Hunt in

WestYorksRoyal
Hob Nob Addict
Posts: 7324
Joined: 15 Apr 2019 19:16

Re: Hunt in

by WestYorksRoyal » 13 Sep 2025 21:30

Esteban
WestYorksRoyal A lot of our problems seems to be mental and morale related. We've played well in spells this season. Last 20 minutes at Bolton, most of Wycombe, spells today. But we also look poor in spells. First 30 today could have cost us the game; instead 10 minutes in the second half did.

We haven't yet put together a performance over a whole game, but I don't agree with the no identity/no plan prognosis. We've seen flashes of how we want to play.

Get big characters like Ritchie and O'Connor available, get a couple of wins against weaker opposition for confidence and hopefully watch it comes together.

Hunt In!


I really hope you're right, but I'm not convinced, unfortunately.

I'm skeptical of myself being honest. I know I'm being influenced by my liking of the guy, but at the same time, I can see a path to it being a success.

What I will say is this isn't just the Twitter dickheads and bedwetters now. A lot of fans are turning, and he's probably not far away from having the entire fanbase against him. Out next fixtures are:

Orient (H) - Medium
Stockport (A) - Hard
Mansfield (H) - Easy

Fail to win any of these and I think the critical mass will turn against him. And you rarely see a manager salvage it after that happens.

Royal_jimmy
Hob Nob Addict
Posts: 5546
Joined: 10 Aug 2011 10:44
Location: Planet Earth

Re: Hunt in

by Royal_jimmy » 13 Sep 2025 22:17

Getthebeerens Hunt in

Think it’s been said on here before but I feel like it’s going to be a bit of a Selles first season start for us this year. (Hopefully not as bad) but I’m sure we will come out of it a stronger side. Paudie is clearly a big miss for us at the moment.

We have a new defence and a new front 3 and a set of tricky fixtures to start the season. I think we should have some more points on the board but not surprised by the slow start.


Under Selles even when we were shite there were games where performances weren't too bad like Posh at home, Cheltenham at home, away to Shrewsbury, Exeter away etc

Royal_jimmy
Hob Nob Addict
Posts: 5546
Joined: 10 Aug 2011 10:44
Location: Planet Earth

Re: Hunt in

by Royal_jimmy » 13 Sep 2025 22:18

morganb General consensus appears to be that we're not going to get promoted or even in the play offs this season.

So, so long as we're not at risk of relegation surely Couhig will keep Hunt In for this season

Assuming the plan is promotion next season, with a more stable squad and financial situation, then, if deserved, sack Hunt at the end of this season, get in a better manager who reinforces the side and goes all out for promotion next year

Also means less of a payoff required


Hunt won't get us promoted ever

West F
Member
Posts: 158
Joined: 14 Jul 2014 09:51

Re: Hunt in

by West F » 13 Sep 2025 22:29

Sutekh Can we have a thread for Hunt to shake it all about?
:)

Nice :)

West F
Member
Posts: 158
Joined: 14 Jul 2014 09:51

Re: Hunt in

by West F » 13 Sep 2025 22:38

Double post apologies. :oops: .
Last edited by West F on 14 Sep 2025 00:41, edited 1 time in total.


West F
Member
Posts: 158
Joined: 14 Jul 2014 09:51

Re: Hunt in

by West F » 13 Sep 2025 22:38

Royal_jimmy
Getthebeerens Hunt in

Think it’s been said on here before but I feel like it’s going to be a bit of a Selles first season start for us this year. (Hopefully not as bad) but I’m sure we will come out of it a stronger side. Paudie is clearly a big miss for us at the moment.

We have a new defence and a new front 3 and a set of tricky fixtures to start the season. I think we should have some more points on the board but not surprised by the slow start.


Under Selles even when we were shite there were games where performances weren't too bad like Posh at home, Cheltenham at home, away to Shrewsbury, Exeter away etc


Ruben gave up on his tactical vision in order to get results. He adopted a formation and plan that suited the players we had at the time. Noel, has coached the under 21s to play in the same way. The problem is that he doesn’t have the players to play a high line press with inverted forwards coupled to a tireless working striker. Noel is not playing in a way that suits the players he has. He will die on his hill if he will not adapt. Sacking Noel would be disastrous, given the fact that he has brought in his own players and any new manager would cast a critical eye over them and the squad. He will have until November to sort things out. No improvement at this point and even Redwood would get twitchy.

Getthebeerens
Member
Posts: 110
Joined: 29 Jul 2018 22:44

Re: Hunt in

by Getthebeerens » 13 Sep 2025 23:43

Royal_jimmy
Getthebeerens Hunt in

Think it’s been said on here before but I feel like it’s going to be a bit of a Selles first season start for us this year. (Hopefully not as bad) but I’m sure we will come out of it a stronger side. Paudie is clearly a big miss for us at the moment.

We have a new defence and a new front 3 and a set of tricky fixtures to start the season. I think we should have some more points on the board but not surprised by the slow start.


Under Selles even when we were shite there were games where performances weren't too bad like Posh at home, Cheltenham at home, away to Shrewsbury, Exeter away etc


Two of the teams you mentioned we played well against and lost under Selles are now propping up League 2.
Today was a hard fixture, playing away to 3rd in the league. I think a tricky fixture list and a new team is making things look a lot worse than it actually is.

User avatar
Snowflake Royal
Hob Nob Legend
Posts: 46835
Joined: 20 Jun 2017 17:51

Re: Hunt in

by Snowflake Royal » 14 Sep 2025 06:56

Anyone who wants him out now should be the ones going. Not the sort of fans who should be here. Just impatient, angry kneejerkers.

The opening games have been tough, we've lost a lot of our best players from last season and are bedding in new owners and a mostly new squad with an inexperienced manager.

Performances are disappointing, we're conceding too many poor goals. But the complaint a few weeks ago was we'd lost all our goals and can’t score. Our first three games we scored 1, our next four we've scored 6.

Hunt's started badly before, with people saying we wouldn't win another game, he's shit and he should go, and we finished 7th.

He's an ex player who's worked his way up through the coaching side in the Academy and did a great job under horrendous circumstances, and ungrateful pcunts have been talking about him not being good enough and getting sacked since about game 2 of the season.

Clubs who sack their manager this early are rightly ridiculed. Any manager, and Hunt more so, deserves 10 games to start the season before anyone even thinks about sacking, and then minimum five games under pressure to fix things. We're not even half way to the point sacking him should be considered an option.

What the oxf*rd does sacking him achieve? We still have the same squad. He's picking broadly the right team. Burns/Stickland will still make a couple of dangerous errors a game. Ahmed will still be a teenager learning ropes and having a few bad games. Improvements take time, shitting the bed about relegation is ridiculous at this point in the season. We're unlikely to be challenging for promotion this season whatever happens, although Orient won just 2 of their first 11 league games last year and Wellens still took them to 6th without being sacked.

So what's the rush even if Hunt doesn't prove good enough? There isn’t one. Just man babies throwing a tantrum because they didn't get what they wanted.

It's absolutely a no brainer he's going nowhere right now.

If we're still conceding a lot and with few points and wins in another 8 games, then it's time to start asking a question.

Sack every manager who starts badly or has an iffy run, and you’ll never have a good manager.

User avatar
The Cap
Hob Nob Regular
Posts: 1156
Joined: 26 May 2008 18:22
Location: 'Avin a larf

Re: Hunt in

by The Cap » 14 Sep 2025 07:49

Snowflake Royal Anyone who wants him out now should be the ones going. Not the sort of fans who should be here. Just impatient, angry kneejerkers.

The opening games have been tough, we've lost a lot of our best players from last season and are bedding in new owners and a mostly new squad with an inexperienced manager.

Performances are disappointing, we're conceding too many poor goals. But the complaint a few weeks ago was we'd lost all our goals and can’t score. Our first three games we scored 1, our next four we've scored 6.

Hunt's started badly before, with people saying we wouldn't win another game, he's shit and he should go, and we finished 7th.

He's an ex player who's worked his way up through the coaching side in the Academy and did a great job under horrendous circumstances, and ungrateful pcunts have been talking about him not being good enough and getting sacked since about game 2 of the season.

Clubs who sack their manager this early are rightly ridiculed. Any manager, and Hunt more so, deserves 10 games to start the season before anyone even thinks about sacking, and then minimum five games under pressure to fix things. We're not even half way to the point sacking him should be considered an option.

What the oxf*rd does sacking him achieve? We still have the same squad. He's picking broadly the right team. Burns/Stickland will still make a couple of dangerous errors a game. Ahmed will still be a teenager learning ropes and having a few bad games. Improvements take time, shitting the bed about relegation is ridiculous at this point in the season. We're unlikely to be challenging for promotion this season whatever happens, although Orient won just 2 of their first 11 league games last year and Wellens still took them to 6th without being sacked.

So what's the rush even if Hunt doesn't prove good enough? There isn’t one. Just man babies throwing a tantrum because they didn't get what they wanted.

It's absolutely a no brainer he's going nowhere right now.

If we're still conceding a lot and with few points and wins in another 8 games, then it's time to start asking a question.

Sack every manager who starts badly or has an iffy run, and you’ll never have a good manager.


Nice bit of wisdom in that last sentence SR :wink:


User avatar
RG30
Hob Nob Addict
Posts: 6536
Joined: 26 Jul 2005 20:42

Re: Hunt in

by RG30 » 14 Sep 2025 08:02

If Hunt was so good why did we fail to win a a game under him the year we got relegated? Why was he not appointed the full time manager before Selles got the job?

andrew1957
Hob Nob Regular
Posts: 4469
Joined: 29 Sep 2006 14:40
Location: Reading

Re: Hunt in

by andrew1957 » 14 Sep 2025 09:27

Snowflake Royal Anyone who wants him out now should be the ones going. Not the sort of fans who should be here. Just impatient, angry kneejerkers.

The opening games have been tough, we've lost a lot of our best players from last season and are bedding in new owners and a mostly new squad with an inexperienced manager.

Performances are disappointing, we're conceding too many poor goals. But the complaint a few weeks ago was we'd lost all our goals and can’t score. Our first three games we scored 1, our next four we've scored 6.

Hunt's started badly before, with people saying we wouldn't win another game, he's shit and he should go, and we finished 7th.

He's an ex player who's worked his way up through the coaching side in the Academy and did a great job under horrendous circumstances, and ungrateful pcunts have been talking about him not being good enough and getting sacked since about game 2 of the season.

Clubs who sack their manager this early are rightly ridiculed. Any manager, and Hunt more so, deserves 10 games to start the season before anyone even thinks about sacking, and then minimum five games under pressure to fix things. We're not even half way to the point sacking him should be considered an option.

What the oxf*rd does sacking him achieve? We still have the same squad. He's picking broadly the right team. Burns/Stickland will still make a couple of dangerous errors a game. Ahmed will still be a teenager learning ropes and having a few bad games. Improvements take time, shitting the bed about relegation is ridiculous at this point in the season. We're unlikely to be challenging for promotion this season whatever happens, although Orient won just 2 of their first 11 league games last year and Wellens still took them to 6th without being sacked.

So what's the rush even if Hunt doesn't prove good enough? There isn’t one. Just man babies throwing a tantrum because they didn't get what they wanted.

It's absolutely a no brainer he's going nowhere right now.

If we're still conceding a lot and with few points and wins in another 8 games, then it's time to start asking a question.

Sack every manager who starts badly or has an iffy run, and you’ll never have a good manager.


Spot on and agree with every word. I have genuinely been shocked that so many on here expected instant success after what the club, manager and players went through last season. We have had a lot of tough games at the start of the season, many new players to bed in and injuries have been a big concern but I have complete confidence that Hunt will take us to a mid table finish if he is just allowed to get on with the job. Then I would expect a push towards top 6 next season. I would like to see Hunt given a minimum of 20 league games before his future is even considered.

It will be interesting to see if the new owners are patient people or crave instant success at all costs like so many on here.

User avatar
Snowflake Royal
Hob Nob Legend
Posts: 46835
Joined: 20 Jun 2017 17:51

Re: Hunt in

by Snowflake Royal » 14 Sep 2025 12:21

RG30 If Hunt was so good why did we fail to win a a game under him the year we got relegated? Why was he not appointed the full time manager before Selles got the job?

A) he took over a doomed shit show where everyone had given up.

B) no one is saying Hunt is a great manager. Almost no one starts out as a great manager. Hunt didn't get the job when we were relegated, because, his performance then didn’t warrant it. He got the job because Selles left and we were so oxf*rd our only option was internal. He then did a more than good enough job to earn his contract, and he's the incumbent. So he should get a proper crack of the whip. Not just get binned off because some people think we're too good to ever have any problems.

Orion1871
Hob Nob Regular
Posts: 4202
Joined: 14 Jul 2020 09:08
Location: How can we win when fools can be kings?

Re: Hunt in

by Orion1871 » 14 Sep 2025 12:28

Snowflake Royal
RG30 If Hunt was so good why did we fail to win a a game under him the year we got relegated? Why was he not appointed the full time manager before Selles got the job?

A) he took over a doomed shit show where everyone had given up.

B) no one is saying Hunt is a great manager. Almost no one starts out as a great manager. Hunt didn't get the job when we were relegated, because, his performance then didn’t warrant it. He got the job because Selles left and we were so oxf*rd our only option was internal. He then did a more than good enough job to earn his contract, and he's the incumbent. So he should get a proper crack of the whip. Not just get binned off because some people think we're too good to ever have any problems.


No one thinks that "we're too good to ever have any problems". The issue is whether Noel is a good enough manager to turn around those problems.


User avatar
Snowflake Royal
Hob Nob Legend
Posts: 46835
Joined: 20 Jun 2017 17:51

Re: Hunt in

by Snowflake Royal » 14 Sep 2025 12:30

Orion1871
Snowflake Royal
RG30 If Hunt was so good why did we fail to win a a game under him the year we got relegated? Why was he not appointed the full time manager before Selles got the job?

A) he took over a doomed shit show where everyone had given up.

B) no one is saying Hunt is a great manager. Almost no one starts out as a great manager. Hunt didn't get the job when we were relegated, because, his performance then didn’t warrant it. He got the job because Selles left and we were so oxf*rd our only option was internal. He then did a more than good enough job to earn his contract, and he's the incumbent. So he should get a proper crack of the whip. Not just get binned off because some people think we're too good to ever have any problems.


No one thinks that "we're too good to ever have any problems". The issue is whether Noel is a good enough manager to turn around those problems.

Read a few posts from royal jimmy. And he's far from the only one.

Literal comment: no one should ever accept losing to a rival.

Our fanbase is toxic.

Royal_jimmy
Hob Nob Addict
Posts: 5546
Joined: 10 Aug 2011 10:44
Location: Planet Earth

Re: Hunt in

by Royal_jimmy » 14 Sep 2025 14:27

andrew1957
Snowflake Royal Anyone who wants him out now should be the ones going. Not the sort of fans who should be here. Just impatient, angry kneejerkers.

The opening games have been tough, we've lost a lot of our best players from last season and are bedding in new owners and a mostly new squad with an inexperienced manager.

Performances are disappointing, we're conceding too many poor goals. But the complaint a few weeks ago was we'd lost all our goals and can’t score. Our first three games we scored 1, our next four we've scored 6.

Hunt's started badly before, with people saying we wouldn't win another game, he's shit and he should go, and we finished 7th.

He's an ex player who's worked his way up through the coaching side in the Academy and did a great job under horrendous circumstances, and ungrateful pcunts have been talking about him not being good enough and getting sacked since about game 2 of the season.

Clubs who sack their manager this early are rightly ridiculed. Any manager, and Hunt more so, deserves 10 games to start the season before anyone even thinks about sacking, and then minimum five games under pressure to fix things. We're not even half way to the point sacking him should be considered an option.

What the oxf*rd does sacking him achieve? We still have the same squad. He's picking broadly the right team. Burns/Stickland will still make a couple of dangerous errors a game. Ahmed will still be a teenager learning ropes and having a few bad games. Improvements take time, shitting the bed about relegation is ridiculous at this point in the season. We're unlikely to be challenging for promotion this season whatever happens, although Orient won just 2 of their first 11 league games last year and Wellens still took them to 6th without being sacked.

So what's the rush even if Hunt doesn't prove good enough? There isn’t one. Just man babies throwing a tantrum because they didn't get what they wanted.

It's absolutely a no brainer he's going nowhere right now.

If we're still conceding a lot and with few points and wins in another 8 games, then it's time to start asking a question.

Sack every manager who starts badly or has an iffy run, and you’ll never have a good manager.


Spot on and agree with every word. I have genuinely been shocked that so many on here expected instant success after what the club, manager and players went through last season. We have had a lot of tough games at the start of the season, many new players to bed in and injuries have been a big concern but I have complete confidence that Hunt will take us to a mid table finish if he is just allowed to get on with the job. Then I would expect a push towards top 6 next season. I would like to see Hunt given a minimum of 20 league games before his future is even considered.

It will be interesting to see if the new owners are patient people or crave instant success at all costs like so many on here.


Would you say the same thing if we lose our next 5 and have a couple of drubbings in there?

WestYorksRoyal
Hob Nob Addict
Posts: 7324
Joined: 15 Apr 2019 19:16

Re: Hunt in

by WestYorksRoyal » 14 Sep 2025 14:36

Royal_jimmy
andrew1957
Snowflake Royal Anyone who wants him out now should be the ones going. Not the sort of fans who should be here. Just impatient, angry kneejerkers.

The opening games have been tough, we've lost a lot of our best players from last season and are bedding in new owners and a mostly new squad with an inexperienced manager.

Performances are disappointing, we're conceding too many poor goals. But the complaint a few weeks ago was we'd lost all our goals and can’t score. Our first three games we scored 1, our next four we've scored 6.

Hunt's started badly before, with people saying we wouldn't win another game, he's shit and he should go, and we finished 7th.

He's an ex player who's worked his way up through the coaching side in the Academy and did a great job under horrendous circumstances, and ungrateful pcunts have been talking about him not being good enough and getting sacked since about game 2 of the season.

Clubs who sack their manager this early are rightly ridiculed. Any manager, and Hunt more so, deserves 10 games to start the season before anyone even thinks about sacking, and then minimum five games under pressure to fix things. We're not even half way to the point sacking him should be considered an option.

What the oxf*rd does sacking him achieve? We still have the same squad. He's picking broadly the right team. Burns/Stickland will still make a couple of dangerous errors a game. Ahmed will still be a teenager learning ropes and having a few bad games. Improvements take time, shitting the bed about relegation is ridiculous at this point in the season. We're unlikely to be challenging for promotion this season whatever happens, although Orient won just 2 of their first 11 league games last year and Wellens still took them to 6th without being sacked.

So what's the rush even if Hunt doesn't prove good enough? There isn’t one. Just man babies throwing a tantrum because they didn't get what they wanted.

It's absolutely a no brainer he's going nowhere right now.

If we're still conceding a lot and with few points and wins in another 8 games, then it's time to start asking a question.

Sack every manager who starts badly or has an iffy run, and you’ll never have a good manager.


Spot on and agree with every word. I have genuinely been shocked that so many on here expected instant success after what the club, manager and players went through last season. We have had a lot of tough games at the start of the season, many new players to bed in and injuries have been a big concern but I have complete confidence that Hunt will take us to a mid table finish if he is just allowed to get on with the job. Then I would expect a push towards top 6 next season. I would like to see Hunt given a minimum of 20 league games before his future is even considered.

It will be interesting to see if the new owners are patient people or crave instant success at all costs like so many on here.


Would you say the same thing if we lose our next 5 and have a couple of drubbings in there?

I agree with him because if I simply don't see that happening. If it does, fair play I'm wrong.

User avatar
stealthpapes
Hob Nob Addict
Posts: 9020
Joined: 05 Jun 2013 13:25
Location: proverbs 26:11

Re: Hunt in

by stealthpapes » 14 Sep 2025 15:45

West F
Royal_jimmy
Getthebeerens Hunt in

Think it’s been said on here before but I feel like it’s going to be a bit of a Selles first season start for us this year. (Hopefully not as bad) but I’m sure we will come out of it a stronger side. Paudie is clearly a big miss for us at the moment.

We have a new defence and a new front 3 and a set of tricky fixtures to start the season. I think we should have some more points on the board but not surprised by the slow start.


Under Selles even when we were shite there were games where performances weren't too bad like Posh at home, Cheltenham at home, away to Shrewsbury, Exeter away etc


Ruben gave up on his tactical vision in order to get results. He adopted a formation and plan that suited the players we had at the time. Noel, has coached the under 21s to play in the same way. The problem is that he doesn’t have the players to play a high line press with inverted forwards coupled to a tireless working striker. Noel is not playing in a way that suits the players he has. He will die on his hill if he will not adapt. Sacking Noel would be disastrous, given the fact that he has brought in his own players and any new manager would cast a critical eye over them and the squad. He will have until November to sort things out. No improvement at this point and even Redwood would get twitchy.


Bold 1: There was a great interview with Ruben about his tactical and coaching 'vision' and, based on that interview, that first line really isn't true. He adapted, sure, but he clearly explained the continuity and how the 'new' tactics kept the essential parts of his approach.

It's here: https://learning.coachesvoice.com/cv/ru ... s-reading/

So we arrived at a point in the season where we said: “We have the PPDA, the high-pressure statistics and all the transitions we need. We just need to make some adjustments to allow us to win.”

First, to be more compact. Second, more aggressive on the second ball, probably with extra players in that situation and at the same time. Sometimes the first pressure is not about winning the ball in the first, second or third movement. It is about modifying the kick from the goalkeeper or from the centre-back.

As soon as we identified those things and changed to a 4-3-3, we ended up having two or three players in the press. But now our back four and the three midfielders were always in place to win the second action.


There's a bit where he admits his initial plan just couldn't work in League 1.

That didn’t work, though, because of the specifics of League One, among some other factors.

Formations are always in line with principles and the idea, which in this case was to be a high-pressing, energetic team that could make quick transitions to attack. What we found was that there were some teams against whom we could not apply high pressure.


It is a remarkable interview, very open and very reflective.

Bold 2: Ain't that the truth! I can't think of anything worse right now. We've just recycled the whole squad. A new manager keeps us up and then we do it all over again.

So yeah, Hunt in. Because (a) we all know we had a tough start (b) it should improve as the team work together more and (c) cutting and running now would be a disaster.

Hound
Hob Nob Legend
Posts: 26265
Joined: 27 Sep 2016 22:16
Location: Simpleton

Re: Hunt in

by Hound » 14 Sep 2025 17:21

I don’t think Hunt should be sacked now or within the next 3-4 games at the very least

I also don’t think he’s an especially good manager, we shouldn’t be doing better than we were (despite all the reasons/excuses), and don’t think he’ll ever really make a long term EFL level manager based on what I’ve seen from him

I’d like to be proven wrong, and won’t criticise people who think he has done enough to get longer

West F
Member
Posts: 158
Joined: 14 Jul 2014 09:51

Re: Hunt in

by West F » 14 Sep 2025 17:43

stealthpapes
West F
Royal_jimmy
Under Selles even when we were shite there were games where performances weren't too bad like Posh at home, Cheltenham at home, away to Shrewsbury, Exeter away etc


Ruben gave up on his tactical vision in order to get results. He adopted a formation and plan that suited the players we had at the time. Noel, has coached the under 21s to play in the same way. The problem is that he doesn’t have the players to play a high line press with inverted forwards coupled to a tireless working striker. Noel is not playing in a way that suits the players he has. He will die on his hill if he will not adapt. Sacking Noel would be disastrous, given the fact that he has brought in his own players and any new manager would cast a critical eye over them and the squad. He will have until November to sort things out. No improvement at this point and even Redwood would get twitchy.


Bold 1: There was a great interview with Ruben about his tactical and coaching 'vision' and, based on that interview, that first line really isn't true. He adapted, sure, but he clearly explained the continuity and how the 'new' tactics kept the essential parts of his approach.

It's here: https://learning.coachesvoice.com/cv/ru ... s-reading/

So we arrived at a point in the season where we said: “We have the PPDA, the high-pressure statistics and all the transitions we need. We just need to make some adjustments to allow us to win.”

First, to be more compact. Second, more aggressive on the second ball, probably with extra players in that situation and at the same time. Sometimes the first pressure is not about winning the ball in the first, second or third movement. It is about modifying the kick from the goalkeeper or from the centre-back.

As soon as we identified those things and changed to a 4-3-3, we ended up having two or three players in the press. But now our back four and the three midfielders were always in place to win the second action.


There's a bit where he admits his initial plan just couldn't work in League 1.

That didn’t work, though, because of the specifics of League One, among some other factors.

Formations are always in line with principles and the idea, which in this case was to be a high-pressing, energetic team that could make quick transitions to attack. What we found was that there were some teams against whom we could not apply high pressure.


It is a remarkable interview, very open and very reflective.

Bold 2: Ain't that the truth! I can't think of anything worse right now. We've just recycled the whole squad. A new manager keeps us up and then we do it all over again.

So yeah, Hunt in. Because (a) we all know we had a tough start (b) it should improve as the team work together more and (c) cutting and running now would be a disaster.


He changed his tactical approach while maintaining his philosophical approach. He created a more compact team by playing a higher line with three forwards to harry the opposition when they were in possession. Pressing in this way not only increases the opportunity to win the ball back high, but also limits the time players have to get their heads up and find a pass. The issue i have with Noel is that i don’t know what it is he is trying to do. It might be me, but I feel confused as to what we are trying to do when in possession.

Linden Jones' Tash
Member
Posts: 823
Joined: 20 Jun 2009 12:03
Location: north of the river...

Re: Hunt in

by Linden Jones' Tash » 14 Sep 2025 17:54

West F
stealthpapes
West F
Ruben gave up on his tactical vision in order to get results. He adopted a formation and plan that suited the players we had at the time. Noel, has coached the under 21s to play in the same way. The problem is that he doesn’t have the players to play a high line press with inverted forwards coupled to a tireless working striker. Noel is not playing in a way that suits the players he has. He will die on his hill if he will not adapt. Sacking Noel would be disastrous, given the fact that he has brought in his own players and any new manager would cast a critical eye over them and the squad. He will have until November to sort things out. No improvement at this point and even Redwood would get twitchy.


Bold 1: There was a great interview with Ruben about his tactical and coaching 'vision' and, based on that interview, that first line really isn't true. He adapted, sure, but he clearly explained the continuity and how the 'new' tactics kept the essential parts of his approach.

It's here: https://learning.coachesvoice.com/cv/ru ... s-reading/

So we arrived at a point in the season where we said: “We have the PPDA, the high-pressure statistics and all the transitions we need. We just need to make some adjustments to allow us to win.”

First, to be more compact. Second, more aggressive on the second ball, probably with extra players in that situation and at the same time. Sometimes the first pressure is not about winning the ball in the first, second or third movement. It is about modifying the kick from the goalkeeper or from the centre-back.

As soon as we identified those things and changed to a 4-3-3, we ended up having two or three players in the press. But now our back four and the three midfielders were always in place to win the second action.


There's a bit where he admits his initial plan just couldn't work in League 1.

That didn’t work, though, because of the specifics of League One, among some other factors.

Formations are always in line with principles and the idea, which in this case was to be a high-pressing, energetic team that could make quick transitions to attack. What we found was that there were some teams against whom we could not apply high pressure.


It is a remarkable interview, very open and very reflective.

Bold 2: Ain't that the truth! I can't think of anything worse right now. We've just recycled the whole squad. A new manager keeps us up and then we do it all over again.

So yeah, Hunt in. Because (a) we all know we had a tough start (b) it should improve as the team work together more and (c) cutting and running now would be a disaster.


He changed his tactical approach while maintaining his philosophical approach. He created a more compact team by playing a higher line with three forwards to harry the opposition when they were in possession. Pressing in this way not only increases the opportunity to win the ball back high, but also limits the time players have to get their heads up and find a pass. The issue i have with Noel is that i don’t know what it is he is trying to do. It might be me, but I feel confused as to what we are trying to do when in possession.


Its not just you....

It is confusing...

Someone asked a very pertinent question on here somewhere, which was, "what kind of goals are we looking to score?"

Wing wonder goals, gifts from goalies, & worldies aren't sustainable....

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Google [Bot], Larry_Parnell and 274 guests

It is currently 14 Sep 2025 18:34