The blame lies, in equal measure, with COH, Wilder, Hoyland and Bord. It has been a combination of all of it.
COH: Hiring Selles; listening to Bord.
Wilder; Shitting the bed twice last season; tactical incompetence this season.
Bord: Doesn’t need spelling out.
Hoyland: Doesn’t need spelling out.
Absolutely right!
This season has been a shambles. The responsibility for it doesn’t just sit with Wilder, but he has played his part in it and that makes me nervous about next season.
Personally, I’d be happy for a change of manager and management team. I know Selles appointment didn’t work but that is because he was the wrong person.
Chris Wilder has been an amazing manager for us over the years but I do have ‘Wilder fatigue’ and I know I’m not the only one.
If Wilder is staying then a real refresh is needed, and not just tweaks. The ability of the fitness team and the recruitment team needs to be addressed, and I would like to see someone come in to freshen up our tactical approach. We are too slow and too predictable in each of these areas.
There’s a good opportunity to rebuild now and have a better playing pattern and structure, as we won’t be trying to shoe horn players into unnatural positions (Hamer and O’Hare, etc.). I’d like to see us have a clear style of play and attack like we did under Wilder V1.
Currently, Wilder is talking a good game about changes but we’ve heard some of this before.
If we’re slow in the transfer market, as we always seem to be, and are signing the same predictable type of player, then in my view it will have been a wasted opportunity.
I’d like Bettis and COH to outline a clear strategy and hold the management team accountable to it. I appreciate COH don’t want to be front and centre but we need to see some forward thinking and leadership, not fluffy, ambiguous statements.