tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2408401490139781121.post3745988496882323726..comments2020-12-06T13:08:51.745+00:00Comments on The Trentender: Good luck Dougie, you'll need itTrentenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03973637965397410912noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2408401490139781121.post-31633253005436647772015-02-02T11:24:01.436+00:002015-02-02T11:24:01.436+00:00OK - I can accept your point concerning the stats,...OK - I can accept your point concerning the stats, although I would argue that championship club management stats are more relevant in this case. On Fawaz: Just feel as though Fawaz was in an impossible position with regards to the press and the fans. Should he have waited until we were in the bottom 3 and fighting to stay in the league whilst boasting the divisions poorest form? Fans would have castigated him for not acting sooner. As it is, some will take the simplistic approach a la Pat Murphy and call him trigger happy. I think the fans should take into account the lack of experience of the English Football League that Fawaz possessed when he came in. Sure, he was trigger happy to begin with. With hindsight and looking at Bristol City now, maybe Steve Cotterill could have been given a chance. Fawaz came in with big, but naive ideas with regard to the championship. In my opinion, the only real trigger happy sacking was Sean O'D's and that was, I believe, because he hadn't yet learned the need for stability - Look at the others - Mcleish was simply a hasty and wrong appointment - you only had to see the way the team played (or should I say 'didn't play') under him. Billy Davies's insanity wasn't apparant in the beginning although he did, for a while, produce results and good performances at the cost of destroying all good feeling within the club; Gary Brazil was always going to be temporary and shouldn't really count and Stuart, love him as a legend, and I do, just doesn't have that managerial touch. We should give Dougie Freedman our backing. No-one can see into the future but if he can tighten that defence up get some clean sheets behind us we should at least be safe this season. Antonio is a talent but has been relied on far too much - he has great strengths but also weaknesses particularly in ungainliness and lack of ball control. He needs to be one of several outlets, not our only hope! I believe Stuart's emphasis on Antonio is one of the factors in our poor form. We need to play to feet. Using Stuart's long ball tactic, we at least needed to have someone up front who could hold a ball until support arrived and only Matty Fryatt has shown any sembelence of that skill, and he's been injured only too often. If we had continued with Stuart, we'd have been facing the simple footballing formula: Inability to keep a clean sheet + lack of goals = relegation. We have on paper one of the best squads in the division. The players have talent. It had to be the system that was flawed.Jurassic_Clemhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07609867916678066719noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2408401490139781121.post-24591712818158068102015-02-02T09:24:14.736+00:002015-02-02T09:24:14.736+00:00Thanks for the comment - you've misread though...Thanks for the comment - you've misread though. I'm talking about his win percentage at Man City (35.42) which many judged him by before he'd even took charge. If we're to judge Freedman blindly by the same statistic then many will write him off before he even comes through the door. I agree the form is huge cause for concern but the sheer number of managers under Fawaz has to put the spotlight on him now. Trentenderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03973637965397410912noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2408401490139781121.post-36779800135043233712015-02-02T00:23:12.357+00:002015-02-02T00:23:12.357+00:00Interesting piece but you should get your facts ri...Interesting piece but you should get your facts right. The incorrect fact included here - third paragraph: That Stuart had a better win percentage than Dougie had both at Palace and Bolton... Actually Dougie's win percentage was better both at Crystal Palace and at Bolton than Stuart's (see bottom of post). Admittedly not by much but then he inherited a relegation form team at Palace and Bolton and took them both up the table until it eventually ended in tears at Bolton. Sometimes it goes that way even for the best managers. Stuart unfortunately has been consistently less than moderate in his results and his teams' performances as a manager. I wish it were different - he's a club legend and a lovely guy. But it's all about hearts and heads and which should rule. I'm sure Fawaz has been concerned for a few weeks. It's his club and his responsibility to ensure the clubs future. He has acted hopefully before it's too late. I wouldn't call this sacking trigger happy as much of the press do and as you seem to imply. Most other championship clubs would have sacked Stuart 3 or 4 weeks ago. One other thing to consider - Stuart's stats are swayed by his fantastic start/honeymoon period. Some would consider his form over the past 3 months little short of appalling.<br /><br />Actual stats:<br /><br />SP Win % 31.25 NF<br /><br />DF Win % 34.78 CP<br />DF Win % 33.66 BWJurassic_Clemhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07609867916678066719noreply@blogger.com