Has Houllier changed our club for the better?

[UsualSuspect]

What pisses me of about mcAllister is that he sits on the bench and shows no emotion, rarely getting up and tbh he looks like he would rather be somewhere else.

Best line was from the WM commentary against man City:

"The only reason I know that Houllier & McAllister are not waxwork dummies is because Houllier just blinked"

Exactly,  a bit of passion would be nice. McAllister coaching / managing record also is a concern - he's been shite everywhere

Le Gaffeur tried to show some passion after the Bolton debacle but to me it seemed a bit contrived

I was never a fan a the way MON acted on the touchline but the point Im making is that Houllier for the most part gives no instruction from the bench.

case in point Sunderland at home, terrible second half performance but the first thing u see of GH is on 87 minutes when he makes a pointless substitution.

Anyway lets just all carry on thinking everything is tickety boo and GH just needs to be given time

[LeeB]

You shouldn't need instruction from the bench.
It's an absolute myth, most of these  managers do it for the cameras, or because their nerves get the better of them.

Don't let me distract you from your handwringing though.

[Rip Van We Go Again]

You shouldn't need instruction from the bench.
It's an absolute myth, most of these  managers do it for the cameras, or because their nerves get the better of them.

Don't let me distract you from your handwringing though.

Lee is correct.
The players can't hear them anyway.

[Mazrim]

It's common knowledge that players check the dugout constantly in case the manager has left his seat to hold 4 fingers in the air or slowly swing his arm in a wave motion towards the opposition goal.
Also the assistant spends vital time in the "technical area" drawing circles on a pitch with arrows pointing in a direction and words like "score goals" and "dont let goals in". Then shows this to players as they leave the bench, just in case they've forgotten.

[Villa'Zawg]

There must be a reason why we have thrown away so many points from a winning position this season.

I suspect it is because the opposing managers make effective tactical changes during the game and we're not responding. Isn't that what we're talking about here?

[eastie]

We have been conceding late goals for a few seasons now villadawg, it's not just this season, it was well known o neills team tired in the last 20 mins .

[Chris Smith]

We have been conceding late goals for a few seasons now villadawg, it's not just this season, it was well known o neills team tired in the last 20 mins .

You cannnot compare the shambles of us defensively this season with the side that was one of the best in the league last season. That's just a ridiculous comment. It wasn't "well known", that was one comment from Terry that didn't reflect the reality.

We are piss poor at defending set pieces and have been for the majority of the season, last season it was not an issue.

[WikiVilla]

Agree, we threw away too many late goals under MON too, costing us probably that elusive top 4 finish we should have had

[Clampy]

We have been conceding late goals for a few seasons now villadawg, it's not just this season, it was well known o neills team tired in the last 20 mins .

You cannnot compare the shambles of us defensively this season with the side that was one of the best in the league last season. That's just a ridiculous comment. It wasn't "well known", that was one comment from Terry that didn't reflect the reality.

We are piss poor at defending set pieces and have been for the majority of the season, last season it was not an issue.

Agreed, the defence was fine last season. We picked up a lot of points away from home because of it. Dunne was even named in the PFA team of the season. This season it has'nt been half as good.

[Percy McCarthy]

Agree, we threw away too many late goals under MON too, costing us probably that elusive top 4 finish we should have had

I remember leaving the ground against Stoke in, when was it, March of 2008/09? We had not won after taking the lead for the first time that season, in fact, at the time we were the best team in the league at holding onto a winning position. Yet walking out from the ground all the snippets of conversation I could hear were about how 'we always throw away leads'. Myth and madness.

[alanclare]

I think it's for the better. The team now plays with a freedom that it did not display under Martin O'Niell. As much as I respect and admired O'Niell, his teams are dour and set up not to lose rather than to entertain. Too many goals came from the centre backs off set pieces and not enough from the skills and talents of players like Ashley Young. His move inside has made him not only a better player but probably a more valuable commodity and I fear we shall lose him to Manchester United as the replacement for Ryan Giggs.

[cdward]

Houllier certainly lacks man management skills, which hasn't been helped by the attitude of some of his players.
Ultimately though the manager is responsible for organising and motivating his team to produce a good performance and get a result, he hasn't done either very successfully so far.
I'm not convinced he will ever be the greatest motivator, but once he has had the time to build his own team,(next season) i would hope we see a better organised team.

[PeterWithesShin]

Our defence has been on a downward spiral since Feb of last year. If I worked it out right, since we drew 0-0 at Spurs on the 6th Feb we've only managed 9 clean sheets in 56 games.

[WikiVilla]

but once he has had the time to build his own team,(next season) i would hope we see a better organised team.

Blimey, cut and paste that one for the GH happy Clappy brigade

[Chris Smith]

but once he has had the time to build his own team,(next season) i would hope we see a better organised team.

Blimey, cut and paste that one for the GH happy Clappy brigade

Edit.

Do you really need to start up with the pathetically, childish labels for others yet again?