Now he's gone, who's next?

[Ianmooreslovechild]

Freedman would be expensive and a gamble. Fair play to Eddie if he goes down that route, but I can see Freedman staying loyal to Palace and at the very best, Palace insisting on big compensation.

Expensive, messy and potentially not a big attraction for Freedman.

Be surprised if thats the route we take, but then again, surprised with most things that happen at BWFC nowadays....

I would be too for the reasons you mention but my impression is that he would be less of a gamble than coyle was especially if he brings along Lawrence who has a wealth of knowledge and was a very good manager himself.
Souness would in many ways be a much bigger gamble and McCarthy perhaps a safer bet but then there is the problem of staying up which he has so not been too good at. In a way I worry about McCarthys mind set. At wolves he continually said staying up was there only target to the extent where it seemed his expectation was to scrape by. He seemed too happy to set the bar low. Nothing wrong with realism but surely he should have been talking about improving on the clubs positon and becoming mid table rather than just surviving. Compare his approach/attitiude to Pulis at stoke and it's easy to see how the two have ended up where they are.

Not that long ago, Pulis was considered by most to be a lower league, long ball, negative, dour, old fashioned, old school, dinosaur of a football manager.

Now he's considered to be a canny, premiership, long ball, negative, dour old school manager.....

Ultimately though we just don't have the luxury of worrying about the premiership. Lets get there first.....

No denying that. The point I was making with mcCarthy was that he constantly seemed happy to set his sights too low and eventually they went down. They never really progressed.
Pulis is almost like an extreme version of allardyce. Stoke do play long ball rely on setpieces and are exceptionally organised. Pulis does try to integrate some flair though and crucially they look very well set because there is a pragmatic core a sense of direction and an expectation of progress.There may well be a few stoke fans who moan about him but should he ever move on they will most likely look back on this as a golden era as they slip back down to the championship

[Lost Leopard Spot]

Thursday....

[norm the jedi]

If anything that Ben article, if correct would make Souness more likely...
Not much point trying to split big Mick and Terry Connor up which just causes issues with what's here..
Souness has not worked for six seasons so he's probably not bothered so much about the small basic with a bonus for promotion..
Not keen mainly because six years is a long time away from the day to day...
That and the fact he's a. blue nose
Still he's not a, ginger £&@t with an unblemished record of mediocrity and ultimate unemployment...
Things are looking up..
I'd rather mick mcCarthy personally but that Ben article would suggest it ain't that likely, personally I'd have thought he'd fancy taking us to wolves to thumb his nose at em... Amused that we want to tone down the pre match hype?

[Lord Kangana]

Like I say, I'm getting October 2007 all over. Graeme Souness, Steve Bruce, Gary Megson, Irueta becomes Graeme Souness, Mick McCarthy, OGS, Michael Appleton.

Maybe its time the club started thinking differently?

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

How long does OGS want us to wait? I've suddenly gone all patient.

Bolton is Not For Him. He said so.

Partial quote. I'm patient.

OK. I'm partially patient though... how long do we give him: end of mouldy's season (Nov), end of Euro-stuff (Jan)? we could be on the way to relegation by then if it all goes tits up in the interim.

As long as it takes to make Souness go away. I've said on here before – either during the process of hiring Megson or replacing him – that I'd rather get relegated with Megson than be managed by Souness; we're in a lower division now but I still feel the same. I distrust Souness that strongly.

I was disappointed when we hired Megson, and disliked much of what he did. I ended up disappointed and annoyed by Coyle's shortcomings. I've followed Bolton under 10 permanent managers and have never hated any of them, but if Souness arrives that run will end.

[norm the jedi]

How long does OGS want us to wait? I've suddenly gone all patient.

Bolton is Not For Him. He said so.

Partial quote. I'm patient.

OK. I'm partially patient though... how long do we give him: end of mouldy's season (Nov), end of Euro-stuff (Jan)? we could be on the way to relegation by then if it all goes tits up in the interim.

As long as it takes to make Souness go away. I've said on here before – either during the process of hiring Megson or replacing him – that I'd rather get relegated with Megson than be managed by Souness; we're in a lower division now but I still feel the same. I distrust Souness that strongly.

I was disappointed when we hired Megson, and disliked much of what he did. I ended up disappointed and annoyed by Coyle's shortcomings. I've followed Bolton under 10 permanent managers and have never hated any of them, but if Souness arrives that run will end.

Always good to try new things dsb ...

Or may be not...

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Like I say, I'm getting October 2007 all over. Graeme Souness, Steve Bruce, Gary Megson, Irueta becomes Graeme Souness, Mick McCarthy, OGS, Michael Appleton.

Maybe its time the club started thinking differently?

To be fair to them - which I don't have to be - we seem to have been linked with a few different types, and there's a marked difference in the apparent insistence on fitting into a structure rather than hiring your in-laws. Appleton, for instance, is a very interesting shout, albeit one with a lot of risk (but not so much if he accepts a low contract - Pompey could pop at any time - and works with our coaches so we're reducing hiring overheads). Wild Irureta rumour aside I can't recall an OGS-like "left-field from abroad" suggestion in 2007, certainly not a young title-winner.

Maybe there just isn't the choice, and/or we just don't have the same pull.

[BWFC_Insane]

Like I say, I'm getting October 2007 all over. Graeme Souness, Steve Bruce, Gary Megson, Irueta becomes Graeme Souness, Mick McCarthy, OGS, Michael Appleton.

Maybe its time the club started thinking differently?

Which is a statement that gets used a lot, but I'm not sure what it means.

How do you want them to think differently?

They are clearly and have clearly looked at younger up and coming managers. They may even still apoint one.

They are looking "reportedly" at having a different structure with Lee in charge of coaching and again reportedly, some sort of footballing director in the mix.

But I'm not sure, what you actually expect them to do. They can't magic good managers up from nowhere.

If OGS didn't want it for example, that is hardly the clubs fault.

[ohjimmyjimmy]

At some point your Mccarthy's and Souness' have taken their first step down the coaching & managerial route.
At some point more recently OGS has done the same.

At some poijnt a good new manager or coaching team will have to do the same, and have their first successful job that launches them or has them discovered.

I do like the noises coming from the current camp setup re. the attitude, approach & fitness , integrating the science etc - but worry long term if JP for example is too closely linked with the current player set up, and that it may all be a novelty that goes spectaculalrly wrong when it comes down to the nitty gritty of axing players, making decisions etc and separating himself from being one of the boys.

I'm happy if they give it a go for a couple of games and see, however.

[ohjimmyjimmy]

Another interesting (?) theory is that the very best managers were pretty average as players.

I think it's been mooted here before as a failing of the likes of Roy Keane, that their career was so succesful and were used to playing with such quality players, that they get frustrated with and can't really work with players who can't meet their standards?

[Lord Kangana]

Pru will be along to correct you on that soon enough.

A brief flush of excitement and possibility has been replaced by mehness for me. I'm holding out for OGS like DSB. Hope triumphs over experience.

[Lost Leopard Spot]

Another interesting (?) theory is that the very best managers were pretty average as players.

I think it's been mooted here before as a failing of the likes of Roy Keane, that their career was so succesful and were used to playing with such quality players, that they get frustrated with and can't really work with players who can't meet their standards?

Which probably explains why Psycho Pearce headbutted one the other night... "Oi, you, serb, you didn't meet my expectations..." [Nut]

[ohjimmyjimmy]

Pru will be along to correct you on that soon enough.

Didn't say it was my theory

[ohjimmyjimmy]

Pru will be along to correct you on that soon enough.

A brief flush of excitement and possibility has been replaced by mehness for me. I'm holding out for OGS like DSB. Hope triumphs over experience.

Let's hope he wasn't put off by perma-fixture Sammy Lee maybe having to be shoe-hirned into any potential set up.

[BL3]

At some poijnt a good new manager or coaching team will have to do the same, and have their first successful job that launches them or has them discovered.

They need to do their learning in the lower leagues rather than at a club which needs to win promotion this season.

[ohjimmyjimmy]

At some poijnt a good new manager or coaching team will have to do the same, and have their first successful job that launches them or has them discovered.

They need to do their learning in the lower leagues rather than at a club which needs to win promotion this season.

If the only crriteria they're going off is 'must win promotion this season', then i suspect McCarthy would already be firmly ensconsed.

I suspect the board are looking a little more long-term (but no longer than 2 years) but granted no experience whatsover is not a good selling-point for the project.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

I'm holding out for OGS like DSB.

For the record, LK, DSB would like OGS but would settle for ABS, even ODB. And ODB OD'd in NYC eight years ago.

[BL3]

At some poijnt a good new manager or coaching team will have to do the same, and have their first successful job that launches them or has them discovered.

They need to do their learning in the lower leagues rather than at a club which needs to win promotion this season.

If the only crriteria they're going off is 'must win promotion this season', then i suspect McCarthy would already be firmly ensconsed.

I suspect the board are looking a little more long-term (but no longer than 2 years) but granted no experience whatsover is not a good selling-point for the project.

Every indication is that they're looking at winning promotion this season. Gartside has said it often enough. McCarthy may not want the job.

[BL3]

Why are people so fixated on Solskjaer? I suspect that if any of the leading candidates were managing in Norway, they'd be in with a chance of winning the League over there.

[Lord Kangana]

The problems will arise when:

1) They'll all be asking for longer than a 9 month contract
2) They'll all be wanting to bring "their boys" with them.

I have a feeling this is why Souness's's' name has suddenly surfaced.