[quote author=mark1975 link=topic=43405.msg1243469#msg1243469 date=1294244796]
[quote author=spider-neil link=topic=43405.msg1243369#msg1243369 date=1294238025]
[quote author=mark1975 link=topic=43405.msg1243270#msg1243270 date=1294235162]
[quote author=Binny link=topic=43405.msg1243146#msg1243146 date=1294227219]
I'm with you on that, spidey. My main point is, imo, being good with young players doesn't necessarily have to be the new man's "only/no. 1/main" strength. Of cos, it should be "one of" his expertise, but I'm fine with someone who might not necessarily bring through lots of youngsters but know how to spot and groom one and willing to integrate him into his plans.
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I agree with this, I think it'd be nice and romantic on paper to plan longterm for this Arsenal style theory of building a young competitive side. In reality I just want someone who sticks to the basics, plays successful football, doesn't overcomplicate things and is willing (when necessary) to give youth a chance.
The problem more than anything right now is having a blueprint at the top of the tree. It's no good concentrating on youth and the future if there is a big rebuilding job needed for the first team.
I want a set system throughout the club, one with players playing in comfortable roles, knowing where they will be playing in each game, developing an understanding and cohesion as a team and sticking with it. Players of quality, not several half good players to bulk up the numbers. It's correct in saying we need a 'squad' but we need a fairly obvious XI first and foremost.
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that is a good post, mark but to my mind you have to have a long term plan and stick to it.
if I were on the board and I were making the business plan I would say where I want to be in 3-5 years time and then go about drawing up plans to make that happen. if kicking two years into touch was needed i.e. taking one step back to move two steps forwards then I would do it.
rafa and gh both have incrementally improved the team season on season making short the short term needs of the team are addressed but has that brought us any closer to the league. to be fair to gh he was second 7 points off a record breaking arsenal and rafa was 4 points off a record breaking manu (most clean sheets) but we we're consistant title challengers.
so I would be prepared to tred water for a couple of season while we are in transition. we no longer have a massive debt hanging over our heads so a couple of seasons outside of the CL isn't going to hurt us that much except maybe with regards to attracking talent but I would hope that the players we identify for our long term plan would see what I wanted to achieve and buy into that.
I have no idea who the owners have in mind but that's what I would do and that is the type of manager I would go for. someone that will build towards something, someone that would grow with the club as the long term plan was implemented. it may all go tits up but seeing as we've been chasing the league for 20 YEARS, maybe it's time for a different approach.
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My point really was that a longterm view doesn't have to be concentrated on youth and having a team in place in say, 5 years. It's about instilling a mentality and method within the club, largely through it's system and playing style and building for and around that. For example, buying players that fit a system and style, with a fixed role in mind, a cog if you like but not just any cog, one that fits and makes the machine run without the worry of it breaking down a few months down the line. We need to know what we want and go for it. One of the problems with the money in the game now is that it's instilled a mentality to buy for the sake of it, which just sees squads cluttered with stop-gaps.
We should have an idea for the first team and build towards that, while copying that blueprint with the reserve and youth teams, so when players do step into the first team, you know where they will figure and in what role. How many players have we got in the reserves (let alone the first team) with question marks over their favoured roles? All that shit needs to stop, versatility is fine, but when players start to lose their playing identity because of it, they start to lose something as a player. Obviously there are exceptions to the rule, like Gerrard and Carragher, but when you get players like Pacheco and he's playing in the hole for the reserves and then getting shunted wide just to give him a game in the first team, it becomes pointless. And the case has been too similar in the first team, look at the lineup against Wolves, we've seen it many a time under Rafa and Houllier too, a team more concentrated on fitting in individuals than getting the best shape and cohesive lineup available on the pitch.
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well, there is not much to argue with there. I agree.
I too would want a system that players slotted into rather than the other way around.
buying for the sake of buying makes little sense. look at the keane signing for instance, he was never going to break up the gerrard/torres partnership so wouldn't we have been better served spending that 20 mil on someone to provide service for those two players?
one thing I would attempt would be to make the tactics simpler. I would create the best team I possibly could and then I would let them get on with it. I wouldn't attempt to bog them down with a sea of instuctions I would trust that what I teach them in training is translated on match day. I've noticed that with gh and rafa both poor seasons would follow excellent seasons and I think a big reason for that was mental fatigued from high concentration needed to score and then close out the game, rather than pressing the advantage and killing the game early.
the fear of conceed totally impacting on the other aspects of the team.
also with a simple system new players and youth players are more easily intergrated into the side without upset the flow of the team.
