Originally Posted by
Calgarybaggy
I'm torn. Big Dave did so well in the last few games that he has given his credibility a huge boost. But does that mean he should get the job on a full time basis? That's a hard one to call.
In his favour:
The players seem to like him. I have even heard somewhere that some players wont ask to leave if he stays. But that of course depends on who will stay if he stays.
He's Albion "through and through". That gives him credibility with the fans but only makes it all the more painful when he is inevitably fired at some point. Maybe we would hang on to him for too long if it goes sideways.
He knows the championship very well.
He's done very well in the games he was in charge in a very difficult situation. This cannot be discounted.
Against him:
He's English/British. That shouldn't be a negative but all three managers who went up last season were foreign. In all probability two of the three who go up this season will be foreign (assuming Fulham go up, which on paper they should). Two of the three teams going down have British managers and it was very nearly all three. Last season, all three teams that went down had British managers though Middlesbrough started the year with a Spanish manager. Is the era of the British manager over? Are they not good enough? Are British managers doomed to only manage less fashionable teams with less fashionable styles of play? Seems like it sometimes. And even if you do manage to land a half decent English manager, the next thing you know the FA steals him to become the latest failure as England manager.
I don't know what Big Dave's tactical skills are. He more or less followed what Pulis did, only he got results. Were his results a fluke? Was he only doing that because he did not have time or personnel to do anything else or is this a taste of what is to come from him. I know the Palace game was hardly a good measure of anything, but why not put on more of a show? I would rather lose 7-4 in an exciting game that meant nothing than what we saw today. So the jury's still out for me on his tactical abilities.
So all in all, if I were making this decision, unless Big Dave could convince me that he is very progressive, tactically astute and more European that English in his approach, I would be looking long and hard at some up and coming foreign manager who could completely change the approach, the team, the personnel, everything, before I chose Big Dave.