Stuart Webber or Neil Adams next season?

[TeemuVanBasten 3,327]

There has been a Webber stay or Webber go thread, but I found myself a bit reluctant to press 'Go'.

Not because I've got any appetite for Webber to stay (he'd at very least have to hold his hands up to a bad transfer window and show a degree of contrition for his Times interview, and I think he's too arrogant to submit to either).

But because I've just got some bad memories of Neil Adams as manager, and it looks like he's being groomed as the Webber successor.

So that should be the real question shouldn't it, going in to this summer transfer window do you want Stuart Webber or Neil Adams as Sporting Director?

[essex canary 490]

14 minutes ago, TeemuVanBasten said:

There has been a Webber stay or Webber go thread, but I found myself a bit reluctant to press 'Go'.

Not because I've got any appetite for Webber to stay (he'd at very least have to hold his hands up to a bad transfer window and show a degree of contrition for his Times interview, and I think he's too arrogant to submit to either).

But because I've just got some bad memories of Neil Adams as manager, and it looks like he's being groomed as the Webber successor.

So that should be the real question shouldn't it, going in to this summer transfer window do you want Stuart Webber or Neil Adams as Sporting Director?

Adams as manager 22 wins, 26 losses with an impossible PL schedule at the front end. Disastrous or not? Not for me.

[hogesar 9,609]

I dont think Adams managerial record has any relevance to his ability to be a Sporting Director.

[TeemuVanBasten 3,327]

12 minutes ago, essex canary said:

Adams as manager 22 wins, 26 losses with an impossible PL schedule at the front end. Disastrous or not? Not for me.

We weren't in the top 6 when he 'resigned' in January, and in October and November we went through a dreadful period of form with 1 win, 4 draws and 4 defeats in those two months.

Plus he fell out with Bassong (and that sounds a bit harsh following his interview, albeit only one side of the story), signed and played Lafferty on the left wing, those were both black marks.

I suppose though we have to look at his transfer business, seeing as he was the 'Football Manager' rather than Head Coach, and that is the bit we really need somebody to come and get right in the Sporting Director role.

Actually a decent hit rate! 

Successes:

• Lewis Grabban
• Gary O'Neil
• Cameron Jerome

Failures:

• Kyle Lafferty
• Carlos Cuellar (had technical ability but legs had gone)
• Vadis Odjida-Ofoe
• Ignasi Miquel

Kidd so don't count:

• Connor McGrandles (can blame on Gary Holt
• Louis Thompson (was unlucky wasn't he)

So balance isn't quite the 50% you'd want to see, but Jerome and O'Neil were class acts, and Grabban was a bargain considering how much we went to flog him for. 

You know what, I'm going to be bold and vote for Neil Adams, perhaps he actually suits an English manager like Dean Smith. 

Edited May 18, 2022 by TeemuVanBasten

[TeemuVanBasten 3,327]

9 minutes ago, hogesar said:

I dont think Adams managerial record has any relevance to his ability to be a Sporting Director.

He was a Football Manager, not a Head Coach, so we can judge him on his record on signings, and that was very much a mixed bag.

Losing Pilkington and Snodgrass in the summer window, and then signing Lafferty as a wide player to replace them, doesn't fill me with a great deal of confidence. 

Edited May 18, 2022 by TeemuVanBasten

[essex canary 490]

19 minutes ago, TeemuVanBasten said:

We weren't in the top 6 when he 'resigned' in January, and in October and November we went through a dreadful period of form with 1 win, 4 draws and 4 defeats in those two months.

Plus he fell out with Bassong (and that sounds a bit harsh following his interview, albeit only one side of the story), signed and played Lafferty on the left wing, those were both black marks.

I suppose though we have to look at his transfer business, seeing as he was the 'Football Manager' rather than Head Coach, and that is the bit we really need somebody to come and get right in the Sporting Director role.

Actually a decent hit rate! 

Successes:

• Lewis Grabban
• Gary O'Neil
• Cameron Jerome

Failures:

• Kyle Lafferty
• Carlos Cuellar (had technical ability but legs had gone)
• Vadis Odjida-Ofoe
• Ignasi Miquel

Kidd so don't count:

• Connor McGrandles (can blame on Gary Holt
• Louis Thompson (was unlucky wasn't he)

So balance isn't quite the 50% you'd want to see, but Jerome and O'Neil were class acts, and Grabban was a bargain considering how much we went to flog him for. 

You know what, I'm going to be bold and vote for Neil Adams, perhaps he actually suits an English manager like Dean Smith. 

Never easy to evaluate. How many league title medals has Seb got? Not convinced that Odjida-Ofoe and Lafferty were failures though his left field deployment of the difficult character that Kyle represented, was . My belief is that people who know all aspects if their trade are better than those that don't. So his 22 wins scores far better than Webber's nil. Given that we don't need a DOF and an assistant DOF, I would also take the punt.

[repman 633]

I always thought that whoever replaced Webber would mainly have the role of continuing on the path we had gone since 2017. However that was presuming that we would be in a relatively strong place where no wholesale changes were needed. If it is a straight choice between the two I would say Webber, as despite his failures, he managed to right the ship once before. Whether he himself has the appetite to do that is another question though.

[crab man 164]

Adams shouldn't be anywhere near that level of responsibility.

Webber wins hands down. His record at championship level is second to none. We just need to put the season behind us and get the ball rolling again.

[KeiranShikari 1,403]

If it's going as sour behind the scenes as we're being led to belive then Adams is surely a part of that. He might have been being groomed to replace Webber but surely he can't replace him if he leaves under a dark cloud.

 

[Pyro Pete 1,886]

This poll is like having to vote for either Boris Johnson or Jeremy Corbyn as Prime Minister.

Where is the competent option?

[TeemuVanBasten 3,327]

5 minutes ago, Pyro Pete said:

Where is the competent option?

I'm sure if I put Edwin Van Der Sar as an option he would win.

This is the realists poll, lets face it... it will be Adams if Webber leaves. 

Edited May 18, 2022 by TeemuVanBasten

[essex canary 490]

7 minutes ago, TeemuVanBasten said:

I'm sure if I put Edwin Van Der Sar as an option he would win.

This is the realists poll, lets face it... it will be Adams if Webber leaves. 

You could try Fred Flintstone.

[canarybubbles 1,914]

This badly needs a third option - neither of the above.

[GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary 1,735]

My preference is that the responsibility of signings is moved to the football manager

[Midlands Yellow 3,920]

Bryan Gunn should throw his hat in the ring and challenge those two. 

[CanaryCuddles 20]

We need an outsider who can bring a fresh perspective. Really hope Adams is just the holiday cover rather than being groomed for the job full time

[Capt. Pants 4,194]

1 hour ago, CanaryCuddles said:

We need an outsider who can bring a fresh perspective. Really hope Adams is just the holiday cover rather than being groomed for the job full time

Agree.

The other dynamic is the relationship with Smith & Shakey and I just get the feeling Smith (already won promotion) and Shakey (the Premier League) won't relish taking orders from an 'assistant'. I can see it going badly unless Adams is very hands-off.

[littleyellowbirdie 2,500]

11 hours ago, essex canary said:

Adams as manager 22 wins, 26 losses with an impossible PL schedule at the front end. Disastrous or not? Not for me.

The bad rap Adams got as a manager was totally unfair. He was thrown into an impossibly difficult run of Premier League games at the end of a bad season, was sneered at from the outset by some before the start of the championship season, was undermined in front of the whole squad by Bassong simply for replacing Houghton,and left the job voluntarily in a position good enough for his successor to be able to deliver promotion immediately.

So I don't understand why anyone would be so resentful of him given that both Webber (and Farke) clearly respected his football nouse enough to put him where he is.