Straw poll: Maynard in or out?

[matt_magpie]

If Fullarton had turned out great, he wouldn't have been driven out of the club. A manager being either good or bad does tend to sway fans thinking one way or the other.

LW had 75 games worth of experience in L1 and dropped down two levels from that experience, as well as coaching at Brighton and Bristol City. Comparing Maynard to LW was silly on the day he was appointed, it's even more risible now.

We've already had the "name the other managers who've succeeded at this level with a CV comparable to Maynard's" discussion. Tumbleweed until somebody had a go with Northampton, but IIRC that was taken apart as a flawed example.

Are we saying Maynard because he was part time or because Wealdstone are an unfashionable club? Pete Wilds done well who came from an NL club?
Both Ipswich and Leicester managers next to no experience with senior players and would have been seen as risks. If he had the character to lead when he walked through the door the players wouldn’t care where he came from.

[upthemaggies]

If he had the character to lead when he walked through the door the players wouldn’t care where he came from.

Yes, I agree with this *If*. Fans would have been fully onboard as well.
If there was something the board (or whoever interviewed him for the job) saw in him as a character, he's yet to reveal that in public. That's not to say he's coming across as a complete buffoon, he isn't, despite the howler about how difficult it is to pick up points on the road in this division whilst handing them out freely to every visitor to Meadow Lane, as well as the fact that 56% of teams in L2 this season have returned from an away ground with at least 1 point, which means you're actually more likely to get something on the road than lose.
The best thing I can say about him as a person is that he seems to be very much enjoying himself, even when we lose. I guess he can't believe his luck.

[matt_magpie]

Yes, I agree with this *If*. Fans would have been fully onboard as well.
If there was something the board (or whoever interviewed him for the job) saw in him as a character, he's yet to reveal that in public. That's not to say he's coming across as a complete buffoon, he isn't, despite the howler about how difficult it is to pick up points on the road in this division whilst handing them out freely to every visitor to Meadow Lane, as well as the fact that 56% of teams in L2 this season have returned from an away ground with at least 1 point, which means you're actually more likely to get something on the road than lose.
The best thing I can say about him as a person is that he seems to be very much enjoying himself, even when we lose. I guess he can't believe his luck.

My guts telling me some of the players are sulking/adjusting after LW and he’s probably on a hiding to nothing, Moyes had been a great manager and Ferguson had recommended but I’ve seen interviews where it was stated some players were never going to give him a chance.
These players need to stand up, minute by minute and game by game, their representing our great club, Maynard’s not coming in totally changing everything or I imagine being an idiot to players.

[durhampie]

Yes, I agree with this *If*. Fans would have been fully onboard as well.
If there was something the board (or whoever interviewed him for the job) saw in him as a character, he's yet to reveal that in public. That's not to say he's coming across as a complete buffoon, he isn't, despite the howler about how difficult it is to pick up points on the road in this division whilst handing them out freely to every visitor to Meadow Lane, as well as the fact that 56% of teams in L2 this season have returned from an away ground with at least 1 point, which means you're actually more likely to get something on the road than lose.
The best thing I can say about him as a person is that he seems to be very much enjoying himself, even when we lose. I guess he can't believe his luck.

I wonder if is luck is still in after the next 2 games...

[Chicken Balti Pie]

Are we saying Maynard because he was part time or because Wealdstone are an unfashionable club? Pete Wilds done well who came from an NL club?
Both Ipswich and Leicester managers next to no experience with senior players and would have been seen as risks. If he had the character to lead when he walked through the door the players wouldn’t care where he came from.

Both Leicester and Ipswich's managers have extensive coaching experience at higher levels. May not have been the number 1 but Kieran McKenna was Man Utds assistant manager and Marasca was Pep's number 2.

Bit different than being a BT engineer and looking after a part time club

[TSANHO]

I managed to sit through the full ten minute presser with Maynard today, he’s rather bullish isn’t he. No conversations with the owners regarding poor results apparently.

One thing that struck me was that on numerous occasions Maynard mentioned the individual errors at the back rather than the team defending as a whole for our poor form and defensive collapses. It reminded me a bit of Brentford when they sacked Mark Warburton despite making the playoffs that year. Statistically speaking the owners said he had been lucky and that the results didn’t reflect the games…..(although doing very well).

Perhaps our owners have seen Maynard’s time in charge so far in the opposite way to the Brentford scenario. Do their stats suggest that Maynard has in fact been really unlucky….especially with the away games v Wrexham and Mansfield. Throw in a number of defensive individual errors and that may make Maynard’s tenure not seem so bad, to those upstairs anyway.

[SinceSept1959]

I'd agree that Notts were unlucky at Wrexham & Mansfield and those potential draws would have stood SM in good stead.
As you say the owners may have the " not so bad "
perception too. This perception may well change when attendance figures decline or the matchday environment turns toxic.
I wouldn't agree that the players are sulking or deliberately underperforming.
SM said that minor tweaks were needed to stem the goals conceded. These tweaks have had the opposite effect on attacking proficiency without solving the defensive issues !
As Maynard himself keeps saying , individual errors are the problem.
The attacking play wasn't broke and therefore didn't need fixing .
The main issue appears to be very laboured transitional build ups and the players being unable to understand their roles and positional diktats from the coach ?

[durhampie]

I'd agree that Notts were unlucky at Wrexham & Mansfield and those potential draws would have stood SM in good stead.
As you say the owners may have the " not so bad "
perception too. This perception may well change when attendance figures decline or the matchday environment turns toxic.
I wouldn't agree that the players are sulking or deliberately underperforming.
SM said that minor tweaks were needed to stem the goals conceded. These tweaks have had the opposite effect on attacking proficiency without solving the defensive issues !
As Maynard himself keeps saying , individual errors are the problem.
The attacking play wasn't broke and therefore didn't need fixing .
The main issue appears to be very laboured transitional build ups and the players being unable to understand their roles and positional diktats from the coach ?

Football is basically a very simple game. But the way SM talks, he makes it sound very difficult to understand.. He could be talking a load of boll*cks as far as I'm concerned.

[BigFatPie]

It’s a bit of a myth we were unlucky at either Wrexham or Mansfield. They were similar games in that we conceded early in both, had a few near misses/disallowed goals but were largely kept at arms length in both second halves and in truth looked far more likely to concede a second than get an equaliser.

If the owners are keeping Maynard because of some unknown data it’s not anything I’ve seen a single sign of in the games I’ve been to.

[MAD_MAGPIE]

In a sense it's true, but I'm not buying it as an excuse.

"Individual errors" has been a go-to quote for many managers under pressure over the years. Most goals come from individual errors if you think about it, be they minor or major, and it's an easy way to lay off your own responsibility as a manager.

The biggest "individual error" against Salford was Stuart Maynard's own, moving Jodi Jones to the wrong side of the field where he's clearly less comfortable and effective, and that affected the attacking balance and confidence of the whole team in the first half. I think when players aren't confident in the roles they've been given and the way they're set up, that's when "individual errors" tend to creep in.

To be fair I don't think the players have stopped trying/playing for SM, but I don't get the impression they believe in him, whereas they seemed to hang on Luke Williams' every word.

We'll see how SM gets on this weekend. Last Saturday was a tipping point in my opinion of whether he's a good manager who has just had a tough start, or a flawed manager who just hasn't really got it, and I'm now of the latter opinion.

That said, the owners are giving him every chance and for that reason so will I. I've never gone into a Notts game wanting us to lose or wanting a manager to fail, and now's no different. I wish Stuart Maynard the best but fear the worst is probably the most accurate way to describe where I am right now.

A great post as always Jackal. For me I would like to see MK Dons with my own eyes having missed the Salford game before making my final call, but when sensible posters have made their minds up it does not bode well. The one thing standing out for me is not playing players like JJ in the position where they have excelled this season and been their strongest. It could be argued why should we change how we approach a game to suit the oppositions threat. Instead let them worry about us. It is a simplistic way of looking at it and no doubt there will have been reasons for it. But to lay people when it doesn’t work it becomes a way of criticising. Had we beaten Salford or JJ got a brace or an assist or two everyone would be saying tactical brilliance.

Ultimately it will come down to the owners decisions based on what’s happening on the ground and the relationship with the players. Plus they will have far more data to analyse as part of their decision making process. Everyone knows results are not what we were expecting but if the owners do not just look at results then it goes deeper into the stats and performances. I think it’s safe to say that in some games we’ve seen for ourselves we have just not been threatening enough or confident enough particularly at home. I also feel SM is trying to keep the players on side by not calling out poor performances in public. Sometimes you need to be honest and I’ll never forget the honesty of LW after the Sutton away game. It was probably too early in SM’s tenure to call out the Sutton home game performance and also the Crawley game where they had a ridiculous amount of shots at goal. So instead opting to stay positive and focus on anything positive. This is when you get fans saying what game was he watching? I’d like to think behind the scenes the thought process is different.

Two games over Easter will likely define which way it goes. Then it’s just a case of finishing the season off regardless and resetting.