Tom Cleverley - Head Coach

Or maybe made the POs ? Who knows. I'm just wary of taking on someone for basically only 4 months when it's claimed that they aren't fit and their attitude isn't good. Maybe he'll be great - hope so, .....if we get him.

 

Dog had a cows ear for Christmas. Had hair in it still.

 

surely this only applies to the back 4 or 5 and maybe the midfield ?
cos if a striker finds overlap cross and finish or general finishing drills boring then they
are not going to be much of a striker

 

I find it a bit sad that , whilst there are only a few who seem to actually think we should get rid of TC, there is a level of over dramatising situations . We aren’t in a drastic downward spiral . We’ve just lost a few matches, like we did earlier in the season . We will probably lose to Sheffield Utd as they are at the top of the table and we may adjust to a more appropriate mid table position as well. But it’s hardly a crisis .

It may well be down to way the club has been run with constant sackings or maybe just over analysis , or that TC has raised expectations with such a good first half of the season , but I’m sure in the Malky Mackay/Ray Lewington eras we would just have enjoyed being in a good position and punching above our weight , not speculating on if They were to lose the next five games their job couyjd be in danger .

I’m sure many of us have speculated that the constant managerial changes have created a toxic culture so when we actually have a chance for a young coach who had done a lot right ( as well as got things wrong ) to develop and build something more long term. Of course none of this is up to any of us but I don’t get the mentality of preempting a crisis that doesn’t exist and extrapolating forward that he will be out of a job by February when this is the opposite of what anyone here should want to happen.

 

He thinks Ngakia is better than Ebosele, mate.

 

Again, is anyone calling it a ‘crisis’? And I don’t get your last point? I want TC to be Head Coach for a long while all thing being well - and so do most people. But that doesn’t mean that the minority who yearn for a suave Italian maestro or hardnut Eastern European are wrong to want that - or that it could make us better.

The reality is people are happy with where we are in the table and happy with the progress of some players etc. But they simultaneously are worried about the undeniable patterns in our form and certain performances - and subsequently the commentary that follows from the head coach.

Just blindly supporting someone or a group of people will always ultimately end in failure because there’s no critical thinking or appraisal. And the fans of a football club will always ultimately be the best barometer for how the club is doing.

I agree, it’s sad. It would be lovely for everything to happy and rosy - but that’s not reality. So you’ll always have the balance of praise and criticism - TC has done well so far to have more of one than the other which strengthens his position - and rightly so IMO.

 

No..it is relevant in every area of the pitch. Ball is out wide with the opportunity for a cross into the box….both crosser and striker need to know the default delivery and preferred run to meet it. Of course, if won’t work every time, but it will be much more successful than ‘hit & hope.’

 

I'm not sure of the point you are making here

 

Done a decent job building some team spirit and getting the squad, for the most part, looking like they are playing for the shirt and one another.

That said, you only get so far on vibes, and we’re seeing some concerning patterns emerging when it comes to team selection and tactical adjustments. If we’re going to maintain a relatively competitive half-season, Cleverley will need to show some proper growth as a coach, or things are in danger of entering a slide he struggles to stop.

 

Training can be boring and repetitive. At least it can be when done properly. But that's the cost of being professional and working on your craft, drilling down into details until they are second nature. Is it a generational thing that the players expect to be entertained the whole time they are at work?

Even top sides have used 'shadow play' in training – basically lining up and playing a game against no opponents; working through set moves, honing specific passes and runs so the whole team is in sync. The method is credited to Alan Brown, a former Sunderland and Sheffield Wednesday manager, but GT used it for years too. But plenty of old Division One teams did it too.

GT's methods were to create a range of moves that in some ways limited the amount of 'off-the-cuff' play in a match. A full-back's choice of pass would be dictated by the position of the midfielders and attackers and everyone would know where the pass was going. If a ball was played up to the No.9, the wingers would already be making their runs anticipating the knockdown and then the pass out wide. If a cross went into the box, the winger on the other side knew it was their job to be at the far post in case everyone missed it, and the holding midfielder would be on the edge of the box in case of a knock-down.

'Pattern of play' sounds dull, but done well it can be incredibly effective. I must admit, I don't see a lot of evidence of it in the current Watford team, even though there are plenty of things to like when things are going well.

Similarly, attacking and defending set pieces – working on all aspects of being better at them. Yes, that's boring and repetitive too but you can get the rewards on a matchday.

 

You’ve brought up strong points in such an excellent way to not wanting TC to go in the near future. I know I’m one of those saying he might go, not because I want him to go, I want him to stay, I just feel Pozzo has a history of sticking his nose in to try and save his money. I just wouldn’t be surprised if he got sacked.

 

Has he got the balls though?

 

As you already know a simple attacking pattern of play is "up, back and through "
Up to the striker who lays it off to the number 10 who plays it through for the 3rd man runner .
However you can practise as much as you like but if the striker can't get good possession or it bounces off of him or the defender nips in front etc then we shall never see this basic pattern or any pattern that involves the number 9 .
Secondly I am under the impression that small sided games are preferable to "boring drills" so that everything is as realistic as possible ?
So if Tom is saying that the coaching is boring then that is a red flag for me

 

Give TC a competent striker and we would have a good chance of the play offs. Having Bayo and Kayembe as the leading scorers says it all really.

 

We got a new striker and thicky Tom chose Jebbison.

 

I’m saying that ‘boring drills’ are not only relevant for defending…players have gone on record saying that under GT our forward play was drilled into the players..the forwards automatically made specific runs depending on which player had the ball where and so that player was confident he could hit an early pass into a particular space knowing a teammate would have a strong chance of getting onto it, or at least he immediately pressurising any opponent who had intercepted it.
It’s why his teams were brilliant at rapid turnovers and pressing in the final third of the pitch.
Most of our attacking play seems to be so off-the-cuff it’s no surprise it is so ineffectual.
EDIT: see also ETG’s post on GT’s methods

 

Poor Tom

 

I accept all of the above but if GTs options up top were Bayo or Jebbo .........

 

Very true. But you have to remember we had great strikers attacking the ball and they even made bad crosses look good. Jenkins and Luther were insanely good at putting defenders under pressure and we had the wingers joining in at the back post if those two were missed. We don't play that type of football anymore even though I wished we did. Ross and Luther played together for years and knew each other's game inside out and wingers who delivered. It was simplicity at its very best.

 

He would still have drilled them into making those runs which would have made them more dangerous.

 

I don’t think we’re underperforming, given the standard of the squad. I’ll be happy with survival. Get a top-half finish and Cleverley deserves the keys to the city.

 

I thought one of the 12th-15th league positions end of season when it all kicked off. Whilst I enjoy the wins, if we slid down the table to that area I won't be too disheartened as this squad will have met my expectations.

 

No point sacking him and the current run of form isn't bad enough to justify it anyway, but he is definitely absolutely clueless.

 

Or he would not have entertained signing them in the first place ?

 

Probably so, but he did inherit most of the squad that romped to the Div4 title and turned Ross from a misfiring misfit into a goal machine.

 

I understand the sentiment and don't want him sacked.

However I count more than two poor performances,far more.

Given his boss and his failure to learn I would expect him to be anxious now.

Some of his selections have been baffling and his tactics and game plan flimsy at best.

Look at the way Riza was able to out think him.

A coach Cardiff fans had written off as completely out of his depth.

 

TBF Mike Keen couldn't get much of a tune out of a decent squad of players and a fair sprinkling
completed the journey into the top flight with GT.
GT added Sam Ellis Ian Bolton Dennis Booth who were all hatchet men\leaders . The talent was already there .

 

Playing poorly only twice all season is a wild take. Luton, Cardiff, Norwich, Preston, QPR (home and away), Coventry, Middlesbrough, Hull, Swansea, Sheff Utd (a). Probably a few we won not playing well either!

 

Played poorly twice all season?! Probably two poor performances just at home.

We’ve had two performances where we were good for spells in both halves, Plymouth A and West Brom H.

 

Shouldn’t you have posted this on your other thread?

 

I've got to hold my hands up, TC has made me look a right c unt here.