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O'Neil aka GONe

Wilf Wolf said:
Just one name of a manager that would have got as many points as GO would be a start.
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There are hundreds out managers out there who'd do a better job than GON with this squad.

So essentially every manager currently in a job in the top flights in Portugal, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Germany...

All of them
 
Figures that no matter where we are in the table, some other hypothetical manager would have us higher.

Maybe, just maybe, Gary deserves better than that sort of indefensible argument.

There may be a handful of managers who would have raised fewer eyebrows upon hiring, but to say they’d definitely have us higher than 10th/11th is simply a fantasy with no way to concretely prove or disprove.
 
I'd say 95%+ of us thought we'd significantly downgraded from Lopetegui to O'Neil.

I'd say now I don't think Lopetegui would have us appreciably higher in the table. We definitely play better football now than we did last season, would that same change have happened this year under Lopetegui (last season being very much needs must with a 91 year old up front), who knows. We looked pretty good against Rennes and decent in spells against Celtic in pre-season but that doesn't necessarily tell you much.

We'd probably be getting a load of bollocks via Ballbag now about how we weren't putting up enough of a budget for January, because Lopetegui is a dick.
 
Wilf Wolf said:
Just one name of a manager that would have got as many points as GO would be a start.
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Pep...

Just answering this part of the thread as you only asked for the name of ONE manager
 
GON is doing as well as probably could be expected, our current points haul and gap between us and the bottom 3 is at the top end of expectations.
From 9th upwards weren’t any better than any of those sides so we’re close to our glass ceiling.
GON challenge and judgment will come next season when expectations rise as does the quality at the bottom of the league.
 
GON has exceeded my expectations, I expected us to challenge the bottom 3.

On one hand he's got the most out of our forwards, Hwang in particular, given how poor he has been.
On the other hand, we are playing an odd 343/433 varient that pushes RAN forwards and leave Toti exposed. We look very open at the back as well.

So, all in all - we are more fun to watch than previous seasons but I think GON has a lot to learn, but this is the season to do it - we aren't going down (unless there's an unmitigated catastrophe).

He will be here next season so let's hope he can learn and step up.
 
Thinking back on Hobbs' comments about GO earlier in the year, I'd bet money that Gary's "fluid" formations are what sold the club on him as a guy who has the modern tactical ideas to take us forward.

That is to say, rightly or wrongly, I think that bit specifically is here to stay for as long as Gary does.
 
Wilf Wolf said:
Look at the preseason predictions and not many saw us level on points with 10th place. He’s improved a lot of players and deserves credit for what he’s achieved so far.
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This is key for me. I think tactically, I'm still quite non-plussed but there are at least five players this season who haven't just improved under him but look capable of performing for a good chunk of the clubs playing in Europe.

Lemina is easily as key for us as Neves was. Change my mind.
 
And this is the only way to stay in the league as a self-sustaining club. Buy cheap-ish, show clear progress under x manager, sell for long dollar to the ultra wealthy.

GON clearly doing what the club need in this respect
 
Given how early we have GON in his managerial career, who's to say that he doesn't continue to go on an upwards trajectory? He's certainly showing he can improve players, get them buying into what he wants, working heir passes off for him, and has shown a decent level of tactical astuteness as well.

What had Graham Potter done before he went to Brighton? One job with Swansea and bugger all else.

I just think it's very arrogant to assume any other non-elite manager would automatically have more points or be playing a better style of football. You only have to look at how often clubs at our level change managers searching for any kind of identity or success.

How many times have clubs sacked managers in search of some kind of idyllic style of play they think they deserve and then struggle badly? There's plenty of examples in the Prem and Championship of that happening and then seeing their results stall or get worse.

Sometimes people just fit with a certain set of players or at a certain club, just like Nuno did here. I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss what we've got, especially when we haven't even given GON a chance at any significant new signings yet.

Next season he'll definitely still be here, and that will be the litmus test once the squad evolves to more where he wants it.
 
The Bear said:
Given how early we have GON in his managerial career, who's to say that he doesn't continue to go on an upwards trajectory? He's certainly showing he can improve players, get them buying into what he wants, working heir passes off for him, and has shown a decent level of tactical astuteness as well.

What had Graham Potter done before he went to Brighton? One job with Swansea and bugger all else.

I just think it's very arrogant to assume any other non-elite manager would automatically have more points or be playing a better style of football. You only have to look at how often clubs at our level change managers searching for any kind of identity or success.

How many times have clubs sacked managers in search of some kind of idyllic style of play they think they deserve and then struggle badly? There's plenty of examples in the Prem and Championship of that happening and then seeing their results stall or get worse.

Sometimes people just fit with a certain set of players or at a certain club, just like Nuno did here. I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss what we've got, especially when we haven't even given GON a chance at any significant new signings yet.

Next season he'll definitely still be here, and that will be the litmus test once the squad evolves to more where he wants it.
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Really? Have a read of what he accomplished before Swansea. Was nothing short of miraculous.
 
Bob Bradley did great work at Stabæk; doesn’t always translate.
 
I actually don't think Potter would necessarily be a great fit here. His Brighton teams certainly knew how to avoid scoring though, and we're familiar enough with that
 
darlowolf64 said:
Pep...

Just answering this part of the thread as you only asked for the name of ONE manager
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I omitted the “who we could realistically have got” as I thought it unnecessary - apparently not!😁😁
 
The commercial department should be all over that. There’ll be a t-shirt in the club shop by the weekend with his face on it with the word unwhelming underneath.
 
I hope he gives the fa cup a good go. Our cup games have been less than stellar so far. But we do have a team that can get unexpected results (at both ends of the spectrum!). We should be safe enough this season to not have to worry about relegation
 
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