I would be happy with Matt Taylor, although if we want a young coach/manager, who plays a variant of 3-5-2 and has not only played for the club but got promoted under Chris powell, didnt we already have one of those?
We did but is Taylor a better coach, tactician etc?
Taylor is different from JJ and Bowyer in that he started as a defensive coach at Exeter, then was successful as their U23 Premier League coach (probably why he gets youngsters and wants to promote them) and then stepped up to manage the first team - he's been on a six year journey in doing that. He hasn't learnt how to manage at CAFC with the influences that are prevalent here in the way that JJ did under Bowyer and Bowyer did under Robinson. The other aspect is that the voice and much of what they say is the same whether they are coach or manager.
Taylor would come to the Club knowing about its history, its fans etc but without any pre-conceived ideas about the squad and more to the point without the players having any pre-conceived ideas about him. On a much grander scale I would liken it to Steven Gerrard taking all that he has learnt about managing at Rangers and Villa before he eventually possibly becomes Liverpool Manager. There's nothing that Gerrard doesn't know about Liverpool but they didn't want him learning his craft there.
I think it also has some similarities to the Powell and Bowyer appointments. Both understood the club but had spent enough time away from Charlton that they didn’t have existing relationships and ideas about staff and players. I know Bowyer was a coach under Robinson but not for long.
I never understand this.
It's probably very important that people running the business side of the club understand the history so they understand why certain things work and certain things don't. But does that really also translate to the manager of the first team?
Are we any different to any other club in the fact we have a ground, a training ground, play 11 a side football on a similar size pitch? The fans want to win football matches, preferably with aesthetically pleasing football, and the minimum expectation is that they players look like they care and are putting in the required effort. Doesn't that describe every club?
I would be happy with Matt Taylor, although if we want a young coach/manager, who plays a variant of 3-5-2 and has not only played for the club but got promoted under Chris powell, didnt we already have one of those?
We did but is Taylor a better coach, tactician etc?
Taylor is different from JJ and Bowyer in that he started as a defensive coach at Exeter, then was successful as their U23 Premier League coach (probably why he gets youngsters and wants to promote them) and then stepped up to manage the first team - he's been on a six year journey in doing that. He hasn't learnt how to manage at CAFC with the influences that are prevalent here in the way that JJ did under Bowyer and Bowyer did under Robinson. The other aspect is that the voice and much of what they say is the same whether they are coach or manager.
Taylor would come to the Club knowing about its history, its fans etc but without any pre-conceived ideas about the squad and more to the point without the players having any pre-conceived ideas about him. On a much grander scale I would liken it to Steven Gerrard taking all that he has learnt about managing at Rangers and Villa before he eventually possibly becomes Liverpool Manager. There's nothing that Gerrard doesn't know about Liverpool but they didn't want him learning his craft there.
I think it also has some similarities to the Powell and Bowyer appointments. Both understood the club but had spent enough time away from Charlton that they didn’t have existing relationships and ideas about staff and players. I know Bowyer was a coach under Robinson but not for long.
I never understand this.
It's probably very important that people running the business side of the club understand the history so they understand why certain things work and certain things don't. But does that really also translate to the manager of the first team?
Are we any different to any other club in the fact we have a ground, a training ground, play 11 a side football on a similar size pitch? The fans want to win football matches, preferably with aesthetically pleasing football, and the minimum expectation is that they players look like they care and are putting in the required effort. Doesn't that describe every club?
I would be happy with Matt Taylor, although if we want a young coach/manager, who plays a variant of 3-5-2 and has not only played for the club but got promoted under Chris powell, didnt we already have one of those?
We did but is Taylor a better coach, tactician etc?
Taylor is different from JJ and Bowyer in that he started as a defensive coach at Exeter, then was successful as their U23 Premier League coach (probably why he gets youngsters and wants to promote them) and then stepped up to manage the first team - he's been on a six year journey in doing that. He hasn't learnt how to manage at CAFC with the influences that are prevalent here in the way that JJ did under Bowyer and Bowyer did under Robinson. The other aspect is that the voice and much of what they say is the same whether they are coach or manager.
Taylor would come to the Club knowing about its history, its fans etc but without any pre-conceived ideas about the squad and more to the point without the players having any pre-conceived ideas about him. On a much grander scale I would liken it to Steven Gerrard taking all that he has learnt about managing at Rangers and Villa before he eventually possibly becomes Liverpool Manager. There's nothing that Gerrard doesn't know about Liverpool but they didn't want him learning his craft there.
I think it also has some similarities to the Powell and Bowyer appointments. Both understood the club but had spent enough time away from Charlton that they didn’t have existing relationships and ideas about staff and players. I know Bowyer was a coach under Robinson but not for long.
I never understand this.
It's probably very important that people running the business side of the club understand the history so they understand why certain things work and certain things don't. But does that really also translate to the manager of the first team?
Are we any different to any other club in the fact we have a ground, a training ground, play 11 a side football on a similar size pitch? The fans want to win football matches, preferably with aesthetically pleasing football, and the minimum expectation is that they players look like they care and are putting in the required effort. Doesn't that describe every club?
I dunno, ask Curbs, Powell and Bowyer.
What if I asked Pardew, Reed, Jackson or Parkinson?
I would be happy with Matt Taylor, although if we want a young coach/manager, who plays a variant of 3-5-2 and has not only played for the club but got promoted under Chris powell, didnt we already have one of those?
We did but is Taylor a better coach, tactician etc?
Taylor is different from JJ and Bowyer in that he started as a defensive coach at Exeter, then was successful as their U23 Premier League coach (probably why he gets youngsters and wants to promote them) and then stepped up to manage the first team - he's been on a six year journey in doing that. He hasn't learnt how to manage at CAFC with the influences that are prevalent here in the way that JJ did under Bowyer and Bowyer did under Robinson. The other aspect is that the voice and much of what they say is the same whether they are coach or manager.
Taylor would come to the Club knowing about its history, its fans etc but without any pre-conceived ideas about the squad and more to the point without the players having any pre-conceived ideas about him. On a much grander scale I would liken it to Steven Gerrard taking all that he has learnt about managing at Rangers and Villa before he eventually possibly becomes Liverpool Manager. There's nothing that Gerrard doesn't know about Liverpool but they didn't want him learning his craft there.
I think it also has some similarities to the Powell and Bowyer appointments. Both understood the club but had spent enough time away from Charlton that they didn’t have existing relationships and ideas about staff and players. I know Bowyer was a coach under Robinson but not for long.
I never understand this.
It's probably very important that people running the business side of the club understand the history so they understand why certain things work and certain things don't. But does that really also translate to the manager of the first team?
Are we any different to any other club in the fact we have a ground, a training ground, play 11 a side football on a similar size pitch? The fans want to win football matches, preferably with aesthetically pleasing football, and the minimum expectation is that they players look like they care and are putting in the required effort. Doesn't that describe every club?
I dunno, ask Curbs, Powell and Bowyer.
What if I asked Pardew, Reed, Jackson or Parkinson?
Good point. While you’re there ask Riga, Luzon, Peeters, Slade, Adkins and Robinson as well.
I would be happy with Matt Taylor, although if we want a young coach/manager, who plays a variant of 3-5-2 and has not only played for the club but got promoted under Chris powell, didnt we already have one of those?
We did but is Taylor a better coach, tactician etc?
Taylor is different from JJ and Bowyer in that he started as a defensive coach at Exeter, then was successful as their U23 Premier League coach (probably why he gets youngsters and wants to promote them) and then stepped up to manage the first team - he's been on a six year journey in doing that. He hasn't learnt how to manage at CAFC with the influences that are prevalent here in the way that JJ did under Bowyer and Bowyer did under Robinson. The other aspect is that the voice and much of what they say is the same whether they are coach or manager.
Taylor would come to the Club knowing about its history, its fans etc but without any pre-conceived ideas about the squad and more to the point without the players having any pre-conceived ideas about him. On a much grander scale I would liken it to Steven Gerrard taking all that he has learnt about managing at Rangers and Villa before he eventually possibly becomes Liverpool Manager. There's nothing that Gerrard doesn't know about Liverpool but they didn't want him learning his craft there.
I think it also has some similarities to the Powell and Bowyer appointments. Both understood the club but had spent enough time away from Charlton that they didn’t have existing relationships and ideas about staff and players. I know Bowyer was a coach under Robinson but not for long.
I never understand this.
It's probably very important that people running the business side of the club understand the history so they understand why certain things work and certain things don't. But does that really also translate to the manager of the first team?
Are we any different to any other club in the fact we have a ground, a training ground, play 11 a side football on a similar size pitch? The fans want to win football matches, preferably with aesthetically pleasing football, and the minimum expectation is that they players look like they care and are putting in the required effort. Doesn't that describe every club?
We don't have to make "understanding the Club" the be all and end all. But if we were to substitute "Club" for "fans" would that change things? What sort of relationship did Pardew enjoy, given his Palace background, compared to say Steven Gerrard at Liverpool? Do we not think that a former player like Taylor, who never left anything behind when playing and who I have yet to find one of our fans who have net him say a bad thing about (check further up), means that they get that much more time by most fans?
Taylor would be more than decent. Knowing the club/area means he could get stuck into managing straight away. Must eat up time if you are a new manager in a different city. I just hope whoever we get is a lucky manager because without a good dose of good fortune you are shafted.
An excellent article; shame it's paywalled. I'd love for Taylor to come in. Here's the intro (and hopefully the Athletic don't clamp down on this too much cos I know they're sometimes hard on that sort of thing):
The outside of the academy building at Exeter City’s Cliff Hill training ground is the best advert for the methods behind their promotion-winning League Two campaign.
Painted in red, white and black are the giant-like faces of the successful academy graduates of seasons past — Ollie Watkins of Aston Villa and England, Chelsea and Wales’ Ethan Ampadu, Jordan Moore-Taylor of Forest Green Rovers, Christy Pym of Peterborough United and veteran defender Dean Moxey.
Plans have been approved and funds signed off for new training facilities, costing more than £2 million, which is no bad thing given there are another 15 academy graduates on the books who have earned their place on the wall having made their senior debuts or become first-team regulars. The production line is impressive, even enviable, for a League Two club that has built a reputation on giving players a chance even when it has counted against them.
“We made certain sacrifices going into last season and in the middle of the pandemic, we felt it was the right thing to do to promote young players,” says manager Matt Taylor, who replaced Paul Tisdale in 2018.
“We barely recruited going into last season which meant there was a big emphasis on the younger players and it could have gone two ways. We could have been in a relegation dogfight based on the squad we had and the number of young players we needed to perform.
“But somehow, we stayed close or relatively close to the top of the table. That group of six to seven players have come into the season with 30 or 40 games under their belts, which is incredible experience. We don’t see them as young players who are inconsistent anymore. We see them as young players who know the level and have played at it before.”
I would be happy with Matt Taylor, although if we want a young coach/manager, who plays a variant of 3-5-2 and has not only played for the club but got promoted under Chris powell, didnt we already have one of those?
We did but is Taylor a better coach, tactician etc?
Taylor is different from JJ and Bowyer in that he started as a defensive coach at Exeter, then was successful as their U23 Premier League coach (probably why he gets youngsters and wants to promote them) and then stepped up to manage the first team - he's been on a six year journey in doing that. He hasn't learnt how to manage at CAFC with the influences that are prevalent here in the way that JJ did under Bowyer and Bowyer did under Robinson. The other aspect is that the voice and much of what they say is the same whether they are coach or manager.
Taylor would come to the Club knowing about its history, its fans etc but without any pre-conceived ideas about the squad and more to the point without the players having any pre-conceived ideas about him. On a much grander scale I would liken it to Steven Gerrard taking all that he has learnt about managing at Rangers and Villa before he eventually possibly becomes Liverpool Manager. There's nothing that Gerrard doesn't know about Liverpool but they didn't want him learning his craft there.
I think it also has some similarities to the Powell and Bowyer appointments. Both understood the club but had spent enough time away from Charlton that they didn’t have existing relationships and ideas about staff and players. I know Bowyer was a coach under Robinson but not for long.
I never understand this.
It's probably very important that people running the business side of the club understand the history so they understand why certain things work and certain things don't. But does that really also translate to the manager of the first team?
Are we any different to any other club in the fact we have a ground, a training ground, play 11 a side football on a similar size pitch? The fans want to win football matches, preferably with aesthetically pleasing football, and the minimum expectation is that they players look like they care and are putting in the required effort. Doesn't that describe every club?
I dunno, ask Curbs, Powell and Bowyer.
What if I asked Pardew, Reed, Jackson or Parkinson?
Good point. While you’re there ask Riga, Luzon, Peeters, Slade, Adkins and Robinson as well.
Riga knew the club second time didn't he? Was relegated.
I would be happy with Matt Taylor, although if we want a young coach/manager, who plays a variant of 3-5-2 and has not only played for the club but got promoted under Chris powell, didnt we already have one of those?
We did but is Taylor a better coach, tactician etc?
Taylor is different from JJ and Bowyer in that he started as a defensive coach at Exeter, then was successful as their U23 Premier League coach (probably why he gets youngsters and wants to promote them) and then stepped up to manage the first team - he's been on a six year journey in doing that. He hasn't learnt how to manage at CAFC with the influences that are prevalent here in the way that JJ did under Bowyer and Bowyer did under Robinson. The other aspect is that the voice and much of what they say is the same whether they are coach or manager.
Taylor would come to the Club knowing about its history, its fans etc but without any pre-conceived ideas about the squad and more to the point without the players having any pre-conceived ideas about him. On a much grander scale I would liken it to Steven Gerrard taking all that he has learnt about managing at Rangers and Villa before he eventually possibly becomes Liverpool Manager. There's nothing that Gerrard doesn't know about Liverpool but they didn't want him learning his craft there.
I think it also has some similarities to the Powell and Bowyer appointments. Both understood the club but had spent enough time away from Charlton that they didn’t have existing relationships and ideas about staff and players. I know Bowyer was a coach under Robinson but not for long.
I never understand this.
It's probably very important that people running the business side of the club understand the history so they understand why certain things work and certain things don't. But does that really also translate to the manager of the first team?
Are we any different to any other club in the fact we have a ground, a training ground, play 11 a side football on a similar size pitch? The fans want to win football matches, preferably with aesthetically pleasing football, and the minimum expectation is that they players look like they care and are putting in the required effort. Doesn't that describe every club?
I dunno, ask Curbs, Powell and Bowyer.
What if I asked Pardew, Reed, Jackson or Parkinson?
Good point. While you’re there ask Riga, Luzon, Peeters, Slade, Adkins and Robinson as well.
Riga knew the club second time didn't he? Was relegated.
Some things you can't fight whether you know the club or not.
We don't have to make "understanding the Club" the be all and end all. But if we were to substitute "Club" for "fans" would that change things? What sort of relationship did Pardew enjoy, given his Palace background, compared to say Steven Gerrard at Liverpool? Do we not think that a former player like Taylor, who never left anything behind when playing and who I have yet to find one of our fans who have net him say a bad thing about (check further up), means that they get that much more time by most fans?
They probably would get more time but making it "a thing" ignores all the other factors that led to Curbishley's, especially, success. Much higher up the list of reason would be actually being a good manager, the support and cooperation of the board/owner and the authority to do what he wanted, with in reason.
The only time since he left those circumstances have been replicated was the "summer of Powell".
I would be happy with Matt Taylor, although if we want a young coach/manager, who plays a variant of 3-5-2 and has not only played for the club but got promoted under Chris powell, didnt we already have one of those?
We did but is Taylor a better coach, tactician etc?
Taylor is different from JJ and Bowyer in that he started as a defensive coach at Exeter, then was successful as their U23 Premier League coach (probably why he gets youngsters and wants to promote them) and then stepped up to manage the first team - he's been on a six year journey in doing that. He hasn't learnt how to manage at CAFC with the influences that are prevalent here in the way that JJ did under Bowyer and Bowyer did under Robinson. The other aspect is that the voice and much of what they say is the same whether they are coach or manager.
Taylor would come to the Club knowing about its history, its fans etc but without any pre-conceived ideas about the squad and more to the point without the players having any pre-conceived ideas about him. On a much grander scale I would liken it to Steven Gerrard taking all that he has learnt about managing at Rangers and Villa before he eventually possibly becomes Liverpool Manager. There's nothing that Gerrard doesn't know about Liverpool but they didn't want him learning his craft there.
I think it also has some similarities to the Powell and Bowyer appointments. Both understood the club but had spent enough time away from Charlton that they didn’t have existing relationships and ideas about staff and players. I know Bowyer was a coach under Robinson but not for long.
I never understand this.
It's probably very important that people running the business side of the club understand the history so they understand why certain things work and certain things don't. But does that really also translate to the manager of the first team?
Are we any different to any other club in the fact we have a ground, a training ground, play 11 a side football on a similar size pitch? The fans want to win football matches, preferably with aesthetically pleasing football, and the minimum expectation is that they players look like they care and are putting in the required effort. Doesn't that describe every club?
I dunno, ask Curbs, Powell and Bowyer.
What if I asked Pardew, Reed, Jackson or Parkinson?
Good point. While you’re there ask Riga, Luzon, Peeters, Slade, Adkins and Robinson as well.
Riga knew the club second time didn't he? Was relegated.
Some things you can't fight whether you know the club or not.
We will hire who ever is left on the self in late August.
That’s the spirit!
Watford and Fleetwood have hired already . The rest with managers are signing players and we are tracing last years disaster when we had a manager who apparently was bi passed on some signings of which , somewere late anyway . We then scrabbled around in September. The answer was Soarè. When I pointed out in mid June our recruitment was slow and not in line with smashing the league I was rounded on by all. Now everyone agrees last summer was piss poor. That is why I say thar, history doesn't exactly point to anything else does it , with Tommy. Why he just doesn't do his badges and have done with it. 3 managers in 20 months isn't goi g to attract a high flyer does it. I hope I am wrong.
What manager was apparently bi & why didn't he stiffen up the back 3 ?
Football mirrors life in the respect it's about the journey not the destination. We will win some and lose some, hopefully more of the former and get promoted, but for the around 100 hours we may spend watching in a season I want to see an enjoyable style of football played as a team.
That was the soul crushing thing about this season, shockingly disjointed and rubbish football. I didn't enjoy the wins even.
So as long as the new manager can bring some entertainment and finish top 6, or at least be fighting for it, I'm happy.
I was told this information in late 2021, I was told not to keep it to myself which I did do.
But now I will share it on here.
I know someone who works for the club in the medical setup.
This person told me in December 2021, that the atmosphere in the dressing room at that time was awful, almost toxic.
Some of the first team squad were barely speaking to each other. And Jackson had all but lost the changing room.
The reason behind this unrest was Covid..
Some senior players (I don’t know names or numbers) but certainly two, possibly more players were committed Anti Vaxers.
Other players felt unhappy to mix with anyone who refused to be vaccinated. This divided the squad and hence caused bad feeling.
Because of this, some players shunned the Christmas party. I also understand that some people who did attend the Christmas party then tested positive for Covid days after attending the party. Jackson being one of those.
This caused further bad feeling and unrest.
I don’t know any more, but I will speculate and say that this may well be part of the reason we had such a bad January, and then struggled for the remainder of the season.
I hope this is true. Because it would explain a lot. And also give us a bit of hope that the agitators are gone and we can move forward.
Gilbey was very ill with Covid . Fraser caught it almost as soon as he arrived. He is still suffering the effects.
I wonder if Gilbey was an anti vaxer .
Anti vaccination is stupid. When I was 6 I caught polio. I ended up in hospital where a new vaccination was just available. It was administered into my back in several places.
It seemed to work as I made a good recovery.
In the hospital room next to mine was a youngish man in an iron lung unit. I could see him through the window. He had been in the RAF from early in the war. There was no vaccination when he fell ill.
It is stupid to risk serous illness for the sake of vaccine protection .
I can easily see how devicive such an attitude would be in these circumstances.
He booked to get vaccinated, but then misplaced the bit of paper he wrote his appointment time on. He realized late what had happened and ran really hard to get there but arrived just too late.
I was told this information in late 2021, I was told not to keep it to myself which I did do.
But now I will share it on here.
I know someone who works for the club in the medical setup.
This person told me in December 2021, that the atmosphere in the dressing room at that time was awful, almost toxic.
Some of the first team squad were barely speaking to each other. And Jackson had all but lost the changing room.
The reason behind this unrest was Covid..
Some senior players (I don’t know names or numbers) but certainly two, possibly more players were committed Anti Vaxers.
Other players felt unhappy to mix with anyone who refused to be vaccinated. This divided the squad and hence caused bad feeling.
Because of this, some players shunned the Christmas party. I also understand that some people who did attend the Christmas party then tested positive for Covid days after attending the party. Jackson being one of those.
This caused further bad feeling and unrest.
I don’t know any more, but I will speculate and say that this may well be part of the reason we had such a bad January, and then struggled for the remainder of the season.
I hope this is true. Because it would explain a lot. And also give us a bit of hope that the agitators are gone and we can move forward.
Gilbey was very ill with Covid . Fraser caught it almost as soon as he arrived. He is still suffering the effects.
I wonder if Gilbey was an anti vaxer .
Anti vaccination is stupid. When I was 6 I caught polio. I ended up in hospital where a new vaccination was just available. It was administered into my back in several places.
It seemed to work as I made a good recovery.
In the hospital room next to mine was a youngish man in an iron lung unit. I could see him through the window. He had been in the RAF from early in the war. There was no vaccination when he fell ill.
It is stupid to risk serous illness for the sake of vaccine protection .
I can easily see how devicive such an attitude would be in these circumstances.
He booked to get vaccinated, but then misplaced the bit of paper he he wrote his appointment time on. He realized late what had happened and ran really hard to get there but arrived just too late.
When they didn’t let him in, he pulled the nurses blouse twice inside 5 mins
There's obviously been a conversation... which is more than you can say for any other candidate we're aware of. Whether that conversation will lead anywhere is another question.
Unless you're in the Sandgaard or Taylor families, we're all in the dark in reality.
I would be happy with Matt Taylor, although if we want a young coach/manager, who plays a variant of 3-5-2 and has not only played for the club but got promoted under Chris powell, didnt we already have one of those?
We did but is Taylor a better coach, tactician etc?
Taylor is different from JJ and Bowyer in that he started as a defensive coach at Exeter, then was successful as their U23 Premier League coach (probably why he gets youngsters and wants to promote them) and then stepped up to manage the first team - he's been on a six year journey in doing that. He hasn't learnt how to manage at CAFC with the influences that are prevalent here in the way that JJ did under Bowyer and Bowyer did under Robinson. The other aspect is that the voice and much of what they say is the same whether they are coach or manager.
Taylor would come to the Club knowing about its history, its fans etc but without any pre-conceived ideas about the squad and more to the point without the players having any pre-conceived ideas about him. On a much grander scale I would liken it to Steven Gerrard taking all that he has learnt about managing at Rangers and Villa before he eventually possibly becomes Liverpool Manager. There's nothing that Gerrard doesn't know about Liverpool but they didn't want him learning his craft there.
I think it also has some similarities to the Powell and Bowyer appointments. Both understood the club but had spent enough time away from Charlton that they didn’t have existing relationships and ideas about staff and players. I know Bowyer was a coach under Robinson but not for long.
I never understand this.
It's probably very important that people running the business side of the club understand the history so they understand why certain things work and certain things don't. But does that really also translate to the manager of the first team?
Are we any different to any other club in the fact we have a ground, a training ground, play 11 a side football on a similar size pitch? The fans want to win football matches, preferably with aesthetically pleasing football, and the minimum expectation is that they players look like they care and are putting in the required effort. Doesn't that describe every club?
I dunno, ask Curbs, Powell and Bowyer.
What if I asked Pardew, Reed, Jackson or Parkinson?
Good point. While you’re there ask Riga, Luzon, Peeters, Slade, Adkins and Robinson as well.
Riga was a success when he didn't know the club, then when he came knowing the club he failed
Comments
As the actress said to the bishop!!...
An excellent article; shame it's paywalled. I'd love for Taylor to come in. Here's the intro (and hopefully the Athletic don't clamp down on this too much cos I know they're sometimes hard on that sort of thing):
The outside of the academy building at Exeter City’s Cliff Hill training ground is the best advert for the methods behind their promotion-winning League Two campaign.
Painted in red, white and black are the giant-like faces of the successful academy graduates of seasons past — Ollie Watkins of Aston Villa and England, Chelsea and Wales’ Ethan Ampadu, Jordan Moore-Taylor of Forest Green Rovers, Christy Pym of Peterborough United and veteran defender Dean Moxey.
Plans have been approved and funds signed off for new training facilities, costing more than £2 million, which is no bad thing given there are another 15 academy graduates on the books who have earned their place on the wall having made their senior debuts or become first-team regulars. The production line is impressive, even enviable, for a League Two club that has built a reputation on giving players a chance even when it has counted against them.
“We made certain sacrifices going into last season and in the middle of the pandemic, we felt it was the right thing to do to promote young players,” says manager Matt Taylor, who replaced Paul Tisdale in 2018.
“We barely recruited going into last season which meant there was a big emphasis on the younger players and it could have gone two ways. We could have been in a relegation dogfight based on the squad we had and the number of young players we needed to perform.
“But somehow, we stayed close or relatively close to the top of the table. That group of six to seven players have come into the season with 30 or 40 games under their belts, which is incredible experience. We don’t see them as young players who are inconsistent anymore. We see them as young players who know the level and have played at it before.”
The only time since he left those circumstances have been replicated was the "summer of Powell".
That was the soul crushing thing about this season, shockingly disjointed and rubbish football. I didn't enjoy the wins even.
So as long as the new manager can bring some entertainment and finish top 6, or at least be fighting for it, I'm happy.
Not me - he's still 9/2 with William Hill anyway
Unless you're in the Sandgaard or Taylor families, we're all in the dark in reality.