| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… 07:41 - Feb 16 with 7663 views | ITFC_Forever |
They have been very impressed by us recently and noted that now we have some tactical structure to go with the quality we have, it’s no surprise therefore our form has improved.
He was convinced we will make the POs, no problem. [Post edited 16 Feb 2022 8:16]
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| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 12:35 - Feb 16 with 1971 views | N2_Blue |
| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 12:30 - Feb 16 by PhilTWTD |
Not really defending anything, just I know that it wasn't a case of making lazy appointments and that he spent a long time over them and was close to appointing other people before finally making his decision.
He had a system which he was trying to instil in the players, I'm not sure it was quite as inflexible as has been claimed as changes were made within the parameters of the overall formation, number 10s with different roles, the role that Fraser was given on the left, full-backs' roles being tweaked, that sort of thing.
I don't think there was any assumption it would eventually come off as such, from what I gather he worked hard on getting things right, perhaps to his detriment as I get the impression players got a little tired of the repetition as he sought to get things right.
As I've said before, I thought the sacking was premature after all the changes in the summer and was contrary to the patience mantra. However, from the comments PC has made since, I'm not sure it was ever really going to work with him here long-term. He took a different job to the one it became and he was clearly frustrated at not having the control he expected when he took the job initially.
Kieran McKenna has obviously made a great start and is a better fit into the structure which is being put in place. |
Cheers Phil, interesting to hear.
I think he made a lot of mistakes and still maintain he was too stubborn with certain things which is why I personally don't feel his sacking was too premature, but agree it looks like it was never a role that was going to work for PC once Gamechanger came in. |  |
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| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 12:36 - Feb 16 with 1971 views | Ryorry |
| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 12:30 - Feb 16 by PhilTWTD |
Not really defending anything, just I know that it wasn't a case of making lazy appointments and that he spent a long time over them and was close to appointing other people before finally making his decision.
He had a system which he was trying to instil in the players, I'm not sure it was quite as inflexible as has been claimed as changes were made within the parameters of the overall formation, number 10s with different roles, the role that Fraser was given on the left, full-backs' roles being tweaked, that sort of thing.
I don't think there was any assumption it would eventually come off as such, from what I gather he worked hard on getting things right, perhaps to his detriment as I get the impression players got a little tired of the repetition as he sought to get things right.
As I've said before, I thought the sacking was premature after all the changes in the summer and was contrary to the patience mantra. However, from the comments PC has made since, I'm not sure it was ever really going to work with him here long-term. He took a different job to the one it became and he was clearly frustrated at not having the control he expected when he took the job initially.
Kieran McKenna has obviously made a great start and is a better fit into the structure which is being put in place. |
Thanks Phil, really appreciate your insights & objectivity, top journo-ing ðŸ‘🻠|  |
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| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 12:37 - Feb 16 with 1963 views | Marshalls_Mullet |
| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 10:52 - Feb 16 by PhilTWTD |
Actually it was the opposite of lazy. He took a long time ruminating on who to pick for his staff, talked to quite a few people. I know the likes of Kieron and Noel Hunt were under consideration for the assistant manager's role, along with Jeffers, who was ultimately given another job title. I'd heard Jeffers was in the frame a month or so before he got the job having been recommended to him, I think by Joe Royle, although I'm not 100 per cent on that. |
He did appoint two mates and one person recommended to him.
One still a player and the other a kit man.
Maybe not lazy, but not exactly thorough. [Post edited 16 Feb 2022 12:37]
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| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 12:42 - Feb 16 with 1945 views | PrrrromotionGiven |
I know we say this every week but it's such a critical string of games coming up against mostly bottom half sides. Draws are painful and losses are devastating for the next 6 games. |  | | |
| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 12:51 - Feb 16 with 1907 views | BlueBadger |
Personally, my view is that Cook left Mckenna with too much of a gap to make up, but the lack of 'free hit mentality' from manager and players this time round is refreshing and highly encouraging, for next seaosn if nothing else.
Last two years we'd already downed tools at this stage of the season. |  |
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| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 12:52 - Feb 16 with 1898 views | Churchman |
| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 10:43 - Feb 16 by Marshalls_Mullet |
My biggest disappointment in Cook was his recruitment of his coaching staff.
It seemed very lazy and ill considered, and was ultimately his downfall. |
I couldn’t care a less whether he recruited Freddie Kruger or the Teletubbies as coaches. He chose who he wanted and since I don’t know what coaches really do, bar hand out bibs and cones, I assumed he chose people to fit with his requirements.
What most disappointed me with Cook was his apparent inflexibility and his thin skin. Blowing up publicly after the Northampton and Wimbledon surrender was the first time I began to wonder about him. Then came the crudity of the bomb squad.
Cook strikes me as basically ‘old school’. There’s nothing wrong in that and he’s a successful manager. He is passionate and likeable. But for what we are trying to do, he turned out to be a poor fit. The way McKenna is going about it feels right, though that may just be new manager bounce/ honeymoon period. I like KMs measured, confident approach. |  | | |
| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 13:00 - Feb 16 with 1881 views | N2_Blue |
| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 12:51 - Feb 16 by BlueBadger |
Personally, my view is that Cook left Mckenna with too much of a gap to make up, but the lack of 'free hit mentality' from manager and players this time round is refreshing and highly encouraging, for next seaosn if nothing else.
Last two years we'd already downed tools at this stage of the season. |
he did leave him with way too much to do.
But Mckenna has made such an impressive start i think there is every chance now.
If we win the next two home games (and i have a feeling we will) i'm saying we'll definitely get a play off place! Even if we only get 4 points it may not be over and still doable.
8 wins from 11 would be insane form but I think that's exactly what Mckenna will achive just at a time a few other teams are faltering. | |
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| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 13:01 - Feb 16 with 1871 views | N2_Blue |
| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 12:52 - Feb 16 by Churchman |
I couldn’t care a less whether he recruited Freddie Kruger or the Teletubbies as coaches. He chose who he wanted and since I don’t know what coaches really do, bar hand out bibs and cones, I assumed he chose people to fit with his requirements.
What most disappointed me with Cook was his apparent inflexibility and his thin skin. Blowing up publicly after the Northampton and Wimbledon surrender was the first time I began to wonder about him. Then came the crudity of the bomb squad.
Cook strikes me as basically ‘old school’. There’s nothing wrong in that and he’s a successful manager. He is passionate and likeable. But for what we are trying to do, he turned out to be a poor fit. The way McKenna is going about it feels right, though that may just be new manager bounce/ honeymoon period. I like KMs measured, confident approach. |
agree 100% with this. | |
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| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 13:08 - Feb 16 with 1860 views | hype313 |
| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 12:52 - Feb 16 by Churchman |
I couldn’t care a less whether he recruited Freddie Kruger or the Teletubbies as coaches. He chose who he wanted and since I don’t know what coaches really do, bar hand out bibs and cones, I assumed he chose people to fit with his requirements.
What most disappointed me with Cook was his apparent inflexibility and his thin skin. Blowing up publicly after the Northampton and Wimbledon surrender was the first time I began to wonder about him. Then came the crudity of the bomb squad.
Cook strikes me as basically ‘old school’. There’s nothing wrong in that and he’s a successful manager. He is passionate and likeable. But for what we are trying to do, he turned out to be a poor fit. The way McKenna is going about it feels right, though that may just be new manager bounce/ honeymoon period. I like KMs measured, confident approach. |
Indeed, Cook's downfall was his own making, and you could make an argument for the coaches to step up more vocally throughout games (I'm not sure if they did or didn't) but the buck stopped with Cook.
Jeffers by all accounts was very well thought of at Everton as a coach.
The biggest issue was the set up, it clearly wasn't aligned with how Cook wanted to manage, as much as he wasn't the type of manager Ashton and co wanted within the parameters they set. |  |
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| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 13:21 - Feb 16 with 1823 views | PJH |
| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 13:08 - Feb 16 by hype313 |
Indeed, Cook's downfall was his own making, and you could make an argument for the coaches to step up more vocally throughout games (I'm not sure if they did or didn't) but the buck stopped with Cook.
Jeffers by all accounts was very well thought of at Everton as a coach.
The biggest issue was the set up, it clearly wasn't aligned with how Cook wanted to manage, as much as he wasn't the type of manager Ashton and co wanted within the parameters they set. |
Your last point, which is clearly correct, makes me wonder about the 'Cook would have been our first choice' statement made by the owners on their arrival.
It would have been better (in retrospect) for everybody if Cook had gone then but with them making that statement, it made it next to impossible.
If they really meant it then Cook presumably turned out to be not what they thought he was.
No idea who we would have ended up with if Cook had gone then but I very much doubt if it would have been McK. |  | | |
| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 13:35 - Feb 16 with 1777 views | hype313 |
| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 13:21 - Feb 16 by PJH |
Your last point, which is clearly correct, makes me wonder about the 'Cook would have been our first choice' statement made by the owners on their arrival.
It would have been better (in retrospect) for everybody if Cook had gone then but with them making that statement, it made it next to impossible.
If they really meant it then Cook presumably turned out to be not what they thought he was.
No idea who we would have ended up with if Cook had gone then but I very much doubt if it would have been McK. |
Yep, it was all a bit of a mess really, no one truly knows if Cook was their man or if he was someone to steady the ship so soon after the takeover, clearly in the intervening time we now know Cook wasn't someone who fitted their profile, so we can only deduce it was a marriage of convenience for a short while. | |
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| [Redacted] on 13:36 - Feb 16 with 1776 views | victorywilhappen |
| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 08:12 - Feb 16 by FrimleyBlue |
Funny you should say that, I was speaking to a friend the other day who is a town fan but also a lower league opponent analyzer and he said the same and that over the past 3 fixtures we have actually changed shape over 8 times across the fixtures, he says it's would be extremely high level of documentation to present to a management team ahead of a fixture against town as you have 0 idea how it's going to progress over the 90 minutes. |
[Redacted] |  | | |
| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 13:54 - Feb 16 with 1726 views | BlueBadger |
| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 13:00 - Feb 16 by N2_Blue |
he did leave him with way too much to do.
But Mckenna has made such an impressive start i think there is every chance now.
If we win the next two home games (and i have a feeling we will) i'm saying we'll definitely get a play off place! Even if we only get 4 points it may not be over and still doable.
8 wins from 11 would be insane form but I think that's exactly what Mckenna will achive just at a time a few other teams are faltering. |
My head says 'it's not gonna happen'
My heart is looking for ways a part-timer like me can fiddle their way into getting tickets to Wembley. | |
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| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 14:05 - Feb 16 with 1688 views | BlueBadger |
| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 10:31 - Feb 16 by jayessess |
Think we've moved it up a notch in the last 2 and someone's going to walk into a proper hiding from us pretty soon. |
Bonne hattrick in the next 3 games, definite info. | |
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| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 14:05 - Feb 16 with 1691 views | ChateauWines |
| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 09:17 - Feb 16 by HighgateBlue |
That's interesting, and encouraging. Not surprising, mind. It's been clear that McKenna is an analyst and a thinker, as well as being excellent at communicating ideas. He's clearly excellent at analysing a problem and quickly coming with a solution. I didn't actually know, going into the MK Dons match, what the team or formation was, as I didn't have any phone reception in or around the ground, except that I had heard Jackson was playing. I don't have the best eyesight in terms of detail, but it was apparent to me that they were causing us a few problems in the first 20 minutes or so. Nothing out of the ordinary - one would expect to have to soak up a bit of pressure early doors away from home against a high-flying, footballing, side.
But then it became clear that something changed about our shape, and we started to impose ourselves, and in my view we were the better side from then on. It was therefore reassuring to hear McKenna's comments after the game about how he switched things around a bit. I'm certainly not the best football analyst out of our fans, but if I could notice (a) the change in approach, and (b) the positive consequence of it, it's clear that McKenna has had an impact on the game, for the better. He probably does this in less perceptible ways all the time.
Out of interest, what did you (or the coach to whom you refer) mean by "tactical structure"? Did you mean structure of the team on the pitch, or structure of the club hierarchy behind the scenes? |
Agree, after 10 mins or so they were causing us lots of problems down our right hand side. McK spoke to both Burns and Donacien individually in breaks of play. From then on Burns hugged touchline discouraging their LB to push on and threat ended | |
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| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 14:18 - Feb 16 with 1649 views | jayessess |
| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 13:54 - Feb 16 by BlueBadger |
My head says 'it's not gonna happen'
My heart is looking for ways a part-timer like me can fiddle their way into getting tickets to Wembley. |
My head says, get within 1 win of 6th and anything can happen. We might well already be there by Tuesday 10pm! |  |
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| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 14:23 - Feb 16 with 1640 views | BlueBadger |
| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 14:18 - Feb 16 by jayessess |
My head says, get within 1 win of 6th and anything can happen. We might well already be there by Tuesday 10pm! |
As the old cliche goes, you still have to WIN your games in hand... | |
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| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 14:30 - Feb 16 with 1626 views | hype313 |
| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 14:18 - Feb 16 by jayessess |
My head says, get within 1 win of 6th and anything can happen. We might well already be there by Tuesday 10pm! |
Always better to have hope in your soul rather than soap in your hole. | |
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| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 14:36 - Feb 16 with 1595 views | textbackup |
| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 13:08 - Feb 16 by hype313 |
Indeed, Cook's downfall was his own making, and you could make an argument for the coaches to step up more vocally throughout games (I'm not sure if they did or didn't) but the buck stopped with Cook.
Jeffers by all accounts was very well thought of at Everton as a coach.
The biggest issue was the set up, it clearly wasn't aligned with how Cook wanted to manage, as much as he wasn't the type of manager Ashton and co wanted within the parameters they set. |
I don’t think they help one another be going on the piss so often. By all means have some chill out time, but not a hope in hell you’ll see KMc in his town training gear sinking pints and a George best session rate [Post edited 17 Feb 2022 2:26]
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| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 14:37 - Feb 16 with 1595 views | BlueBadger |
Did they also mention how smarmy he is?
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| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 14:38 - Feb 16 with 1590 views | hype313 |
| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 14:36 - Feb 16 by textbackup |
I don’t think they help one another be going on the piss so often. By all means have some chill out time, but not a hope in hell you’ll see KMc in his town training gear sinking pints and a George best session rate [Post edited 17 Feb 2022 2:26]
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Yep, was pretty common knowledge they all liked a beer or 6, surprised they didn't take TIB's Away day beer tagline... | |
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| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 14:42 - Feb 16 with 1579 views | WD19 |
Did he work for Sheffield Wednesday? |  | | |
| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 14:52 - Feb 16 with 1556 views | itfc_bucks |
| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 13:08 - Feb 16 by hype313 |
Indeed, Cook's downfall was his own making, and you could make an argument for the coaches to step up more vocally throughout games (I'm not sure if they did or didn't) but the buck stopped with Cook.
Jeffers by all accounts was very well thought of at Everton as a coach.
The biggest issue was the set up, it clearly wasn't aligned with how Cook wanted to manage, as much as he wasn't the type of manager Ashton and co wanted within the parameters they set. |
Given he was a relatively decent looking forward, back in the day, I found it bizarre from the off that Cook had delegated defensive coaching duties to him.
Further, I think the poster further up the board who said someone will walk into a tonking from us soon is right.
It'll just need one team to try and play an open passing game against us and we could pull them apart.
It's coming. | | | |
| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 15:00 - Feb 16 with 1513 views | Darth_Koont |
| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 12:30 - Feb 16 by PhilTWTD |
Not really defending anything, just I know that it wasn't a case of making lazy appointments and that he spent a long time over them and was close to appointing other people before finally making his decision.
He had a system which he was trying to instil in the players, I'm not sure it was quite as inflexible as has been claimed as changes were made within the parameters of the overall formation, number 10s with different roles, the role that Fraser was given on the left, full-backs' roles being tweaked, that sort of thing.
I don't think there was any assumption it would eventually come off as such, from what I gather he worked hard on getting things right, perhaps to his detriment as I get the impression players got a little tired of the repetition as he sought to get things right.
As I've said before, I thought the sacking was premature after all the changes in the summer and was contrary to the patience mantra. However, from the comments PC has made since, I'm not sure it was ever really going to work with him here long-term. He took a different job to the one it became and he was clearly frustrated at not having the control he expected when he took the job initially.
Kieran McKenna has obviously made a great start and is a better fit into the structure which is being put in place. |
Good post, Phil.
Must admit that was very much my take from the outside. And even if I think Cook was let go a little too early, I agree with the conclusion re:McKenna being ultimately a better fit. |  |
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| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 15:07 - Feb 16 with 1494 views | itfcjoe |
| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 14:36 - Feb 16 by textbackup |
I don’t think they help one another be going on the piss so often. By all means have some chill out time, but not a hope in hell you’ll see KMc in his town training gear sinking pints and a George best session rate [Post edited 17 Feb 2022 2:26]
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You can't drink a dozen pints every day and have a clear enough head to work the next day at full capacity.
Hear McKenna on the interview - go home and spend a couple of hours with kids etc then straight back into analysing games etc.
This new breed are ultra professional, it's very different now - saw a stat earlier that 8 of the 20 PL managers either didn't have any playing career of note or had retired before they were 30. |  |
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