In the cold light of day I have tried to be circumspect and these are my thoughts:
Despite Huddesfield being crap last night was always going to be a tough game with so many new players being bedded in. We probably deserved to be 1 up at least by half time and we should have been playing 89 minutes plus stoppages against 10 men. The new CBs both looked individually very good.
EM has backed Sabri in a big way so probably wants to allow players to bed in. Signing one managers requests by the bucket load and then sacking him is certainly a path that is tried, tested and proven to be failed, time and time again, both on and off the pitch by Nottingham Forest.
Our fans are rightly demanding adding pressure, we have plenty who are to use Mr Cloughs words "know nowts" (I have seen Cowley touted by one muppet else where). We have signed lots of "proven Championship players". Our academy has been our life blood financially and continues to be so, with EM. Norwich won the league a couple of years back after a really slow start, so in this league more than any other it can be turned around.
The flip side
However..... these "proven Championship players" usually end up back in the championship for a reason. Of course Arter contributed to Fulhams promotion but he was surrounded by much better players than we have wasn't he? Blackett was so good for Reading that they let him go without offering him a contract and so on.
The academy keeps us going (sky said £50 million in last 4 years I think) and we continue to sign "proven" players promoted with previous clubs (We tried that with Megson as I remember, how did that go?). Hefele was promoted with Uddersfield as was Lolley, Christie and Arter with Fulham, Grabbs with Villa, Colback with Newcastle, Albert with Villa and so on. If we try hard enough we could sign a whole team of players deemed not good enough by other teams (harsh I realise, but putting both sides). The difference between Prem and top end of Championship is not as big as people have you believe. Ask Wolves, Sheff Utd and co. It's why so many relegated teams struggle to get back up straight away.
But for all this and the obvious need to give players, supposedly good enough time to gel, I get pulled back to the team sheet announcement yesterday. I was amazed by the gleeful reaction of many. All I saw was 3 centre mids and no real width. I worried (rightly) about where goals would come from and (wrongly) about a whole new back 4. Plus that a horrible run of results now.
Go or stay? If he stays then the "style" of football conversation needs to be had. Then we can "do a Norwich" otherwise I fear a doing a Forest Kinnear/Megson style. Jury's out for me and I'm getting splinters.
Despite Huddesfield being crap last night was always going to be a tough game with so many new players being bedded in. We probably deserved to be 1 up at least by half time and we should have been playing 89 minutes plus stoppages against 10 men. The new CBs both looked individually very good.
EM has backed Sabri in a big way so probably wants to allow players to bed in. Signing one managers requests by the bucket load and then sacking him is certainly a path that is tried, tested and proven to be failed, time and time again, both on and off the pitch by Nottingham Forest.
Our fans are rightly demanding adding pressure, we have plenty who are to use Mr Cloughs words "know nowts" (I have seen Cowley touted by one muppet else where). We have signed lots of "proven Championship players". Our academy has been our life blood financially and continues to be so, with EM. Norwich won the league a couple of years back after a really slow start, so in this league more than any other it can be turned around.
The flip side
However..... these "proven Championship players" usually end up back in the championship for a reason. Of course Arter contributed to Fulhams promotion but he was surrounded by much better players than we have wasn't he? Blackett was so good for Reading that they let him go without offering him a contract and so on.
The academy keeps us going (sky said £50 million in last 4 years I think) and we continue to sign "proven" players promoted with previous clubs (We tried that with Megson as I remember, how did that go?). Hefele was promoted with Uddersfield as was Lolley, Christie and Arter with Fulham, Grabbs with Villa, Colback with Newcastle, Albert with Villa and so on. If we try hard enough we could sign a whole team of players deemed not good enough by other teams (harsh I realise, but putting both sides). The difference between Prem and top end of Championship is not as big as people have you believe. Ask Wolves, Sheff Utd and co. It's why so many relegated teams struggle to get back up straight away.
But for all this and the obvious need to give players, supposedly good enough time to gel, I get pulled back to the team sheet announcement yesterday. I was amazed by the gleeful reaction of many. All I saw was 3 centre mids and no real width. I worried (rightly) about where goals would come from and (wrongly) about a whole new back 4. Plus that a horrible run of results now.
Go or stay? If he stays then the "style" of football conversation needs to be had. Then we can "do a Norwich" otherwise I fear a doing a Forest Kinnear/Megson style. Jury's out for me and I'm getting splinters.
