Originally posted by taylors lovechild
Think there's some truth in that. Also, last season was an anomaly in that players had to get up and running again quickly after a long break. The older you get the longer it takes to regain full fitness and I think that's why we struggled given our older squad.

It's such a strange time at the club as Roy has probably made us as stable as we've been for decades and yet with that stability seems to have come a lack of joy in many of our performances. Good for the heart, not for the soul.

Originally posted by Tickled pink

I think you'll find we have kicked on with this manager.

Originally posted by jeeagles

In all fairness, Hodgson did seem much more genuine than normal. He's very well trained in front of the camera and normally manages to get through the motions without saying anything other than standard answers. Can't blame him too much because that's how things have worked for the last decade or so. Partially, it could be the interviewers fault for not asking probing enough questions. Ask a generic question, get a generic answer. Whilst it was honest, saying "I'm not bothered either way" about getting another £4.5m a year contract can't be the keenest message to send out to employers, but granted its a difficult one to answer. "We'll see where we are in a few months" would have probably been the politicians answer - but the disingenuousness of political answer would have pissed me off.

I have a mate who worked for the local rag near one of Mick McCarthy's old clubs. He knows nothing about football, but always got sent to the presseres. He asked the same question every week "what's the mood in the camp like Mick?". He said that McCarthy liked him and would always go to him first... possibly to send a message to the others who attended every week not to ask tricky questions if they want favouritism. We'll never see the like of some of the classic clashes Brian Clough had ever again.

Originally posted by TheBigToePunt

I could watch those clips of prime-era Clough for hours, but maybe he inadvertently helped create the hollow sham managerial interviews of today.

I think perhaps something like this:

1. Managers in the 60s and 70s speak openly. The press make little fuss of it. Neither party knows any different perhaps. Shankly et al engage the press, but to promote their clubs rather than themselves.

2. Clough arrives. His charisma and bombast are as remarkable as his achievements. The press focus on him as much as his team. Clough develops a taste for fame and its benefits. The first celebrity manager is born.

3. Managers comments are now a potentially valuable news story, if they are sensational or controversial. At the same time, British tabloid newspapers begin to mutate into the monstrous scandal-moungers we have had ever since.

4. Sensation and controversy are unwelcome to most clubs and managers. By the late 1980s Dalgleish at Liverpool has perfected the curt, distant one word answer. The objective is clear: Tell these dirty b******s nothing, then they have nothing to use against you.

5. The premier league is born, and everyone must be a star. Managers are compelled, contractually, to deal with more press than ever before. Sensationalism, disproportionate fuss and intrigue become an entire industry.

6. End result: media training for managers.

Personally I think Hodgson speaks well. He is articulate and as honest as he can be. When he managed England I felt he was the wrong coach, but the right man to represent the nation internationally. Certainly more so than Allardyce, Erikson or Capello.

At Palace I don't expect, or want, him to say anything publicly that will compromise the privacy of the dressing room and training ground. I see no evidence that the likes of Mourinho are helping their teams by playing silly buggers when interviewed - mostly they are just boosting their own profile.

Once reason we have stayed up is that the club never seems set to implode on itself. There is no drama, no fuss, no way in for the press to exploit any of the tensions or pressures that must surely be there. A lot of that is down to people like Roy politely declining to get drawn in, but also because his overall message is the right one: whether we win three in a row or lose three in a row, just keep coming to work on Monday morning and doing the right things.

It might not be inspirational, but neither is it flammable and destructive.

Edited by TheBigToePunt (04 Feb 2021 10.44am)

Originally posted by Tickled pink

He can't really can he, he understands more then anyone else that his squad is barely able to function where it is now in the table, so are you suggesting that the squad we have now available is able to sustain above where we are now?

Originally posted by Midlands Eagle

I'd liked to have been a fly on the wall when you introduced yourself.

Hi Gary, I'm a Big Toe Punt