Woodwardfan
Woodwardfan
- Banned
- #1
Some 17 years in team management.
Good, not sensational record at Burton but good service to a non-league club and a visible display of loyalty when other opportunities were available. Left the club in much better shape than he inherited, but the club was ambitious and expected good progress.
Solid performance at Derby County. Complicated heritage from his heroic father and severe financial challenges. An appraiasal of his efforts would be "solid" and maybe "a solid platform established". Not an insignificant achievement to stabilise Derby and establish the foundations, but the club did not really "kick on". Succeeding manager appeared to provide the stimulus but failed at the last hurdle, rather unluckily maybe, but it was there for the taking in truth.
Appointed at SUFC who were up "shit creek" frankly though a "hazy" new half owner offered hope.. Steadied the ship, built a sound defensive unit, gradually liberated the formation to play progressive, sophisticated football, albeit with the benefit of expensive loan and contract signings. Exceptional surge up the third tier and a phenomenal F.A. Cup run to Wembley Semi-Final.
At Wembley set up a bold attacking team which played "iffy" Premier League opposition off the park to lead 2-1 at half time. Missed a major opportunity and fielded a team which got taken apart over the first 20 minutes of the second half, which on reflection, was naive in the extreme. The opposition manager was "let off the hook" frankly.
I am a massive Clough fan, to date. The Wembley circumstances were emotional and exceptional. Clough is an "even keel" man through and througn; if anything he is cautious I guess. Why he didn't defend the lead only he knows. Maybe he underrated Hull City, certainly I was amazed they put that 20 minutes together like they did and where Maguire ( now with Hull !!) and Collins were, goodness knows.
My view of Clough as of now is: As good as any manager we have ever had., but with limitations. I think he has a tendency to sign players fashioned in his own image. What is his image? I'd say solid, dependable, hardworking, unspectacular.
OK that's fine. I think that's much like Danny Wilson in truth. Maybe Bassett had a special ingredient, I'd say so anyway.
The signings this summer reflected the manager to me, in line with the above description. That was until we signed Higdon who does not fit the "identykit" to me. I hope it was not a desperation signing. I was prepared to accept the "character" criteria re Brandy and to a lesser extent re Taylor, though I do regret the latter's departure. Whether Higdon is so much better a bloke, time will tell. He has a public assault against his name anyway. The signing of a "big unit target man" also changes my expectation about our fornations at a stroke.
Over to the potential of our manager. He's done well at Burton, he's done OK at Derby. He's done very well at SUFC, but nobody knows whether he has the capacity within him to do the job we need, i.e. get us to the Premiership. I think he is riding the crest of a wave of desperate United fans who hope and pray he is "the messiah". Signs are he is another Danny Wilson, who also has had a really good start to his SUFC career. Not even Nigel Clough knows how good he is. Thing is he's up there alongside the best I've ever seen in 58 years regular support.
I hope for my sake he achieves more with us than he has achieved before, because that is the scale of the job as I see it. Good luck, Nigel Clough, we are running out of options. If you are not the "messiah" I'm not sure where that leaves us.
Good, not sensational record at Burton but good service to a non-league club and a visible display of loyalty when other opportunities were available. Left the club in much better shape than he inherited, but the club was ambitious and expected good progress.
Solid performance at Derby County. Complicated heritage from his heroic father and severe financial challenges. An appraiasal of his efforts would be "solid" and maybe "a solid platform established". Not an insignificant achievement to stabilise Derby and establish the foundations, but the club did not really "kick on". Succeeding manager appeared to provide the stimulus but failed at the last hurdle, rather unluckily maybe, but it was there for the taking in truth.
Appointed at SUFC who were up "shit creek" frankly though a "hazy" new half owner offered hope.. Steadied the ship, built a sound defensive unit, gradually liberated the formation to play progressive, sophisticated football, albeit with the benefit of expensive loan and contract signings. Exceptional surge up the third tier and a phenomenal F.A. Cup run to Wembley Semi-Final.
At Wembley set up a bold attacking team which played "iffy" Premier League opposition off the park to lead 2-1 at half time. Missed a major opportunity and fielded a team which got taken apart over the first 20 minutes of the second half, which on reflection, was naive in the extreme. The opposition manager was "let off the hook" frankly.
I am a massive Clough fan, to date. The Wembley circumstances were emotional and exceptional. Clough is an "even keel" man through and througn; if anything he is cautious I guess. Why he didn't defend the lead only he knows. Maybe he underrated Hull City, certainly I was amazed they put that 20 minutes together like they did and where Maguire ( now with Hull !!) and Collins were, goodness knows.
My view of Clough as of now is: As good as any manager we have ever had., but with limitations. I think he has a tendency to sign players fashioned in his own image. What is his image? I'd say solid, dependable, hardworking, unspectacular.
OK that's fine. I think that's much like Danny Wilson in truth. Maybe Bassett had a special ingredient, I'd say so anyway.
The signings this summer reflected the manager to me, in line with the above description. That was until we signed Higdon who does not fit the "identykit" to me. I hope it was not a desperation signing. I was prepared to accept the "character" criteria re Brandy and to a lesser extent re Taylor, though I do regret the latter's departure. Whether Higdon is so much better a bloke, time will tell. He has a public assault against his name anyway. The signing of a "big unit target man" also changes my expectation about our fornations at a stroke.
Over to the potential of our manager. He's done well at Burton, he's done OK at Derby. He's done very well at SUFC, but nobody knows whether he has the capacity within him to do the job we need, i.e. get us to the Premiership. I think he is riding the crest of a wave of desperate United fans who hope and pray he is "the messiah". Signs are he is another Danny Wilson, who also has had a really good start to his SUFC career. Not even Nigel Clough knows how good he is. Thing is he's up there alongside the best I've ever seen in 58 years regular support.
I hope for my sake he achieves more with us than he has achieved before, because that is the scale of the job as I see it. Good luck, Nigel Clough, we are running out of options. If you are not the "messiah" I'm not sure where that leaves us.
