Sir Clive Woodward at Southampton

[Tumbleweed 106]

I keep hearing rumours that Sir Clive is good friends with the Soton chairman and is taking up some sort of advisory position with them.

I am just wondering what folks'' thoughts are on this. After the debacle of the Lions tour and his inability to get the right team, the right preparation, any coherent tactics, no on field leadership and an obsession with new-labour style "spin", this looks to me to be great news- perhaps even better than Crouch to Liverpool.

Moreover I just can''t see good ''ole ''Arry working with a pseudo-aristocrat.

 

[Dean Coneys boots 1,398]

Do not underestimate Woodward. I am a rugby fan and have charted his progress for years,

The man is a genius at detail, he will sort out attitude and training techniques like no other in football, it will take a few years but he will eventually outshine the lot of them. He is an able and clever man.

The ONLY worry is that footy players may not relate to him.  

[Plastic Scouser 0]

Despite getting all the accolades for taking England to the World Cup and winning it, Woodward was not the "inspiration" behind that campaign. He was blessed with a profusion of class players and an outstanding captain in Martin Johnson. He also had the back up staff to do much of the work for him - forwards coach, backs coach, kicking coach etc as well as specialists in just about every field of sports science & psychology. Whilst the science and "ologies" may have played a small part, overall it was the team that won the world cup for England - hence the dismal failure of the Lions, in spite of the rumoured £60m budget for the tour - most of which probably went on Alastair Campbell''s wages!

I know that Woodward is working towards his coaching badges and that for the foreseeable future he is being seen as a backroom advisor but I can''t seriously see him having any plausible effect on Southampton, purely because they haven''t got the players to do the business for him - even more so now that Crouch is on his way.

Harry & Sir Clive - not a partnership to strike fear into anyone - don''t worry Tumbleweed!

[Dean Coneys boots 1,398]

Yes a formidable team was behind the scenes for England''s World Cup build up and triumph- but the point Scouser is this:

Woodward was the FIRST person to put such a team in place!! And it paid off big time. He had the vision to revolutionise the way preperation to sport occurs. He got the very best out of his players and moulded them. Just look at how Wilkinson progressed from playing his debut in Oz to the final. Woodward was responsible.

If he does that in football. (Which- pardon the insult-is often run by less than ''Einstein'' like people) he will have an enormous impact.

Basically he will survey what happens for a season and then sort out the crap.

The last Lions tour was unfortunate. Basically NZ were absolutely AWE inspiring. The squad was weak. And Woodward had already got one eye in football...it is unfair to judge him on that series. You need to look at the career- and that is impressive.

[Budgie 0]

Let''s hope, then, that the Southampton forwards believe that kicking the ball over the ball is a score!

[Trent Canary 0]

Vicar - From reading your last two posts I assume you have read SCW''s autobiography, if not its a must for any english rugby fan. Some of his ideas and strategies were ground-breaking. Although we had good players at the time, we still wouldnt have won it without him.

At Southampton he can do a good job, implementing new things that havent been seen in football. However I just cant see footballers listening to him, especially Arry Redknapp.

[Tumbleweed 106]

You make some good points vicar, but will SCW really be able to relate to a footballer? I don''t know the game of rugby very well, but whenever I watch the six nations matches on TV I am struck by how "public school" they all seem to be. This is not a criticism, but an observation that the breeding and make up of the average rugby player seems very different from a tough kid from the streets who can play footie but has no decent academic background. I would imagine they would respond in different ways.

Remember that football has been professional for many many years whereas rugby only recently caught up- maybe SCW was revolutionary because he brought a football style mentality of preparation, diet and training to what was basically an amateur game?

[Plastic Scouser 0]

Fair comment Vicar - the Lions were weak, and I do understand your comments on his vision - he was certainly the first sporting manager to take such a scientific approach to coaching, but my theory remains the same - if the team are rubbish (see Southampton or the Lions) all the science & psychology can go out of the window - the results will be the same.

I can''t wait to see how they handle his fitness & training regime mentality though - do you think training will still be from 10 till 12 every day then off to the bookies/golf course???!!!! Maybe he will start a revolution after all!

[Northern Canary 0]

he might take a little bit to adjust so hopefully they wouldnt go up this season

[Big Rob 0]

I can see Southampton giving away lots of handballs and foul throws this year!! 

[Dean Coneys boots 1,398]

Yes rugby is played by ''public school'' types but also by policemen!!

Besides which I went to public school (Norwich Cathedral) and have no problem relating to ''normal'' people- see no reason why Sir Clive should be any different. Is this a bit of inverse snobbery chaps?!! Wot ho!

Besides some of the front row in rugby are not famed for brains- just ask Jason Leonard- Essex builder by trade. Massive drinker by night. Hard as nails on the pitch. Fit as a butchers dog. Good freind of Sir Clive.

[YankeeCanary 0]

This is all very interesting ( it really is ) but I see Harry Redknapp''s departure within the next three months. Won''t do us any harm, if that''s the case, as Southampton figure out how to cope with life at the lower level.

[blacko 0]

Good post Vic, but should crap be in your vocabulary?

[Dean Coneys boots 1,398]

Oh you got me there!!

Why ever not Blacko?

I am a priest not a puritan weirdo!

[Tumbleweed 106]

Do you think we''ll see Jason Leonard in the saints defence, partnering Darren Kenton (if he''s still there), with Steve Thompson hurtling up the wing?? Now that would be a sight!!!

[James Long 0]

Sir Clive Woodward was actually a football fan when he was a kid and actually did say he wanted to be a footballer. But his parents sending him to private school and wanting him to be involved in Rugby is where he came into it. He is of course a big Chelsea fan (and it was before Mr A came in) and has attended in any spare time loads of Chelsea game. He said he probably knows the rules of football better than Rugby (well football ain''t hard to know the rules to compared to the technical rules names and everything involved in rugby which new audiences originally have trouble understanding like I did 5 years ago!). It may not have been excellent after that memorable night (day in the UK) in Sydney for him, but if you consider what he did and believed in before that WC win and what got them there then If he or anyone tries to use the technique (football style) then this could pay rich dividends for them. When I watched that documentary on the BBC about 3+ months after the WC win it showed exactly how everyone (Him, backroo staff, players in particular) had their part to play and how they prompt and certain strict rules set out and anyone breaking those in his eyes could'' cost England the World Cup''. He even took England down under during the summer break to New Zealand and Australia so the team could get used to playing there and amazingly they beat them both (and beat New Zealand in there back yard which ain''t easy). Grand Slam 6 nations, continuing world number 1 ranking, double down under, WC win all in one yr can''t be wrong. 

[Thirsty Lizard 3,155]

Well I''m pretty sure I heard that Steve Thompson is a Norwich fan. So maybe we might find him hurtling up the right wing for us some time!

[First Wizard 0]

In the words of my hero Napoleon, "Never interrupt an enemy when they are making a big mistake".

Good news for City I feel, and I''d bet Harry isn''t too happy about it!.

[Trent Canary 0]

[quote]Well I''m pretty sure I heard that Steve Thompson is a Norwich fan. So maybe we might find him hurtling up the right wing for us some time![/quote]

I know things have been looking bad but...

[Tumbleweed 106]

Well he''d probably be more effective than David Bentley was........and  his curly throw ins might just be a new weapon for us!

[Thirsty Lizard 3,155]

I can''t imagine too many left Championship backs looking forward to tackling him though..

[Plastic Scouser 0]

What a refreshing thread - no insults being thrown, no moaning or whinging - it''s a real breath of fresh air!

 

Vicar - I don''t think that there''s too much inverted snobbery in this thread, it''s fair to say that with the birth of professionalism the whole "public school" thing has been swept away at club level, even if there are a fair number of old duffers still involved in the RFU set-up!!!!

 

I really can only see SCW being successful if he starts off at ground level - the youth set-up or reserves.   Without the resources to call on that he had as England manager, I really can''t see him re-creating the success he had at Southampton - but then perhaps he''s only looking at that job as an apprenticeship and that the real job he''s looking at is Sven''s?????   What money on SCW working his magic on the England team????