Stephen Bettis speaks to local Media

[AWetFlannel]

I think gambling on an unproven manager with a squad that finished 3rd on the last year of parachute payments was an absolutely disastrous decision. We’re now left completely hamstrung by the fallout of that summer. Not sure why we are trying to rewrite history, it remains a period of the club characterised by brain dead decisions.

As for Selles, I’d seriously consider Davie Weir instead of him if I had one match to save my life. Whilst I’m sure he knew his way around Expected Goals, he seemed to expect playing with no central midfield was a sensible way play football. Mind blowing stuff.

At Soton as caretaker he won 2 in 17 and they got relegated. Reading he finished 17th then left when they were 6th halfway through the season. Hull they finished 21st on goal difference and he was sacked. Sacked at SUFC when we were bottom of the league. Sacked at Zaragoza when they were bottom of La Liga 2.

How on earth he has got another job is beyond me, but it looks like a Cypriot professional team has now taken him on. Madness. He must be good at interviews.

I think we're talking past each other. Everyone agrees that period is characterised by brain dead decisions, I just think that those decisions would have hamstrung any manager to the extent that we would have regressed that season. I don't think Wilder would have got us promoted or remained happy with the summer businesses.

You either understand the job he did at Reading and the situation at the club or you don't. I'm not going to type it all out here, we're already off topic, but finishing 17th was a success and if you knew the context you'd probably agree. To a lesser extent, the same is true for Hull.

Plenty of managers, particularly young ones, do average or poorly at two or three clubs before having huge success at another. In my opinion, managers don't have as much impact on results as we usually imagine. Well run clubs cycle through managers without any fuss, whilst clubs run like shit can hire managers with stellar records and immediately flop.

 

[Rodley]

I think we're talking past each other. Everyone agrees that period is characterised by brain dead decisions, I just think that those decisions would have hamstrung any manager to the extent that we would have regressed that season. I don't think Wilder would have got us promoted or remained happy with the summer businesses.

You either understand the job he did at Reading and the situation at the club or you don't. I'm not going to type it all out here, we're already off topic, but finishing 17th was a success and if you knew the context you'd probably agree. To a lesser extent, the same is true for Hull.

Plenty of managers, particularly young ones, do average or poorly at two or three clubs before having huge success at another. In my opinion, managers don't have as much impact on results as we usually imagine. Well run clubs cycle through managers without any fuss, whilst clubs run like shit can hire managers with stellar records and immediately flop.

I’m not sure we’re talking past each other, I just think that if your point is “Selles is a better manager than his really poor track record suggests”, I don’t really think there’s any evidence whatsoever to suggest that is the case.

If your point is generally “some good managers struggle in difficult circumstances”, I think that’s a fair one. But I don’t think Selles is an example of that.

 

[AWetFlannel]

I’m not sure we’re talking past each other, I just think that if your point is “Selles is a better manager than his really poor track record suggests”, I don’t really think there’s any evidence whatsoever to suggest that is the case.

If your point is generally “some good managers struggle in difficult circumstances”, I think that’s a fair one. But I don’t think Selles is an example of that.

My point is that Selles had a good track record when we hired him. You are underestimating the job he did at Reading particularly. After the job he did with us and Zaragoza, his track record is now not good, I don't think he's a good manager anymore.

 

[Hallamboy87]

TBH look at Lampard at Coventry. Didnt do well at all his other clubs. Got derby into the play offs yes but look at the players he had on loan!

When you first get into management you're learning!

I was overjoyed with the Selles appointment as genuinely thought he would be a great manager for us. It didn't work out. I was a bit pissed off we went back to Wilder though. Like former players, we sometimes need to move on

 

[Rodley]

My point is that Selles had a good track record when we hired him. You are underestimating the job he did at Reading particularly. After the job he did with us and Zaragoza, his track record is now not good, I don't think he's a good manager anymore.

Yes he did alright under financial duress at League One Reading, but ultimately he’s been found out. For me, we ought to have been aiming far higher.

 

[Nah den]

"So Stephen, it's raining outside, hahahaha, what do you make of the Sheffield weather?"

 

[Berkshire Blade]

As terrible a job Selles did and as bad an appointment it now undoubtedly was, I think it's strange to suggest it set us back years. He was gone after a few months. Sacking Wilder perhaps did set us back, the AI signings and the desperation signings that followed in that window certainly did, but Selles presumably had little control over those.

We wasted our last season of parachute payments on him. It's strange to suggest that didn't set us back! From 90 points to whatever we were last year to this. It all comes from that summer.

 

[I should coco]

As for Selles, I’d seriously consider Davie Weir instead of him if I had one match to save my life.

Selles or Weir - brilliant!

Would you rather have a strawberry rammed down your cock, or a pumpkin shoved up your arse?

BTW, I'd go Weir too.

 

[I should coco]

My point is that Selles had a good track record when we hired him. You are underestimating the job he did at Reading particularly. After the job he did with us and Zaragoza, his track record is now not good, I don't think he's a good manager anymore.

You keep saying 'good track record' and I've pointed out to you how his team fell off a cliff at Hull and relied on others to stay up on the last day.

It isn't by any definition 'good'.
I'd suggest 'mixed' at best.

 

[AWetFlannel]

We wasted our last season of parachute payments on him. It's strange to suggest that didn't set us back! From 90 points to whatever we were last year to this. It all comes from that summer.

My argument is that we would have been set by anyway due to the other decisions made by the board. Clearly it was a bad appointment, but a better one wouldn't have had us getting promoted with Ukaki and Zatterstrom bossing it.

We declined for loads of reasons, I'm just suggesting that Selles isn't the biggest one.

 

[AWetFlannel]

You keep saying 'good track record' and I've pointed out to you how his team fell off a cliff at Hull and relied on others to stay up on the last day.

It isn't by any definition 'good'.
I'd suggest 'mixed' at best.

Right, and you see how you're selectively picking the five months you want to criticise and can reasonably frame as mixed, rather than the job he did at Reading. It was never 'his team' at Hull, it was just a mess he inherited and delivered with.

 

[I should coco]

Right, and you see how you're selectively picking the five months you want to criticise and can reasonably frame as mixed, rather than the job he did at Reading. It was never 'his team' at Hull, it was just a mess he inherited and delivered with.

It's not about being 'selective'.

You keep banging on about Reading, but his track record HAS to include Hull, otherwise it's not a track record.

Most mangers inherit someone else's team, it's part of the job.
I am completely bemused, why you are still trying to paint him as Pep#2, but each to his own

 

[AWetFlannel]

It's not about being 'selective'.

You keep banging on about Reading, but his track record HAS to include Hull, otherwise it's not a track record.

Most mangers inherit someone else's team, it's part of the job.
I am completely bemused, why you are still trying to paint him as Pep#2, but each to his own

Now you are being disingenuous, because I don't think he's a good manager and have repeatedly said so.

Yes, his track record has to include the five months at Hull, in which he did a decent job, but the year and a half at Reading is more significant because it was a year and a half including dealing with transfer windows. A good 18 months and a decent 5 months comes out as good overall to me.