Steve Clake - New Poll

[Ian Royal]

I think we're set for another crap season but hopefully more faith is placed in the youngsters this time around.

We won't be able to shift any of the higher earners this summer. If we have another woeful season & Clarke cannot get a top half finish will the fans turn on him?

If he can make a couple of good signings and keep us in at least the 12 - 16 zone, he's got my backing for 18 months at least. If he can't, I'll genuinely start calling for his head by the end of October I imagine.

Where will you stand if we're stuck 15 - 20 in the league, or worse, from the start?

[MmmMonsterMunch]

I think we're set for another crap season but hopefully more faith is placed in the youngsters this time around.

We won't be able to shift any of the higher earners this summer. If we have another woeful season & Clarke cannot get a top half finish will the fans turn on him?

If he can make a couple of good signings and keep us in at least the 12 - 16 zone, he's got my backing for 18 months at least. If he can't, I'll genuinely start calling for his head by the end of October I imagine.

Where will you stand if we're stuck 15 - 20 in the league, or worse, from the start?

All depends on money doesn't it? If the Thais stump up some good wedge & he can buy some quality then everyone has a right to judge him a bit more harshly i.e Xmas time.

If however, we have to release everyone out of contract, not sign that many players & rely heavily on youth / misfiring senior pros that we're stuck with, then there's an argument he should be afforded even more time i.e the season.

Right now my opinion is he should get the season at least. But if we're shit & getting thrashed 6-1 by sh1t teams then his position will rightly be questioned.

[MmmMonsterMunch]

They already have.

Night snookums xx

Night xxx

[Harpers So Solid Crew]

Do who got the better deal, Bournemouth with Wilson, or Cardiff with Alf . One is a goalscorer at this level, the other apparently not.

[RoyalBlue]

I think we're set for another crap season but hopefully more faith is placed in the youngsters this time around.

We won't be able to shift any of the higher earners this summer. If we have another woeful season & Clarke cannot get a top half finish will the fans turn on him?

If he can make a couple of good signings and keep us in at least the 12 - 16 zone, he's got my backing for 18 months at least. If he can't, I'll genuinely start calling for his head by the end of October I imagine.

Where will you stand if we're stuck 15 - 20 in the league, or worse, from the start?

All depends on money doesn't it? If the Thais stump up some good wedge & he can buy some quality then everyone has a right to judge him a bit more harshly i.e Xmas time.

If however, we have to release everyone out of contract, not sign that many players & rely heavily on youth / misfiring senior pros that we're stuck with, then there's an argument he should be afforded even more time i.e the season.

Right now my opinion is he should get the season at least. But if we're shit & getting thrashed 6-1 by sh1t teams then his position will rightly be questioned.

Why all the patience towards Clarke. Yes, the squad could do with strengthening (particularly in terms of a striker) but we have plenty of quality as no doubt will be shown if and when they move onto other clubs. Clarke's problem is that he has shown that apart from the cup (pretty easy to motivate given the circumstances) he hasn't got a clue how to motivate his squad to perform well. His selection, formations and tactics have also been questionable.

And, of course, the good old references to one 6-1 defeat. Wake up and smell the coffee folks. Under Clarke we have still had some pretty crushing and humiliating defeats and/or dire performances. We have had less clean sheets than under the failing Adkins. Even allowing for the loss of Murray our goal-scoring record is unacceptable. Added to that, our points per game record is nothing short of disastrous.

The warning signs are there to see and are being echoed by some of the feedback from West Brom fans.

Jury should be very much out on Clarke and, unless the owners are prepared to invest significantly and trust him with those funds, then they should get shot sooner, rather than later, because Clarke has already demonstrated that he will not be able to succeed with what we currently have.

[wingnut]

Do who got the better deal, Bournemouth with Wilson, or Cardiff with Alf . One is a goalscorer at this level, the other apparently not.

Cardiff (OGS) were absolutely barmy to pay top dollar for a player who's only effective in and around the 6 yard box and then play him on the wing. No wonder he wasn't r8ed there and it's little wonder, too, that OGS didn't last long there with that level of tactical genius.

[under the tin]

Cardiff (OGS) were absolutely barmy to pay top dollar for a player who's only effective in and around the 6 yard box and then play him on the wing. No wonder he wasn't r8ed there and it's little wonder, too, that OGS didn't last long there with that level of tactical genius.

So you're talking about a manager who seems to bring in players willy-nilly, moves players away from their normal positions, and hopes that they come good................?
I can see what you did there

[Nameless]

Clarke gets good reviews from lots of people in football, was speaking to an Oxford United coach recently who said Clarke is a really good appointment....
We shall see. I'm very much in the camp that says he's had no real time to do much yet. Of course you sometimes get managers who come in and make instant impacts, but just as often it takes a while (and a proper window) to sort things.
I suspect he's been told he has time, the Thais have said they aren't rushing things and he should get at least next season to demonsrate progress.
We are clearly better organised, better defensively but still not right in the penalty area. We are creating more and whereas before Christmas we were struggling everywhere Clarke has changed it so there is only 25% of the pitch that we can't play in.
Can he bring in the right players this summer ? We'll see come September. Should we over react and get rid of a manager who has done some good groundwork, and should be capable of building on that ? I'd say no, and I can't quite understand why some take such a short sighted view.

[ladida_gunner_graham]

Clarke gets good reviews from lots of people in football, was speaking to an Oxford United coach recently who said Clarke is a really good appointment....
We shall see. I'm very much in the camp that says he's had no real time to do much yet. Of course you sometimes get managers who come in and make instant impacts, but just as often it takes a while (and a proper window) to sort things.
I suspect he's been told he has time, the Thais have said they aren't rushing things and he should get at least next season to demonsrate progress.
We are clearly better organised, better defensively but still not right in the penalty area. We are creating more and whereas before Christmas we were struggling everywhere Clarke has changed it so there is only 25% of the pitch that we can't play in.
Can he bring in the right players this summer ? We'll see come September. Should we over react and get rid of a manager who has done some good groundwork, and should be capable of building on that ? I'd say no, and I can't quite understand why some take such a short sighted view.

I'm tending to agree with these sentiments, but how long he gets to prove himself is the question. He has inherited a situation where there are a lot of players who are either not good enough or playing poorly. Is he capable of identifying the crud, moving it on (where possible) and replacing it with something better? His loan signings have been generally good, but these are just short term sticking plasters - the good ones seem unlikely to be leading to to permanent deals for one reason or another. Can he find the next Doyle, Long, Sidwell, Shorey? Knight and Yakubu suggest that the jury is definitely out on that, but I don't think he's had a fair crack of the whip yet.

Can he get the best out of the players who are capable, but under-performing? I think there is significant potential upside in the performances of the likes of Obita (who has definitely gone backwards in the last 12 months), McCleary (too inconsistent, but we know what he CAN do) and Norwood (who looked class for a couple of months but has totally lost his way). What a difference those three could make if playing to their potential. Is he a good enough coach to make that happen?

We seem to play a lot less long balls than we did under McDermott and Adkins - but he still needs to find a penetrative style that's exciting and effective, and also within the capabilities of the players we have. Some of his tactical decisions have honestly looked very iffy. Robson-Kanu upfront on his own was quite absurd, especially after he'd just said to Radio Berks that he needed to give Appiah a good run in the team to find out about him.....so leaves him on the bench and plays a failing winger in his position.....utterly baffling. No more mistakes like that Steve....you'll look too much of a tit.

Want to see him given more of a chance, but not convinced he'll succeed.

[Haag Royal]

We all hate the situation we find the club in at the moment so anyone on here who says it's a witch hunt against Clarke is wrong. The only thing that has saved his job has been the cup run. But give us the choice of a cup run next year or relegation and we all know what we would take.

The facts speak for themselves

- he has had 12 games to see what his best line up is and get some momentum going. In those 12 games where in truth there has been little or no pressure the team has delivered a measly 7 points. That is nailed on relegation form. And lets not forget that Saturday's team starting line up had 7 full internationals (and a hand full of U21's as well) the playing so it's not that the players don't know what they are doing. And they are supposed to be playing for their contracts now - you would never have known it on Saturday
- he has bought in 6 loanees and all bar one they are at best baffling to anyone who has watched them (one started on Saturday and none finished the game). So even the manager doesn't rate the loan players he bought in. (don't try and tell me he did not agree to them either.....). So why should anyone think he should be given the money to spend in close season?
- he has little or no experience of battling out of the Championship which everyone tells us is one of the toughest jobs around. There are managers aplently out of work who have done the job.

But I forgot - he gives an honest interview for BBCRB and because of that one or two of the commentators are falling all over him. How long will that last?

if we do not get a result in at least one of the two games left he should go and admit it hasn't worked out.

[Hoop Blah]

We all hate the situation we find the club in at the moment so anyone on here who says it's a witch hunt against Clarke is wrong. The only thing that has saved his job has been the cup run. But give us the choice of a cup run next year or relegation and we all know what we would take.

Without the cup run his league results would probably have been quite different though! I keep saying this, but you can't just discount the effect the cup run has had on Clarke and the squads approach to the league.

The facts speak for themselves

- he has bought in 6 loanees and all bar one they are at best baffling to anyone who has watched them (one started on Saturday and none finished the game). So even the manager doesn't rate the loan players he bought in. (don't try and tell me he did not agree to them either.....). So why should anyone think he should be given the money to spend in close season?

He's loaned in 3 players, Chalobah, Ake and Appiah. He's also got Mackie left from Adkins dealings. One of those isn't at the club anymore and the other one he's had a look at and he presumably doesn't fancy much. Mackie and Chalabah both played on Saturday.

As for baffling, Chalobah has been one of our better players, if a little inconsistent. Ake looked very good and, like Chalobah, plugged a few holes during his time.

As for needing a result over the next two games to save his job, well that's ridiculous. He's been using these games to assess his squad and experiment. I for one am happy for him to do that at the expense of a few irrelevant points if it helps him make decisions for the summer.

[wingnut]

Didn't all the short-term loans end before Saturday, leaving only Mackie and Chalobah anyway?

[RoyalBlue]

Really don't get this 'we are better in defence' line. No we haven't been hammered 6-1 but we have less clean sheets than under Adkins and have been steadily increasing the cumulative goals conceded, helped by a four and three threes!

[Haag Royal]

Didn't all the short-term loans end before Saturday, leaving only Mackie and Chalobah anyway?

Correct - I meant to say loans and signings - apologies.

[floyd__streete]

22 points taken in 24 league games under Clarke, during which time we have scored 19 goals.

That represents a quite appalling performance whatever spin you want to put on it.

[Cureton's Volley]

Maybe we need a new new poll

[Lacoste]

Maybe we need a new new poll

After you....

Was going to wait until after the Derby game.

[Lacoste]

Steve Clarke barmy army

You are Ryan AICMFP

[RoyalBlue]

Clarke has the temerity to have a go at Dellor for suggesting we might be in relegation trouble next season!

Clarke wants to know why Dellor would say that! Hasn't the fool been taking a note of the performances and results from the team under his management?!

[Big Ern]

Clarke Out!