that, but he still had enough in the building to produce a team who weren’t completely awful at everything.
There’s been a few that have come out and said he wasn’t giving clear instructions, which looks like the salient reason for our poor performances. Jackson has shown that we have enough in this squad to compete in the league.
So are we now saying that in fact, the transfer window was a
success and the only reason we were in the bottom 3 was down to Adkins?
Yes.
Fair enough. Amazing it can go from one eventuality to the other in such a short period of time though.
Football fans/forums are a fickle thing.
Although its also a case of the new players who were signed earlier proving their worth - everyone was saying Dobson was pony, had an average score on the statbank of 5.5 over his first 5 games, average score of 7.9 in the 4 games since. That's obviously going to change opinions.
The reason everyone thinks JJ should get the job is because he's got performances out of the team, if you think the players that were signed were pony, then JJs over achieving, if you think the players were better than the previous performances suggested then JJs got them performing as they should. Either should be worthy of being offered a contract IMO (I'm more in the latter camp tbh).
Either way, if you believe the recruitment system was the cause of our failures, then no manager signing will solve that as its over their heads.
I was one of the many on here that kept on beating the "this squad is far better than they are showing" drum during the very bad run of results. I think the turnaround has shown that to be correct, this squad should easily be competing for a playoff spot if not the automatics. What we dont know and I suppose never will is if it was Adkins who was sticking to a system that was never going to work or if JJ has come in and told whoever was behind it to do one. Or has there been a shift in approach from the club ? Whatever it is thankfully it happened before it was too late and although I think we may lose this Saturday we will get enough points the rest of the season to reach the payoffs of that Im sure
I just don't buy the idea that an extra 6 weeks of Adkins would have made the later signing any better and the identity of the team any closer to being set
The reason I lay it on Nige is I think Gallen's got a good record of securing the right players on a shoe string. The summer business was questioned by many at the start of the season, and it didn't tally with past experience. Even now, some of the newbies still have to prove themselves (Kirk obviously, but we're aware of the issues there... Souare being another), but most have shown why they were signed. There were conspiracy theories around the elusive Roddy, especially as Roddy Jr appeared not ready for 1st team games but was on the peripheries of the squad. And Adkins had built credit with the run-in. But anyone watching our games could see the system wasn't working... the players were too far apart and isolated, defending was the province of too few people in the team, and there was no real threat. That system lies with the manager. It was wrong from the start. Until proved otherwise, I'll inaccurately phrase Occam's Razor... the simplest explanation is usually the correct one... Nige got it wrong.
I think (with hindsight admittedly) that the window was at best a qualified success. I can fully believe its possible that we did miss out on some players that we wanted, which may or may not be down to several factors.
However as the performance of the squad under Jackson show, the players certainly were not as bad as the initial results under Adkins suggested. Again there is still debate as to why this might be but overall I stand by the "qualified success" descriptor.
I do think that there are lessons to be learned for the upcoming January window and hopefully it will be more efficiently approached.
The reason I lay it on Nige is I think Gallen's got a good record of securing the right players on a shoe string. The summer business was questioned by many at the start of the season, and it didn't tally with past experience. Even now, some of the newbies still have to prove themselves (Kirk obviously, but we're aware of the issues there... Souare being another), but most have shown why they were signed. There were conspiracy theories around the elusive Roddy, especially as Roddy Jr appeared not ready for 1st team games but was on the peripheries of the squad. And Adkins had built credit with the run-in. But anyone watching our games could see the system wasn't working... the players were too far apart and isolated, defending was the province of too few people in the team, and there was no real threat. That system lies with the manager. It was wrong from the start. Until proved otherwise, I'll inaccurately phrase Occam's Razor... the simplest explanation is usually the correct one... Nige got it wrong.
Has he though? When we went up to the Championship we signed Oshilija, Kayal, Oztumer and Hemed who were all poor signings. I don't think it's particularly fair to reference Ledley or the January signings but they were awful too. Last season we got Maddison, Smith, Levitt, Smith and Bogle (could add Schwartz too if Gallen truly rated him).
Overall, he's done ok because this was the first transfer window where we had some flexiblity. I do think he's had it easy though, lots of excuses and he does need to deliver this season.
More important for me than giving JJ the job now is that he knows what he has to do to get the job. Whatever that is, I'm sure he is well above schedule and shouldn't be feeling under pressure at all.
So are we now saying that in fact, the transfer window was a
success and the only reason we were in the bottom 3 was down to Adkins? Because
if it ain’t, I just think it a little bit short sighted to be crying out for Jacko
to get permanent terms, all the while ignoring the “system” that helped put us
in the bottom 3.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m a staunch traditionalist, for want
of a better word, and love the idea of ex-players coming in and doing well
(like Powell and Bowyer etc before) so really hope Jacko continues with his
success. He’s come in and made the changes that virtually everyone else was
crying out for under Adkins and he’s getting the results. He’s also a bit more
down with the players (maybe because of his age), so seems to have them on his
side, which is also great.
But, if the last transfer window did play a part in the
terrible performances and league position, then this would feel like a bit of a
stop-gap to me. Sure give Jacko the job, but I just don’t think it’s the answer
to the bigger problem, if other things don’t change at the same time. Reckon it
highly likely we’ll be having the same conversation at the end of the season.
Still also find it very frustrating that no one seems to
know exactly who is responsible for what.
Is there a bigger problem? Or just lessons to be learnt across a few areas the club?
TS has seen that appointing an experienced manager doesn't guarantee success. It's usually someone dropping down because they can no longer get a decent job at a higher level.
He's also admitted this division has been more competitive than he expected. The type of late signings seemed to suggest he increased the budget towards the end of the window.
Gallen and Roddy should have a clearer picture of the player we can attract - it looked like we were too ambitious with the players we went for and missed out on some early in the window.
The reason I lay it on Nige is I think Gallen's got a good record of securing the right players on a shoe string. The summer business was questioned by many at the start of the season, and it didn't tally with past experience. Even now, some of the newbies still have to prove themselves (Kirk obviously, but we're aware of the issues there... Souare being another), but most have shown why they were signed. There were conspiracy theories around the elusive Roddy, especially as Roddy Jr appeared not ready for 1st team games but was on the peripheries of the squad. And Adkins had built credit with the run-in. But anyone watching our games could see the system wasn't working... the players were too far apart and isolated, defending was the province of too few people in the team, and there was no real threat. That system lies with the manager. It was wrong from the start. Until proved otherwise, I'll inaccurately phrase Occam's Razor... the simplest explanation is usually the correct one... Nige got it wrong.
The thing with it all is its more complicated than that. The system was not wrong, there is nothing wrong with 4231/433, half the teams in the top 3 divisions play it. England play it, more often than not. It worked last season under Adkins.
With the summer recruitment you can make a very strong case for "we got there in the end", which I agree with. We did. As a whole the summer recruitment was at least a 7 or 8 out of ten, which I think most of us gave it when the window slammed shut.
However. The team wasn't good enough for the first 5 games. Especially missing a left back, Gilbey and only having one winger. We were also unlucky that especially in Oxford and MK Dons we played 2 teams who's strength is their midfield and were better than us in a similar system.
Then your bringing players into a struggling team, you need to change it because you keep losing. Then you need to change it because the late arrivals aren't match fit, then you change it again because you lost again.
Very good teams have a very small critical mass. It sometimes takes an average player to take the team to the next level, we saw that with Purrington in the play off winning season, the balance he gave the team made a difference. If we had had a fully fit Purrington, Gilbey and Lee for Sheffield Wednesday it could well have been a completely different story.
Post Crewe, 100%, Adkins should have got more out of this squad, a lot more. This core of players have shown, on 3 different occasions they can up their game for a period. They did when they were thrown together at the last minute under Bowyer, they did when Adkins came in, they have now.
There are some players that stopped playing for Bowyer, and Adkins, if Jackson can either keep them playing for him, or get rid (he will know who and why) we might get promoted this year, certainly next.
Just wondered when it will be announced Johnnie will be getting the gig as Charlton manager on a full time basis?
If not how many more wins / points does he need to get, to get the job?
With the transfer window coming up surely it would send out a signal to players and clubs that we are a stable bet and worth joining, please Thomas S do the right thing, it will be one of the easiest and perhaps successful things you could do in your Charlton tenure.
And yes, I did wake up this morning feeling fine, and yes I have got Charlton on my mind.
Maybe an announcement on pitch before the big crowd against Plymouth
It’ll be this. Sandgaard isn’t going to miss the chance to try to steal his thunder, despite getting it massively wrong with Adkins. Should have given Jacko the job straight after Bowyer.
Just wondered when it will be announced Johnnie will be getting the gig as Charlton manager on a full time basis?
If not how many more wins / points does he need to get, to get the job?
With the transfer window coming up surely it would send out a signal to players and clubs that we are a stable bet and worth joining, please Thomas S do the right thing, it will be one of the easiest and perhaps successful things you could do in your Charlton tenure.
And yes, I did wake up this morning feeling fine, and yes I have got Charlton on my mind.
Maybe an announcement on pitch before the big crowd against Plymouth
It’ll be this. Sandgaard isn’t going to miss the chance to try to steal his thunder, despite getting it massively wrong with Adkins. Should have given Jacko the job straight after Bowyer.
Jackson himself said he was not ready for the main job at that time
I think JJ can do the job and if we recruit from outside there is a good chance of it going belly up again. TS must be getting feedback from inside the club re JJ.
We don't need a manager at the end of his career at present.
Just wondered when it will be announced Johnnie will be getting the gig as Charlton manager on a full time basis?
If not how many more wins / points does he need to get, to get the job?
With the transfer window coming up surely it would send out a signal to players and clubs that we are a stable bet and worth joining, please Thomas S do the right thing, it will be one of the easiest and perhaps successful things you could do in your Charlton tenure.
And yes, I did wake up this morning feeling fine, and yes I have got Charlton on my mind.
Maybe an announcement on pitch before the big crowd against Plymouth
It’ll be this. Sandgaard isn’t going to miss the chance to try to steal his thunder, despite getting it massively wrong with Adkins. Should have given Jacko the job straight after Bowyer.
Yeah because Sandgaard has an in-depth knowledge of out-of-work 2 bob managers and weren't advised that Adkins was a strong candidate, by a third party.
Happy to criticise Sandgaard for his faults, but using that logic, he was in a no win situation
The reason I lay it on Nige is I think Gallen's got a good record of securing the right players on a shoe string. The summer business was questioned by many at the start of the season, and it didn't tally with past experience. Even now, some of the newbies still have to prove themselves (Kirk obviously, but we're aware of the issues there... Souare being another), but most have shown why they were signed. There were conspiracy theories around the elusive Roddy, especially as Roddy Jr appeared not ready for 1st team games but was on the peripheries of the squad. And Adkins had built credit with the run-in. But anyone watching our games could see the system wasn't working... the players were too far apart and isolated, defending was the province of too few people in the team, and there was no real threat. That system lies with the manager. It was wrong from the start. Until proved otherwise, I'll inaccurately phrase Occam's Razor... the simplest explanation is usually the correct one... Nige got it wrong.
The thing with it all is its more complicated than that. The system was not wrong, there is nothing wrong with 4231/433, half the teams in the top 3 divisions play it. England play it, more often than not. It worked last season under Adkins.
With the summer recruitment you can make a very strong case for "we got there in the end", which I agree with. We did. As a whole the summer recruitment was at least a 7 or 8 out of ten, which I think most of us gave it when the window slammed shut.
However. The team wasn't good enough for the first 5 games. Especially missing a left back, Gilbey and only having one winger. We were also unlucky that especially in Oxford and MK Dons we played 2 teams who's strength is their midfield and were better than us in a similar system.
Then your bringing players into a struggling team, you need to change it because you keep losing. Then you need to change it because the late arrivals aren't match fit, then you change it again because you lost again.
Very good teams have a very small critical mass. It sometimes takes an average player to take the team to the next level, we saw that with Purrington in the play off winning season, the balance he gave the team made a difference. If we had had a fully fit Purrington, Gilbey and Lee for Sheffield Wednesday it could well have been a completely different story.
Post Crewe, 100%, Adkins should have got more out of this squad, a lot more. This core of players have shown, on 3 different occasions they can up their game for a period. They did when they were thrown together at the last minute under Bowyer, they did when Adkins came in, they have now.
There are some players that stopped playing for Bowyer, and Adkins, if Jackson can either keep them playing for him, or get rid (he will know who and why) we might get promoted this year, certainly next.
What I think is possible is that Adkins probably had more pressure to make the system work, whereas JJ had more freedom to change it. And we have seen that it needed changing, that's for sure.
We need to see how he reacts when the side loses a couple on the bounce to see how and if he can turn it round …
What's with this talk see how he reacts to some defeats, what about how the team have reacted to his taking over as caretaker..10 points from 12, wins at Sunderland and Burton, a good point against Rotherham, the team couldn't make it more plain they want him full time. Forget this talk of wanting us to lose some matches to try and prove a point, he is the right man for the job, and it would be great to see Thomas shake his hand on Saturday with a nice contract.
JJ isn't under extra pressure as he knows he has everything in his locker to be a success on and off the pitch. Johnnie was the conduit between players and owners and players and fans and he was always the bright light in a squalor of darkness.
I trust he is given the opportunity with Cafc because he will find success as a manager.
Of course we will lose matches we haven't gone from having a disorganised team to emulating the Invincibles.
The reason I lay it on Nige is I think Gallen's got a good record of securing the right players on a shoe string. The summer business was questioned by many at the start of the season, and it didn't tally with past experience. Even now, some of the newbies still have to prove themselves (Kirk obviously, but we're aware of the issues there... Souare being another), but most have shown why they were signed. There were conspiracy theories around the elusive Roddy, especially as Roddy Jr appeared not ready for 1st team games but was on the peripheries of the squad. And Adkins had built credit with the run-in. But anyone watching our games could see the system wasn't working... the players were too far apart and isolated, defending was the province of too few people in the team, and there was no real threat. That system lies with the manager. It was wrong from the start. Until proved otherwise, I'll inaccurately phrase Occam's Razor... the simplest explanation is usually the correct one... Nige got it wrong.
The thing with it all is its more complicated than that. The system was not wrong, there is nothing wrong with 4231/433, half the teams in the top 3 divisions play it. England play it, more often than not. It worked last season under Adkins.
With the summer recruitment you can make a very strong case for "we got there in the end", which I agree with. We did. As a whole the summer recruitment was at least a 7 or 8 out of ten, which I think most of us gave it when the window slammed shut.
However. The team wasn't good enough for the first 5 games. Especially missing a left back, Gilbey and only having one winger. We were also unlucky that especially in Oxford and MK Dons we played 2 teams who's strength is their midfield and were better than us in a similar system.
Then your bringing players into a struggling team, you need to change it because you keep losing. Then you need to change it because the late arrivals aren't match fit, then you change it again because you lost again.
Very good teams have a very small critical mass. It sometimes takes an average player to take the team to the next level, we saw that with Purrington in the play off winning season, the balance he gave the team made a difference. If we had had a fully fit Purrington, Gilbey and Lee for Sheffield Wednesday it could well have been a completely different story.
Post Crewe, 100%, Adkins should have got more out of this squad, a lot more. This core of players have shown, on 3 different occasions they can up their game for a period. They did when they were thrown together at the last minute under Bowyer, they did when Adkins came in, they have now.
There are some players that stopped playing for Bowyer, and Adkins, if Jackson can either keep them playing for him, or get rid (he will know who and why) we might get promoted this year, certainly next.
What I think is possible is that Adkins probably had more pressure to make the system work, whereas JJ had more freedom to change it. And we have seen that it needed changing, that's for sure.
Do you think if we had picked the same 11 players for the Sunderland game but had played 4231 we would have got a result or an improved performance?
If the system needed changing why did we sign players that couldn't play it when it was clear for months that is how we would play?
Comments
Appoint him on Saturday, and we lose (we might with Plymouth in form and us losing key players) and some will say he was appointed too soon and the pressure will mount.
Roddy: "Steve, do you realize if JJ can continue to get positive results and we can rise up the table then you won't get sacked as chief scout and I won't have to shift the blame on to you for the last window as the new boys continue to improve"
Gallen: "What you are forgetting Ged, it was you who told Thomas to bring in Nigel Wordsworth Adkins despite him being out the game for a few years and wandering lonely as a cloud around Sparrows lane.
Roddy: Ok Steve, let's move on from Nads and focus on saving our jobs.
Gallen: Fortunately for me Ged, I have never said 4-3-3 is set in stone and tried to implement that for the manager and I have always believed that a black box belongs on an aeroplane
Roddy: As I said Steve, let's move on, I will make sure that Jackson gets the job, as he is loved by 99% of Charlton folk and is a winner which I'm not used too, plus I will get Thomas to give you a two year extension on your contract with a wage increase.
Gallen: We are a great team Ged.
Roddy: We certainly are Steve.
I’m sure he wants JJ to do well and get the job as much as we all do. We know TS wants the fans onside and wants to be liked, he won’t replace JJ if he keeps getting results.
It wasn’t long ago some (not necessarily you) were insisting TS made a mess of the summer window, wouldn’t sack Adkins as it would be too expensive, and that he’d appoint JJ as it’s the cheapest option. Instead he’s done there right thing by sacking Adkins and giving JJ a chance rather than rushing to bring in a replacement. Overall the summer signings also look better than we thought they were.
I don’t think it’ll be confirmed yet but I expect it will soon enough.
I’d rather follow that up and down the country than say Neil Warnock or Chris Hughton, regardless if Jackson hits a poor run of form.
So are we now saying that in fact, the transfer window was a success and the only reason we were in the bottom 3 was down to Adkins? Because if it ain’t, I just think it a little bit short sighted to be crying out for Jacko to get permanent terms, all the while ignoring the “system” that helped put us in the bottom 3.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m a staunch traditionalist, for want of a better word, and love the idea of ex-players coming in and doing well (like Powell and Bowyer etc before) so really hope Jacko continues with his success. He’s come in and made the changes that virtually everyone else was crying out for under Adkins and he’s getting the results. He’s also a bit more down with the players (maybe because of his age), so seems to have them on his side, which is also great.
But, if the last transfer window did play a part in the terrible performances and league position, then this would feel like a bit of a stop-gap to me. Sure give Jacko the job, but I just don’t think it’s the answer to the bigger problem, if other things don’t change at the same time. Reckon it highly likely we’ll be having the same conversation at the end of the season.
Still also find it very frustrating that no one seems to know exactly who is responsible for what.
There’s been a few that have come out and said he wasn’t giving clear instructions, which looks like the salient reason for our poor performances. Jackson has shown that we have enough in this squad to compete in the league.
Although its also a case of the new players who were signed earlier proving their worth - everyone was saying Dobson was pony, had an average score on the statbank of 5.5 over his first 5 games, average score of 7.9 in the 4 games since. That's obviously going to change opinions.
The reason everyone thinks JJ should get the job is because he's got performances out of the team, if you think the players that were signed were pony, then JJs over achieving, if you think the players were better than the previous performances suggested then JJs got them performing as they should. Either should be worthy of being offered a contract IMO (I'm more in the latter camp tbh).
Either way, if you believe the recruitment system was the cause of our failures, then no manager signing will solve that as its over their heads.
However as the performance of the squad under Jackson show, the players certainly were not as bad as the initial results under Adkins suggested. Again there is still debate as to why this might be but overall I stand by the "qualified success" descriptor.
I do think that there are lessons to be learned for the upcoming January window and hopefully it will be more efficiently approached.
Overall, he's done ok because this was the first transfer window where we had some flexiblity. I do think he's had it easy though, lots of excuses and he does need to deliver this season.
TS has seen that appointing an experienced manager doesn't guarantee success. It's usually someone dropping down because they can no longer get a decent job at a higher level.
He's also admitted this division has been more competitive than he expected. The type of late signings seemed to suggest he increased the budget towards the end of the window.
Gallen and Roddy should have a clearer picture of the player we can attract - it looked like we were too ambitious with the players we went for and missed out on some early in the window.
With the summer recruitment you can make a very strong case for "we got there in the end", which I agree with. We did. As a whole the summer recruitment was at least a 7 or 8 out of ten, which I think most of us gave it when the window slammed shut.
However. The team wasn't good enough for the first 5 games. Especially missing a left back, Gilbey and only having one winger. We were also unlucky that especially in Oxford and MK Dons we played 2 teams who's strength is their midfield and were better than us in a similar system.
Then your bringing players into a struggling team, you need to change it because you keep losing. Then you need to change it because the late arrivals aren't match fit, then you change it again because you lost again.
Very good teams have a very small critical mass. It sometimes takes an average player to take the team to the next level, we saw that with Purrington in the play off winning season, the balance he gave the team made a difference. If we had had a fully fit Purrington, Gilbey and Lee for Sheffield Wednesday it could well have been a completely different story.
Post Crewe, 100%, Adkins should have got more out of this squad, a lot more. This core of players have shown, on 3 different occasions they can up their game for a period. They did when they were thrown together at the last minute under Bowyer, they did when Adkins came in, they have now.
There are some players that stopped playing for Bowyer, and Adkins, if Jackson can either keep them playing for him, or get rid (he will know who and why) we might get promoted this year, certainly next.
We don't need a manager at the end of his career at present.
Happy to criticise Sandgaard for his faults, but using that logic, he was in a no win situation
Forget this talk of wanting us to lose some matches to try and prove a point, he is the right man for the job, and it would be great to see Thomas shake his hand on Saturday with a nice contract.
I trust he is given the opportunity with Cafc because he will find success as a manager.
Of course we will lose matches we haven't gone from having a disorganised team to emulating the Invincibles.
If the system needed changing why did we sign players that couldn't play it when it was clear for months that is how we would play?
It ends up being a circular argument.