Brian: The right decision?

[strap]

Christ on a f*cking bike. is this still going?

Agreed! However, with the bookies allegedly saying he's the new odd-on favourite, it's a good time to read this thread from page 1! It will only take the first page or two to see that, at the time, the general consensus was that BMcD's time was pretty much up.

Anyone seriously suggesting BMcD is the way forward today should read this thread to see that it's really not.

Don't get me wrong, great guy and all that, fantastic achievement back in the day, but his time has come and gone for us.

[msmivie]

HOOF AND CHASE!
Definitely NO thank you!

[Armadillo Roadkill]

Christ on a f*cking bike. is this still going?

Agreed! However, with the bookies allegedly saying he's the new odd-on favourite, it's a good time to read this thread from page 1! It will only take the first page or two to see that, at the time, the general consensus was that BMcD's time was pretty much up.

Anyone seriously suggesting BMcD is the way forward today should read this thread to see that it's really not.

Don't get me wrong, great guy and all that, fantastic achievement back in the day, but his time has come and gone for us.

I'm with Strap on this one. Even though it was sad and I felt for the guy and it was tough, his time had come.

Same as with Adkins (who unlike just about everybody else it seems, I really liked and thought he got a rough deal): when a manger keeps making the same mistakes and the results don't improve, they're probably getting sacked.

[tidus_mi2]

Christ on a f*cking bike. is this still going?

Agreed! However, with the bookies allegedly saying he's the new odd-on favourite, it's a good time to read this thread from page 1! It will only take the first page or two to see that, at the time, the general consensus was that BMcD's time was pretty much up.

Anyone seriously suggesting BMcD is the way forward today should read this thread to see that it's really not.

Don't get me wrong, great guy and all that, fantastic achievement back in the day, but his time has come and gone for us.

I'm with Strap on this one. Even though it was sad and I felt for the guy and it was tough, his time had come.

Same as with Adkins (who unlike just about everybody else it seems, I really liked and thought he got a rough deal): when a manger keeps making the same mistakes and the results don't improve, they're probably getting sacked.

I was very much pro-Adkins as a person he genuinely seemed like a positive, approachable person but the form he had us in followed by the 6-1 thumping, his sacking was inevitable.

[sandman]

HOOF AND CHASE!
Definitely NO thank you!

Yep, remember all those times that Gylfi fella used to hoof the ball?

[CountryRoyal]

HOOF AND CHASE!
Definitely NO thank you!

Yep, remember all those times that Gylfi fella used to hoof the ball?

Gylfi played for half a season under McD.

At times football under McDermott was long ball and ugly, but it was certainly no different to most teams in our league, and at times we played some very nice counter-attacking football. Definitely not all shit like some would have you believe.

[Cookie]

#BringBackBrian

[Cookie]

HOOF AND CHASE!
Definitely NO thank you!

Yep, remember all those times that Gylfi fella used to hoof the ball?

Gylfi played for half a season under McD.

At times football under McDermott was long ball and ugly, but it was certainly no different to most teams in our league, and at times we played some very nice counter-attacking football. Definitely not all shit like some would have you believe.

Agree with this. Brian had many strings to his bow.
Just don't know if the present patchwork of light-weights could be moulded to a hard working outfit.

[RoyalJames101]

HOOF AND CHASE!
Definitely NO thank you!

SCORE AND WIN GAMES!
Definitely YES please!

[Winston Smith]

HOOF AND CHASE!
Definitely NO thank you!

top re writing of history there.

[wingnut]

HOOF AND CHASE!
Definitely NO thank you!

Yep, remember all those times that Gylfi fella used to hoof the ball?

Gylfi played for half a season under McD.

At times football under McDermott was long ball and ugly, but it was certainly no different to most teams in our league, and at times we played some very nice counter-attacking football. Definitely not all shit like some would have you believe.

I guess folk's memories of Brian are adversely affected by his last season in charge. In his time as manager he built three different sides each with different styles, the most successful of which weren't just hoof and hope. And yes, although it was just half a season, he did build a side around Gylfi and in the process got the best out of him. The next season he built the side around Shane - and got the best out of him too. The first half of the next season wasn't gr8 and Brian was t able to get the best of the side until Roberts came along and again the side was modelled around his strengths.

The times when we looked the ugliest under Brian was when we didn't have a player that could be used as a focus for the team's play. Perhaps that shows his limitations as a coach.

[RoyalinBracknell]

]

HOOF AND CHASE!
Definitely NO thank you!

Gylfi played for half a season under McD.

At times football under McDermott was long ball and ugly, but it was certainly no different to most teams in our league, and at times we played some very nice counter-attacking football. Definitely not all shit like some would have you believe.

I guess folk's memories of Brian are adversely affected by his last season in charge. In his time as manager he built three different sides each with different styles, the most successful of which weren't just hoof and hope. And yes, although it was just half a season, he did build a side around Gylfi and in the process got the best out of him. The next season he built the side around Shane - and got the best out of him too. The first half of the next season wasn't gr8 and Brian was t able to get the best of the side until Roberts came along and again the side was modelled around his strengths.

The times when we looked the ugliest under Brian was when we didn't have a player that could be used as a focus for the team's play. Perhaps that shows his limitations as a coach.

Although another way of looking at that could be that McDermott did a great job in successfully building three different teams in two and a half seasons (quite a few managers probably haven't had to do this, and I'd guess there's a limit to the number who have been able to do this in three successive seasons.)

I think I understood the feelings of those on here at the time who said it felt like the club had lost a bit of its soul the day they sacked McDermott, even if a part of me would probably have considered that a bit over dramatic at the time. But two and a half years on I think that's probably been proved true and is perhaps a bigger part of a football club than we sometimes realise.

[sandman]

HOOF AND CHASE!
Definitely NO thank you!

Yep, remember all those times that Gylfi fella used to hoof the ball?

Gylfi played for half a season under McD.

At times football under McDermott was long ball and ugly, but it was certainly no different to most teams in our league, and at times we played some very nice counter-attacking football. Definitely not all shit like some would have you believe.

He did indeed, C[u]ntryRoyal. he did indeed. And in that half a season we played some very nice football in a different formation to 4-4-2. thus proving that when you have the right players you can play good football and play different formations to a formation you have to play with more limited players.

[Oilroyal]

Put the human touch back into our club. http://youtu.be/9vx3rFB0OZg

[Ian Royal]

It's rather over-egging it to say McDermott built three separate teams. He successfully modified the team three times with some fairly significant individuals lost along the way. But there was a core of the likes of Federici, Pearce, Karacan, Tabb, McAnuff, Kebe, Robson-Kanu, Hunt and Church there all the way through and none his signings. And others like Griffin, Howard, Le Fondre, Leigertwood and Long across multiple seasons - two of which also weren't his signings.

His ability to spot the short term fix was absolutely stupendous and his ability to get the team playing to greater than the sum of its parts was out of this world. But building new teams? Not really.

[wingnut]

He did inasmuch as the formation and style changed to get the most out of the key player(s). Obviously he didn't completely change the personnel.

[Ian Royal]

He did inasmuch as the formation and style changed to get the most out of the key player(s). Obviously he didn't completely change the personnel.

Surely that's just standard management. I mean a manager should have a couple of formation and style variations at his disposal at all times. I wouldn't say the style really changed a great deal other than after Gylfi left, even then, not hugely.

We consistently had deep spoiling midfielders - progressively more so, with a heavy focus on balls into the channels for a striker to chase and direct wing play. Simple, but against limited opposition with players of approximately equal or better quality to them - highly effective.

[wingnut]

He did inasmuch as the formation and style changed to get the most out of the key player(s). Obviously he didn't completely change the personnel.

Surely that's just standard management.

But seemingly beyond our last two incumbents.

[Ian Royal]

He did inasmuch as the formation and style changed to get the most out of the key player(s). Obviously he didn't completely change the personnel.

Surely that's just standard management.

But seemingly beyond our last two incumbents.

I'd say Clarke's problem wasn't an inability to change formation and style, but an inability to stick to one that worked!

[MmmMonsterMunch]

In hindsight, Brian should have been given the rest of the season & we as fans should have had the patience to give him it & not get on his back regardless of our opinions of formation, tactics etc. BUT at the time, I was one of those that thought the time was right to pull the trigger.

We played fantastic counter attacking football under BM but for large parts of his tenure, the ball was a hot potato & we gave the ball away far too easily. That was true in the chump & even more so in the prem. We were far too gung-ho. After a few disasters (Wigan away springs to mind), we were all crying out to see 4-5-1 & we finally did at the Etihad. In fact we almost pulled off a result until Shorey stood still & let Barry clamber over him to head the winner.

At that point you were thinking if only we'd adopted this approach earlier on in the season we'd have had a few more points on the board & not be bang in trouble.

Again, the Arsenal cup game. Just madness & we should have shut up shop & made sure of the result.

Despite everything I've just said above (!), I think I've arrived at the conclusion that it really doesn't matter what credentials the manager has. Some managers work at some clubs, some fail at others. The more I think about it, the more I think its just a case of everything clicking at the right time with a large number of variables seemingly slotting into place. The fans buy into it, they back the team, the feel good factor is back, off you go & results follow.

Purely for nostalgic reasons & to get a bit of a bond back with the club & fans, I'd welcome Brian or Steve back with open arms.