Dougie Freedman - New Manager

[James B]

palace going very well at the moment. definitely a promotion contender.

but i could make cases for about 12 teams tbh. such a tight league.

[Ianmooreslovechild]

edit: oops - make that 5-0 (and Zaha didn't get any of them...)

Many in the media, and allot of the greed league sky "armchair fans" keep saying we are a one man (Zaha) team, meanwhile those of us that actually go to watch our team play are fully aware that our team has brilliance right across it. Exciting times.

They are indeed and good luck to you.There's been a few here bemoaning that we werent in for holloway.I really like the fella and his attitude but we didnt really need exciting we needed organising and tightening up.In the long term I feel Freedmans approach may get us up and have a chance of keeping us there.

With Holloway you'll never have a dull moment,interviews will be honest funny and frank and there will be goals.It's certainly an approach that could see you get promoted. Whether Holloway can adapt more successfully and keep a team up this time round is a bit questionable but you'd certainly get a few days in the sun.

[Bijou Bob]

edit: oops - make that 5-0 (and Zaha didn't get any of them...)

Many in the media, and allot of the greed league sky "armchair fans" keep saying we are a one man (Zaha) team, meanwhile those of us that actually go to watch our team play are fully aware that our team has brilliance right across it. Exciting times.

They are indeed and good luck to you.There's been a few here bemoaning that we werent in for holloway.I really like the fella and his attitude but we didnt really need exciting we needed organising and tightening up.In the long term I feel Freedmans approach may get us up and have a chance of keeping us there.

With Holloway you'll never have a dull moment,interviews will be honest funny and frank and there will be goals.It's certainly an approach that could see you get promoted. Whether Holloway can adapt more successfully and keep a team up this time round is a bit questionable but you'd certainly get a few days in the sun.

For this, please read "A few days where you'll be playing teams who have £100 million worth of players on the bench and be thinking, what's the point of even turning up".

[Ianmooreslovechild]

edit: oops - make that 5-0 (and Zaha didn't get any of them...)

Many in the media, and allot of the greed league sky "armchair fans" keep saying we are a one man (Zaha) team, meanwhile those of us that actually go to watch our team play are fully aware that our team has brilliance right across it. Exciting times.

They are indeed and good luck to you.There's been a few here bemoaning that we werent in for holloway.I really like the fella and his attitude but we didnt really need exciting we needed organising and tightening up.In the long term I feel Freedmans approach may get us up and have a chance of keeping us there.

With Holloway you'll never have a dull moment,interviews will be honest funny and frank and there will be goals.It's certainly an approach that could see you get promoted. Whether Holloway can adapt more successfully and keep a team up this time round is a bit questionable but you'd certainly get a few days in the sun.

For this, please read "A few days where you'll be playing teams who have £100 million worth of players on the bench and be thinking, what's the point of even turning up".

nah, I think holloways approach means you'll get the odd memorable win against the bigger teams,he is the mouse that roared but over a season playing an open game with players of a lower standard than the expensive ones(and big squads) they are up against may well lead to relegation. It's all about the journey though.I doubt that there are many in blackpool who are glad to see him go.

[CPFC4EVA]

Day out in the sun will do me
Every 10 years we get an "outing" to the top division, for one season of course, then back down again lol.

[Abdoulaye's Twin]

Day out in the sun will do me
Every 10 years we get an "outing" to the top division, for one season of course, then back down again lol.

The fashion seems to be relegated in season 2 these days

[thebish]

But McCarthy won on Saturday away at Birmingham. So does that make him a good or bad manager? I'm cconfused. I guess we'll have to wait for the next game before we can decide for sure.....

no - cos on aggregate he is 5-1 down - so he is shoite!

(even Coyle didn't ship 5 against Palace...)

[bwfcdan94]

Day out in the sun will do me
Every 10 years we get an "outing" to the top division, for one season of course, then back down again lol.

i think Zaha is one of the most overated players in years and will destroy his carrer by moving to one of the big guns and being s**t in the premiership. it will be like Freddy Adu but worse

[jonnycooper]

edit: oops - make that 5-0 (and Zaha didn't get any of them...)

Many in the media, and allot of the greed league sky "armchair fans" keep saying we are a one man (Zaha) team, meanwhile those of us that actually go to watch our team play are fully aware that our team has brilliance right across it. Exciting times.

I lumped a fiver on your palace side beating p/boro 2-1 on sat so cheers for that Ollie..

[Ianmooreslovechild]

Quite an interesting 5 page thread on the Bristol Rovers forum about Lennie Lawrence and Bolton. Seems most there think he was the brains behind their most successful spell of the last 20 years,with Paul Trollope, and when they ditched Lennie Trollope completely lost his way.
The naysayers point to his signings as being iffy and refer to his spending at cardiff and Grimsby as being damaging. Interesting stuff.Apparently the grimsby chairman said something about him spoending every penny he had . Odd comment really. As chairman you'd expect him to tell the manager what there is to spend and not moan about it after the fact.

Anyway tactics and organisation wise it sounds pretty solid and hopefully between him and freeman they will spend what they have wisely.

[officer_dibble]

Must be on a right wedge to swap a chance at promotion for this set of c*nts

[Armchair Wanderer]

From the armchair things seemed to have improved but it's a work in progress. These draws are disappointing though and maybe we won't go straight back up.

The description from the Palace fan comparing Dougie to a 60-year-old Italian manager might be why we're getting the draws - playing for a 1-0 but not quite getting it right yet. I remember a similar thing with BSA in the early-ish days losing/drawing the game by conceding late on.

I don't think you can go from having a squad of unfit, unorganized players to a squad of fit, organized players in.. 3 weeks (how long is it?)

Instead of 3 draws in a row would we be happier with a win and two losses?

[Harry Genshaw]

From the armchair things seemed to have improved but it's a work in progress. These draws are disappointing though and maybe we won't go straight back up.

The description from the Palace fan comparing Dougie to a 60-year-old Italian manager might be why we're getting the draws - playing for a 1-0 but not quite getting it right yet. I remember a similar thing with BSA in the early-ish days losing/drawing the game by conceding late on.

I don't think you can go from having a squad of unfit, unorganized players to a squad of fit, organized players in.. 3 weeks (how long is it?)

Instead of 3 draws in a row would we be happier with a win and two losses?

Nail on head.

[BL3]

From the armchair things seemed to have improved

In what way? Coyle was criticised for continually changing the team, leaving out players like Petrov and Sordell and picking players out of position. Yesterday we had yet another midfield line-up, N'gog playing on the wing and no sign of Petrov or Sordell. None of which would matter if we were picking up 3 points, but we're not.

[bobo the clown]

From the armchair things seemed to have improved

In what way? Coyle was criticised for continually changing the team, leaving out players like Petrov and Sordell and picking players out of position. Yesterday we had yet another midfield line-up, N'gog playing on the wing and no sign of Petrov or Sordell. None of which would matter if we were picking up 3 points, but we're not.

Just so I can locate your viewpoint BL3, is it that you are saying Coyle was unfairly treated or that Freedman is a poor alternative ?

Or are you just being disagreeable for fun ?

I don't mind whichever, just so I known the basis for your antagonistic positions at the moment.

[Armchair Wanderer]

From the armchair things seemed to have improved

In what way? Coyle was criticised for continually changing the team, leaving out players like Petrov and Sordell and picking players out of position. Yesterday we had yet another midfield line-up, N'gog playing on the wing and no sign of Petrov or Sordell. None of which would matter if we were picking up 3 points, but we're not.

Didn't watch the game but imho he's just come in and is figuring out things.

I have no idea but at Palace he had Zaha on the wing so maybe he's trying to find someone who can do similar stuff. Maybe Petrov and Sordell aren't his kind of players and/or are rubbish in training. I'm happy to bash OC about signing players and not playing them but there seems to be a problem with Sordell because no manager wants to play him. I like Petrov as a player but he may not work hard enough in training, what with being 30+... or maybe he doesn't trackback and put the workrate in.

[bobo the clown]

He said thhat yesterday Petrov wasn't on the bench as a late decision due to Warnock having been ill in the week and wanting Eaves available in case he didn't manage it.

Warnock felt able to play but on 20m had to give in, which was why he went off.

Now, I personally, would want to see Petrov & Lee both start. With Spearing & Butterfield adding the sort of strength in the middle we've been lacking since Moo & Holden were at their best there is more possibility of that ... but there's a way to go yet.

[BL3]

Didn't watch the game but imho he's just come in and is figuring out things.

Petrov and N'gog changed the game against Cardiff at home. Petrov played on the wing and N'gog played up front. What's to 'figure out'? Shuffling a pack that didn't need shuffling was a criticism often leveled at the previous manager...

[BWFC_Insane]

From the armchair things seemed to have improved

In what way? Coyle was criticised for continually changing the team, leaving out players like Petrov and Sordell and picking players out of position. Yesterday we had yet another midfield line-up, N'gog playing on the wing and no sign of Petrov or Sordell. None of which would matter if we were picking up 3 points, but we're not.

Coyle was criticised for taking us down despite maintaining a 55M pound wage bill that would and should have put us around 12th.

For his shambolic organisation and for then telling everyone at the fans forum that the squad he had built this season, was a fantastic group and anything short of promotion would be failure and that this 'squad' would have been the same were we in the premiership and would have done well. Shortly after he took us to the bottom 6 of the championship, despite having the squad in his words 'he always wanted'.

I don't think it's a stretch to say his performance against those targets and words was piss poor.

I think it's becoming increasingly evident that whilst we have some good players we are woefully unbalanced and lacking in some key departments. I will admit that I have in the past overestimated this group of players and I still think we are under performing.

However, Coyle was paid a lot of money to do a job which he failed to do. Dougie is now being paid a lot of money to try and sort it out.

There are only two possibilities.

Either Coyle was causing the squad we have to underperform massively OR he assembled a squad he thought was ace but actually isn't.

Either way Coyle was a disaster, however you might want to paint it.

Dougie has had 4 games and IMO yesterday was the first poor result.

If you think the mess can be sorted out with a flick of the switch then your as naive as the guy you seem, to idolise.

Even Sam Allardyce couldn't do that from a very similar position!

[BL3]

He said thhat yesterday Petrov wasn't on the bench as a late decision due to Warnock having been ill in the week and wanting Eaves available in case he didn't manage it.

Warnock felt able to play but on 20m had to give in, which was why he went off.

Now, I personally, would want to see Petrov & Lee both start. With Spearing & Butterfield adding the sort of strength in the middle we've been lacking since Moo & Holden were at their best there is more possibility of that ... but there's a way to go yet.

This is our bench yesterday:

34 Lynch
02 Mears
05 Ream
08 Andrews
21 Pratley
27 Lee
17 Afobe

Seven subs and only two attacking options. At home. To Barnsley...