| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… 07:41 - Feb 16 with 7657 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 07:52 - Feb 16 with 4911 views | Steve_M |
Interesting to get an external view on it. Even at this level structure is as important as playing ability, quite telling that Lambert's most successful spell here came with a basic 4-4-2 and it went wrong when he tried to be clever.
McK seems to be a good enough coach to improve players so they can be flexible. |  |
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| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 08:12 - Feb 16 with 4795 views | 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. |  |
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| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 09:12 - Feb 16 with 4540 views | HighgateBlue |
| 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. |
This of course is the exact opposite of what occurred under Cook, where there was zero flexibility in the structure of our formation across the 90 minutes (and pretty much the season), even where we were trying to see the game out (and often not succeeding). |  | | |
| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 09:16 - Feb 16 with 4503 views | Marshalls_Mullet |
Its amazing what difference an experienced coaching team can have... |  |
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| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 09:17 - Feb 16 with 4494 views | 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? | | | |
| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 09:32 - Feb 16 with 4342 views | tractor_lady |
I went on Saturday and ok we didn’t win but what is so apparent now is that the players know their job - they are working as a team. I felt under cook and lambert like we were a group of individuals who didn’t really understand their roles and how that fitted into the wider strategy… really positive in my opinion and will only get better. |  | | |
| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 09:50 - Feb 16 with 4178 views | blueislander |
| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 09:16 - Feb 16 by Marshalls_Mullet |
Its amazing what difference an experienced coaching team can have... |
Lambert and Cook had far more experience than McKenna has. | | | |
| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 09:52 - Feb 16 with 4159 views | Marshalls_Mullet |
| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 09:50 - Feb 16 by blueislander |
Lambert and Cook had far more experience than McKenna has. |
"Coaching team". There was a reason I used that precise term.
...Roberts, Jeffers, Kit Man.
Also, remember McKenna has c.10+ years coaching experience. [Post edited 16 Feb 2022 9:54]
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| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 09:55 - Feb 16 with 4114 views | HighgateBlue |
| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 09:52 - Feb 16 by Marshalls_Mullet |
"Coaching team". There was a reason I used that precise term.
...Roberts, Jeffers, Kit Man.
Also, remember McKenna has c.10+ years coaching experience. [Post edited 16 Feb 2022 9:54]
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Yes, the set up was amateurish. Criminal not to have a coach with real experience of defensive play, and lo and behold, we conceded twice as many goals as under Lambert.
McKenna is a modern professional, and has very significant experience at a level that Cook can only dream of. | | | |
| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 10:17 - Feb 16 with 3935 views | MalcolmBlue |
| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 09:52 - Feb 16 by Marshalls_Mullet |
"Coaching team". There was a reason I used that precise term.
...Roberts, Jeffers, Kit Man.
Also, remember McKenna has c.10+ years coaching experience. [Post edited 16 Feb 2022 9:54]
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Haha "Kit Man" was probably the perfect way to cap off the Banter era |  |
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| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 10:31 - Feb 16 with 3852 views | 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. |  |
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| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 10:40 - Feb 16 with 3761 views | blueislander |
| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 10:17 - Feb 16 by MalcolmBlue |
Haha "Kit Man" was probably the perfect way to cap off the Banter era |
To clarify, my post was a criticism of Lambert and Cook who had loads of managerial experience , but failed miserably. | | | |
| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 10:43 - Feb 16 with 3718 views | Marshalls_Mullet |
| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 10:40 - Feb 16 by blueislander |
To clarify, my post was a criticism of Lambert and Cook who had loads of managerial experience , but failed miserably. |
My biggest disappointment in Cook was his recruitment of his coaching staff.
It seemed very lazy and ill considered, and was ultimately his downfall. | |
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| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 10:51 - Feb 16 with 3650 views | Guthrum |
| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 09:50 - Feb 16 by blueislander |
Lambert and Cook had far more experience than McKenna has. |
Fun fact - Lambert has only overseen 18 more Premier League matches as Manager than McKenna has as an Assistant. |  |
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| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 10:52 - Feb 16 with 3635 views | PhilTWTD |
| 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. |
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. |  | | |
| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 11:07 - Feb 16 with 3529 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. |
Thats maybe even more worrying that he came to those conclusions after consideration.
Shows extremely poor judgement.
Still seems lazy to pick a few inexperienced scouse mates. | |
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| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 11:24 - Feb 16 with 3449 views | ITFC_Forever |
| 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? |
It was more about the tatical structure on the pitch, but clearly we are making good strides off the pitch as well. | |
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| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 11:26 - Feb 16 with 3433 views | Dyland |
| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 11:07 - Feb 16 by Marshalls_Mullet |
Thats maybe even more worrying that he came to those conclusions after consideration.
Shows extremely poor judgement.
Still seems lazy to pick a few inexperienced scouse mates. |
Indeed. Terrible judgement. Which may to some minds be preferable to being lazy (which I'd not level at Cook tbf), but results in the same sh1te, worse even. |  |
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| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 11:29 - Feb 16 with 3420 views | PhilTWTD |
| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 11:07 - Feb 16 by Marshalls_Mullet |
Thats maybe even more worrying that he came to those conclusions after consideration.
Shows extremely poor judgement.
Still seems lazy to pick a few inexperienced scouse mates. |
Jeffers was reasonably experienced - other Premier League U23s coaches are getting managers jobs at our level - and the two didn't know one another before he came here, I believe. It does seem to be the way PC likes to work, having inexperienced coaches around him. Leam Richardson was very much in that mould when they first linked up, same with Anthony Barry. | | | |
| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 11:39 - Feb 16 with 3330 views | chicoazul |
Hope they’re right! |  |
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| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 12:20 - Feb 16 with 3183 views | N2_Blue |
| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 11:29 - Feb 16 by PhilTWTD |
Jeffers was reasonably experienced - other Premier League U23s coaches are getting managers jobs at our level - and the two didn't know one another before he came here, I believe. It does seem to be the way PC likes to work, having inexperienced coaches around him. Leam Richardson was very much in that mould when they first linked up, same with Anthony Barry. |
You seem quite keen to defend Cook where possible Phil? Just curious.
Do you not ultimately blame him and just think he was unlucky? Even if his appointments weren't lazy and were well thought out, it shows stunning misjudgment as clearly something didn't work and it would also of course be seized on by supporters if it didn't work.
He seemed keen to pursue a plan in terms of formation, playing style, training, coaching appointments but was too stubborn and unwilling to change anything and seemed to just assume it would come right. That was my biggest issue, lack of adaptability. Perhaps because it had always worked previously and he genuinely didn't have other ideas. |  |
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| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 12:21 - Feb 16 with 3169 views | chicoazul |
| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 10:17 - Feb 16 by MalcolmBlue |
Haha "Kit Man" was probably the perfect way to cap off the Banter era |
Be fair now.
He was a baker too. | |
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| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 12:30 - Feb 16 with 3089 views | PhilTWTD |
| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 12:20 - Feb 16 by N2_Blue |
You seem quite keen to defend Cook where possible Phil? Just curious.
Do you not ultimately blame him and just think he was unlucky? Even if his appointments weren't lazy and were well thought out, it shows stunning misjudgment as clearly something didn't work and it would also of course be seized on by supporters if it didn't work.
He seemed keen to pursue a plan in terms of formation, playing style, training, coaching appointments but was too stubborn and unwilling to change anything and seemed to just assume it would come right. That was my biggest issue, lack of adaptability. Perhaps because it had always worked previously and he genuinely didn't have other ideas. |
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. | | | |
| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 12:34 - Feb 16 with 3031 views | Marshalls_Mullet |
| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 11:29 - Feb 16 by PhilTWTD |
Jeffers was reasonably experienced - other Premier League U23s coaches are getting managers jobs at our level - and the two didn't know one another before he came here, I believe. It does seem to be the way PC likes to work, having inexperienced coaches around him. Leam Richardson was very much in that mould when they first linked up, same with Anthony Barry. |
None of them seemed to have any significant first team coaching experience. He can't live off Anthony Barry forever.
He needed someone more experienced in there, and he paid the price for terrible coaching recruitment. | |
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| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 12:34 - Feb 16 with 3021 views | Marshalls_Mullet |
| Was talking to a member of the coaching staff of a recent opponent last night… on 12:20 - Feb 16 by N2_Blue |
You seem quite keen to defend Cook where possible Phil? Just curious.
Do you not ultimately blame him and just think he was unlucky? Even if his appointments weren't lazy and were well thought out, it shows stunning misjudgment as clearly something didn't work and it would also of course be seized on by supporters if it didn't work.
He seemed keen to pursue a plan in terms of formation, playing style, training, coaching appointments but was too stubborn and unwilling to change anything and seemed to just assume it would come right. That was my biggest issue, lack of adaptability. Perhaps because it had always worked previously and he genuinely didn't have other ideas. |
Agreed. | |
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