A Ship Without A Rudder

[Dribbler]

The good thing about the club at the moment is that everyone seems to be pulling together in the same direction. Whilst to some that direction might appear to be backwards, sometimes you have to take a step back to take two steps forward.

The problem before seemed to be that there was MON, his little band of merry men, and his first 11, then there was the rest of the club. There was also another seeming problem, that despite MON's admirable results, he just didn't have a sustainable approach, neither financially nor technically.

The professionalism that is now endemic in almost every club in the premier league runs through every area of a club, clubs now have to be tightly run ships that utilise and maximise every single resource they have available to them to often just bring about survival, never mind success at the top. This is one reason why things are so tight this season, other clubs are now learning how to maximise their resources.

Whilst MON was good at many things, his flaws and shortcomings were just too costly for the overall structure of a modern premiership club. Overpriced, overpaid players, some of which he then ignored, a seeming reluctance to buy foreign players, not utilising his full squad, not maximising fitness, debatable training techniques, not developing a smoother transition between the reserve and senior squads, debatable tactical nous, etc. All in all I think MON was sailing against the prevailing wind of change in modern football. If he'd been able to adapt, to incorporate the new with the very good sound old principles and knowledge he had, then he could have been a great manager. But I always got the feeling that he stopped learning a few years ago and was too stubborn and set in his ways to change and so improve.

I think that now we once again have a united club that are all singing from the same hymn sheet and will be more integrated. We are certainly not a rudderless ship, for we have a targeted destination and a plan of how to get there, and it is indeed the best thought out route we could choose, though it  means going back on ourselves slightly to get to that route. Whilst some of the scenery was nice on the journey he took us upon, most people could see the rocks ahead lying just under the surface.
MON thought he was bigger than the ship, treated it's owners with contempt and almost stirred up a mutiny against himself by his actions to the crew, he didn't seem to care of course, for as many times before, he had his little escape pod for him and his close cohorts to escape in if things got troubled. And oh how he chose his moment to jump ship.

McDonald steadied the ship, Houllier has now come in to get us back on course, but it's a big job, for our results perhaps disguised how far off course we had been blown, and exactly how much damage was done below the waterline. Of course there are those that only see above the waterline, that only care about results, positions and the short term picture; draws, loses, lack of goals, injuries, etc. But the thing to remember is that unless things are sound under the waterline, everything will eventually come crashing down. I have confidence that within a couple of years we will be in sight of the promised land,  and that even if Captain Houllier doesn't take us all of the way there, he will get us most of the way there. 

[Breezeblock]

Hmm... I too was a Martin O'Neil fan while he managed this club. Then the malodourous cuntmonkey fucked off a week before the start of the season and I stopped being a fan of his and became a hater.

[Chris Smith]

 

The injury crisis has meant that we cannot make any sort of informed judgement on what Houllier will bring. However, as sure as night follows day he will get a maximum of 2 years before some fans will have the knives out if we haven't advanced in line with their expectations. It will start with a trickle but others will join in over the third season. This isn't meant as a dig at anyone but it's just a sad fact of life that managers get very little time before the more imaptient start looking elsewhere.

Why 2 years ?
If the bloke isn't producing and he does not have obvious excuses why wait 2 years? Lets face it some fans were demanding we give our previous manager more time when even he felt he'd be found out and quit, but in hindsight those who always questioned his credentials and sincerity were mostly right.
A manager stands or falls by his results and only extenuating circumstances allow him to be free from criticism, after all he gets paid tubfulls of money, likes the limelight and should, as most do, accept the brickbats.

Because people will be on his case within 2 years if we're not in the champions league. It's that attitude that hinders long term planning. Of course he needs to attend to results but he also has to be given time and be allowed to make the odd mistake without having the mob on his back.

[Merv]

honourable exception, dear old Big Ron

Cough....John Fashanu...Cough

Ha! I'd happily see us sign a John Fashanu today if it meant we also got a Dean Saunders and a Dalian Atkinson! (drifts off into daydream about the goals those two scored......)

[Chico Hamilton III]

I agree, Merv.

[dave.woodhall]

honourable exception, dear old Big Ron

Cough....John Fashanu...Cough

Ha! I'd happily see us sign a John Fashanu today if it meant we also got a Dean Saunders and a Dalian Atkinson! (drifts off into daydream about the goals those two scored......)

60 in 195 league games between them. Saunders in particular got a very easy ride considering he was yet another one in three striker.

[Merv]

Saunders was a bit wasteful with his chances and Dalian blew very hot and cold, but.... bloody exciting to watch though, eh? Yorkie as an option too...

I loved watching that team.

[dave.woodhall]

Saunders was a bit wasteful with his chances and Dalian blew very hot and cold, but.... bloody exciting to watch though, eh? Yorkie as an option too...

I loved watching that team.

On their day they were great. Sadly, their days weren't very often.

[Concrete John]

Saunders was a bit wasteful with his chances and Dalian blew very hot and cold, but.... bloody exciting to watch though, eh? Yorkie as an option too...

I loved watching that team.

On their day they were great. Sadly, their days weren't very often.

Yet we've never had a better side since!

[Merv]

On their day they were great. Sadly, their days weren't very often.

Hmmm, I must admit, I thought their overall stats were better than they were. I think, much like Ron, they both ran out of steam and ended up just kind of fading away. Shame. Good fun while it lasted though.

I do think we've really struggled to find that top-class striker though; Yorke is the exception. Gabby might still get there, but a consistent goalscorer always seems to elude us.

[peter w]

We have to take a step back to go further forward than O'neill could ever have taken us. I'm still glad he's gone. Lose the battle to win the war and all that.

[sfx412]

We have to take a step back to go further forward than O'neill could ever have taken us. I'm still glad he's gone. Lose the battle to win the war and all that.

Must admit I'm not totally sure I understand that PW.
Removing O'Neill and replacing him in our own time, and with the right man, was the way forward, Randy i feel was too nice to do it.

Being left high and dry and in the manner we were, which then forced RL to look for possibly a second choice alternative is more than a step back, especially when you consider the subsequent start under a make do alternative and the recent horrific injury list.

I'm no fan of O'Neill as a person or as a coach, but he did stabilise a rocking ship and did an adequate job, even if he did waste much of Randy's war chest, in putting us on the verge. Yes I don't think he would have taken us on, but the manner of his exit has probably undone much of the little good he did and possibly put us back to near when he started.
I've no axe to grind re Houllier, but I have my doubts he's up to pushing us on, and certainly not the calibre of person we may have got had RL taken the bull by the horns and took the flak from the Mon lovers, by ridding the club of Mon at the end of last season.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

Because people will be on his case within 2 years if we're not in the champions league. It's that attitude that hinders long term planning. Of course he needs to attend to results but he also has to be given time and be allowed to make the odd mistake without having the mob on his back.

No worries, he'll always have you to defend him, Chris. (winky)

[WarszaVillan]

On their day they were great. Sadly, their days weren't very often.

Hmmm, I must admit, I thought their overall stats were better than they were. I think, much like Ron, they both ran out of steam and ended up just kind of fading away. Shame. Good fun while it lasted though.

I do think we've really struggled to find that top-class striker though; Yorke is the exception. Gabby might still get there, but a consistent goalscorer always seems to elude us.

Saunders and Dalian were great for the first half season or so and then went off the boil. Dalian couldn't be arsed most of the time and Saunders tended to flatter to deceive and score in bursts inbetween long non-scoring runs. BFR tried to remedy this by buying other strikers - Guy Wittingham and John Fash. Neither of these came off and it took Brian Little to realise that Yorke should be the main striker.

[joe_c]

I'd rather have a bit of  fun on the off topics, but as a Martin O' Neill fan I have to say to all of those who wanted him out - are we better off without him? Will we be better off without him in a year? I'm betting that those who were fed up finishing in the top six will have their way, because I don't think we will be there again soon. If certain people thought he was too powerfull at the club, well he's gone now so you can speak up and tell us the big plan for the future. Mr Lerner, Mr Faulkner, Mr Houllier???

Do you mean the people who were fed up with sixth being the limit of our capabilities?