Originally Posted by
Psaw
I am sure you have noticed that Cambridge are going strong in div 4. The change from hopeless strugglers to championship chasers is down to one man with one reserve team appearence behind him. He got injured in that and never played again.
The change has been root and branch. Somehow div 4 trundlers are performing, and with effort. He has signed players who actually do what it says on the side of the tin. He knows a player when he sees one, then he gets the best out of them. The way he talks about the team is like he loves all of them, then discusses openly why he drops or picks players, all of it makes sense.
The team plays intending to win, even when ahead, they go for more. If you listen to him talk, its obvious he has a brain the size of Thetford forest.
You can have a plan, several, but it is the implementation of it. There is a factor x in success, a rare ingredient. Bonner when stand in manager, won games without the power of being manager, there is a common sense, a magic to some people. He knows what hes doing, even though he is 35.
Cambridge have had many such magicians, Ron Atkinson, John Docherty, John Beck, Bill Leivers, all are winners. As im sure you have. The question is, how do you get such talent as a manager of your team? It seems to be serendipitous. Maybe there is such a person as manager of Arnold or Belper, but you wont know it.
Ron Atkinson was manager of Kettering, and used to visit the Abbey to watch games, and sit on his own in the social club, he chose United. Beck was a player, made manager, and we almost made the premier league. Like Bonner he won from the off, no fallow period or training needed. Systems or plans dont get you up, the people who implement plans do.