It's not Sherwood!

[Malandro]

Its nothing I haven't heard  from my lads coaches when he used to play schools football.  I hope he has more to offer than this.

nope that's it, he's relayed everything in this five minute interview.

[andyh]

Fuck me, the bloke can't do right for doing wrong.

Personally, I find it refreshing to hear a bit of straight (football) talking, after all the bullshit and guff we have endured from TSM2 over the last 2.5 years.

If it sounds like simple 'coach speak' then so be it.
Maybe, just maybe the players will now understand what is expected of them if its put in simpler ways !

[Monty]

But what does 'straight talking' mean? Does it mean not being bright enough to have any tact? To just sound off to anyone and everyone about how crap you think your players have been is idiotic. I also don't quite know what he means by 'passion' and so on, but I was a little consoled when he seemed to define caring about the team is diligently carrying out instructions, however simple.

[chrisw1]

But what does 'straight talking' mean? Does it mean not being bright enough to have any tact?

Nope.  It means saying it how it is with the players.  No beating around the bush, no pandering to egos.  What's wrong with that?

I also don't quite know what he means by 'passion' and so on

Really?  I imagine 99% of people who have ever watched or played sport know exactly what he means.

Look, I'm no great fan of Sherwood.  To be honest I don't really like the bloke and didn't want him as manager.  But it looks like you are just being deliberately obtuse and looking for things to beat him with that simply don't exist, at least in terms of how he has conducted himself since being appointed.

[Clampy]

He wouldn't have been my choice either, but I'm going to get behind the bloke and see what he does before deciding that he's not good enough.

[Ron Manager]

Lets give him a chance to bring in his backroom staff and then see what he is made of after a few games.

I have a sneaking suspicion he might be OK.

If he isn't it should at least be entertaining a la Tommy Docherty.

[Monty]

But what does 'straight talking' mean? Does it mean not being bright enough to have any tact?

Nope.  It means saying it how it is with the players.  No beating around the bush, no pandering to egos.  What's wrong with that?

I also don't quite know what he means by 'passion' and so on

Really?  I imagine 99% of people who have ever watched or played sport know exactly what he means.

Look, I'm no great fan of Sherwood.  To be honest I don't really like the bloke and didn't want him as manager.  But it looks like you are just being deliberately obtuse and looking for things to beat him with that simply don't exist, at least in terms of how he has conducted himself since being appointed.

That's the thing. Define passion as an actual thing which happens on the pitch. Does it mean 'trying really hard'? Very few players don't try their hardest. Does it mean 'getting really emotionally involved?' That's not necessarily a good thing (Exhibit A: Nathan Baker). It's so obvious that a player should try his hardest that it's barely worth mentioning. 'Desire to win' and 'will to win' are slightly different, because that's about mentality, but simply 'trying' is a strange thing to focus on.

As for 'telling it like it is', again, that's just a cliche. 'Not pandering to egos?' The biggest thing about the modern game is that it's absolutely essential to pander to egos, at least to some extent. Ferguson said that's the biggest thing to change in the time he was a manager, that you can't just shout at players like you could twenty-five years ago.

I'm actually marginally more positive than a couple of other posters. For instance, I'm slightly more optimistic about him keeping us up, because the players are good and his bluff and bluster could actually rub off in the short-term, meaning we win the number of games we need to. That's fine by me. It's beyond that which really concerns me, as everything I've heard from and about him suggests that he's just another extremely mediocre football thinker talked up absurdly by his mates in the punditocracy. Once again, all our rivals are staying with the curve and we've decided to stand our ground well behind it.

[aj2k77]

Monty out of interest what do you think of AVB? Is he a chancer?

[Monty]

Monty out of interest what do you think of AVB? Is he a chancer?

AVB's the opposite of Sherwood, in that his tactical thinking is very serious (though he does still make big mistakes, like everyone) and he does all that hard work but clearly has huge difficulties in managing actual human beings. The difference is that AVB might learn to get better, because he has shown himself open to introspection and self-improvement, and to thought. Sherwood, by contrast, seems completely convinced that he's the canine's cajones.

[Hookeysmith]

Ok there are going to be factions that don't like him, as with all appointments, but can we at least not destroy the bloke until he has had a couple of games under his belt, got the team playing his way.

To dislike him now is well a bit "Newcastle"
We got slaughtered for our treatment of TSM, with a little justification - lets not be known for doing likewise with this appointment also

[Monty]

Ok there are going to be factions that don't like him, as with all appointments, but can we at least not destroy the bloke until he has had a couple of games under his belt, got the team playing his way.

To dislike him now is well a bit "Newcastle"
We got slaughtered for our treatment of TSM, with a little justification - lets not be known for doing likewise with this appointment also

Those of us who didn't like the appointment of TSM for non-Blues reasons also happened to be right.

[aev]

Monty out of interest what do you think of AVB? Is he a chancer?

AVB's the opposite of Sherwood, in that his tactical thinking is very serious (though he does still make big mistakes, like everyone) and he does all that hard work but clearly has huge difficulties in managing actual human beings. The difference is that AVB might learn to get better, because he has shown himself open to introspection and self-improvement, and to thought. Sherwood, by contrast, seems completely convinced that he's the canine's cajones.

Of course in reality the success of Sherwood's approach will be evident at the end of the season. There is no doubt in my mind that our players have been vastly underachieving, and for me, Lambert came across as uninspiring.

None of us know what was said in the dressing room, but to me it seemed the players were sharper in the second half - there was greater urgency in moving the ball but also in terms of chasing back, snapping into tackles etc.

He comes across as supremely confident, and whilst he may not be the most tactical manager out there perhaps at this moment in time, he is what we need.

[Salsa Party Animal]

and any clues who are the other management candiate on short list/interviewed.

[Monty]

and any clues who are the other management candiate on short list/interviewed.

It's been widely reported that nobody else was interviewed. Of course, other people could have been contacted and then said no to us.

[AV82EC]

Having sat on my thoughts for a couple of days I've decided he's definitely what we need in the short term but his success mid-long term will entirely depend on his back room team. He seems to me to belong to that man managing style beloved of the British/Irish game, but lacking in a sense of thought and critical thinking about what he's trying to achieve. If he can get in a decent no 2 and back room team who can cover for these deficiencies then for me he'll stand a chance beyond the next 6 months. IN addition a wiser head in the new Head of Football Operations role by the summer will help maybe tame some of his potentially headstrong nature.