Can't see that helping at all, if it collapsed they'd all come back tails between legs and the press and the TV companies would beg for them to return, if it was successful you'd end up with second and third divisions and a hundred games of that a week filling the TV and papers.
I'm sure everyone has their own version, but for me top flight football peaked when Man United beat Bayern for the treble. The most ridiculous ending to a final ever, and then they skipped the FA Cup the next season and that was the first step in magic being lost.
The club wages at Wrexham stood at £132k per week in 2022/23, that was in the National League.
This season they have increased but SCMP and squad sizes in the EFL have probably kept wages in check. I suspect the club wage bill for 23/24 will be £9-10M or just south of £200k a week.
Linfield v Larne tonight, a huge game in the NI Premiership, as second host first.
After winning the title last season, for the first time in their history, Larne, in effect, need a draw to retain the title. With two to play, they have a three point lead and a +17 goal difference.
It was a horrible fit, and GA was never going to turn around a club based on tactical acumen. That interview with him last week was interesting, because he said outright that at his next stop he needs to figure out how to make time for himself by being successful out of the gate, so that he can have the time to utilize his culture-building strengths.
The hard thing for GA and Dobbo is that it is extremely hard to get time anywhere nowadays, with teams sacking managers through the first bad streak, much of the time.
I do think it is worth noting that by the end of our Championship run, we were something like 6th in the form table over the last 10-12 games. So GA could be a Champo manager in the right situation.
It begs the question, why would you go into a club wanting / expecting time? This is football and no manager gets time, so do not plan for that and make sure you plan to hit the ground running.
Seems to me GA picked up everything he knew at Wycombe, and took it to QPR with him. Which was ill advised. He took the assumption he had years, the underdog, the little Wycombe mindset, the long ball style, the “championship is scary” (he literally said that) mentality, and literally everything.
But it was a different club, different expectations, difference players, different everything.
He is big on culture, but rather ironically, he got that very wrong at QPR. Most of QPRs players have been recruited from ex premier league academies, for example. Hardly going to respond well to being told they are “underdogs” (= second best on talent, but no problems, well out-run you) are they? GA needed to read the room, show he can adapt, and not be a one-club man.
And to be fair GA did get time at QPR, he got 27 games, which is a lot more than most these days - over half a season to demonstrate progress. Its just his record was awful across both seasons.
I agree - I think a better way of phrasing the "time" thing is that GA needs to figure out to be successful out of the gate no matter what the circumstance, more or less as you said above. He had gotten to a point with us where the culture was so ingrained that it was a huge strength, but he was going back to zero with QPR in a division with different players and a different (dare I say more entitled) mentality. I know some say that the QPR players enjoyed the haka in the end, but if you watch the Wycombe and QPR haka videos back to back it still highlights the massive contrast in going from a club where you are adored to a club where you have to prove yourself.
I am not sure he will ever be able to get enough years under his belt at another club to do what he did with us, so perhaps he needs somewhere that is already somewhat in his image tactics and squad wise (Stevenage appear an unfortunately apt fit to my mind) so that he does not have to try and change too much on the pitch and in the squad.
Either way, he needs to make the next stop count, and it is going to be intriguing.
As someone who was stuck in traffic on the M1 for an hour and a half yesterday after the semi, I agree entirely. Imagine how much better it would have been for the planet at a neutral ground.
If Collins leaving Barnsley causes them to rediscover their form and knock Peterborough out of the playoffs at the semi-final stage, I will be looking forward to the 7-point Alan Swann article on how they were cheated once again. I suppose Barnsley are gambling there as there is so much riding on promotion, should really have gambled earlier if they were going to do that but that they left it so late maybe demonstrates that they were reluctant to do so.
Still shaking my head over Steve Evans. I know a lot of people take the view that it is a free country and one is at liberty to move between employers, that's fair enough in principle. There are industry specific considerations though and to take on a season long project up to the 90% mark, still be within sight of a highly positive outcome for your employer and then just ditch them and leave their project in the mire is a pretty shoddy way to treat the people who have been paying you.
Stevenage does look a much better fit. But weren’t there suggestions recently that he might be going to a Premier League WSL club ? Probably dreamed it. (I probably did, not GA !)
Comments
(Spurs?!)
I don't think they would. Because the European league would be the thing. So why would these people buy a Villa?
Let's get a European League done and return football to the people
Can't see that helping at all, if it collapsed they'd all come back tails between legs and the press and the TV companies would beg for them to return, if it was successful you'd end up with second and third divisions and a hundred games of that a week filling the TV and papers.
I'm sure everyone has their own version, but for me top flight football peaked when Man United beat Bayern for the treble. The most ridiculous ending to a final ever, and then they skipped the FA Cup the next season and that was the first step in magic being lost.
The club wages at Wrexham stood at £132k per week in 2022/23, that was in the National League.
This season they have increased but SCMP and squad sizes in the EFL have probably kept wages in check. I suspect the club wage bill for 23/24 will be £9-10M or just south of £200k a week.
Barnsley have sacked their manager. Extraordinary timing!
They are really pushing their chips to the middle of the table for a new manager bounce!
The more you see this kind of thing, the more impressive it is that the Couhigs stuck by Blooms. May they be rewarded richly!
GA for Barnsley?
Linfield v Larne tonight, a huge game in the NI Premiership, as second host first.
After winning the title last season, for the first time in their history, Larne, in effect, need a draw to retain the title. With two to play, they have a three point lead and a +17 goal difference.
Live on BBC Two NI/iPlayer at 7:45.
Maybe Steve Evans fancies a quick trip up the M1
I'd much prefer he ends up there than Stevenage, though the latter squad would seem to suit him to the ground.
David Stockdale has just tweeted 'Anyone need a goalkeeper?'
I thought he was part of the coaching/management team York City?
He just got sacked (see ex-player thread).
QPR under GA: 8 points from 14 matches = 0.57 PPG, total extrapolation over season = 26 points. Bottom of the table.
QPR under Marti Cifuentes: 42 points from 30 matches = 1.40 PPG, total extrapolation = 64 points. 10th position in the table.
That’s quite extraordinary. And does indicate GA was well out of his depth at championship level. GA would deservedly get the blame if QPR go down.
It was a horrible fit, and GA was never going to turn around a club based on tactical acumen. That interview with him last week was interesting, because he said outright that at his next stop he needs to figure out how to make time for himself by being successful out of the gate, so that he can have the time to utilize his culture-building strengths.
The hard thing for GA and Dobbo is that it is extremely hard to get time anywhere nowadays, with teams sacking managers through the first bad streak, much of the time.
I do think it is worth noting that by the end of our Championship run, we were something like 6th in the form table over the last 10-12 games. So GA could be a Champo manager in the right situation.
Just as it’s hard to see Wycombe having someone as special as Gareth again, it’s hard to see Gareth having somewhere as special as Wycombe again.
It begs the question, why would you go into a club wanting / expecting time? This is football and no manager gets time, so do not plan for that and make sure you plan to hit the ground running.
Seems to me GA picked up everything he knew at Wycombe, and took it to QPR with him. Which was ill advised. He took the assumption he had years, the underdog, the little Wycombe mindset, the long ball style, the “championship is scary” (he literally said that) mentality, and literally everything.
But it was a different club, different expectations, difference players, different everything.
He is big on culture, but rather ironically, he got that very wrong at QPR. Most of QPRs players have been recruited from ex premier league academies, for example. Hardly going to respond well to being told they are “underdogs” (= second best on talent, but no problems, well out-run you) are they? GA needed to read the room, show he can adapt, and not be a one-club man.
And to be fair GA did get time at QPR, he got 27 games, which is a lot more than most these days - over half a season to demonstrate progress. Its just his record was awful across both seasons.
The Haka was that moment when a supply teacher thinks 'This will win them over' and doesn't realise that they have signed their death warrent.
I agree - I think a better way of phrasing the "time" thing is that GA needs to figure out to be successful out of the gate no matter what the circumstance, more or less as you said above. He had gotten to a point with us where the culture was so ingrained that it was a huge strength, but he was going back to zero with QPR in a division with different players and a different (dare I say more entitled) mentality. I know some say that the QPR players enjoyed the haka in the end, but if you watch the Wycombe and QPR haka videos back to back it still highlights the massive contrast in going from a club where you are adored to a club where you have to prove yourself.
I am not sure he will ever be able to get enough years under his belt at another club to do what he did with us, so perhaps he needs somewhere that is already somewhat in his image tactics and squad wise (Stevenage appear an unfortunately apt fit to my mind) so that he does not have to try and change too much on the pitch and in the squad.
Either way, he needs to make the next stop count, and it is going to be intriguing.
Agree, it will be intriguing to see where he ends up and how he goes there.
Ps. Do you have a link to the interview with GA you mentioned from last week? I haven’t seen it and would be interested to watch/listen. Thanks
Sure! Here it is:
Gareth Ainsworth on Music and Football – Sacked in the Morning – Podcast – Podtail
As someone who was stuck in traffic on the M1 for an hour and a half yesterday after the semi, I agree entirely. Imagine how much better it would have been for the planet at a neutral ground.
Mary had a little lamb, she also had a duck, singing up the praises of the Larne boys. They've done it...
Ended 1-1, both goals in a frantic first half, Larne were fortunate to go in level, but managed the second half well, to retain the title.
If Collins leaving Barnsley causes them to rediscover their form and knock Peterborough out of the playoffs at the semi-final stage, I will be looking forward to the 7-point Alan Swann article on how they were cheated once again. I suppose Barnsley are gambling there as there is so much riding on promotion, should really have gambled earlier if they were going to do that but that they left it so late maybe demonstrates that they were reluctant to do so.
Still shaking my head over Steve Evans. I know a lot of people take the view that it is a free country and one is at liberty to move between employers, that's fair enough in principle. There are industry specific considerations though and to take on a season long project up to the 90% mark, still be within sight of a highly positive outcome for your employer and then just ditch them and leave their project in the mire is a pretty shoddy way to treat the people who have been paying you.
Bear in mind though (for what it’s worth) that Stevenage had been in free fall for several weeks.
Not sure they had any choice, financially.
No way. Geography and recent precedent.
Stevenage does look a much better fit. But weren’t there suggestions recently that he might be going to a Premier League WSL club ? Probably dreamed it. (I probably did, not GA !)
In a way though, what Barnsley have done gives Evans some justification for what he did.
I'm just glad we're not that club, however many fans scream "get him gone" on an internet message board
Very good point, @eric_plant.