I think it started to go wrong at Bury. I was at that game and all the players looked clueless and confused. Kewell had obviously tried to implement something that they didn't understand, but he blamed them rather than himself.
Printable View
I think it started to go wrong at Bury. I was at that game and all the players looked clueless and confused. Kewell had obviously tried to implement something that they didn't understand, but he blamed them rather than himself.
Even when Kewell was appointment I got the feeling he wouldn't last long it just didn't feel right.
Here’s all our managers' stats since Munto according to Wiki (they obviously include cup games).
As well as the usual Win% I’ve also included Lost%. Keith Curle comes out tops on both counts. Nolan and Derry are the only two to have been with us over one year.
Kewell lasted 5 days longer than Fullerton. I wonder how much compensation has been paid out for that lot!?
Attachment 11102
For me, the surprise failure in that lot was John Sheridan. I wonder if his fortunes would have been different earlier in the Trew era, or even under a different owner? Hardy got rid instantly, so we'll never know.
Keith Curle's figures look good, but he's got a consistent career history of starting off really well and then fading, no doubt to be repeated again at Northampton. Tactical stubbornness was his downfall.
Martin Allen was the sacking that baffled me most, possibly rivalled by today's sacking.
Ricardo Moniz is the manager I would most liked to have given more time, purely because his vision was so interesting and brave. We were shipping goals for fun away from home, but at times we also played some great football at home, so it would have been interesting to see if the up and down form would have improved if he had been given time to fully implement his philosophy. It would have been a really long-term project and might still have ended in disaster, considering that his record since leaving us hasn't pulled up any trees, but there was always that bit of magic and intrigue with him. Plus, he had to cope with the lead weight of Guy Branston around his neck.
Yeah, I agree with most of that, although I'd add the sacking of Curle to the 'confusing' moments, especially considering who we replaced him with. I would have loved Moniz to be given more time. He was half way to making us an exciting team to watch, but Trew pulled the plus - as always - before he could get anywhere. The game away at Salford was one of the worst Notts performances ever, though.
On points per game ratio, which is what really counts, there's been a lot worse managers than Kewell in recent years.
Manager's league table since relegation to the 3rd tier in 1995
---------------------------------------------------------------
Steve Cotterill 2.50
David Kevan 2.00
Keith Curle 1.69
Kevin Nolan 1.56
Sam Allardyce 1.50
Jocky Scott 1.48
Colin Murphy 1.43
Martin Allen 1.30
Hans Backe 1.29
Steve Thompson 1.28
Craig Short 1.23
Shaun Derry 1.21
Ricardo Moniz 1.21
Harry Kewell 1.18
Ian Richardson 1.17
Ian McParland 1.13
Gudjon Thordarsson 1.13
Billy Dearden 1.12
Mark Cooper 1.10
Paul Ince 1.08
Gary Brazil 1.06
Gary Mills 1.03
Chris Kiwomya 0.97
John Sheridan 0.92
Jamie Fullarton 0.83
+/- League position from joining to leaving
-------------------------------------------
Sam Allardyce +21
Ian McParland +14
Martin Allen +10
Steve Cotterill +6
Shaun Derry +4
Steve Thompson +2
Ian Richardson +2
Mark Cooper +2
Harry Kewell +2
Keith Curle +1
David Kevan 0
Jamie Fullarton -1
Billy Dearden -2
Hans Backe -2
Gudjon Thordarsson -2
Kevin Nolan - 2
Paul Ince -3
John Sheridan -5
Jocky Scott -6
Gary Brazil -13
Chris Kiwomya -14
Ricardo Moniz -17
Gary Mills -22