Steve Cooper - New Manager

[lcfc_forever]

32 minutes ago, DJ Barry Hammond said:

I’d argue that not signing Sensi was probably the right decision - even if that did piss off Maresca.

 

The board did the important part of transfers in the pre-season, getting players in early and on structured deals.

 

As for Rodgers and transfers - the board strongly backed him initially - it was Rodgers failure to secure Champions League football (twice) that played a significant factor in the following P&SR mess.

 

It is therefore perhaps not a surprise that upon the demands of a ‘refresh’ for a squad that contained many of Rodgers own recent expensive signings doing very little ‘the board’ were not exactly responsive (and yet did try to do something in that January window)

Yeah, in hindsight it was. Not only because Enzo left, he was also carrying an injury. 
 

The stuff about Cooper and the way he looks is silly but thing I’ve learned from experience is people who don’t necessarily look the part work harder as they have that extra to prove and invariably more successful as they don’t rely on image but substance. No doubt Cooper will give it his all and not rely on PR fanboys who are more impressed by style (hello Guillem 😉).

Edited 22 June by lcfc_forever

[Chico1958]

If he's half as good as Two we've had with ties to Forest then I'll be happy with a League Cup or Two and good football to watch. 

 

I'm prepared to wait and see if he can cope with the hostility, either way I'll continue to support the Team. Best of Luck Mr Cooper 🦊

Edited 23 June by Chico1958
reduced wording

[DJ Barry Hammond]

1 minute ago, Chico1958 said:

If he's half as good as the last Two we've had with ties to Forest then I'll be happy with a League Cup or Two and good football to watch. 

 

I'm prepared to wait and see if he can cope with the hostility, either way I'll continue to support the Team. Best of Luck Mr Cooper 🦊

There could well be an element of modern day O’Neill about him.

[Bourbon Fox]

I'd be much happier if he released a statement saying that he's delighted to join us, he would like to clarify that he does indeed hate Forest and he can't wait for the season to start so we can do the double over the red scum

[los dedos]

1 minute ago, Bourbon Fox said:

I'd be much happier if he released a statement saying that he's delighted to join us, he would like to clarify that he does indeed hate Forest and he can't wait for the season to start so we can do the double over the red scum

And what he'd do if he had the wings of an Eagle ?

[The Doctor]

25 minutes ago, lcfc_forever said:

Yeah, in hindsight it was. Not only because Enzo left, he was also carrying an injury. 
 

The stuff about Cooper and the way he looks is silly but thing I’ve learned from experience is people who don’t necessarily look the part work harder as they have that extra to prove and invariably more successful as they don’t rely on image but substance. No doubt Cooper will give it his all and not rely on PR fanboys who are more impressed by style (hello Guillem 😉).

[Bluearmyfox28]

3 hours ago, CrazyKopCorner said:

I'm coming round quite sharpish based on 

 

* He seems really up for the job - Unlike TCR - and he's giving off a lot of enthusiasm and energy 

* He really is in to youth development and I think he may have come in at a very good time for some of the younger players coming through  

* I get the impression that he's going to be pragmatic which would be a refreshing change 

* I'm struggling not to really like the bloke 

 

I'm definitely going to give him a big go and it'd be great to have a good natured chant for him for the 1st game - possibly Stevie Cooper is a Blue 

Would be cool to see some sort of tifo first game of the season of something like “steve cooper’s blue army” set the mindset early with regards to backing the lads and manager.

[sm1]

21 minutes ago, DJ Barry Hammond said:

There could well be an element of modern day O’Neill about him.

I really hope so. Criticism regarding ability is one thing, but I've heard so much rubbish spoken/written about him, just based on his looks. Completely unnecessary. 

[The Doctor]

34 minutes ago, Chico1958 said:

If he's half as good as the last Two we've had with ties to Forest then I'll be happy with a League Cup or Two and good football to watch. 

 

I'm prepared to wait and see if he can cope with the hostility, either way I'll continue to support the Team. Best of Luck Mr Cooper 🦊

the last two being Morgan and Megson, or Megson and O'Neill if you want to just talk managers. 

 

given the start of the season is 8 weeks away, being half as good as Megson means not even making it to game one...

[Foxin_Mad]

2 hours ago, The Doctor said:

this is exactly it for me. This appointment kind of signals that we've long since had our day - we used to be a model club on how to disrupt the greedy six, but we've become an Everton. you look at Brighton and there's a clear succession plan - the moment Potter left, they had RDZ lined up to advance that vision, and again this new bloke who has a clear line through from that. you can excuse dean smith as that was desperation but in reality our last 4 permanent managers have been building on the idea of possession football, and we've gone for a complete 180 on that to a bloke who had the worst possession stats in the division while at Forest. Whether you like the vision of playing possession football or not is immaterial, it signals that the club doesn't have a clear progression plan. 

 

the other side of things is that our last two managers have been outspoken in public about the mess that the board are creating. Maresca seemed absolutely pissed about Sensi and being mislead over finances, and while this forum absolutely hates Rodgers for half arsing it and continuing to draw a massive wedge, old Gucci belt was spot on about the mess of the board and the transfers. Cooper worked under an even worse board with that  mentalist Marinakis and was silent about it, and I can see that having been appealing to Rudkin and Top, because they want the genie back in the bottle and for the fans to not hold them accountable for the gross mismanagement they've undertaken in the last 3 years.

You could argue Brightons appointment is a massive risk. They were on a downward spiral last year, I'm not sure it will be long before tgey struggle, possibly West Ham too post Moyes.

 

There's an argument that the past 2 managers have been whiney babies, the are employed and paid well to do a job. FFP is stupid but it is what it is, the club should be able to lose whatever money it wants if KP are willing to put that money in, which they have never given any inclination they aren't. Rodgers and his mate were just a responsible for any bad signings and the board and Rudkin in my opinion, as his mate was head of recruitment. Maresca probably gets a bit more leeway but it's pretty obvious any established Premier League club will have issues if relegated, after finishing 8th the year before, there would be no reason for anyone to financially plan for anything less than that with the same squad. 

Edited 22 June by Foxin_Mad

[Superpants82]

I'm really happy with this appointment, from the standpoint that I couldn't stand Brenda and his inability to accept any criticism and obvious delusions of grandeur, Brenda ball I haven't forgotten. The divisions he caused between players, staff and the fans. Maresca while an unknown in terms of management obviously got us going and we came straight back up, however I do feel that some of the push at the end came from within the dressing room as he seemed hell bent on tappy sideways and back passing and we ended up with squeaky bums after some awful results. Any appointment is going to cause division in opinion that's football, I just hope he does well here and we thrive as a club, negative only begets negative. Let's see what he can do. 

[Lcfc82]

39 minutes ago, The Doctor said:

Not him again 

[lcfc_forever]

42 minutes ago, The Doctor said:

I posted that first - appreciates he lives in the area but will be very surprised if he has as much access as he did before with Enzo or says as much about the team. 

[LCFCJohn]

1 hour ago, los dedos said:

And what he'd do if he had the wings of an Eagle ?

He doesn’t need to as long as Vards is fit for the trip to Selhurst 🦅

[The Doctor]

3 minutes ago, Foxin_Mad said:

You could argue Brightons appointment is a massive risk. They were on a downward spiral last year, I'm not sure it will be long before tgey struggle, possibly West Ham too post Moyes.

 

There's an argument that the past 2 managers have been whiney babies, the are employed and paid well to do a job. FFP is stupid but it is what it is, the club should be able to lose whatever money it wants if KP are willing to put that money in, which they have never given sny incidation they aren't. Rodgers and his mate were just a responsible for any bad signings and the board and Rudkin in my opinion, as his mate was head of recruitment. Maresca probably gets a bit more leeway but it's pretty obvious any established Premier League club will have issues if relegated, after finishing 8th the year before, there would be no reason for anyone to financially plan for anything less than that with the same squad. 

every appointment is a risk, hell, even the big six can struggle with a bad appointment (see pretty much every post Fergie appointment at Utd, Mourinho, Van Gaal, Ten Haag, all very good managers elsewhere but not been able to get success there), but the point with Brighton is if it goes poorly they have a list of candidates and know what they want to do - the head coach in effect slots in and out as they get turned over, and this is important when the average shelf life of a premier league manager is less than 16 months and why a director of football is such a key role, because they provide the continuity planning that managers used to before they had less job security than the average Tory party leader. we don't have a plan, our director of football is uniquely incompetent and this appointment from a stylistic point of view demonstrates that, because we've now got vestegaard on a 3 year contract under a manager who's typical system in this division doesn't use any of his strengths

[Dahnsouff]

3 minutes ago, The Doctor said:

every appointment is a risk, hell, even the big six can struggle with a bad appointment (see pretty much every post Fergie appointment at Utd, Mourinho, Van Gaal, Ten Haag, all very good managers elsewhere but not been able to get success there), but the point with Brighton is if it goes poorly they have a list of candidates and know what they want to do - the head coach in effect slots in and out as they get turned over, and this is important when the average shelf life of a premier league manager is less than 16 months and why a director of football is such a key role, because they provide the continuity planning that managers used to before they had less job security than the average Tory party leader. we don't have a plan, our director of football is uniquely incompetent and this appointment from a stylistic point of view demonstrates that, because we've now got vestegaard on a 3 year contract under a manager who's typical system in this division doesn't use any of his strengths

Slightly unfair, but hard to deny it all. Managers, we certainly have a ‘type’, you just have to see Puel, Rodgers and Maresca to see that, leaving  Smith aside as he was an emergency appointment, and we don’t even know what remit Cooper has been given yet. Sounds from the interview it will be the aim to do the same longer term,  but with a nod towards pragmatism first.

[whoareyaaa]

9 minutes ago, The Doctor said:

every appointment is a risk, hell, even the big six can struggle with a bad appointment (see pretty much every post Fergie appointment at Utd, Mourinho, Van Gaal, Ten Haag, all very good managers elsewhere but not been able to get success there), but the point with Brighton is if it goes poorly they have a list of candidates and know what they want to do - the head coach in effect slots in and out as they get turned over, and this is important when the average shelf life of a premier league manager is less than 16 months and why a director of football is such a key role, because they provide the continuity planning that managers used to before they had less job security than the average Tory party leader. we don't have a plan, our director of football is uniquely incompetent and this appointment from a stylistic point of view demonstrates that, because we've now got vestegaard on a 3 year contract under a manager who's typical system in this division doesn't use any of his strengths

Maybe the club are happy for the style to change slightly and it will please fans as that’s what most want.

[StriderHiryu]

4 hours ago, Bilo said:

The problem with this appointment is that it doesn't seem to tie in with any long-term vision.

 

We could survive under Cooper if the points deduction isn't too heavy and we don't have to sell everyone, but what comes next? I have the fear that his ceiling might be getting to between 14th and 17th, playing less than attractive football, and that would get old pretty quickly for fans and the board alike. I can't imagine 'trust the process' going down well as a line when we're playing like Forest did under him in a 3-0 defeat at Bournemouth. 

 

The club will be willing to back the manager with signings to compete for Europe over time. The issue isn’t that we don’t have money, it’s that we can’t spend it due to PSR. 
 

People often criticised Top for not spending big, but in retrospect the season we didn’t sell any star players and signed Soumare and Daka was a big push that ultimately crippled the club. Relegation and our current situation suck, but compared to all of the other teams that are pretenders to the top 6 club, we won multiple trophies and played in Europe. Only West Ham won something, Villa, Brighton, Newcastle did not. 
 

Will we get back to competing for trophies and Europe? Not sure but only because the league is becoming even more competitive. Look at teams like Bournemouth and Burnley splashing the cash these days. But despite our board making numerous massive mistakes, I actually don’t question their ambition. 

[mozartfox]

My major concerns are not tying down Ward and Rudders on long term deals.  This should be Cooper’s first day task.

[ShepshedFox1884]

2 hours ago, Bluearmyfox28 said:

Would be cool to see some sort of tifo first game of the season of something like “steve cooper’s blue army” set the mindset early with regards to backing the lads and manager.

I’d assume after donations to vardy tifo it could be possible if UFS wanted to do it 

@SemperEadem

[SemperEadem]

3 minutes ago, ShepshedFox1884 said:

I’d assume after donations to vardy tifo it could be possible if UFS wanted to do it 

@SemperEadem

We have put plans to them for a couple of bits next season but they are currently ignoring all communications with the group.

[Bluearmyfox28]

31 minutes ago, SemperEadem said:

We have put plans to them for a couple of bits next season but they are currently ignoring all communications with the group.

Arseholes.

[Bilo]

53 minutes ago, StriderHiryu said:

The club will be willing to back the manager with signings to compete for Europe over time. The issue isn’t that we don’t have money, it’s that we can’t spend it due to PSR. 
 

People often criticised Top for not spending big, but in retrospect the season we didn’t sell any star players and signed Soumare and Daka was a big push that ultimately crippled the club. Relegation and our current situation suck, but compared to all of the other teams that are pretenders to the top 6 club, we won multiple trophies and played in Europe. Only West Ham won something, Villa, Brighton, Newcastle did not. 
 

Will we get back to competing for trophies and Europe? Not sure but only because the league is becoming even more competitive. Look at teams like Bournemouth and Burnley splashing the cash these days. But despite our board making numerous massive mistakes, I actually don’t question their ambition. 

I'm not actually questioning their ambition or funds, just their long-term planning and strategy. That we cannot spend the money we have and got relegated is, in my view, testament to that. We have effectively hamstrung ourselves and I'm not seeing much evidence that we have learned from it. 

 

Cooperball and Marescaball are very, very different styles and this doesn't seem to have been accounted for. Either we have a large influx of players again to cope with the new style, lots of players who were regulars under Maresca are frozen out or the players we have are forced into a style that they aren't really built for.

 

Vestegaard, for example, is a good player to have in a patient, technical model of building from the back. He's about as far from ideal as it's possible to be in a system of pacey counterattacking football. He's just been given a three year contract. That, to me, indicates a lack of joined up thinking.

[Dahnsouff]

Vestergaard was one of the players of the season last year, yes we were in the championship, but that’s an incredibly poor look to cut them loose, especially as he would have been utilised to  similar degree by Enzo, who was still here when his contract was renewed I thought?

 

Plenty of problems at the club, not sure we need to invent extra.

[Number 6]

16 minutes ago, Dahnsouff said:

Vestergaard was one of the players of the season last year, yes we were in the championship, but that’s an incredibly poor look to cut them loose, especially as he would have been utilised to  similar degree by Enzo, who was still here when his contract was renewed I thought?

 

Plenty of problems at the club, not sure we need to invent extra.

The same administration wouldn't offer Lloyd Dyer more than a year last time we were promoted.

 

Not sure why they switched strategy this time, particularly given financial problems. Would say it was due to not being able to find a replacement purchase but then were apparently after Rodon so it's a mystery to me.