What's the Prince thinking?

[Woodwardfan]

Quite rightly, in amongst the signings are some for the future: Adams, Wallace.K., McGahey, McNulty, Scougall even. That is the right way to manage a football club, not just short-termism.

By pointing that out doesn't mean I am happy with those players or the older players either. I have scored each of the players in a rating out of 10 and I came up with an overall scoring of 5.5, all things considered. To go through such an exercise I assumed Clough had one of the top six budgets in the division and I also looked at players other managers had signed in the same time period.

5.5 out of 10 is poor, nor have we signed any match-winners. Our best players were already on our books when Clough arrived. Attention should be on our Chief Scout.

It's no good pleading injuries: Wallace was out most of last season. Davies is a veteran and Clough didn't pick him for league games in the weeks before he got injured. Higdon clearly was a desperate gamble. Basham for midfield - no way. Butler - disaster. Too many mistakes. All squads need goalscorers and game-changers - Clough hasn't signed any. McNulty has in fact bailed him out and exceeded expectations; he was introduced as a "development player" which is all he is actually. He would of course "develop" a lot more if he was playing alongside such as O'Grady.

 

[SandyMcBlade]

We are all very good at pointing out what went wrong after it's happened and giving suggestions on how it should be put right, but then if WE get it wrong who gives monkeys ?

 

[Woodwardfan]

We are all very good at pointing out what went wrong after it's happened and giving suggestions on how it should be put right, but then if WE get it wrong who gives monkeys ?

Sandy. In our own careers we have to get it right, never mind "after the event". If Clough is our "messiah" he needs to do a lot better. Lifting us two levels to the Prem is not just a job for a mere mortal. It's a job for a legend in the making. I still think he can do it if he can kick on like Fergie did at Old Trafford. Often a faltering start can lead to a big finish.

 

[Lord Bos of Eckington.]

The prince is a businessman. To date he has invested £8m or more and has taken on half a football club which loses millions a year even if it does well in the cups.

One of his first decisions was to sack the football manager and appoint the new one together with his full coaching team, Chief Scout and MD. That was just over a year ago.

In that year we did unbelievably well in the league last season, got to Wembley in the F.A.Cup and at east the semi-final of the League Cup. To counter that we are not doing well in achieving our main objective of promotion to the Championship, in fact we now have only an outside chance.

What is the prince thinking. If I were him I would be thinking that my manager has succeeded far more than he has failed, that he will learn from his mistakes and at the very least deserves another season even if we don't go up this season. In fact I would not give a thought about sacking him.

Sometimes everything doesn't fall into place as we might hope but next season our quality youngsters will have more "wool on their backs" and there will be few of the older order left. By then we should have a young, hungry and optimistic squad under a manger who has learned a few lessons about the division.

If I had thought of a change I would soon realise how hard it would be to dismantle the "Clough Dynasty" and even harder to find a man big enough to do the job at hand and prepared to join us in League 1.

Woodward , agree . But let us get the facts right .There is no Clough Dynasty . YET.

UTB

 

[Woodwardfan]

Woodward , agree . But let us get the facts right .There is no Clough Dynasty . YET.

UTB

Clough Empire may be a better wording: Him, Garner and x no of others from Derby on the coaching and fitness staff, his brother and friends, Brannigan as M.D., all his ex-players on contract and on loan. Some Empire which would all need dismantling and paying off.

 

[Lord Bos of Eckington.]

Clough Empire may be a better wording: Him, Garner and x no of others from Derby on the coaching and fitness staff, his brother and friends, Brannigan as M.D., all his ex-players on contract and on loan. Some Empire which would all need dismantling and paying off.

If the board and fans keep there nerve , there will be no need to dismantle anything . SUFC have to use lessons learnt from the past , as sacking managers on a regular basis , sets you back years , especially when in Mr Clough , we have the right manager in the first place .

We all know these Johnny Foreigners in football can pull the sacking trigger , at the slightest reaction , but it will not happen. To make sure Mr Clough does not have to go to the post season year review board meeting ,with a book down his trousers , he better deliver promotion.

The Mr Clough Empire / Dynasty starts then

UTB

 

[HolmesfieldBlade]

I'm just glad you're not in charge of running the club!

Why are we so happy with absolute shite. A club of our size with our history and our traditions should of walked out this division its been let down after let down and excuse after excuse. If we don't get promoted this season we will have spent HALF A DECADE in the third tier of English football.

Clough has had TWO promotions in 17 odd years of management, Im not convinced.

 

[Pierre's PC]

A club of our size with our history and our traditions should of walked out this division

Would that be after Preston with their history and traditions.

We still and never will have any divine right to win any league even if it was the Wragg over 35.

 

[SwissBlade]

Why are we so happy with absolute shite. A club of our size with our history and our traditions should of walked out this division its been let down after let down and excuse after excuse. If we don't get promoted this season we will have spent HALF A DECADE in the third tier of English football.

Clough has had TWO promotions in 17 odd years of management, Im not convinced.

We've sacked manager after manager over the 9-10 years since we dropped from the premier league? How's that working out for you???

Best manager we've had in my lifetime and you want rid

 

[Lord Bos of Eckington.]

We've sacked manager after manager over the 9-10 years since we dropped from the premier league? How's that working out for you???

Best manager we've had in my lifetime and you want rid

Ok results in the league are more than pissing the majority of fans off .

Statistics and history shows , changing managers does not work.

For once the board have the balls to stick with a manager .

UTB

 

[HolmesfieldBlade]

Would that be after Preston with their history and traditions.

We still and never will have any divine right to win any league even if it was the Wragg over 35.

We've sacked manager after manager over the 9-10 years since we dropped from the premier league? How's that working out for you???

Best manager we've had in my lifetime and you want rid

It's not Devine right but by simple laws of averages we should be achieving success.

More transfer funds, better training facilities, bigger support etc. Leeds, Wednesday, Norwich, Wolves and Southampton all achieved promotion within 3 seasons or less and it looks like Preston and Bristol City could join them shortly. Not getting promoted will be the joint longest if not the longest we have ever spent in the third tier.

Something needs to change if we do not get promotion this campaign. If its the manager or the board or the staff or the fans but something is wrong with how the club is run and McCabe and co can't just laugh it off as bad luck for any longer.

 

[Punk Blade]

If only there was some way of getting us to approach league matches in the same manner we do cup ones.

It isn't us approaching league games differently, it's the opposition. We actually need to change our approach to overcome the infuriatingly physical and stubborn League One defences.

Also general point on the thread: there is no such thing as a 'law of averages'!

 

[Rustyblade]

Also general point on the thread: there is no such thing as a 'law of averages'!

Quite right. I guess an analogy might be radioactive decay. You can predict with amazing accuracy just how many atoms will decay over a period of time but haven't got a scooby about which particular ones.

 

[HoodedClaw]

It isn't us approaching league games differently, it's the opposition. We actually need to change our approach to overcome the infuriatingly physical and stubborn League One defences.

It may not be a consciously different approach and yes the opposition is different, but that should have no bearing on the level of intensity or tempo we play at.

Why, as people have commented, do we seem to be able to raise both intensity and tempo either when we fall behind or in the last 10 minutes of matches.

 

[BusheyBlade]

...it looks like Preston and Bristol City could join them shortly.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Preston come down with us? Added to that, this is their first season down here of looking like they'll go back up whilst we have had a season where we were dead certs for promotion yet threw it away at the end and then lost on penalties in the play off final, a season where we were top at Christmas eek then threw it away and lost in the play offs semis and then last season's shambles. Yes, that means getting worse year on year but the outlook is positive for us. Whilst we may have been in the top flight more recently than them, Preston's history and stature is arguable far bigger than ours and they have struggled more than us.

Not that I'm hapy about our current plight mind

 

[SandyMcBlade]

I don't for a minute doubt we will get promoted, it's all a matter of when.......

 

[Silent Blade]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Preston come down with us? Added to that, this is their first season down here of looking like they'll go back up whilst we have had a season where we were dead certs for promotion yet threw it away at the end and then lost on penalties in the play off final, a season where we were top at Christmas eek then threw it away and lost in the play offs semis and then last season's shambles. Yes, that means getting worse year on year but the outlook is positive for us. Whilst we may have been in the top flight more recently than them, Preston's history and stature is arguable far bigger than ours and they have struggled more than us.

Not that I'm hapy about our current plight mind

Yes Preston went down with us in 2011, Scunthorpe was the other team

 

[Houso]

The Prince may be a touch pre-occupied now that King Abdullah has passed away.

Whats the relation here? Uncle?

 

[Jehovah]

The only team I've rated this season that I've seen was Oldham. We have won one in 8 league games and somehow are seventh. If we fail to get promoted from this piece of shit league it will be a disaster.