| Say what you want about Paul Cook 13:20 - Dec 27 with 15101 views | TalkingBlues |
But by god he made some bloody good acquisitions for this club, many of which still form the beating heart of the team and the outlay, or lack thereof, is also pretty remarkable:
Aluko - Free
Walton - Loan, subsequently signed by McK permanently for ???
Burns - Undisclosed (but rumoured to be around £350k)
Morsy - Undisclosed
Celina - loan
Evans - Free
Edmundson - £875k
Burgess - £880k
Chaplin - £875k
Edwards - Free
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| Say what you want about Paul Cook on 13:25 - Dec 27 with 7947 views | MattinLondon |
Shame, he had no idea what to do with those players. |  | | |
| Say what you want about Paul Cook on 13:30 - Dec 27 with 7909 views | catch74 |
| Say what you want about Paul Cook on 13:25 - Dec 27 by MattinLondon |
Shame, he had no idea what to do with those players. |
Definitely scope for a Morecambe and Wise sketch here. |  |
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| Some fantastic signings… on 13:30 - Dec 27 with 7909 views | unstableblue |
… and good characters, who want to play entertaining football.
Cook certainly had an eye for a player, and they are the foundation of what is a very exciting town team, and era under McKenna.
Cook perhaps needed a good coach alongside to work the players into a flexible and good system.
That or it was too many players in one massive change, the players have mentioned how crazy it was.
I expect a mix |  |
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| Say what you want about Paul Cook on 13:35 - Dec 27 with 7826 views | jeera |
This has been done to death.
At the time people were arguing who was responsible for the signings, Cook and/or Ashton. Yes a few were signed prior to Ashton but not all of those.
When things weren't going well Ashton was getting blamed for taking over and purchasing some of the new signings by Cook supporters.
It's bizarre to keep bringing this up as though it's somehow relevant to our present situation.
Cook was awful here. |  |
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| Say what you want about Paul Cook on 13:39 - Dec 27 with 7775 views | Dubtractor |
| Say what you want about Paul Cook on 13:35 - Dec 27 by jeera |
This has been done to death.
At the time people were arguing who was responsible for the signings, Cook and/or Ashton. Yes a few were signed prior to Ashton but not all of those.
When things weren't going well Ashton was getting blamed for taking over and purchasing some of the new signings by Cook supporters.
It's bizarre to keep bringing this up as though it's somehow relevant to our present situation.
Cook was awful here. |
Couldn't have put it better. |  |
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| Some fantastic signings… on 13:40 - Dec 27 with 7770 views | catch74 |
| Some fantastic signings… on 13:30 - Dec 27 by unstableblue |
… and good characters, who want to play entertaining football.
Cook certainly had an eye for a player, and they are the foundation of what is a very exciting town team, and era under McKenna.
Cook perhaps needed a good coach alongside to work the players into a flexible and good system.
That or it was too many players in one massive change, the players have mentioned how crazy it was.
I expect a mix |
Yes - add into that mix Harper, Piggot, Hladky, Penney, Fraser, Bonne, Carrol, Coulson - crazy business. | |
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| Say what you want about Paul Cook on 13:42 - Dec 27 with 7748 views | tractordownsouth |
Perhaps I'm being harsh, but I'd be hesitant to give him too much credit. The bulk of those signings either were players who wouldn't have dropped to League 1 but for their previous relationships with Cook or the club. He was hardly takin a huge gamble on the likes of Morsy, Chaplin, Celina and Walton, who had all proven themselves in the Championship - if they'd been available to any other League 1 manager, I'm sure they'd have snapped them up too.
Of his other signings, it's a bit of a mixed bag. Harper, Pigott, Fraser and Hladky were all flops. Aluko and Burns have both outperformed expectations, as did Edmundson when he played on his preferred side in Cook's team. Burgess is about par and Edwards has only really got going this year because of injuries. |  |
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| Say what you want about Paul Cook on 13:42 - Dec 27 with 7733 views | Radlett_blue |
We were paying top dollar for some of those players e.g. Burgess. If you are given one of the biggest budgets in a league, you'd be a bit of a fool if you didn't manage to sign some of the better players in that league. |  |
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| Say what you want about Paul Cook on 13:51 - Dec 27 with 7653 views | Pique |
| Say what you want about Paul Cook on 13:42 - Dec 27 by Radlett_blue |
We were paying top dollar for some of those players e.g. Burgess. If you are given one of the biggest budgets in a league, you'd be a bit of a fool if you didn't manage to sign some of the better players in that league. |
In fairness though, it was potentially quite a dangerous moment for us, that summer of 2021. If Cook had done a Keane/Jewell and wasted most of the money he'd been given, we'd be looking at a very different situation now - a poorer squad and owners possibly getting a bit uneasy at the lack of return for their outlay.
Cook was an awful manager for us, with a poor coaching team and completely unsuited for the job and it was not a moment too soon when he was sacked. But I give him credit for two things: generally doing well in that window, and also bringing Donacien in from the cold. [Post edited 27 Dec 2022 13:52]
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| Say what you want about Paul Cook on 13:58 - Dec 27 with 7553 views | Pique |
| Say what you want about Paul Cook on 13:42 - Dec 27 by tractordownsouth |
Perhaps I'm being harsh, but I'd be hesitant to give him too much credit. The bulk of those signings either were players who wouldn't have dropped to League 1 but for their previous relationships with Cook or the club. He was hardly takin a huge gamble on the likes of Morsy, Chaplin, Celina and Walton, who had all proven themselves in the Championship - if they'd been available to any other League 1 manager, I'm sure they'd have snapped them up too.
Of his other signings, it's a bit of a mixed bag. Harper, Pigott, Fraser and Hladky were all flops. Aluko and Burns have both outperformed expectations, as did Edmundson when he played on his preferred side in Cook's team. Burgess is about par and Edwards has only really got going this year because of injuries. |
On Hladky, although he's been disappointing he's more than adequate as a backup to Walton. If he's happy to continue being so I doubt we'd get anyone better in that role for now. | | | |
| Say what you want about Paul Cook on 14:03 - Dec 27 with 7483 views | TalkingBlues |
| Say what you want about Paul Cook on 13:35 - Dec 27 by jeera |
This has been done to death.
At the time people were arguing who was responsible for the signings, Cook and/or Ashton. Yes a few were signed prior to Ashton but not all of those.
When things weren't going well Ashton was getting blamed for taking over and purchasing some of the new signings by Cook supporters.
It's bizarre to keep bringing this up as though it's somehow relevant to our present situation.
Cook was awful here. |
Oh, sounds like I've wondered into a minefield. No ulterior motives on my part, was just looking through the squad contract dates and noticed Cooks name appearing a lot, made me wonder just how many McK liked and had kept on, offered new deals to etc. | |
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| Say what you want about Paul Cook on 14:09 - Dec 27 with 7386 views | ibbleobble |
| Say what you want about Paul Cook on 13:35 - Dec 27 by jeera |
This has been done to death.
At the time people were arguing who was responsible for the signings, Cook and/or Ashton. Yes a few were signed prior to Ashton but not all of those.
When things weren't going well Ashton was getting blamed for taking over and purchasing some of the new signings by Cook supporters.
It's bizarre to keep bringing this up as though it's somehow relevant to our present situation.
Cook was awful here. |
It’s relevant as 7 out of the starting 11 were Cook signings. How can it not be? The fact KM has moulded them into a far better end product is a different thread. Cook wasn’t awful, he was inconsistent but not awful and in truth, dispensation should be granted given the upheaval at the time of which we’re no seeing the fruits of. Hurst snd Lambert were awful. |  | | |
| Say what you want about Paul Cook on 14:12 - Dec 27 with 7352 views | BlueBadger |
| Say what you want about Paul Cook on 14:09 - Dec 27 by ibbleobble |
It’s relevant as 7 out of the starting 11 were Cook signings. How can it not be? The fact KM has moulded them into a far better end product is a different thread. Cook wasn’t awful, he was inconsistent but not awful and in truth, dispensation should be granted given the upheaval at the time of which we’re no seeing the fruits of. Hurst snd Lambert were awful. |
Cook achieved similar results to Lambert, with far, far greater resources at his disposal. Had Lambert not relegated us and completely destroyed the morale at the club in his following two seasons they'd basically be on a par. [Post edited 28 Dec 2022 14:10]
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| Say what you want about Paul Cook on 14:19 - Dec 27 with 7288 views | Radlett_blue |
| Say what you want about Paul Cook on 14:12 - Dec 27 by BlueBadger |
Cook achieved similar results to Lambert, with far, far greater resources at his disposal. Had Lambert not relegated us and completely destroyed the morale at the club in his following two seasons they'd basically be on a par. [Post edited 28 Dec 2022 14:10]
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Although the relegation was largely down to Hurst signing a bunch of League 1 players, of whom none were actually capable of performing adequately in the Championship. Hurst also managed to divide the Town dressing room by demeaning the senior professionals, with a classic bit of David Brent-style man management. | |
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| Say what you want about Paul Cook on 14:26 - Dec 27 with 7229 views | jaykay |
| Say what you want about Paul Cook on 13:42 - Dec 27 by Radlett_blue |
We were paying top dollar for some of those players e.g. Burgess. If you are given one of the biggest budgets in a league, you'd be a bit of a fool if you didn't manage to sign some of the better players in that league. |
top dolllar for some, but evans free what a steal |  |
| forensic experts say footers and spruces fingerprints were not found at the scene after the weekends rows |
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| Say what you want about Paul Cook on 14:31 - Dec 27 with 7185 views | Marshalls_Mullet |
He had the best budget in the league.
Also had a few misses. Harper, Fraser, Piggott.
Celine was also an ex player already. |  |
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| Say what you want about Paul Cook on 14:46 - Dec 27 with 7075 views | catch74 |
| Say what you want about Paul Cook on 14:31 - Dec 27 by Marshalls_Mullet |
He had the best budget in the league.
Also had a few misses. Harper, Fraser, Piggott.
Celine was also an ex player already. |
It’s all coming back to me now. | |
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| Say what you want about Paul Cook on 14:47 - Dec 27 with 7047 views | Marshalls_Mullet |
| Say what you want about Paul Cook on 14:46 - Dec 27 by catch74 |
It’s all coming back to me now. |
I couldn't be bothered to go back and edit it. | |
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| Say what you want about Paul Cook on 14:49 - Dec 27 with 7038 views | catch74 |
| Say what you want about Paul Cook on 14:47 - Dec 27 by Marshalls_Mullet |
I couldn't be bothered to go back and edit it. |
and some tw@t had to post a tenuous Dion link. | |
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| Say what you want about Paul Cook on 15:00 - Dec 27 with 6951 views | Mullet |
He's one of the worst managers we've ever had and his "demolition man" nonsense was a disaster. He should have got us promoted, he should at the very least have been close to it. Apart from pandering to a few fans he did nothing here.
The fact those people blamed Ashton when something went wrong with a signing tells us everything. |  |
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| Say what you want about Paul Cook on 15:04 - Dec 27 with 6907 views | tractordownsouth |
| Say what you want about Paul Cook on 13:58 - Dec 27 by Pique |
On Hladky, although he's been disappointing he's more than adequate as a backup to Walton. If he's happy to continue being so I doubt we'd get anyone better in that role for now. |
Yeah he's fine as a backup at this level but I think his success (or lack thereof) is a much better indicator of Cook's ability to pick a player than Morsy or Walton who were almost guaranteed to perform well and would have been picked up by any League One manager had they been available to them. It's why I'd rate Burns as Cook's most successful signing because while he's marginally less important to the team than the two players above, he'd had a fairly average League One career before so he came here so it carried more risk. | |
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| Say what you want about Paul Cook on 15:12 - Dec 27 with 6846 views | Mach_foreignBlue |
| Say what you want about Paul Cook on 14:19 - Dec 27 by Radlett_blue |
Although the relegation was largely down to Hurst signing a bunch of League 1 players, of whom none were actually capable of performing adequately in the Championship. Hurst also managed to divide the Town dressing room by demeaning the senior professionals, with a classic bit of David Brent-style man management. |
And these senior professionals did not put any fight or effort to avoid the drop. They got their wish in the shape of Hurst's early exit but nothing changed in terms of their terrible attitude. They didn't perform afterwards either. |  | | |
| Say what you want about Paul Cook on 15:20 - Dec 27 with 6776 views | Mach_foreignBlue |
Cook did the only one good thing for the club albeit a necessary one. The Demolition Job was needed to eradicate bad culture from the dressing room. He once said: 'the mood in the dressing room is always the same whether they win or lose'...... No surprise really what he said as these players had been the worst ever ones in the history of the club, in terms of football and attitude alike. Relegation without a fight, no real effort to get the club back to the Championship. It was just a nice, easy payday for them as Evans was disinterested. But they would say things people wanted to hear. Hollow, just hollow words as there was barely an effort on the pitch. | | | |
| Say what you want about Paul Cook on 16:00 - Dec 27 with 6513 views | BlueBadger |
| Say what you want about Paul Cook on 14:19 - Dec 27 by Radlett_blue |
Although the relegation was largely down to Hurst signing a bunch of League 1 players, of whom none were actually capable of performing adequately in the Championship. Hurst also managed to divide the Town dressing room by demeaning the senior professionals, with a classic bit of David Brent-style man management. |
Not gonna lie, I wasn't holding my breath for Lambert to keep us up, but to go down as feebly as we did was unforgivable. He should have had 5 years in Highpofor that, not a five year contract. | |
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| Say what you want about Paul Cook on 16:04 - Dec 27 with 6484 views | lurcher |
It was more Ashton than Cook |  | | |
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