Busting the injury excuse

[Branton Red]

On 7th March Rovers lost 2-0 at home to Harrogate.

Team: Mitchell; Brown, Olowu, Anderson, Nelson, Rowe; Hurst, Close, Biggins, Molyneux; Lavery. Miller and Lakin came on as subs. So pretty much Schofield's first choice XI.

After this game Rovers had 10 points from their prior 10 games. Struggling against relegation form.

On 1st April Rovers lost 2-0 at home to Crewe. 8 of the team that started against Harrogate on 7/3 started again. A majority of Schofield's first choice XI. 3 injuries in a squad is hardly unusual.

After this game Rovers had obtained 8 points from their prior 10 matches. Almost definite relegation form.

It's only the last 3 matches where injuries could be deemed a legitimate excuse (only 5, 6 and 4 of that Harrogate home match starting XI starting in these games).

In the last 12 games Rovers have picked up 6 points. Getting relegated by an embarrassing margin form.

For 9 of those 12 matches the majority of the first XI were available.

[sedwardsdrfc]

Agree as far as I can see the injury crisis didn’t become a crisis till a few games ago. That said the depth in the squad is poor.

However Agard and Barlow were never considered for selection until now and have actually been decent. Maybe we had more depth than we thought.

[monkeytennis]

I don’t really go with injuries as an excuse, same with ‘the manager hasn’t brought in his own players’. You are the manager, it’s your job to make it work no matter what.

Every team has injuries, every manager has a team he hasn’t chosen 100% of at least at some point.

[scawsby steve]

Injuries should never be used as mitigation by a full time professional football club. Yet there are people on here who think they should.

[BillyStubbsTears]

By 19 minutes into that Crewe game, the following players from the (already depleted) squad against Harrogate were injured.

Miller
Lavery
Lakin
Biggins
Olowu

That's 5 out, not 3.

On top of that:

Rowe has clearly not been fully fit for months.

Anderson has been in and out of the side through injury for months. (He missed two of the four games between the Harrogate and Crewe games that you chose as examples.)

Barlow was just coming back from a long term injury at the start of the period you chose and wasn't match fit.

Westbrook had just been signed and hadn't played for 6 months.

Taylor and Younger who, in previous incarnations would be first team squad definites are long term injury losses.

Maxwell was out long term.

Williams was out throughout that period (and folk can have whatever opinions of him they wish, but the record shows our results are significantly better when he plays than when he doesn't).

Make a case that the injuries are important if you wish. But if your case is "we only had three injuries and that shouldn't have made us fall apart" it feels like you've decided your conclusion, then fitted the "evidence" around it.

[dickos1]

On 7th March Rovers lost 2-0 at home to Harrogate.

Team: Mitchell; Brown, Olowu, Anderson, Nelson, Rowe; Hurst, Close, Biggins, Molyneux; Lavery. Miller and Lakin came on as subs. So pretty much Schofield's first choice XI.

After this game Rovers had 10 points from their prior 10 games. Struggling against relegation form.

On 1st April Rovers lost 2-0 at home to Crewe. 8 of the team that started against Harrogate on 7/3 started again. A majority of Schofield's first choice XI. 3 injuries in a squad is hardly unusual.

After this game Rovers had obtained 8 points from their prior 10 matches. Almost definite relegation form.

It's only the last 3 matches where injuries could be deemed a legitimate excuse (only 5, 6 and 4 of that Harrogate home match starting XI starting in these games).

In the last 12 games Rovers have picked up 6 points. Getting relegated by an embarrassing margin form.

For 9 of those 12 matches the majority of the first XI were available.

I’m sorry but that’s just nonsense,
Miller and biggins haven’t played since mid March, Anderson been missing for weeks, Lakin missing for weeks, Maxwell missing for weeks,

[ncRover]

Injuries to Miller and Lavery don’t really matter.

How many times has the centre forward scored under Schofield?

Might as well stick a retired Guy Ipoua up top.

[BillyStubbsTears]

Injuries to Miller and Lavery don’t really matter.

How many times has the centre forward scored under Schofield?

Might as well stick a retired Guy Ipoua up top.

So all a central striker does is score?

I think you need weaning off watching Man City.

[ncRover]

Injuries to Miller and Lavery don’t really matter.

How many times has the centre forward scored under Schofield?

Might as well stick a retired Guy Ipoua up top.

So all a central striker does is score?

I think you need weaning off watching Man City.

I’m glad you mentioned that. Who’s better at holding the ball up and bringing others in to play, Miller or Agard?

[Branton Red]

Ok lets try another angle.

Last 12 games. 6 points. Equivalent to 23 points over a whole season i.e. embarrassing relegation form. For reference only marginally better than 97/98 Rovers vintage who managed 20 points in the season.

Acceptable? Are injuries an acceptable excuse for this pathetic points haul?

Ignore the last 3 of those 12 games where injuries have seriously bitten.

The 9 previous games. 5 points won. Equivalent to 26 points over a whole season. Embarrassing relegation form.

Acceptable? Are injuries an acceptable excuse for this pathetic points haul? Given that Rovers selected in the squad: -

For 9 games: Olowu, Rowe, Close, Hurst, Molyneux, Barlow
8 games: Seaman, Brown, Lavery
7 games: Mitchell, Nelson, Long
6 games: Anderson, Agard, Biggins, Miller
5 games: Lakin

I'm not saying these are the most brilliant of League 2 players ever. But getting 5 points in 9 games with them available as per above is acceptable? (Very marginally better than 97/98 on ppg) That's exactly what you're saying if you're using injuries as an excuse for Rovers current woeful form.

[dickos1]

People keep splitting his results into groups but nobody ever groups his first 10 games.

Fact is the last 6 games we’ve had 5/6 first team players missing, and we’re in very poor form, before that our form was very inconsistent but it wasn’t relegation form

[Branton Red]

People keep splitting his results into groups but nobody ever groups his first 10 games.

Fact is the last 6 games we’ve had 5/6 first team players missing, and we’re in very poor form, before that our form was very inconsistent but it wasn’t relegation form

I'm sorry but that's just nonsense.

I engaged with you on Schofield getting 16 points from his first 10 games on another thread. It was due to new manager bounce and narrow, unconvincing home wins over pre take over Gillingham and Rochdale. Our easisest fixtures of the season

Read the opening 3 paragraphs on my OP. In his 11th-20th games (or his 2nd 10 games) to 7th March (before you're claiming the injuries seriously kicked in) Rovers got 10 points. That is relegation form.

Is 6 points from our last 12 games acceptable? You don't seem to have answered that question.

[ncRover]

People keep splitting his results into groups but nobody ever groups his first 10 games.

Fact is the last 6 games we’ve had 5/6 first team players missing, and we’re in very poor form, before that our form was very inconsistent but it wasn’t relegation form

Yes but it’s not the first 10 games anymore.

The first 10 games during which we got beat by  sixth-tier King’s Lynn with a full strength side? When we got thumped by Tranmere and Colchester with a full strength side?

[dickos1]

People keep splitting his results into groups but nobody ever groups his first 10 games.

Fact is the last 6 games we’ve had 5/6 first team players missing, and we’re in very poor form, before that our form was very inconsistent but it wasn’t relegation form

Yes but it’s not the first 10 games anymore.

The first 10 games during which we got beat by  sixth-tier King’s Lynn with a full strength side? When we got thumped by Tranmere and Colchester with a full strength side?

Every side loses games and it’s just as easy to twist the bad run with the odd positive result in the same way, barrow, Swindon, tranmere etc.
cup shocks happen all the time to bigger and better than us.

[dickos1]

People keep splitting his results into groups but nobody ever groups his first 10 games.

Fact is the last 6 games we’ve had 5/6 first team players missing, and we’re in very poor form, before that our form was very inconsistent but it wasn’t relegation form

I'm sorry but that's just nonsense.

I engaged with you on Schofield getting 16 points from his first 10 games on another thread. It was due to new manager bounce and narrow, unconvincing home wins over pre take over Gillingham and Rochdale. Our easisest fixtures of the season

Read the opening 3 paragraphs on my OP. In his 11th-20th games (or his 2nd 10 games) to 7th March (before you're claiming the injuries seriously kicked in) Rovers got 10 points. That is relegation form.

Is 6 points from our last 12 games acceptable? You don't seem to have answered that question.

Of course not,
I just don’t understand how people can just ignore he’s trying to mould a team into how he wants to play without making any significant signings.
The squad is full of players signed by another manager who wanted to play a different way, yes he could change his preferred style but then we’d just be playing how we were under mcsheffrey.
He needs to be given the summer to build his own team and playing the style he wants with players who are suited to that.

[ncRover]

People keep splitting his results into groups but nobody ever groups his first 10 games.

Fact is the last 6 games we’ve had 5/6 first team players missing, and we’re in very poor form, before that our form was very inconsistent but it wasn’t relegation form

Yes but it’s not the first 10 games anymore.

The first 10 games during which we got beat by  sixth-tier King’s Lynn with a full strength side? When we got thumped by Tranmere and Colchester with a full strength side?

Every side loses games and it’s just as easy to twist the bad run with the odd positive result in the same way, barrow, Swindon, tranmere etc.
cup shocks happen all the time to bigger and better than us.

Why is the “good run” not balancing out this bad run in the larger sample size that is the 30 game form table?

[sedwardsdrfc]

That wouldn’t be as fun to argue though.

[rich1471]

People keep splitting his results into groups but nobody ever groups his first 10 games.

Fact is the last 6 games we’ve had 5/6 first team players missing, and we’re in very poor form, before that our form was very inconsistent but it wasn’t relegation form

I'm sorry but that's just nonsense.

I engaged with you on Schofield getting 16 points from his first 10 games on another thread. It was due to new manager bounce and narrow, unconvincing home wins over pre take over Gillingham and Rochdale. Our easisest fixtures of the season

Read the opening 3 paragraphs on my OP. In his 11th-20th games (or his 2nd 10 games) to 7th March (before you're claiming the injuries seriously kicked in) Rovers got 10 points. That is relegation form.

Is 6 points from our last 12 games acceptable? You don't seem to have answered that question.

Of course not,
I just don’t understand how people can just ignore he’s trying to mould a team into how he wants to play without making any significant signings.
The squad is full of players signed by another manager who wanted to play a different way, yes he could change his preferred style but then we’d just be playing how we were under mcsheffrey.
He needs to be given the summer to build his own team and playing the style he wants with players who are suited to that.

sometimes you have to mould yourself into a manager for the team of players you have ,he does not do this and week after week tries and plays the same way with the same results ,that is what people are angry about he is not willing to change his style or adapt to the players he has got ,that is why he has to go plus the football is rubbish to watch

[sedwardsdrfc]

We were outside the playoffs playing poorly. The thought was with a small improvement we should push on and try to get back to L1.

People are within their rights not to want a manager who says hold your horses I can’t do anything till I’ve spent way more money than your last manager. Writing the season off doesn’t come that easy to most fans.

[Cramby10]

People keep splitting his results into groups but nobody ever groups his first 10 games.

Fact is the last 6 games we’ve had 5/6 first team players missing, and we’re in very poor form, before that our form was very inconsistent but it wasn’t relegation form

I'm sorry but that's just nonsense.

I engaged with you on Schofield getting 16 points from his first 10 games on another thread. It was due to new manager bounce and narrow, unconvincing home wins over pre take over Gillingham and Rochdale. Our easisest fixtures of the season

Read the opening 3 paragraphs on my OP. In his 11th-20th games (or his 2nd 10 games) to 7th March (before you're claiming the injuries seriously kicked in) Rovers got 10 points. That is relegation form.

Is 6 points from our last 12 games acceptable? You don't seem to have answered that question.

Of course not,
I just don’t understand how people can just ignore he’s trying to mould a team into how he wants to play without making any significant signings.
The squad is full of players signed by another manager who wanted to play a different way, yes he could change his preferred style but then we’d just be playing how we were under mcsheffrey.
He needs to be given the summer to build his own team and playing the style he wants with players who are suited to that.

in a recent interview Grant McCann said that when he first joined us he quickly realised that he couldn’t play the way / system that he wanted so had to adapt to something different with the players he had at the time. And low and behold he got a tune out of them and got us in the play offs.
Maybe he would have, in time, changed us to the way he wanted but he knew he had to get us functioning immediately, to buy himself time and entertain the fans.
That’s the sign of a good manager. Pragmatic, adaptable, intelligent, flexible…………..

[Branton Red]

I'm sorry but that's just nonsense.

I engaged with you on Schofield getting 16 points from his first 10 games on another thread. It was due to new manager bounce and narrow, unconvincing home wins over pre take over Gillingham and Rochdale. Our easisest fixtures of the season

Read the opening 3 paragraphs on my OP. In his 11th-20th games (or his 2nd 10 games) to 7th March (before you're claiming the injuries seriously kicked in) Rovers got 10 points. That is relegation form.

Is 6 points from our last 12 games acceptable? You don't seem to have answered that question.

Of course not,

Oh good so you agree with me that the injuries are no excuse for Rovers utterly appalling current form - why did you object to my OP in the first place then??

I just don’t understand how people can just ignore he’s trying to mould a team into how he wants to play without making any significant signings.
The squad is full of players signed by another manager who wanted to play a different way, yes he could change his preferred style but then we’d just be playing how we were under mcsheffrey.
He needs to be given the summer to build his own team and playing the style he wants with players who are suited to that.

Well now you're changing the subject. However you're perfectly entitled to this opinion. (Unfortunately IMO) it looks like we'll find out if you're correct or not.

My take is that it's one thing trying to implement a new style; it's another thing continuing to try to implement that style when results go south and the chance of play off qualification starts to disappear as your new style turns your team into one enduring relegation form.

Clearly some other style other than the one he's implementing and prefers - even McSheffrey's (whatever that was I never worked it out) - would have been more successful this season.

He would then still have had plenty of opportunity to coach his new style next pre-season including with his new players.

The best manager's are flexible and pragmatic. DS is neither of those things - as your argument suggests.

[dickos1]

People keep splitting his results into groups but nobody ever groups his first 10 games.

Fact is the last 6 games we’ve had 5/6 first team players missing, and we’re in very poor form, before that our form was very inconsistent but it wasn’t relegation form

I'm sorry but that's just nonsense.

I engaged with you on Schofield getting 16 points from his first 10 games on another thread. It was due to new manager bounce and narrow, unconvincing home wins over pre take over Gillingham and Rochdale. Our easisest fixtures of the season

Read the opening 3 paragraphs on my OP. In his 11th-20th games (or his 2nd 10 games) to 7th March (before you're claiming the injuries seriously kicked in) Rovers got 10 points. That is relegation form.

Is 6 points from our last 12 games acceptable? You don't seem to have answered that question.

Of course not,
I just don’t understand how people can just ignore he’s trying to mould a team into how he wants to play without making any significant signings.
The squad is full of players signed by another manager who wanted to play a different way, yes he could change his preferred style but then we’d just be playing how we were under mcsheffrey.
He needs to be given the summer to build his own team and playing the style he wants with players who are suited to that.

in a recent interview Grant McCann said that when he first joined us he quickly realised that he couldn’t play the way / system that he wanted so had to adapt to something different with the players he had at the time. And low and behold he got a tune out of them and got us in the play offs.
Maybe he would have, in time, changed us to the way he wanted but he knew he had to get us functioning immediately, to buy himself time and entertain the fans.
That’s the sign of a good manager. Pragmatic, adaptable, intelligent, flexible…………..

Mccann joined in the summer with still 2 months of the transfer window left.
Obviously joining in the summer gives an opportunity to try new systems but also gives you two months with a full budget to sign players
Certainly not the same scenario

[dickos1]

I'm sorry but that's just nonsense.

I engaged with you on Schofield getting 16 points from his first 10 games on another thread. It was due to new manager bounce and narrow, unconvincing home wins over pre take over Gillingham and Rochdale. Our easisest fixtures of the season

Read the opening 3 paragraphs on my OP. In his 11th-20th games (or his 2nd 10 games) to 7th March (before you're claiming the injuries seriously kicked in) Rovers got 10 points. That is relegation form.

Is 6 points from our last 12 games acceptable? You don't seem to have answered that question.

Of course not,

Oh good so you agree with me that the injuries are no excuse for Rovers utterly appalling current form - why did you object to my OP in the first place then??

I just don’t understand how people can just ignore he’s trying to mould a team into how he wants to play without making any significant signings.
The squad is full of players signed by another manager who wanted to play a different way, yes he could change his preferred style but then we’d just be playing how we were under mcsheffrey.
He needs to be given the summer to build his own team and playing the style he wants with players who are suited to that.

Well now you're changing the subject. However you're perfectly entitled to this opinion. (Unfortunately IMO) it looks like we'll find out if you're correct or not.

My take is that it's one thing trying to implement a new style; it's another thing continuing to try to implement that style when results go south and the chance of play off qualification starts to disappear as your new style turns your team into one enduring relegation form.

Clearly some other style other than the one he's implementing and prefers - even McSheffrey's (whatever that was I never worked it out) - would have been more successful this season.

He would then still have had plenty of opportunity to coach his new style next pre-season including with his new players.

The best manager's are flexible and pragmatic. DS is neither of those things - as your argument suggests.

6 points from 12 games isn’t acceptable no, but to just pretend the injuries haven’t happened is ridiculous.
On sat we had 7 players missing from our strongest 11, only 2 players in that 11 were signed by this manager.
We were away against a side fighting for their lives who are in good form, we got a decent result granted we should’ve won but people are going on like it was a disgraceful performance.
It wasn’t.

[Branton Red]

6 points from 12 games isn’t acceptable no, but to just pretend the injuries haven’t happened is ridiculous.
On sat we had 7 players missing from our strongest 11, only 2 players in that 11 were signed by this manager.
We were away against a side fighting for their lives who are in good form, we got a decent result granted we should’ve won but people are going on like it was a disgraceful performance.
It wasn’t.

I refer you back to my reply number 9 on this thread.

I'm not pretending injuries haven't happened. I'm saying even with the injuries/or with the players available - whichever way you look at it - 6 points from 12 games is unacceptable. That's equivalent to 23 points in a season - similar to what Rovers achieved with part timers/schoolkids during 97/98.

I'm saying the injuries are no excuse for Rovers form being so unbelievably woeful.

[Cramby10]

People keep splitting his results into groups but nobody ever groups his first 10 games.

Fact is the last 6 games we’ve had 5/6 first team players missing, and we’re in very poor form, before that our form was very inconsistent but it wasn’t relegation form

I'm sorry but that's just nonsense.

I engaged with you on Schofield getting 16 points from his first 10 games on another thread. It was due to new manager bounce and narrow, unconvincing home wins over pre take over Gillingham and Rochdale. Our easisest fixtures of the season

Read the opening 3 paragraphs on my OP. In his 11th-20th games (or his 2nd 10 games) to 7th March (before you're claiming the injuries seriously kicked in) Rovers got 10 points. That is relegation form.

Is 6 points from our last 12 games acceptable? You don't seem to have answered that question.

Of course not,
I just don’t understand how people can just ignore he’s trying to mould a team into how he wants to play without making any significant signings.
The squad is full of players signed by another manager who wanted to play a different way, yes he could change his preferred style but then we’d just be playing how we were under mcsheffrey.
He needs to be given the summer to build his own team and playing the style he wants with players who are suited to that.

in a recent interview Grant McCann said that when he first joined us he quickly realised that he couldn’t play the way / system that he wanted so had to adapt to something different with the players he had at the time. And low and behold he got a tune out of them and got us in the play offs.
Maybe he would have, in time, changed us to the way he wanted but he knew he had to get us functioning immediately, to buy himself time and entertain the fans.
That’s the sign of a good manager. Pragmatic, adaptable, intelligent, flexible…………..

Mccann joined in the summer with still 2 months of the transfer window left.
Obviously joining in the summer gives an opportunity to try new systems but also gives you two months with a full budget to sign players
Certainly not the same scenario

of course it is. He saw he didn’t have the players to play how he wanted. His words. So didn’t!
Until like this current f**kwit. He wants to play a certain way but moans he ain’t got the players / funds to do it. So why bloody do it then?

[sedwardsdrfc]

Yes injuries have happened and yes they happen to every club. We haven’t been close to good enough even allowing for injuries.  Both things can be true. People aren’t ignoring the injuries they just aren’t accepting it as an excuse.

[BillyStubbsTears]

6 points from 12 games isn’t acceptable no, but to just pretend the injuries haven’t happened is ridiculous.
On sat we had 7 players missing from our strongest 11, only 2 players in that 11 were signed by this manager.
We were away against a side fighting for their lives who are in good form, we got a decent result granted we should’ve won but people are going on like it was a disgraceful performance.
It wasn’t.

I refer you back to my reply number 9 on this thread.

I'm not pretending injuries haven't happened. I'm saying even with the injuries/or with the players available - whichever way you look at it - 6 points from 12 games is unacceptable. That's equivalent to 23 points in a season - similar to what Rovers achieved with part timers/schoolkids during 97/98.

I'm saying the injuries are no excuse for Rovers form being so unbelievably woeful.

I wonder if there are any other examples of managers of the Rovers dealing with injury crises and winning (checks notes) yep, 6 points from 12 games? And, in fact (double checks notes) 15 points from 23 games? With a squad including (triple checks notes and because it doesn't seem credible, quadruple checks on the internet)

Sullivan
O'Connor
Friend
Stock
Coppinger
Oster
Hayter
Sharp
Ryan Mason

How shite must THAT manager have been?

[Branton Red]

I wonder if there are any other examples of managers of the Rovers dealing with injury crises and winning (checks notes) yep, 6 points from 12 games? And, in fact (double checks notes) 15 points from 23 games? With a squad including (triple checks notes and because it doesn't seem credible, quadruple checks on the internet)

Sullivan - brilliant for us but around 40 and past his best by this point
O'Connor - a good top half League 1/ bottom half Championship player. Great Rovers player not a great Championship standard player
Friend - new to the Championship and at that point not up to standard - though he got there later
Stock - superb player but proneness to injury already apparent by this stage - only played 15 games prior season and this had taken away from his game
Coppinger - a good top half League 1/ bottom half Championship player. Great Rovers player not a great Championship standard player
Oster - brilliant in first season, not much good in 2nd season you refer to, particularly as season wore on, as legs had gone
Hayter - a good top half League 1/ bottom half Championship player. Great Rovers player not a great Championship standard player
Sharp
Ryan Mason - mere strip of a lad at this point and not capable of competing physically in the Championship

How shite must THAT manager have been?

You're trying very hard to make excuses for the manager and the current run of utterly abysmal form.

You're viewing the above players through Rovers bias glasses - they may have been great Rovers players by our clubs standards but, Billy Sharp apart, at the point you refer to none of them were any better than average Championship players - some weren't even that good.

The above is also a false analogy. In the Championship we were expected to struggle and could not afford quality in the depth to our squad (you missed Gary Woods, Mustapha Dumbuya, Shelton Martis, Wayne Thomas, Joseph Mills, Franck Moussa, Simon Gillett and even Dennis Souza from your list). This season Rovers showed themselves to be a upper mid table team in the first half of the season and have the resources to have (and do have see below) much better comparative depth to the squad.

Back to my post number 9. Last 12 games. 6 points. Ignore the last 3 of those 12 games where injuries have seriously bitten.

The 9 previous games. 5 points won. Equivalent to 26 points over a whole season. Embarrassing relegation form. Over those games Rovers selected in the squad: -

For 9 games: Olowu, Rowe, Close, Hurst, Molyneux, Barlow
8 games: Seaman, Brown, Lavery
7 games: Mitchell, Nelson, Long
6 games: Anderson, Agard, Biggins, Miller
5 games: Lakin

Is getting 5 points in 9 games with these players available as per above acceptable (Very marginally better than 97/98 on ppg)?

Care to answer that question?

[dickos1]

People keep splitting his results into groups but nobody ever groups his first 10 games.

Fact is the last 6 games we’ve had 5/6 first team players missing, and we’re in very poor form, before that our form was very inconsistent but it wasn’t relegation form

I'm sorry but that's just nonsense.

I engaged with you on Schofield getting 16 points from his first 10 games on another thread. It was due to new manager bounce and narrow, unconvincing home wins over pre take over Gillingham and Rochdale. Our easisest fixtures of the season

Read the opening 3 paragraphs on my OP. In his 11th-20th games (or his 2nd 10 games) to 7th March (before you're claiming the injuries seriously kicked in) Rovers got 10 points. That is relegation form.

Is 6 points from our last 12 games acceptable? You don't seem to have answered that question.

Of course not,
I just don’t understand how people can just ignore he’s trying to mould a team into how he wants to play without making any significant signings.
The squad is full of players signed by another manager who wanted to play a different way, yes he could change his preferred style but then we’d just be playing how we were under mcsheffrey.
He needs to be given the summer to build his own team and playing the style he wants with players who are suited to that.

in a recent interview Grant McCann said that when he first joined us he quickly realised that he couldn’t play the way / system that he wanted so had to adapt to something different with the players he had at the time. And low and behold he got a tune out of them and got us in the play offs.
Maybe he would have, in time, changed us to the way he wanted but he knew he had to get us functioning immediately, to buy himself time and entertain the fans.
That’s the sign of a good manager. Pragmatic, adaptable, intelligent, flexible…………..

Mccann joined in the summer with still 2 months of the transfer window left.
Obviously joining in the summer gives an opportunity to try new systems but also gives you two months with a full budget to sign players
Certainly not the same scenario

of course it is. He saw he didn’t have the players to play how he wanted. His words. So didn’t!
Until like this current f**kwit. He wants to play a certain way but moans he ain’t got the players / funds to do it. So why bloody do it then?

I’ve explained why it’s not the same scenario

[BillyStubbsTears]

You're really not helping your case Branton.

Go and have a look where that squad of O'Driscoll's was in the Championship table before that run started.