I have little time for NJ but he is here and needs to be given the season to do his thing
Like you I have little time for him but I'll go even further & say we should stick by him for 2+ years. No point bringing in a new manager who will want different players for a different system. Just more yearly churn of players.
Problem at the moment is that the 'churn of players' over the summer has not improved the team. The only new player to be consistently good is Mitchell, and the defence has improved partly as a result of him. The midfield is just as pedestrian as last season and our large collection of forwards seem incapable of scoring (unlike the man they replaced).
Who has been good though? Jones, Coventry, Gillesphey, Ramsay, players who either signed in January or required rebuilding entirely as a player. Which should indicate that maybe we need a bit of time for players to settle in. Add to that he's improved our atrocious goalkeeping situation and improved our defence no end (20 goals conceded this time last season compared to 7 this season). The midfield does need to improve and you can see where the work will need to go in but last season was about survival at all costs, this one is about adapting to a new way and it's a lot for a team to adapt to. We have a lot of strikers we already had - Campbell, Kanu, Chuks, Leaburn - and we brought in two strikers in place of May; Godden and Ahadme. They have 3 goals between them so far, May has 4. There's loads of areas that can improve but we all would have taken 3 points off top spot 7 games in before the opening day at Wigan. The dreary style makes it easier to be concerned but there's more to be hopeful about than despairing about I reckon
Talk of sacking NJ is madness, we are only a handful of games into the season and whilst not playing brilliantly we are in the play off positions. Give the team a few months to bed in with miles and Edwards coming back we should improve.
Are people actually talking about sacking NJ? Madness if so, especially as I’m pretty sure he has a long term contract so would be an expensive mistake to make.
No people are not. Three posts were added to this thread today, the first since July and in my post I said if things turn sour I won’t be surprised if NJ is gone by Christmas.
I never said I hope he is, I never said he needs to go, I merely said I wouldn’t be surprised.
But in true CL style the thread takes a detour round the houses
Can't see him leaving but being a Welshman I would imagine the chance of managing Cardiff would be a huge draw for NJ. He has left jobs early before, I wouldn't rule it out. Hope he stays as we need the stability.
Can't see him leaving but being a Welshman I would imagine the chance of managing Cardiff would be a huge draw for NJ. He has left jobs early before, I wouldn't rule it out. Hope he stays as we need the stability.
Would get a hefty pay off from his contract on top of another nice deal.
Can't see him leaving but being a Welshman I would imagine the chance of managing Cardiff would be a huge draw for NJ. He has left jobs early before, I wouldn't rule it out. Hope he stays as we need the stability.
Would get a hefty pay off from his contract on top of another nice deal.
Can't see him leaving but being a Welshman I would imagine the chance of managing Cardiff would be a huge draw for NJ. He has left jobs early before, I wouldn't rule it out. Hope he stays as we need the stability.
Would get a hefty pay off from his contract on top of another nice deal.
Would make a change for us not to be paying someone off for once !
Sometimes I feel like some clubs just are not worthy of happiness because of the nonsense their supporters, no matter how many, show on a regular basis whenever something slightly negative happens. We are one of those clubs.
Anyone even thinking of NJ leaving is anything but the most ridiculous thought for a very, very long time, is not worth listening to and I will ignore from this point on.
If Jones did leave (spoiler alert, he won’t) then we could do a lot worse. You don’t want to rip things up and start again mid-season unless things are going badly. Jackson has built a Wimbledon side that plays 3-5-2, is physically strong and very good defensively, sounds familiar
If Jones did leave (spoiler alert, he won’t) then we could do a lot worse. You don’t want to rip things up and start again mid-season unless things are going badly. Jackson has built a Wimbledon side that plays 3-5-2, is physically strong and very good defensively, sounds familiar
Unfairly got the boot in my opinion and should have been given the start of the next season to put his stamp on the team.
I'm sure Jackson has improved in his time away but my god the football under him was bleak. One formation, one style no matter what. We saw more tactical variety from Jones against Blackpool than we saw the entire time Jackson was there. I watched more than half a season of Jaiyesimi at wingback and Clare at centre back and I will carry that trauma forever. And I say that as a certified Jackson apologist. I think the Oxford game at home broke my brain. Pretty sure it was Inniss, Clare and Purrington at CB, DJ at left wingback somehow, a midfield 3 of Dobson, Gilbey and Morgan and Elliot Lee and Jonathan Leko up front. Criminal.
If Jones did leave (spoiler alert, he won’t) then we could do a lot worse. You don’t want to rip things up and start again mid-season unless things are going badly. Jackson has built a Wimbledon side that plays 3-5-2, is physically strong and very good defensively, sounds familiar
Unfairly got the boot in my opinion and should have been given the start of the next season to put his stamp on the team.
He would have failed had he been given that chance, so I’m happy he didn’t actually. No one was taking us up under Sandgaard, and Jackson wasn’t ready, but he’s a much better manager now than he was then
I'm sure Jackson has improved in his time away but my god the football under him was bleak. One formation, one style no matter what. We saw more tactical variety from Jones against Blackpool than we saw the entire time Jackson was there. I watched more than half a season of Jaiyesimi at wingback and Clare at centre back and I will carry that trauma forever. And I say that as a certified Jackson apologist. I think the Oxford game at home broke my brain. Pretty sure it was Inniss, Clare and Purrington at CB, DJ at left wingback somehow, a midfield 3 of Dobson, Gilbey and Morgan and Elliot Lee and Jonathan Leko up front. Criminal.
It was his first job, he took a poor squad from near the bottom 4 up to mid-table. He wasn’t ready then, but he is a lot more tactically versatile now and getting good results at Wimbledon. The Oxford game and that run of form we had no fit strikers, and as I said our squad was poor anyway, Pep Guardiola would have struggled to get results in that run of games
The football isn’t great, but if we ever did need a Jones replacement because he got stolen, then continuing with similar would probably be a good idea considering we’ve built a squad for it. It won’t happen now because we’ve got Jones for the long term, but if it happens in years to come then Jackson could be the replacement if he continues to develop and gets a promotion under his belt
Nobody wants him gone. But that doesn't mean he should be beyond criticism if he does crazy things like dropping Mitchell. Had he said "I didn't like his attitude" or something similar, people would say fair enough. But to use the excuse that it was because he wanted us to play more football, that just makes no sense. He keeps saying that the better football will come, but there's no sign of that, it appears to be getting worse, not better. I think people just want him to see, what we are all seeing, no creativity whatsoever in midfield, and then do something to address that.
Talk of sacking NJ is madness, we are only a handful of games into the season and whilst not playing brilliantly we are in the play off positions. Give the team a few months to bed in with miles and Edwards coming back we should improve.
This, absolutely bonkers to have talk about sacking him.
Er, there wasn’t any talk that he should be sacked. You’re just reacting to another post saying any talk of him being sacked is madness, which there wasn’t. Unbelievable, do people actually read this thread?
NJ has zero chance of managing in the Championship, after Stoke and Southampton he needs to prove he can manage a successful team and get them promoted.
I would not be surprised if things go sour we will sack him by Christmas
To be fair this post is where the sacking thing started, it's just got modified a bit as the thread goes on. Chinese whispers etc.
Comments
I never said I hope he is, I never said he needs to go, I merely said I wouldn’t be surprised.
But in true CL style the thread takes a detour round the houses
Hope he stays as we need the stability.
Would get a hefty pay off from his contract on top of another nice deal.
If Cardiff make the approach though, and are willing to pay comp, I do think we will be looking for a new manager.
Fingers crossed Cardiff have someone else in mind.
Anyone even thinking of NJ leaving is anything but the most ridiculous thought for a very, very long time, is not worth listening to and I will ignore from this point on.
Had he said "I didn't like his attitude" or something similar, people would say fair enough.
But to use the excuse that it was because he wanted us to play more football, that just makes no sense.
He keeps saying that the better football will come, but there's no sign of that, it appears to be getting worse, not better.
I think people just want him to see, what we are all seeing, no creativity whatsoever in midfield, and then do something to address that.