Abbott is Back

[ncfcog]

Makes me laugh, if Derry had been appointed as the assistant manager fans would probably be delighted, some were suggesting Neal Bishop and Michael Doyle too, how on earth they'd be better than someone as experienced as Abbott I don't know.

It's a great appointment imo, you can't give all the praise for the great escape (and I've made my views on that not being so great before) to Derry and then on the other hand complain about Abbott for the negatives.

When you're the assistant you do what you're told, you keep the players happy and you assist and offer advice to the manager where appropriate so as far as "pleasing the fans" goes it's kind of irrelevant but I don't think people knew or cared about who Neil Cox was when he came with Ardley, the fact we know Abbott as an experienced coach/assistant/manager who's only here as the number 2 has to be a positive imo.

This "you shouldn't go back" thing is nonsense too. Would you turn away Kasper Schmeichel, Jack Grealish and Callum McGregor because "you shouldn't go back"? It depends on the individual circumstances and anyone blaming Abbott for how sh*te Derry was is just clutching at straws to not blame a former player and fan favourite, the same goes for Craig Short, who was clearly completely out of his depth and a terrible appointment, but fans that loved him as a player blamed the lack of an experienced Director of Football for his shortcomings

I don’t think anyone has compared Bishop or Doyle to Abbott, that comparison wasn’t even a thing at the time people were talking of them as assistant managers. For me personally it just doesn’t look like the type of appointment the new owners would make so I’m assuming it was an Ardley choice. No one is doubting Abbott’s experience, but how does that experience fit in with the new owners model? Ultimately only time will tell.

[Freeman25]

We dont know if Short was out of his depth he only had around 20 games and didnt he win pretty much 1 in 2 ?

All in league one as well as for Abbott not that fussed as if it all goes wrong Ardley is going to get the blame not many people say its the assistants fault.

Not sure how many games you watched when Short was here but he looked out of his depth to me VERY early on and some of his signings were unbelievably bad - John Spicer, Ben Burgess, Rob Burch (more of a Trew/fans signing it seemed), Kevin Smith, Liam Chilvers and Luke (?) Hubbins and Jake Jervis (though he did go on to be half decent) from Birmigham to name a few.

And clearly, as you can see by the mixed reviews Abbott is getting, people can blame the assistant if they happen to be a fan of the manager.

I don’t think anyone has compared Bishop or Doyle to Abbott, that comparison wasn’t even a thing at the time people were talking of them as assistant managers. For me personally it just doesn’t look like the type of appointment the new owners would make so I’m assuming it was an Ardley choice. No one is doubting Abbott’s experience, but how does that experience fit in with the new owners model? Ultimately only time will tell.

I don't mean to compare Abbott to Doyle or Bishop I just mean that some of the people I've seen wanting ex players with no experience in the role are the same ones whinging about Abbott, who seems a much better candidate.

And as for the owners "Model" they don't have a model regarding staff as far as I know and the choice is 100% Ardley's, as it should be. Their model goes as far as how they want to bring in cheap, relatively unknown players that improve the team and then sell them on for a profit after using their talents to progress the club. The only evidence of how they're likely to handle their staff seems to point to wanting to keep Ardley here (or backing a manager long term in general regardless of who it is) and therefore giving him what he wants could only be beneficial in that regard.

[nw6pie]

I’m definitely more optimistic after watching the interview than I was when I heard the news. Best of luck, Greg.

[Elite_Pie]

I’m definitely more optimistic after watching the interview than I was when I heard the news. Best of luck, Greg.

Forget interviews, even Jamie Fullarton gave a good power point presentation!

I agree that this isn't as bad an appointment as it looked on first sight, in fact if Abbott had no previous connection with the club we would probably be happy that we'd got such an experienced bloke as assistant manager.

[matt_magpie]

Forget interviews, even Jamie Fullarton gave a good power point presentation!

I agree that this isn't as bad an appointment as it looked on first sight, in fact if Abbott had no previous connection with the club we would probably be happy that we'd got such an experienced bloke as assistant manager.

I trust Ardleys judgement, I think he’s probably the most intelligent manager below the championship. He knows exactly what’s needed if he has time, not a baller so has a team with a few in and tbf most of signings have been his and validated by football radar

[legs77]

Not sure how many games you watched when Short was here but he looked out of his depth to me VERY early on and some of his signings were unbelievably bad - John Spicer, Ben Burgess, Rob Burch (more of a Trew/fans signing it seemed), Kevin Smith, Liam Chilvers and Luke (?) Hubbins and Jake Jervis (though he did go on to be half decent) from Birmigham to name a few.

And clearly, as you can see by the mixed reviews Abbott is getting, people can blame the assistant if they happen to be a fan of the manager.




I don't mean to compare Abbott to Doyle or Bishop I just mean that some of the people I've seen wanting ex players with no experience in the role are the same ones whinging about Abbott, who seems a much better candidate.

And as for the owners "Model" they don't have a model regarding staff as far as I know and the choice is 100% Ardley's, as it should be. Their model goes as far as how they want to bring in cheap, relatively unknown players that improve the team and then sell them on for a profit after using their talents to progress the club. The only evidence of how they're likely to handle their staff seems to point to wanting to keep Ardley here (or backing a manager long term in general regardless of who it is) and therefore giving him what he wants could only be beneficial in that regard.

As I said he only had around 20 games and had us mid table and imo was harshly sacked.

The bloke we have now is the luckiest manager in the last 10 years he has done nothing and is being given a lot of time when he looks out of his depth to me.

[queenslandpie]

For me its an association with the Trew era and for the most part I think we would all prefer to forget most of that. See what happens but it does irk a bit. A surprising appointment in my eyes but what do I know.

[Freeman25]

As I said he only had around 20 games and had us mid table and imo was harshly sacked.

The bloke we have now is the luckiest manager in the last 10 years he has done nothing and is being given a lot of time when he looks out of his depth to me.

Lucky is probably at the bottom of the list of words I'd use to describe Ardley to be fair, the issues he inherited when he got here tied his hands behind his back from day one, then the owner that brought him in decided to get his d*ck out and sell up.

Then his second season he was basically forced to give everyone else in the league a headstart in building their teams and he had to build his as we went along. Not only did he do that he also had the season and with it, our momentum pulled from under him with Covid stopping the season. Even with the adversity we faced last year had the season carried on as normal I think we'd have at LEAST gone up automatically.

This season is his first season where he's not disadvantaged before he's begun

[Elite_Pie]

Even with the adversity we faced last year had the season carried on as normal I think we'd have at LEAST gone up automatically.

We'd have at LEAST gone up automatically? Seeing as only one club gets automatic promotion, what could we have done MORE?

This season is his first season where he's not disadvantaged before he's begun

True, so given what he's got to work with compared to other clubs anything other than promotion will be a failure.

[jackal2]

I remember Greg Abbott from last time as a chirpy, genuine character and somebody well-suited to an assistant manager's role, able to form good relationships with the players and be that bridge between them and the manager who has to remain a little more distant. He also had a good relationship with most fans as I recall.

Depending on whether you're a glass half full or half empty person, you can remember him either as the man who played an integral role with Derry in pulling off The Great Escape, or as being part of the same managerial team that went on a long losing run the following season culminating in relegation, but that was after some severe budget cuts which were probably masked by an unexpectedly good start and a couple of influential loan signings we lost mid-season and didn't properly replace (McLaughlin and Zeli Ismael if my memory serves me correctly?)

Also, the club has a very different, calmer culture now compared with what we had then, so it will be interesting to see how Greg works with Ardley and the backroom team in this environment. The guy's a fighter, we know that from his professional and personal battles, so as far as I'm concerned I welcome him back, wish him well and have an open mind as to what he can achieve.