His mate George Eleanor called it when we were all getting fuzzy in the gusset about Deano last season.
They both when doing their predicted 1-24s had us as basically shit or bust, and it would all come down to "how good is Dean Holden"
I think there is a little bit more to it than that and Ali covered it in todays pod, we have no top down strategy and a squad with players from Lee Bowyers time, Adkins time, Jackos time, Garners time and now some Dean Holden players. The clubs who have gotten it right are clubs that have used the modern structure of director of football/technical director as it should be and identified a way they are going to play and a long term strategy and recruited everyone to fulfill that strategy. QPR are doing something similar to us, lurching from one type of character and manager to another and expecting things to change.
Ben Garner was meant to be the full.on attacking 4-3 maestro but was trying to do it with about 35% of the playing staff necessary to pull that off. Bowyer and Jacko I think were fairly similar in that they looked to play with an intensity, lots of one touch and working the ball to the byline to be put into the danger zone between the 6 yard line and the penalty spot, god knows what Adkins was up to, I hold my hands up there but he seemed like a decent bloke.
Whoever comes in will have the same problem the last few managers have had, they are going to have to embrace pragmatism and not the eutopia of their dream system learned from their coaching courses. Be hard to beat, retain possession or play the percentages, play a system that fits the players you have not the system you would play given exactly the personel you desire to play inverted wingbacks in a 3511 343 whatever
Swansea for example are well known for passing, possession football, therefore all their managers for a long time have been ones who've followed that ethos.
I agree entirely that our squad is a mess, because under TS we never had a set style. It almost doesn't matter what that style is, as long as the club sticks to it and brings in coaches who like to play in that way. That way if they are "given" players by a Technical Director, they should be the type of player they weren't expecting.
Exactly what I am saying. Swansea, Brentford, Brighton to a lesser extent Barnsley had success doing it recruiting players to fulfil set roles in a very determined way if playing the game but it came unstuck there, kudos to them for trying it though
I keep saying it, him and George Elek regularly show up the full timers for their lack of knowledge of the football league and Ali & George's phenomenal knowledge of all the 72 clubs outside of the Premier league.
I keep saying it, him and George Elek regularly show up the full timers for their lack of knowledge of the football league and Ali & George's phenomenal knowledge of all the 72 clubs outside of the Premier league.
They also predicted that we'd finish fourth at the start of the season
I keep saying it, him and George Elek regularly show up the full timers for their lack of knowledge of the football league and Ali & George's phenomenal knowledge of all the 72 clubs outside of the Premier league.
They also predicted that we'd finish fourth at the start of the season
There was an enormous caveat with that though, it was a case of "Charlton have a decent squad on paper, games aren't played on paper but if Dean Holden and the squad on paper come good Charlton should be there or thereabouts"
I did clock the winky so I'm more gumming than biting
I keep saying it, him and George Elek regularly show up the full timers for their lack of knowledge of the football league and Ali & George's phenomenal knowledge of all the 72 clubs outside of the Premier league.
They also predicted that we'd finish fourth at the start of the season
There was an enormous caveat with that though, it was a case of "Charlton have a decent squad on paper, games aren't played on paper but if Dean Holden and the squad on paper come good Charlton should be there or thereabouts"
I did clock the winky so I'm more gumming than biting
Quite hard to predict before the transfer window ended. Most of us were very optimistic at that point as our business had been pretty good, we just had a nightmare august on and off the pitch
I keep saying it, him and George Elek regularly show up the full timers for their lack of knowledge of the football league and Ali & George's phenomenal knowledge of all the 72 clubs outside of the Premier league.
They also predicted that we'd finish fourth at the start of the season
There was an enormous caveat with that though, it was a case of "Charlton have a decent squad on paper, games aren't played on paper but if Dean Holden and the squad on paper come good Charlton should be there or thereabouts"
I did clock the winky so I'm more gumming than biting
I recall them saying their reservations were around Holden as a manager more than the squad at the time of the preview. Either way, I got quite excited as they know their onions. They'd had us down for a midtable finish the year before and were spot on. I've heard them opine on a recent podcast that they've earmarked us for a decent season in 2024/25.
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I agree entirely that our squad is a mess, because under TS we never had a set style. It almost doesn't matter what that style is, as long as the club sticks to it and brings in coaches who like to play in that way. That way if they are "given" players by a Technical Director, they should be the type of player they weren't expecting.
I did clock the winky so I'm more gumming than biting