Life Without Mickey - Part I
By CovSid67 February 11 2007
And so the guessing game begins (Actually it began some time ago, but I never quite got round to finishing this article 'til now!) - just who will be the next Coventry City manager?
By CovSid67 February 11 2007
And so the guessing game begins (Actually it began some time ago, but I never quite got round to finishing this article 'til now!) - just who will be the next Coventry City manager?
Website voting has Erick Black and Richard Money as favourites, while betting has been stopped on Paul Ince .... though his name is not being greeted with joy by all that support Coventry City. To be fair to Ince, some would moan if we appointed Arsene Wenger!
Some point to Ince's lack of experience, though it is worth pointing out that Ron Atkinson and Peter Reid were about as experienced as managers come, and they were useless! Also worth pointing out that Roland Nilsson and Eric Black were inexperienced, and did OK .... before being harshly ditched by our very own Jesus Gil!
Even the local paper/website has had a dig at Ince! They're giving a lot of the credit to his decent run at Macclesfield to his backroom staff - maybe he'll bring decent backroom staff in if he comes here? It claims that his presence might be inspiring star-struck players - maybe that could happen here? Maybe Ince could bring along Doyle's game in the same way that Wise did?
Most managers are appointed more in hope that they will succeed than anything, so maybe, if Ince is to be the 'chosen one', he should be given a chance by everybody? If bringing in the best manager in the world guaranteed success, every club would be breaking the bank to land that person. Sadly, most clubs (Including Coventry City) are far to broke to do this, so we're relying on finding a hidden or unknown talent.
Following Adams dismissal, the ridiculous 'who would want to take over at Coventry City' question, that seems to be asked every time we get rid of a manager, was once again uttered by those that obviously know very little about the game. There were fifty+ serious applicants for the job! Not bad a club such as ours....
The club are desperately trying to make sure they get it right this time .... if for no other reason than the paying off of failures is an expensive business. In a perfect world, the new manager would have been brought in while the transfer window was open, but the job of shaping the squad for the rest of this season was given to Heath.
The rumoured £300,000 given to Adams as a pay-off could have been far better spent on a player during the transfer window. As it was, transfer deadline day passed with very little business being done, though the sum of £250,000 was raised with the sale of Stern John to Sunderland (As is written elsewhere, great business for an older player with only a few months left on his contract). With Roy Keane stating that he had bought SJ for his 'physical presence' and 'ability in the air', a fair few Coventry supporters think he might actually have signed the wrong player....
Two players came in, with Che Bunce brought in from New Zealand, and one time CCFC Youth Team player Colin Hawkins returning 10 years after being shown the door, as cover for the centre of defence. Neither name is particularly awe inspiring (With missed target Steven Caldwell looking a far better option, or the recently released Matt Heath, or Bischoff), but I've learned my lesson about pre-judging players before I've seen them .... though the few people that know about NZ football don't seem to rate Bunce at all!
Back to Adams....
Despite the fact the club said supporters chose MA, there was evidence to suggest he had been given the job a fair few days before it was officially announced - including Adams stating this on SportsTalk! I'm hoping there will be far more 'honesty' about how the next manager is chosen.
It seems money was Adams undoing, as he did a decent job keeping us in The Championship in his first few months, and gave us a send-off very few could have even dreamed of when we left Highfield Road. He also helped us to a decent finish just outside the play-offs last season, despite working with the sort of budget that would have some non-league managers complaining. His quantity over quality policy last pre-season seems to have been a disaster....
For now, Adrian Heath, is in temporary charge, and is supposedly near the top of the list of candidates (The cheap option?), though the six fixtures he's been given to land the job permanently will do him very few favours! Having assisted both Reid and Adams, there are plenty that think he is part of the problem, not the solution!
In his defence, Heath recently (Sort of) stated that assistants are 'yes men', and don't always believe in what they are being told what to do (Something I had always claimed was the case, but was shot down for harbouring this opinion). The players claim they want him to land the job, then again, I guess they would! I can't see many of them being selected if they express a preference for Paul Ince!
Heath is half-way through the six games he has supposedly been given to land the job permanently, having taken three points from the nine on offer. Chances were created against Sunderland, and chances were wasted. If I was on the panel deciding on who takes over, my first question would be: 'How the hell do you solves the problem that has plagued us nearly every season for decades? Decent enough strikers, badly mis-firing - what's the answer?'.
While the next manager, whoever he might be, will not be everybodies choice, I hope he receives the full backing of all Coventry City supporters. I hope it is somebody whose tactics are to keep the ball away from his own keeper rather than continually playing the ball back to him, who would rather defend from the opposition half than camp out outside his own penalty area, and who at least has some idea how to entertain and get the best out of players would be a start....
Some point to Ince's lack of experience, though it is worth pointing out that Ron Atkinson and Peter Reid were about as experienced as managers come, and they were useless! Also worth pointing out that Roland Nilsson and Eric Black were inexperienced, and did OK .... before being harshly ditched by our very own Jesus Gil!
Even the local paper/website has had a dig at Ince! They're giving a lot of the credit to his decent run at Macclesfield to his backroom staff - maybe he'll bring decent backroom staff in if he comes here? It claims that his presence might be inspiring star-struck players - maybe that could happen here? Maybe Ince could bring along Doyle's game in the same way that Wise did?
Most managers are appointed more in hope that they will succeed than anything, so maybe, if Ince is to be the 'chosen one', he should be given a chance by everybody? If bringing in the best manager in the world guaranteed success, every club would be breaking the bank to land that person. Sadly, most clubs (Including Coventry City) are far to broke to do this, so we're relying on finding a hidden or unknown talent.
Following Adams dismissal, the ridiculous 'who would want to take over at Coventry City' question, that seems to be asked every time we get rid of a manager, was once again uttered by those that obviously know very little about the game. There were fifty+ serious applicants for the job! Not bad a club such as ours....
The club are desperately trying to make sure they get it right this time .... if for no other reason than the paying off of failures is an expensive business. In a perfect world, the new manager would have been brought in while the transfer window was open, but the job of shaping the squad for the rest of this season was given to Heath.
The rumoured £300,000 given to Adams as a pay-off could have been far better spent on a player during the transfer window. As it was, transfer deadline day passed with very little business being done, though the sum of £250,000 was raised with the sale of Stern John to Sunderland (As is written elsewhere, great business for an older player with only a few months left on his contract). With Roy Keane stating that he had bought SJ for his 'physical presence' and 'ability in the air', a fair few Coventry supporters think he might actually have signed the wrong player....
Two players came in, with Che Bunce brought in from New Zealand, and one time CCFC Youth Team player Colin Hawkins returning 10 years after being shown the door, as cover for the centre of defence. Neither name is particularly awe inspiring (With missed target Steven Caldwell looking a far better option, or the recently released Matt Heath, or Bischoff), but I've learned my lesson about pre-judging players before I've seen them .... though the few people that know about NZ football don't seem to rate Bunce at all!
Back to Adams....
Despite the fact the club said supporters chose MA, there was evidence to suggest he had been given the job a fair few days before it was officially announced - including Adams stating this on SportsTalk! I'm hoping there will be far more 'honesty' about how the next manager is chosen.
It seems money was Adams undoing, as he did a decent job keeping us in The Championship in his first few months, and gave us a send-off very few could have even dreamed of when we left Highfield Road. He also helped us to a decent finish just outside the play-offs last season, despite working with the sort of budget that would have some non-league managers complaining. His quantity over quality policy last pre-season seems to have been a disaster....
For now, Adrian Heath, is in temporary charge, and is supposedly near the top of the list of candidates (The cheap option?), though the six fixtures he's been given to land the job permanently will do him very few favours! Having assisted both Reid and Adams, there are plenty that think he is part of the problem, not the solution!
In his defence, Heath recently (Sort of) stated that assistants are 'yes men', and don't always believe in what they are being told what to do (Something I had always claimed was the case, but was shot down for harbouring this opinion). The players claim they want him to land the job, then again, I guess they would! I can't see many of them being selected if they express a preference for Paul Ince!
Heath is half-way through the six games he has supposedly been given to land the job permanently, having taken three points from the nine on offer. Chances were created against Sunderland, and chances were wasted. If I was on the panel deciding on who takes over, my first question would be: 'How the hell do you solves the problem that has plagued us nearly every season for decades? Decent enough strikers, badly mis-firing - what's the answer?'.
While the next manager, whoever he might be, will not be everybodies choice, I hope he receives the full backing of all Coventry City supporters. I hope it is somebody whose tactics are to keep the ball away from his own keeper rather than continually playing the ball back to him, who would rather defend from the opposition half than camp out outside his own penalty area, and who at least has some idea how to entertain and get the best out of players would be a start....
Bookmark or share this story with:
Digg
Delicious
Facebook
Reddit
Stumbleupon
More Coventry City headlines
Coventry City latest threads
Coventry City Poll
