Sometimes it is the manager

[metalblade]

I think the prince deserves a lot of credit for sacking Slav for heckingbottom

No one saw his sacking coming and the majority disagreed with it at the time

Already looking like the right decision we’ll done Prince

I seem to remember me posting if we lose at Reading he is gone. Ok we did scrape a 1-0 win but the performance was shocking as was the one before against Coventry.
Slav did play a sort of 3-5-2 in those games but it was so slow even if it did help us at the back. We are now playing the same formation but much faster to press and counter and without the fear we were showing in the last Premier league season. Some say 3-5-2 was found out but plenty of teams play it, we just lost confidence in the system, players stopped doing what they did when they first went into the Premier league so did Chris Wilder, it all went a bit safe and then defensive. Hecky is all about getting on the front foot and moving forward at pace with no recriminations if it doesn't come off, the players are playing with more freedom and less fear we will get better as confidence increases. Hecky might not have done much in the game apart from at Barnsley but the guy is no mug when it comes to football I'd like to see him take us back into the Premier league and see how he does there.

 

[Plymouthblade]

Def better than what we got

 

[steve26272]

Slav didn’t have his top coach with him. Maybe that’s why he failed

Maybe we should have just hired the top coach and saved on Slavs millions??

I reckon sometimes it just works

Fergie turned up at ManU from Aberdeen, went on to build an empire
Wenger tipped up from Japan, same at Arsenal
I don’t think CW will hit the heights of us in the prem again

Slav just didn’t fit - players, board, budget, style, fans - nothing fitted

Hecky / same backdrop, seems to fit better already

 

[Old Programme seller]

Years ago I read an old Jack Charlton autobiography as a person I liked him he was a very tactically astute manager when he took his first job at Middlesbrough he contacted Jock Stein his words of wisdom were that after 4 years players stop listening to you and need a difference voice perhaps we didn’t know it but it was time to let Wilder go the fall out was the bit we didn’t like.

 

[Silent Blade]

Years ago I read an old Jack Charlton autobiography as a person I liked him he was a very tactically astute manager when he took his first job at Middlesbrough he contacted Jock Stein his words of wisdom were that after 4 years players stop listening to you and need a difference voice perhaps we didn’t know it but it was time to let Wilder go the fall out was the bit we didn’t like.

I remember when he quit Wendy, he said "Best not to stay at a club as a manager for more than 5 years"

 

[Bladesman]

Years ago I read an old Jack Charlton autobiography as a person I liked him he was a very tactically astute manager when he took his first job at Middlesbrough he contacted Jock Stein his words of wisdom were that after 4 years players stop listening to you and need a difference voice perhaps we didn’t know it but it was time to let Wilder go the fall out was the bit we didn’t like.

To some degree that is true but usually in the 4 years the first 11 should have changed a fair bit. Problem was with Wilder a lot of his more recent and more expensive signings were not doing enough to displace the old guard. Bar a few players the starting 11 now is pretty much the one that got us promoted.

Fergie changed his assistant manager quite a lot and I wonder if that helped towards the great success he had at Man Utd. I am aware Jimmy Ryan and Carlos Queiroz left and came back but I wonder if the assistant changes gave a new voice to the players.

 

[John Cutsbushes]

Look at Villa after replacing Smith with Gerrard. Man Utd look better already now Ollie's gone. And we seem to be playing with more freedom and energy since Slav has departed.

It's always the manager.....always

 

[Charlieblade]

I first started following the Blades under John Harris in the 1960s. The club has always had the same style and ethos. Plucky little upstart northerners, with a proper working class fan base.
The strength and endurance of those sides since Harris has been based on the same ideals. A group of hard working players, with the same attitude as the fan base. Sprinkled with a bit of stardust and the gifts of players like Currie, Woodward, Reece, Hodges and proven front men like Edwards, Dearden, Deanne and Agana, Doc Pace, Mick Jones etc
The game has changed and moved on, but our ethos and style has not. We have enjoyed limited success under great motivators like Bassett, Warnock and Wilder. We are still regarded by the upper echelons of English football as the tough little underdogs. It suits our strengths and our support. There is nothing as good as a team of grafters, overturning the likes of Man Utd, Arsenal, Spurs or Chelsea.
On our day we can be as good as any of them, connected by hardcore supporters who reflect the same style and standards. We like to see the skill and of Beattie, the nails of Morgan and someone like Pesch upsetting the silky skills of top clubs.
The attitude of supporters is simple. “Don’t even think of putting a blades shirt on, unless you are prepared to bleed for it”.
Players and managers have to have one thing in common with the fans. They have to have that desire to win. The same desire as the core support.
We lost a bit of that under Slav. Can Hecky and his team achieve the Blades style and standards with no money? Remains to be seen.

 

[MagnifiqueShorehamStreet]

I think the prince deserves a lot of credit for sacking Slav for heckingbottom

No one saw his sacking coming and the majority disagreed with it at the time

Already looking like the right decision we’ll done Prince

Is this a joke, or are you serious.
Who decided to overlook Hecky in the first place…err the Prince
Who took 6 paintaking months to appoint a manager, allegedly to get the decision right, when the best fit for the club was under his nose….err the Prince
Who then appointed Slav?…err the Prince
Who then hung him out to dry by not Supporting him in the transfer window…err the Prince
Who has had to pay Slav and his team compo, for sacking him, money which could have bee spent on players..err the Prince
`Yeah,well done Princey,you’re a genius, of Baldrick proportions.Couldn’t run a piss up in a hotel, literally.

 

[Deadly_D'Jaffo]

I recall Ricky Sbragia being promoted to Sunderland first team manager in similar circumstances to Heck. He did well to begin with, players loved him and were raving in the press about how good he is around the club etc.

Inevitably the bounce turned flat and was sacked. The criticism was he that the players saw him as a coach and therefore he didn't command authority. So it's ironic that the same thing the players loved about him is what they used against him.

The reason for bringing this up is that players will look for every excuse when things aren't going well. I wouldn't be surprised if this happens to Heck if/when we hit a tough patch.

 

[Maidenhead]

I remember when he quit Wendy, he said "Best not to stay at a club as a manager for more than 5 years"

I was never in the same job for more than 5 yrs right through my banking career.

I think, with very few exceptions, that whatever you do things start to get stale if you do it too long and in football management that becomes a major issue in most cases.

Of course there are some exceptions, but in reality they are few and far between.

I also believe that the best managers need to have a natural synergy with their organisation if they are to get the best possible outcomes.

Wilder was the right man at the right time, but his time ran out. That doesn't make him a great manager or a crap manager, it's just the way of the world and there's no reason why his stars won't align somewhere else and if they do that journey will also run it's course and eventually fizzle out.

Slav may be a great manager but he wasn't a natural fit with SUFC.

Hopefully Heckingbottom will be a better fit and even he is only half as talented as Slav we will reap the rewards of having the right man at the right time.

 

[Badger Blade]

I was initially bemused at the decision, almost a constructive dismissal by not giving Slav the tools to do the job because they gave them to Wilder and he made a mess with them then blaming Slav for not being able to rectify the mess that wasn't of his making. A changing of the guard and a change of approach appeared to be what was needed following a dismal season under a typical Blades blood and thunder, up and at em type manager and on the face of the performances, it looked like that approach had run its course.

Perhaps it was too much of a change too soon off the back of a mentally draining season and one where everything and everyone fell apart. Heckingbottom at least provides that bit of continuity but also some new faces in McCall and Lester to allow an easier transition away from Chris Wilder who this squad became accustomed to and ultimately failed to perform for. The squad is full of British/Irish players and are used to a certain way of things being done, as opposed to a Fulham or Watford who have players from all corners of the globe which might explain why Wilder barely signed any foreigners because his approach wouldn't resonate with them, the same as Slav's didn't with our squad.

Now that the dust has settled and we've hit a decent patch of form, albeit across two different regimes, the fact is that the results were very hit and miss. The only decent team we'd beaten were Stoke and it was like watching an England team that would pass the ball to death while the opposition keeper sat in his deckchair. At least now we're now (by and large) keeping the ball out of our goal, moving the ball quicker, offering a threat and starting to move up the table in a league where really, we should be capable of beating virtually any of them because they're all on a similar level, that being pretty average.

 

[Espania blade]

I first started following the Blades under John Harris in the 1960s. The club has always had the same style and ethos. Plucky little upstart northerners, with a proper working class fan base.
The strength and endurance of those sides since Harris has been based on the same ideals. A group of hard working players, with the same attitude as the fan base. Sprinkled with a bit of stardust and the gifts of players like Currie, Woodward, Reece, Hodges and proven front men like Edwards, Dearden, Deanne and Agana, Doc Pace, Mick Jones etc
The game has changed and moved on, but our ethos and style has not. We have enjoyed limited success under great motivators like Bassett, Warnock and Wilder. We are still regarded by the upper echelons of English football as the tough little underdogs. It suits our strengths and our support. There is nothing as good as a team of grafters, overturning the likes of Man Utd, Arsenal, Spurs or Chelsea.
On our day we can be as good as any of them, connected by hardcore supporters who reflect the same style and standards. We like to see the skill and of Beattie, the nails of Morgan and someone like Pesch upsetting the silky skills of top clubs.
The attitude of supporters is simple. “Don’t even think of putting a blades shirt on, unless you are prepared to bleed for it”.
Players and managers have to have one thing in common with the fans. They have to have that desire to win. The same desire as the core support.
We lost a bit of that under Slav. Can Hecky and his team achieve the Blades style and standards with no money? Remains to be seen.

Good comments but if we want to be "a big hitter" in the Prem' then we have to get beyond that mentality, Wilder played on much of what you say, northern club, hard working people, no nonsense, demand value for money, all good stuff but fans got fed up of hearing the same mantra week after week - it's time we aspired to be a bit "posher"

 

[Millhousesblade1889]

I saw someone else say it on here but Slav wasn’t the right fit for United. We would rather see a team giving absolutely everything than watching nice slow build up football.

Our way would probably not work for many others, the team matches up with the city’s ethos. Hardworking and that’s what we want to see.

Look at all the managers we’ve had success with over the last 30 years. They’ve all brought this to the team and the fan base have backed them 100%…..apart from Micky Adams.

 

[FallowfieldBlade]

Is this a joke, or are you serious.
Who decided to overlook Hecky in the first place…err the Prince
Who took 6 paintaking months to appoint a manager, allegedly to get the decision right, when the best fit for the club was under his nose….err the Prince
Who then appointed Slav?…err the Prince
Who then hung him out to dry by not Supporting him in the transfer window…err the Prince
Who has had to pay Slav and his team compo, for sacking him, money which could have bee spent on players..err the Prince
`Yeah,well done Princey,you’re a genius, of Baldrick proportions.Couldn’t run a piss up in a hotel, literally.

Nobody and i mean nobody wanted hecky in the summer no one as we all thought it would be much easier to change the style and get the same results

The appointment of slav was the right one at the time he was one of the best managers out there and 99% said he was a good appointment

Appointing the right manager doesn't mean he will be successful we could appoint Guardiola tomorrow and he could fail

Slav was backed in the summer sort of ben davies / MGW / Olsen are top champ players and on a fair whack

He didn't decide to back Slav in January in the end because it would have cost about 50 million quid we would have had to sell players at a massive loss as Slav refused to play them so they could retain some value and then spend money on players again

All the while when slav has shown nothing to encourage he should be trusted or backed in the first place after 20 games bar Peterborough at home


I think after 2 games under hecky its fair to say we look far far far better playing the "wilder way " than pass pass pass Slav ball

 

[Revolution]

I saw someone else say it on here but Slav wasn’t the right fit for United. We would rather see a team giving absolutely everything than watching nice slow build up football.

Our way would probably not work for many others, the team matches up with the city’s ethos. Hardworking and that’s what we want to see.

Look at all the managers we’ve had success with over the last 30 years. They’ve all brought this to the team and the fan base have backed them 100%…..apart from Micky Adams.

One thing to say about this is that Slav was constantly saying in the media that he wanted them to move the ball quicker than they were doing.

And yet as soon as he is gone they start doing as he asked for the new manager.

The whole thing is baffling.

 

[Klaatu Barada Nikto]

I recall Ricky Sbragia being promoted to Sunderland first team manager in similar circumstances to Heck. He did well to begin with, players loved him and were raving in the press about how good he is around the club etc.

Inevitably the bounce turned flat and was sacked. The criticism was he that the players saw him as a coach and therefore he didn't command authority. So it's ironic that the same thing the players loved about him is what they used against him.

He wasn’t sacked, he resigned after keeping them up.

 

[MagnifiqueShorehamStreet]

Nobody and i mean nobody wanted hecky in the summer no one as we all thought it would be much easier to change the style and get the same results

The appointment of slav was the right one at the time he was one of the best managers out there and 99% said he was a good appointment

Appointing the right manager doesn't mean he will be successful we could appoint Guardiola tomorrow and he could fail

Slav was backed in the summer sort of ben davies / MGW / Olsen are top champ players and on a fair whack

He didn't decide to back Slav in January in the end because it would have cost about 50 million quid we would have had to sell players at a massive loss as Slav refused to play them so they could retain some value and then spend money on players again

All the while when slav has shown nothing to encourage he should be trusted or backed in the first place after 20 games bar Peterborough at home


I think after 2 games under hecky its fair to say we look far far far better playing the "wilder way " than pass pass pass Slav ball

I agree with your last sentence.
As for well done the Prince, in your first post you have to be joking.
PS I wanted Hecky in the summer, better the devil you know and all that.Plus had no confidence in this lot in charge,would find a better option for the club.
The appointment of Slav is mystifying.Not because he is a bad manager, but because they had no plan at the time (their own words),as to what they were going to do with him, except just throw him in there, and hope for the best.When they got a plan, if you believe them,they then realised he was the wrong appointment, and sacked him, and his staff, paying millions in compo.That’s just plain stupid by any yardstick.
Note to Prince-plan first and act afterwards.It’s not rocket science, and may save you and the club a lot of money.

 

[Charlieblade]

Good comments but if we want to be "a big hitter" in the Prem' then we have to get beyond that mentality, Wilder played on much of what you say, northern club, hard working people, no nonsense, demand value for money, all good stuff but fans got fed up of hearing the same mantra week after week - it's time we aspired to be a bit "posher"

I agree, but with PL membership based on money and foreign ‘stars’ I can’t really see us changing much.

 

[Millhousesblade1889]

One thing to say about this is that Slav was constantly saying in the media that he wanted them to move the ball quicker than they were doing.

And yet as soon as he is gone they start doing as he asked for the new manager.

The whole thing is baffling.

Billy’s interview was quite telling for me, intensity in training wasn’t good enough. Maybe they just needed a rocket & Slav was a bit more laid back? Guess we’ll never know.

 

[Hagansbootlaces]

One thing to say about this is that Slav was constantly saying in the media that he wanted them to move the ball quicker than they were doing.

And yet as soon as he is gone they start doing as he asked for the new manager.

The whole thing is baffling.

He was also quoted numerous times regards wanting the players to be braver with their passing, especially in the final third,, that's great, but the pressure is there, especially when you have had the ball, sideways, backwards, sideways it's easy especially if you are low on confidence or the last pass or cross was intercepted to opt for the easy option.

Hecky's said the same thing but in a totally different way, in effect giving permission to make a mistake, pass or cross doesn't come off, OK, now get the ball back, no shame in a poor pass the shame is dropping your head, and not reacting.

It's a favourite subject of commentators in all sports, especially individual sports like Golf, Snooker, Darts etc bad shot or throw, it's going to happen, but you can't focus on it, and let it effect the next shot/throw, Hecky has done the same which has had an immediate effect, no one is holding onto the ball, waiting or looking for the perfect pass, so the ball and the movement is quickers

 

[BerksBlade]

I'm still unsure why Jokanovic took the job in the first place?
We don't really have the type of players in the squad to play the way he wants, and it should have been obvious that the money wasn't available to make sweeping changes.
Unless he assumed the players would easily adapt to his way of playing?

 

[ancientblade]

I first started following the Blades under John Harris in the 1960s. The club has always had the same style and ethos. Plucky little upstart northerners, with a proper working class fan base.
The strength and endurance of those sides since Harris has been based on the same ideals. A group of hard working players, with the same attitude as the fan base. Sprinkled with a bit of stardust and the gifts of players like Currie, Woodward, Reece, Hodges and proven front men like Edwards, Dearden, Deanne and Agana, Doc Pace, Mick Jones etc
The game has changed and moved on, but our ethos and style has not. We have enjoyed limited success under great motivators like Bassett, Warnock and Wilder. We are still regarded by the upper echelons of English football as the tough little underdogs. It suits our strengths and our support. There is nothing as good as a team of grafters, overturning the likes of Man Utd, Arsenal, Spurs or Chelsea.
On our day we can be as good as any of them, connected by hardcore supporters who reflect the same style and standards. We like to see the skill and of Beattie, the nails of Morgan and someone like Pesch upsetting the silky skills of top clubs.
The attitude of supporters is simple. “Don’t even think of putting a blades shirt on, unless you are prepared to bleed for it”.
Players and managers have to have one thing in common with the fans. They have to have that desire to win. The same desire as the core support.
We lost a bit of that under Slav. Can Hecky and his team achieve the Blades style and standards with no money? Remains to be seen.

absolutely nailed it with this post