Was LW overrated

[BigFatPie]

You may be forgetting the move just before full time to swap goalies, that was a piece of tactical success, in Mair he trusted..... and he knew.

I did mention the Mair substitution to be fair! Took guts to actually do it though I’d rate my dear old nan’s chances in a shootout more than Slocombe’s.

[The Dug Out]

I did mention the Mair substitution to be fair! Took guts to actually do it though I’d rate my dear old nan’s chances in a shootout more than Slocombe’s.

Ha ha, poor old Sloakes

[SmiffyPie]

No he wasn't overrated if you rate him as a very good manager which I do. SmiffyPie, if players keep making mistakes then how do you coach a lack of concentration out of them? The only way I think is mentally in regards to our defence in which case unless you're a sports psychologist, it's not that easy to do. Unless you think Luke didn't try and work on their mistakes and just said oh well nevermind or nothing at all which of course is complete nonsense. Coaching players at our level out of mistakes isn't exactly easy, go too hard on it and they make more mistakes, it's not a question of skill, it's a question of concentration and anxiety, not "just don't do that again ok" or "this is how you pass it without slipping over or heading it to their attacker" the defenders already know not to do that.

You coach confidence and concentration into them by practice practice practice. You recreate each scenario (as far as possible) with your attacking/midfield players and if player X continuosly gets caught if the ball comes to him under pressure then you practice getting the ball to him quicker or his actions if it is a late ball (row Z if that's all he can do). A skill is taught/learned by repepition and that repetition breeds confidence. We all know this and it started to show at Stockport and the following games (we played a quicker ball out of and across the defence and players gave the defence more options for a quick pass, it was a Eureka moment!) but went to pieces when Tranny pushed us because our defensive players have always been asked to do something alien to them (retain possession and recycle the ball at all costs). You can see them trying their best but sometimes under pressure make avoidable mistakes all due to their uncertainty with "You have to keep possesion at all costs". That Tranny game (and others when we have folded) said to me there couldn't have been enough time on the training ground instilling confidence. And there has been 18 months with basically the same group of players. They should be ticking like clockwork by now but if that's the price LW was prepared to pay then so be it (history now). All my opinion of course.
I fully agree with Woody below.

[Woodypie]

No, his rating is that he is a good manager. If he could sort defence out he would be rated higher.

[The_Don_ORiordan]

Lots made of the playoffs. We were the better side against BW. And Chesterfield coasted into the playoffs, 3rd or 4th was guaranteed for them well before top spot was out of our reach. That gave them the advantage of resting players, trying things.

They are a one off game. And a lottery.

And fundamentally, lucky or not, we did win.

[upthemaggies]

Lots made of the playoffs. We were the better side against BW. And Chesterfield coasted into the playoffs, 3rd or 4th was guaranteed for them well before top spot was out of our reach. That gave them the advantage of resting players, trying things.

They are a one off game. And a lottery.

And fundamentally, lucky or not, we did win.

After the season we had it would not have been an injustice last May if the ref had picked the ball up, tucked it under his shirt, dived into the back of the Chesterfield net and awarded us a winning goal.
Somehow Notts managed to dig their way out of a hole in the play off games and that has to go down as another plus point for LW, not a negative. Burch and Ardley's teams didn't have the character to battle through the big tests when things weren't going well, LW's side did.

I wouldn't be at all surprised now if we get another Ardley, Burch type of manager, but at least we are now in L2 and - with the support the club now has and 4 places up for grabs - I suppose we could go up with somebody bang average in charge before they got found out in L1. The higher up you go the less likely inexperienced unknows are going to work. They might just get away with it in tier 4 though, so whoever it is and however much people feel let down after bigger names have been linked, we've gotta give 'em a chance.

[Kent Magpie]

I think LW has the potential to be a really great manager, and in the future he may well be a good as people are saying, but right now he hasn't shown he can sort the defense out, and at Swindon he couldn't turn around things either. That said, there were other factors at play at Swindon, so maybe that's unfair.

However, whilst it is laudable to stick to your principles, given our injury situation a change in style would / could have helped our current problems. There is no reason why we couldn't have returned to our 'signature' style one we had reinforced. The signs were that at home at least he was getting to grips with it, so maybe given a bit more time he would have sorted it... we will never know.

It wouldn't surprise me if he did well wherever he goes and I wouldn't be surprised to see him in the Premiership in a few years, but right now there are areas where he could improve (I guess it's called inexperience). He is a quick learner so I expect him to do so, but where he leaves us now, there is also room for us to improve.

[Kent Magpie]

The higher up you go the less likely inexperienced unknows are going to work. They might just get away with it in tier 4 though...

Very true, but the higher up you go the bigger the choice of ambitious managers there are looking for the next step up. Swansea may well see him go to a Premiership club, or if he takes them up to a bigger Premiership club. As we progress we will have more choice, as we do now.

[jacobncfc]

Very true, but the higher up you go the bigger the choice of ambitious managers there are looking for the next step up. Swansea may well see him go to a Premiership club, or if he takes them up to a bigger Premiership club. As we progress we will have more choice, as we do now.

Is it true that inexperienced managers are less likely to be a success higher up? Top two in the Championship both in their first ever managerial job..

[upthemaggies]

Is it true that inexperienced managers are less likely to be a success higher up? Top two in the Championship both in their first ever managerial job..

First managerial jobs yes but not exactly unknown and inexperienced considering Leicester's boss is 43 and came from Manchester City whilst the Ipswich boss was a coach/assistant at Manchester United. If we got somebody with those credentials I doubt anybody would be complaining, that's a world away from a background in the Swedish league or NL North.