posted Oct 31, 2008

One good thing to be said for Ramos was that he maintained a very fit playing squad. Hence the energy displayed at the emirates in the final few minutes.

We all know that Harry is a great motivator and a shrewd judge of a footballer. But he went on record a month or two ago disparaging coaches by saying that if the player isn't very good, all the coaching in the world isn't going to make much difference.

So who is going to keep up the fitness levels of the squad now? That could well be Kevin Bond's unsung but vitally important role.

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posted Oct 31, 2008

I'll say why i'm happy with Sherwood. But first as an obvious disclaimer we don't know about him in a coaching capacity. However i'm hoping what he learned as a player can translate in coaching terms.

When I first saw him play he was a box to box type, scored a few goals. As his career progressed he also played the sitting role. At all times he was competitive in midfield. We have a lot of cms like Jenas, hudd who have a lot of talent but don't always show that on the pitch. I hope what Sherwood learned during his career from playing in England under Dalglish, Graham & others can be passed on. He's controlled midfields & you could tell as a player he thought about the defensive / attacking balance of the mid by the way he played the game. I'm not sure this kind of coaching requires him to be full time, more passing on insights after games.

Also Sherwood is old school. He's from teams where if you don't do things correctly your teammates let you know in no uncertain terms. He played in teams where the team as a whole was the key, individulism for the sake of it was a no-go.

We don't have many leaders & we don't have a shouter so i think when you look back over our recent history Sherwood is a good choice to bring some of this in & hope it rubs off.

We've just seen you can take a 'talented' coach like Ramos form sunny spain but when he turns up at the lane he dosen't have a scoobys. whereas Sherwood knows spurs & from the complaints about his criticism of us one thing is sure, he's watched a lot of our recent matches.

So yes, i'm hoping these elements will translate but as i began we don't know if they will, he's not been a coach before.

But Harry's obviously talked to him & Harry's seen something that he thinks he can bring in. A bit like he did with Donkey Adams at Pompey.

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posted Oct 31, 2008

I think it's great seeing old figureheads come to rally around the club in its time of need, having Sherwood's face around the club can only help motivate the squad further.

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posted Oct 31, 2008

Charly

Great post mate. When I was reading it, I was nodding my head in agreement with a lot of it. You almost convinced me, but ultimately, I still see Sherwood as a gobby ex-player who left under a cloud and was trouble during his days at WHL and has shown nothing but bitterness since.

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posted Oct 31, 2008

Cheers Spurcat. My feelings may well stem from the same time. I thought Hoddles 352 would work if Sherwood was the sitting player rather than freund & i sympathised with Sherwood. I also thought Hoddle alienated some players & it wasn't good for team spirit & someone like Sherwood would have a problem with that, so speaking out was alright. Sherwood never criticised Graham, Dalglish or even keegan when he played him out of position for England.

But thn againe they picked him & Hoddle didn't so i accept this could be why he did what he did, not because of any coaching problems although i hope not.

Anyway we'll see but one thing is for sure we're starting to feel like a football club again under Harry & although it's early days & there's a way to go we are all looking forward to match day again which is how it should be.

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posted Oct 31, 2008

Charly,

Yes, you're right. Under Harry the difference is already amazing. I just love the way he's spent the week 'bigging' up the players. Thank God Levy eventually found the balls to do what he had to do. COYS

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posted Oct 31, 2008

I was asking for alternatives Barry as you suggested we go with one. A bit like those who said Heskey, Owen and Crouch were not good enough for Spurs in the summer but never came up with any strikers as alternatives.

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posted Oct 31, 2008

I was asking for alternatives Barry as you suggested we go with one. A bit like those who said Heskey, Owen and Crouch were not good enough for Spurs in the summer but never came up with any strikers as alternatives.

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Off the top of my head, I can't name any, as It wasn't a situation I clearly had on my mind.

I was just happy we now had a british manager, and we could get back to being a football club.

Can't say I was too excited by Kevin Bond, yet I didn't say anything, and was pleased to see Allen get more of a look in.

Right now I see sherwood as a mouthy ex pro, that took the easy road of media work, and that won't change, unless he proves me wrong.

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posted Nov 1, 2008

To the guy who thinks Kevin Bond will keep the players levels of fitness up, one of the criticisms levelled at him at Bournemouth was that the players were not particularly fit.

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posted Nov 3, 2008

not entriely positive about this. I hear that harry wants to bring in les ferdinand and teddy. Teddy yes, Les no thanks.

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