Since Christmas we have played 23 games and collected 25 points. I'm not convinced any new manager would have done any better with the current players.
Are people being stopped from expressing a dispassionate objective view on the Gasroom again in regard to our season? Disgraceful. Someone should look into that. I think the main objective was to be competitive at the highest level the club has managed without breaking the bank, mortgaging the future of the club and leaving us in a better position than we were at the start of the last League One campaign. If the sole objective was to 'keep us up' at any cost, I missed that meeting. The idea that everyone who thinks Gareth has done a good job this season is some sort of blindly loyal groupthink drone who cannot debate the issues dispassionately is irritating.
Why won’t my iPhone switch from portrait to landscape at present? Wanted to upthumb @Wendoverman’s post but doing so in portrait mode would risk doubling the disapproval.
Likewise, claims like @floyd's that any change in manager would destroy the culture of the dressing room I find unlikely and certainly unprovable. These are professional footballers, the vast majority of the current team have only been with the club a couple of seasons at most. They're not going to stop being nice, intelligent, diligent professionals just because someone else comes in and tells them how to train and where to play.
Every player you hear from talks about the spirit in the dressing room, and the atmosphere here being unlike anywhere else they've played. Are they all liars?
Let's unpack that. Every player? How many have we heard from recently? Has Knight given an interview? Mehmeti? Has Allsop spoken publicly since he was dropped? Horgan? Or is it just the players we know are likely to provide diplomatic answers we hear from?
Secondly, when has a footballer ever been open about the true story of what's going on behind the scenes, at least until they've left the club and normally not until they've retired. I remember Sam Saunders being slightly dismissive of Gareth's management style after he left, which I don't recall coming from him when he was an employee. And frankly, that's a good thing. If one of your colleagues was badmouthing his or her manager to the press I would hope you'd take a dim view of it. Footballers shouldn't be different.
Thirdly, I'm not convinced the quality of the local press and the client journalism you get at any football club often leads to difficult questions being asked. These players are not grilled in interviews, if they were the interviewer would soon lose access. Instead they get questions like 'Gareth says the togetherness of the dressing room is one of the key factors in the club's success. Do you agree?' which is hardly constructed to elicit a negative response.
Now, once again, my disclaimer. I'm not saying I think the spirit of the dressing room is worse than other clubs and I'm sure it is markedly better than many of them. But I really don't think that's the key reason to keep Gareth at the club next season.
And let me turn the question round, if I may. If Gareth was poached by Preston or Blackburn or QPR or whoever, do you think the spirit of the dressing room would disintegrate?
And let me turn the question round, if I may. If Gareth was poached by Preston or Blackburn or QPR or whoever, do you think the spirit of the dressing room would disintegrate?
The question of would the culture change when Gareth moves on is only answerable when we know who with. An O’Neil to Smith car crash will certainly change things. Gareth and the team around him seem a unique bunch with a unique bond so it certainly going to be a job at some point for someone.
@Chris said: And let me turn the question round, if I may. If Gareth was poached by Preston or Blackburn or QPR or whoever, do you think the spirit of the dressing room would disintegrate?
Yes
Agreed and it would lead to a costly squad change as a new manager gets things the way he likes. I can't really see the point in arguing with people who think Ainsworth should leave and haven't since before that famous day at Torquay.
I also find it funny that those who want Ainsworth gone never actually just come out and say it. It's all rubbish around who's not playing, the mythical plan b or our club not be able to compete on six weeks notice with established Championship sides.
I know some clubs benefit from a manager change but quite often they don't. It's a massive call taken too lightly by so many owners. I am so glad we don't have to worry on that score.
That’s below the belt @Wendoverman. Beware when we get back to Adams Park. That slur demands retribution and we all know where you sit. Expect to find Monster Munch mixed in with your crisps...
Sorry, @Right_in_the_Middle, but I’m struggling with the second sentence of your first paragraph. “Haven’t what?” Is there a word (or even a phrase) missing? It is Sunday afternoon of course.
@bookertease said:
That’s below the belt @Wendoverman. Beware when we get back to Adams Park. That slur demands retribution and we all know where you sit. Expect to find Monster Munch mixed in with your crisps...
I might be moving if I cannot see over the new dugouts.
No-one is bigger than any club, but at any level "golden eras" tend to coincide with specific managers. You may get shooting star seasons (Ranieri at Leicester comes to mind) but any sustained period of success tends to be based around the ethos, culture and talents of one specific manager. Even at the top level, look at Man United before and after Fergie, or Arsenal outside of Graham and Wenger. Chelsea and Man City are perhaps exceptions, as their golden eras have coincided to being connected directly to a bottom pit cashpoint. Looking further down, I think of Nigel Clough with Burton, or Bournemouth's rise (aided by Russian funds, of course) with Eddie Howe.
My point is that this is a golden era for Wycombe, and Ainsworth is the architect, together with Dobbo. Expectations tend to be re-set by success, but a few short years ago we were vying for the third place spot in L2 against Exeter (still in L2) and Notts County (languishing in the Conference now). Look at us now! This culture has been carefully crafted, and is definitely different - it is not just lip service from the players. Maybe we will be fantastically lucky in the future and the next manager will be able to sustain it, but the reality is that managers make clubs in their image, and it will be tremendously difficult when GA leaves. It will happen at some point, but to wish that day to be brought forward in any way is incomprehensible.
Yes, we should be allowed to respectfully criticize individual management decisions. But GA's body of work as a whole speaks absolute volumes.
I’m definitely at risk @Malone but I reckon that post (a couple of inches up) from @Shev is so apposite that it deserves an avalanche of upward thumbs. Absolutely brilliant.
@micra
“Let’s not waste time discussing matters over which we have no control and minimal influence.”
Can the last person to leave please turn the lights off .
@micra said:
Sorry, @Right_in_the_Middle, but I’m struggling with the second sentence of your first paragraph. “Haven’t what?” Is there a word (or even a phrase) missing? It is Sunday afternoon of course.
Sorry to you too but the sentence says what I wanted so say. I stand by every word
@micra said:
Sorry, @Right_in_the_Middle, but I’m struggling with the second sentence of your first paragraph. “Haven’t what?” Is there a word (or even a phrase) missing? It is Sunday afternoon of course.
Sorry to you too but the sentence says what I wanted so say. I stand by every word
My problem arose from ambiguity about the subject of “haven’t”. I would probably have understood if you’d put “I” before “haven’t”. Better still if the words after leave had been in brackets or parentheses after “....see the point”
I understand why supporters of other clubs don't recognize why what we've got here is a bit special, but it baffles me that after all this time some of our own supporters don't see it.
If Gareth had been sacked at Christmas we'd have been relegated weeks ago, and have no chance of keeping the nucleus of a squad together to make a go of promotion next season.
I am encouraged by the overwhelming number of posters who understand and appreciate just how important Gareth has been to the progress we have made in the last couple of seasons. I would also add that he has proved himself to be open and adaptable to changing his mindset and philosophy when it comes to tactics and style of play. This season was a learning curve for him and results since Christmas prove that he has taken on board the lessons learned. It will be a sad day when he leaves and I am sure that the decision to go will be his and not the club’s.
Comments
Since Christmas we have played 23 games and collected 25 points. I'm not convinced any new manager would have done any better with the current players.
Are people being stopped from expressing a dispassionate objective view on the Gasroom again in regard to our season? Disgraceful. Someone should look into that. I think the main objective was to be competitive at the highest level the club has managed without breaking the bank, mortgaging the future of the club and leaving us in a better position than we were at the start of the last League One campaign. If the sole objective was to 'keep us up' at any cost, I missed that meeting. The idea that everyone who thinks Gareth has done a good job this season is some sort of blindly loyal groupthink drone who cannot debate the issues dispassionately is irritating.
Why won’t my iPhone switch from portrait to landscape at present? Wanted to upthumb @Wendoverman’s post but doing so in portrait mode would risk doubling the disapproval.
That wasn’t me.
I always assume it's you disapproving my.posts anyway @micra ?
That was.
Not so Wenders. I know who my nemesis is and it’s no surprise!
It’s not Voldemort either.
@micra
Swipe up from the bottom of your screen to get the quick menu then make sure the padlock with the arrow around it is not selected.
Likewise, claims like @floyd's that any change in manager would destroy the culture of the dressing room I find unlikely and certainly unprovable. These are professional footballers, the vast majority of the current team have only been with the club a couple of seasons at most. They're not going to stop being nice, intelligent, diligent professionals just because someone else comes in and tells them how to train and where to play.
Every player you hear from talks about the spirit in the dressing room, and the atmosphere here being unlike anywhere else they've played. Are they all liars?
Let's unpack that. Every player? How many have we heard from recently? Has Knight given an interview? Mehmeti? Has Allsop spoken publicly since he was dropped? Horgan? Or is it just the players we know are likely to provide diplomatic answers we hear from?
Secondly, when has a footballer ever been open about the true story of what's going on behind the scenes, at least until they've left the club and normally not until they've retired. I remember Sam Saunders being slightly dismissive of Gareth's management style after he left, which I don't recall coming from him when he was an employee. And frankly, that's a good thing. If one of your colleagues was badmouthing his or her manager to the press I would hope you'd take a dim view of it. Footballers shouldn't be different.
Thirdly, I'm not convinced the quality of the local press and the client journalism you get at any football club often leads to difficult questions being asked. These players are not grilled in interviews, if they were the interviewer would soon lose access. Instead they get questions like 'Gareth says the togetherness of the dressing room is one of the key factors in the club's success. Do you agree?' which is hardly constructed to elicit a negative response.
Now, once again, my disclaimer. I'm not saying I think the spirit of the dressing room is worse than other clubs and I'm sure it is markedly better than many of them. But I really don't think that's the key reason to keep Gareth at the club next season.
And let me turn the question round, if I may. If Gareth was poached by Preston or Blackburn or QPR or whoever, do you think the spirit of the dressing room would disintegrate?
And let me turn the question round, if I may. If Gareth was poached by Preston or Blackburn or QPR or whoever, do you think the spirit of the dressing room would disintegrate?
Yes
The question of would the culture change when Gareth moves on is only answerable when we know who with. An O’Neil to Smith car crash will certainly change things. Gareth and the team around him seem a unique bunch with a unique bond so it certainly going to be a job at some point for someone.
Agreed and it would lead to a costly squad change as a new manager gets things the way he likes. I can't really see the point in arguing with people who think Ainsworth should leave and haven't since before that famous day at Torquay.
I also find it funny that those who want Ainsworth gone never actually just come out and say it. It's all rubbish around who's not playing, the mythical plan b or our club not be able to compete on six weeks notice with established Championship sides.
I know some clubs benefit from a manager change but quite often they don't. It's a massive call taken too lightly by so many owners. I am so glad we don't have to worry on that score.
@aloysius is Piers Morgan. I claim my five pounds...
That’s below the belt @Wendoverman. Beware when we get back to Adams Park. That slur demands retribution and we all know where you sit. Expect to find Monster Munch mixed in with your crisps...
Sorry, @Right_in_the_Middle, but I’m struggling with the second sentence of your first paragraph. “Haven’t what?” Is there a word (or even a phrase) missing? It is Sunday afternoon of course.
Sorry @TheAndyGrahamFanClub but your post also sounds a bit Sunday afternoonish.
For example, I assume he would leave with ‘Dobbo’.
I might be moving if I cannot see over the new dugouts.
No-one is bigger than any club, but at any level "golden eras" tend to coincide with specific managers. You may get shooting star seasons (Ranieri at Leicester comes to mind) but any sustained period of success tends to be based around the ethos, culture and talents of one specific manager. Even at the top level, look at Man United before and after Fergie, or Arsenal outside of Graham and Wenger. Chelsea and Man City are perhaps exceptions, as their golden eras have coincided to being connected directly to a bottom pit cashpoint. Looking further down, I think of Nigel Clough with Burton, or Bournemouth's rise (aided by Russian funds, of course) with Eddie Howe.
My point is that this is a golden era for Wycombe, and Ainsworth is the architect, together with Dobbo. Expectations tend to be re-set by success, but a few short years ago we were vying for the third place spot in L2 against Exeter (still in L2) and Notts County (languishing in the Conference now). Look at us now! This culture has been carefully crafted, and is definitely different - it is not just lip service from the players. Maybe we will be fantastically lucky in the future and the next manager will be able to sustain it, but the reality is that managers make clubs in their image, and it will be tremendously difficult when GA leaves. It will happen at some point, but to wish that day to be brought forward in any way is incomprehensible.
Yes, we should be allowed to respectfully criticize individual management decisions. But GA's body of work as a whole speaks absolute volumes.
Some of @micra's gasroom records for most thumbs down postings are being threatened these last two days.
Some absolute shimmering apery of the highest magnitude in some of these awful posts.
I’m definitely at risk @Malone but I reckon that post (a couple of inches up) from @Shev is so apposite that it deserves an avalanche of upward thumbs. Absolutely brilliant.
@micra
“Let’s not waste time discussing matters over which we have no control and minimal influence.”
Can the last person to leave please turn the lights off .
Sorry to you too but the sentence says what I wanted so say. I stand by every word
Thank God some on here don’t have influence even, eh @Morris_Ital ?
I’m definitely one of them
My problem arose from ambiguity about the subject of “haven’t”. I would probably have understood if you’d put “I” before “haven’t”. Better still if the words after leave had been in brackets or parentheses after “....see the point”
It’s probably just me @right in the middle.
I understand why supporters of other clubs don't recognize why what we've got here is a bit special, but it baffles me that after all this time some of our own supporters don't see it.
If Gareth had been sacked at Christmas we'd have been relegated weeks ago, and have no chance of keeping the nucleus of a squad together to make a go of promotion next season.
I am encouraged by the overwhelming number of posters who understand and appreciate just how important Gareth has been to the progress we have made in the last couple of seasons. I would also add that he has proved himself to be open and adaptable to changing his mindset and philosophy when it comes to tactics and style of play. This season was a learning curve for him and results since Christmas prove that he has taken on board the lessons learned. It will be a sad day when he leaves and I am sure that the decision to go will be his and not the club’s.