Freedman out!

[bobo the clown]

Apparently, according to Marc Iles, he picks the team 3 weeks(!) in advance and tells the players when they are and aren't playing. He only deviates from this when there are injuries. No wonder the players don't look fvckin' motivated.

He's killing this club

That can't be right.

He'd have to be mad to do tha.......



Ah, OK.


If that really is even vaguely true then I'm bringing bed-sheets to the next game.

[Athers]

So did he tell Beckford he'd be on the bench for Mason's entire loan?

Something smells of horseshit.

or did he bench him after the absolute shocker against Huddersfield.. hmm..

It's hard to say without definite proof about this picking the team in advance, a lot of managers must work to a strategy of rotation if there's 3 games in a week on the horizon for example. I remember he tries to pick teams for the opposition, but haven't seen much evidence of that working this season!

[thebish]

So did he tell Beckford he'd be on the bench for Mason's entire loan?

Something smells of horseshit.

or did he bench him after the absolute shocker against Huddersfield.. hmm..

It's hard to say without definite proof about this picking the team in advance, a lot of managers must work to a strategy of rotation if there's 3 games in a week on the horizon for example. I remember he tries to pick teams for the opposition, but haven't seen much evidence of that working this season!

sounds like Iles spinning a £1000 headline out of fourpunce ha'penny....

[BWFC_Insane]

Sam Allardyce did very similar with team selections and making sure players didn't play too many games. I'm sure that Freedman deviates based on form, but the scientific approach to picking a team is hardly something scandalous.

[Wandering Willy]

Ah - we've moved from "he's not Coyle" to "he's the next Allardyce".

[boltonboris]

Sam Allardyce did very similar with team selections and making sure players didn't play too many games. I'm sure that Freedman deviates based on form, but the scientific approach to picking a team is hardly something scandalous.

It is when it doesn't work, but continues to be used.

[bobo the clown]

I could waste my time by showing how this would contradict other things he's said previously but that would be pointless.

Indeed, almost everything about him is pointless.

[Worthy4England]

Sam Allardyce did very similar with team selections and making sure players didn't play too many games. I'm sure that Freedman deviates based on form, but the scientific approach to picking a team is hardly something scandalous.

Not sure that's exactly correct on the same principle.

In the last season he was here the top 11 players all appeared in the league at least 29 times (as starts) the average was around 33 starts across 11 players.

His last season was sort of interesting in that he didn't think he had adequate reserves to bring in, so he largely stuck with the same 11.

Freedman seems to be looking to rotate as a mantra, regardless of the discontinuity this brings and the respective skills of the "replacements".

[coffeymagic]

I thought he never planned more than three games ahead because you couldn't because of injuries.

It wouldn't surprise me if he both planned for no games and every game at the same time. Listening to him talk is like hearing some kind of experimental mind control tapes from Communist Russia.

It's all so close though Dougie, just out of reach isn't it? Don't worry you'll get it right.

Said it before - say it again. This season has all the hallmarks of the last time we dropped into Division 3.

What goes around....

I think I missed the Forum turnaround where we now rate Iles as a reliable interpreter of events! when did this happen??

Who's the liar Bish?

[StaffsTrotter]

Apparently, according to Marc Iles, he picks the team 3 weeks(!) in advance and tells the players when they are and aren't playing. He only deviates from this when there are injuries. No wonder the players don't look fvckin' motivated.

He's killing this club

That can't be right.

He'd have to be mad to do tha.......



Ah, OK.


If that really is even vaguely true then I'm bringing bed-sheets to the next game.

If you recall it fits with comments by Eagles in a post match interview a few weeks ago which I'd flagged, whereby he said he'd been told he wouldn't be playing in away games. So I'm not surprised if he's doing it for every player.

But hey ho, perhaps Eagles was lying, perhaps I misheard him or perhaps taking too much notice of words - what % of communication is it

[SmokinFrazier]

Apparently, according to Marc Iles, he picks the team 3 weeks(!) in advance and tells the players when they are and aren't playing. He only deviates from this when there are injuries. No wonder the players don't look fvckin' motivated.

He's killing this club

That can't be right.

He'd have to be mad to do tha.......



Ah, OK.


If that really is even vaguely true then I'm bringing bed-sheets to the next game.

If you recall it fits with comments by Eagles in a post match interview a few weeks ago which I'd flagged, whereby he said he'd been told he wouldn't be playing in away games. So I'm not surprised if he's doing it for every player.

But hey ho, perhaps Eagles was lying, perhaps I misheard him or perhaps taking too much notice of words - what % of communication is it

There's also the comment Freedman made a few weeks ago, where he said that he tells his strikers when they'll be playing and for how long, such as 'Beckford will be playing the next 5 games' or whatever.

Some of the these things which are starting to come out are really shocking and I don't think it's any wonder the players seem so downtrodden under Freedman.

[thebish]

blimey - you really are easily shocked....

[thebish]

Who's the liar Bish?

dunno - why do you ask?

[jaffka]

For those out of contract as well and who know they are moving elsewhere regardless of how well or crap they do, can we really expect anything but crap performances?

[boltonboris]

Sam Allardyce did very similar with team selections and making sure players didn't play too many games. I'm sure that Freedman deviates based on form, but the scientific approach to picking a team is hardly something scandalous.

I'm glad that there seems to be a structure. A plan. But whatever the fvck it is he's doing, isn't working for him. I know 'football people' are stubborn, single minded and focused on what they think they're best at, but surely, they earn their money by implementing changes on things that clearly aren't successful.

If he can't adapt himself to something different, then we're all on a hiding to nothing

[BWFC_Insane]

Sam Allardyce did very similar with team selections and making sure players didn't play too many games. I'm sure that Freedman deviates based on form, but the scientific approach to picking a team is hardly something scandalous.

I'm glad that there seems to be a structure. A plan. But whatever the fvck it is he's doing, isn't working for him. I know 'football people' are stubborn, single minded and focused on what they think they're best at, but surely, they earn their money by implementing changes on things that clearly aren't successful.

If he can't adapt himself to something different, then we're all on a hiding to nothing

Absolutely. And with all things it's the devil in the detail that matters. If a player is demonstrably having great effect on the team week in week out and is fresh enough to play, I'd hope any previous plans to rest him were ditched. I think it very much depends how it is done.

As for things not working, it is always a balance between whether it really isn't working or whether there are other factors coming into play.

It's like last night I think the system and tactic worked. We just didn't take our chances and they did. Bottom line people will say it didn't "work" but all depends how you view it.

[coffeymagic]

I thought he never planned more than three games ahead because you couldn't because of injuries.

It wouldn't surprise me if he both planned for no games and every game at the same time. Listening to him talk is like hearing some kind of experimental mind control tapes from Communist Russia.

It's all so close though Dougie, just out of reach isn't it? Don't worry you'll get it right.

Said it before - say it again. This season has all the hallmarks of the last time we dropped into Division 3.

What goes around....

I think I missed the Forum turnaround where we now rate Iles as a reliable interpreter of events! when did this happen??

I don't know if you thought I was making this up (which I'll admit I do quite often do) or that Dougie was speaking in forked tongues again.

I'm sure I heard him waffling on about not being able to plan anymore than a handful of games in advance.

He doesn't know what he's on about does he?

[jaffka]

The course of the season, tells me that whatever the plan is, it isn't working.

[thebish]

I thought he never planned more than three games ahead because you couldn't because of injuries.

It wouldn't surprise me if he both planned for no games and every game at the same time. Listening to him talk is like hearing some kind of experimental mind control tapes from Communist Russia.

It's all so close though Dougie, just out of reach isn't it? Don't worry you'll get it right.

Said it before - say it again. This season has all the hallmarks of the last time we dropped into Division 3.

What goes around....

I think I missed the Forum turnaround where we now rate Iles as a reliable interpreter of events! when did this happen??

I don't know if you thought I was making this up (which I'll admit I do quite often do) or that Dougie was speaking in forked tongues again.

I'm sure I heard him waffling on about not being able to plan anymore than a handful of games in advance.

He doesn't know what he's on about does he?

nowt to do with YOU making anything up!

no - what I mean is that Iles is very capable of making a headline that doesn't totally fairly match what has actually been said/done... DSB posted a pretty good example of Iles doing just this a couple of days ago... whether that amounts to "lying" or "making it up" you'd have to judge for yourself - but Iles is a journalist and you could argue that it is part of his job to take summat quite mundane and ordinary and make it sound much sexier/alarminger/bizarrer/controversialer... I'm just saying that's a possibility in this case before throwing yet another tomahawk at Dougie!

[boltonboris]

It wasn't a headline. It was something that DF said directly to him and Iles used that to defend his selection policy.

Iles wasn't trying to be sensationalist or have it as papertalk. It wasn't even mentioned in the paper.