Much has been said about Steve Cotterill, before, during and indeed after the season that has just been.
To be honest I have made little secret that I have some grievances against some of his movements since he came to the club, and I also think that tactically he has been found wanting at times – limited numbers or not – and to be fair his predecessors were slated for a lack of tactical awareness so we need to be fair.
The complete decimation that he has performed with the younger players is still, in my opinion, shocking. Granted not all, maybe none, would have made it but to have cut adrift every single youngster within 12-months is unbelievable – the way that he has, apparently, done this even more so at times! I can say with a certain amount of certainty that the fans favourite Joel Ward would have almost certainly gone the same way as all the others, in fact would have been one of the first out the door after a ’10 minute assessment’, had Cotterill got his way, but I digress…
Where was I?
Yep, I remember now. Of course I am a fan, so like most others I think ‘I know best’, when quite clearly I do not or I would be doing the job – that said I think plenty of us have questioned his tactical play at times so I am not alone.
All that said I think that he has had to put up with a lot, some has been on his own making, but all-in-all his hands have been well and truly tied so he has not done a bad job really has he?
Whatever happens with a takeover or not there must be a budge in place – surely? – for him to conduct some business this summer, he needs to as we cannot put out a side with 7 or 8 players, as this is what we have in terms of numbers at this point!
So, the movements that he makes this summer in the transfer market will be what he is left to be judged on.
‘Word of the street’ has it that he has made an ‘informal enquiry’ about Garry O’Connor.
You may remember him as he is the Scottish one if memory serves me that we were ‘linked’ with a few years back when he was playing in Russia?
For me the guy is nothing special at all and has failed to produce much of any use for the last few years so that would not really be the type of signing that I would say will do much to help us out, then again he is the boss not me…
As I say though, this summer and who he brings in and how they perform for us next season is what will make of beak him as Pompey manager.
He will have nowhere to hide as these will be the players that he brings in and no one else can be blamed for anything, there will be no hiding place.
So, lets be fair.
Basically this summer he starts with a clean slate so lets see what the guy can do with what will be his side, the first dozen games of next season will tell us pretty much all we need to know about the guy, right?
He will either make a stronger rod for his back to give those that have so much support and faith in him reason for doing so or dig himself a deep trench into which he will eventually find himself berried in.
As said lets give him the chance having been given, all being well, a fair crack of the whip to assemble a team, which will be – as it should be – on a limited budget either way and then cast judgment full on him…
PLAY UP POMPEY!
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