Michael Appleton - March 2025 appointed Shrewsbury manager (p124)

jimmymelrose said:

JohnnyH2 said:

jimmymelrose said:

First of all, let’s be clear that at Charlton, we don’t have a manager picking the team, we have a Head Coach.

I’d be happy with either Lee Bowyer, Gary Rowett or Gareth Ainsworth. They all know how to get the most out of the players.

However, I have to say that I disagree with sacking Appleton as much as I was with the other coaches before them. Yes, we were shit, but I don’t believe it was due to him, and the same was true with the previous coaches.

I draw the parallel with a teacher at a school. As a teacher, you can be very good at your job but if the students (players) don’t listen,  aren’t motivated, hate the school (club) they’re at, have problems with other students (players), think they’re better than they are, don’t need to study, don’t try to understand and do the work then the teacher won’t succeed.

In addition, if the school administration don’t make the objectives clear, give the necessary information to the teacher, don’t address the teacher’s difficulties effectively, listen to what the teacher thinks is wrong within the organisation then again the teacher won’t succeed.

The teacher then becomes demotivated and at worst just does what the students want in full knowledge that it isn’t what they need, which starts a new vicious circle.
If, into the bargain, the teacher knows he will have a fully paid up 3 year contract (which would never happen) with no fear for his livlihood then why would he work his bollocks off to the detriment of his private life for a shitshow.

Imagine then a school with multiple teachers like this. The school would slide rapidly down the OFSTED ratings.

Charlton are a club on the slide. All the coaches since Boywer are like the unfortunate teachers in my analogy. Only changing the true management will change things, not replacing Appleton.
We may get a bounce off this new manager and survive this season but it makes no difference. We will go down by 2025 (I’m sure that I predicted this on here a few years ago). I’d rather have kept Appleton and risk it being this season because with each change we just get worse.

How on earth could we carry on with him.  How many more games would you have been at before you decided he had to go?

I would have carried on until the end of the season because:

1. It gives the message to current and future players that at Charlton you cannot just ’down tools’, undermine the head coach and expect a change.

2. It shows to future head coaches that at Charlton you get a minimum of one full season.



I accept that this policy means that based on current form we would have got relegated but:

1. I think current form is due to players ’downing tools’ and it wouldn't have continued anyway once they realise the head coach is staying. I believe this because Appleton did get results earlier in the season that got us from our current position up to 9th.

2. We’ve had too many short term, knee jerk reactions. We need to get back to thinking of our long term interest. It shows future coaches that we are not a sacking club. It also shows the players that the head coach is boss and not held ransom to soft baby players of such insolence and disrespect.