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Looking at the list of managerial odds, Paul Hartley stands out as someone to look at for me. Only 45, got Cove Rangers from the Scottish League 2 to the Scottish Championship within 3 years.
Id much prefer someone like that than the like of Tisdale or Jackett. We say that we need players who are on the up and not journeymen coming to the ends of their careers, surely that has to apply to managers too.
I for one hope they recruit another unexpected unknown that they have confidence will be excellent.
Why? Because Ian getting poached by a League One team is a massive sign that he was an excellent coach at this level, and a signal that the Reedtz brothers' strategy is working, or at least workable.
I mean the plan was to grow the club's net worth by getting in undervalued players with potential and training them up / giving them experience, right? Well we just did that with a head coach. I call that a win.
Unfortunately it inevitably means we won't be quite as organised as we otherwise would be on day one of next season, but that's life. With any luck, they'll get someone in who's even better than Ian (and frankly Ian's stats say that he was indeed very good).
So overall, I hope they repeat the strategy as it's a net positive to the club in the long term.
I'm with you.
You could also argue that the way the club have advanced IB's career is an attrractive sign for any ambitious young manager wondering whether he - or she? - wants to work at Notts. To me, it says do a good job here and your career will progress accordingly.
The fact that fans are split on whether IB actually did a good job shows what a zero-sum game we're in: promotion = success, not promotion = failure. Nothing is that binary, though, and the bigger test for me is whether the club's ethos of a head coach slotting into an existing system - is viable.
Logic says it makes a lot more sense than starting afresh every time you bring a new manager in, but only if the flaws are being recognized and corrected.