SG: A rare quality in management

[0wl18]

I don't understand why people wouldn't trust Gray with money. look at what he's brought in with no money ffs, I think gray would be fine with a few more quid in his warches, he strikes me as a guy who won't be ripped off too which means we won't be paying over the odds for poo . His record in the transfer market speaks volumes.

[adelphi1867]

Gray plays boring football?, every manager worth his salt will tell his players," We start with a point, the LEAST we expect is a point" by going to play 'Gung-ho' football will leave you very open at the back,, when it does not work, ie, you stop scoring goals, you have nowt else to fall back on, Arsenal always give their opposition chances to score.

It is that style of football by Rotherham that won us the game on Saturday, one last thing, goals win you games, but defences win you trophys.

[Corneliusreeve]

I don't understand why people wouldn't trust Gray with money. look at what he's brought in with no money ffs, I think gray would be fine with a few more quid in his warches, he strikes me as a guy who won't be ripped off too which means we won't be paying over the odds for poo . His record in the transfer market speaks volumes.

 

I also think he will look for a certain type of player that will fit his system and more importantly fit into a squad and enhance the team spirit further.

[madfan]

Great post

[Guest conisbrough]

Agree Gray is the man to coach manage the team next season and beyond. Think he does need some help with player recruitment, in addition to being at training ground with players he is here there and everywhere watching games. Therefore can see merit in suggestion that DoF needs to be appointed. Interesting comments about Irvine he was very successful when in charge of Academy at Everton and helped produce some good players. Amazing how skills at one level do not transfer to another. Personally would have liked to have seen Terry Burton in role he is now doing job at WBA is a good coach and also excellent rcord of bringing players through. Also stil lives in Sheffield.

[atabor]

Having just seen what physio Paul Smith has to say about working with Stuart Gray in The Star and thinking back to the numerous occasions when many players have echoed his thoughts over the past season and a half, it bemuses me that some should be calling for our manger's head.

 

It is surely clear to all but the deaf that this man has a very rare quality when it comes to management today; the ability to command the respect and admiration from those for whom he is the boss. You don't win this sort of response from hardened professionals, especially professional footballers, unless you truly warrant it.

 

Surely Loovens and Hutchinson's return to S6 this season was down to his style of management. Even when players are dropped, he seems to have a wonderful way of keeping them involved and onside.  Take Mcquire, for example. I bet he could be a difficult player to please when not in the starting XI but there is not the slightest ***** anywhere in the squad and the staff to suggest anything other than every man in the current group are utterly united behind him.  Even 'troublesome' Royston Drenthe appeared to be infused with the sense of togetherness that SG has brought to the set up.  Let's not forget, too, how individual players (Semedo, Palmer, Mattock for example) have really blossomed with the confidence they have been given in what are apparently always enjoyable and very varied and active training sessions.

 

Yes, Saturday's celebrations were in part the result of such an incredible final few minutes but I have never seen everyone get so involved with celebrating a goal.  You can't fake that sort of reaction, it has to come from a truly common sense of joy; a shared moment of delight.

 

Good morale and a collective team spirit can carry you anywhere - add a little bit of extra cash next season and I believe the recipe for success is ready to cook.

 

Honestly, we would be crazy to throw all this away.

 

 

I hope the 'Gray Out' brigade read this - but I don't expect them to agree!

[atabor]

100% of my Wednesdayite friends and family want Gray to stay. 

 

 

I want Gray to stay.

[Guest totemowl]

I hope the 'Gray Out' brigade read this - but I don't expect them to agree!

I hope they don't. Handing out false and ridiculous praise like the OP has done doesn't give any credit to Gray. It devalues his real achievements.

On the other hand most of the posters since have been more level headed in their praise.

[Blue and white]

There are some fickle buggers on this site.Take Saturday for instance prior to Lee scoring the winner this site was in meltdown calling for his head now everyone thinks the sun shines out of his bum.

[nevthelodgemoorowl]

Adelphi1867, Nothing wrong with the Gung-Ho approach just as long as you have a minimum of £150 Million quids worth of talent on the pitch.

 

Now remind me, our team cost how much ? 

[DJMortimer]

There is no one type of manager who gets a team promoted.

 

You have seasoned old know it alls like Royle. McCarthy, Redknapp who have done it 2 or 3 times.

You have the ex superstar who steams in and changes the whole profile of a club - Keane at Sunderland, Hoddle at Swindon,

You have barking man motivators like Dowie, Holloway, Dyche who do it through force of personality

You even have miserable sods like Pearson and Coppell who have done it.

 

There is no science behind any of it.  Gray has as much of a chance as anyone of getting us up.

 

Well said.

 

It is truly staggering when you consider the billions of variables across the average football season that there are people out there who want to present the whole business as something straightforward and predictable that can be governed by a handful of simplistic platitudes.

 

With the exception of a couple of weeks at the end of Brian Laws' first season, this will be our best league finish in 15 years. Yet when it was first suggested that Gray take over from Jones long term he was written off by the 'experts' as a lower league failure. It's about time people acknowledged that what happens in each game and every season is to a significant extent random instead of pretending it's an alchemy or science that only they understand. 

 

Weighing up all the circumstances, I think Gray has more than merited the chance to see how far he can take us. Yes, our home form is grim, we don't score enough goals and we're not attractive to watch very often, but people need to consider how far we've come in a relatively short time. The only problem is that our results this season, coupled with the Chansiri takeover have now got the change addicts straining at the leash. If we're not in the top six after a few games next season there'll be the routine tantrums.

[jonesy87shef]

I've said it in other threads that it's the way we ALWAYS set up not to lose and winning is a bonus. Lots of teams have been there for the taking and would could attack them. Just a change in tatics every now and then would have made sense. Rotherham had let in 9 in 4 home games prior to us and it takes us going 1-0 to changes things. We play EVERY game to nullify the opposition. I agree with doing that vs the best sides but not the average and crap ones.

Also to point out that we have lost 10/13 games we have been trailing wining 2 so it does go to show that he can't change games when we are losing. 7 points from a possible 39 whilst losing is pretty shocking. We also seem to be glossing over what is one of our worst home seasons ever as a club and making excuses.

I'm not really a Gray out person but I think he could have been much more positive on some occasions. Maybe with a better budget he will change this. I hope he can and we progress with him in charge. However I think being a defensive coach and his approach and mentality he might struggle to adjust to attack and dominate games which is usually needed to go up.

Good luck Stuart Gray, I want the best for Sheffield Wednesday whether that means you staying or going. We should always be looking to imorve every aspect of our club. That goes for playing staff and management/coaches too.

[pickledegghiderman]

The truth is our attacking options are fairly limited compared to most other clubs in the division so to throw too many men forward and get caught out by the counter attack could leave us trailing and having to push more forward to reduce the deficit, thus leaving us open to further counter attacks. With better attacking options we can start to gamble a little more knowing that a higher percentage of our attacks could lead to a goal scoring opportunity. I for one think he's doing a decent job and after all he can only pi$$ with the wee wee tail he's got

[General_Grievous]

All this 'don't trust him with money' is a load of horseshyt

 

the times when a manager phoned another club and said 'here's half a million for xxx' are long gone for all clubs. At Wednesday SG will essentially say who he wants to bring in and what he thinks their value is in terms of fee and wages, and PA in our case does a deal if one is to be had. The budget is set above him, and the decisions largely taken from his hands. This is the case in all clubs now

[flying-owl]

It's nonsense to say "he can't be trusted with money" 

 

More like "can he handle the primadonna personalities that come with big money signings"

 

I would like to think he has the man management skills to do this.

 

So ita a "Gray in" from me.

[Beatpusher]

His signings so far have been decent, so I'm more than prepared to let him have a go with some real money....

[Tommo_]

There are some fickle buggers on this site.Take Saturday for instance prior to Lee scoring the winner this site was in meltdown calling for his head now everyone thinks the sun shines out of his bum.

 

 

Another thing people keep forgetting. The mass opinion on here prior to the season was relegation down to our threadbare squad. Now that we're mid table with a handful of games to go Gray's still being questioned? If anything it's the skeptics that are fickle

[livesey4917]

I think SG is very good with the players and keeping them in line, The ones that don't keep up to his standards don't play, well not for us anyway (Madine) I think that SG has high personal standards in terms of being professional and keeping private matters private etc and trouble causers are shown the door. onward and upwards with SG in my opinion, will all his signings be great? no! are anyone's? no! don't know what some of our deluded fans think when it comes to a new manager to be honest. SG is a good footballing man knows the game inside out but above that has a brain and a moral conscience that wont let him wee wee money away while at our club, what he achieved this season so far has been good and with a little more luck would have been exceptional but look into our squad beyond our first 11 we are quite weak yet we've more than held our own. No one saw the Tom Lees signing coming yet he's been excellent, same as Westwood. Stevie May will hopefully come good (helped with better players surrounding him) and if Lavery had not had his injury he could have definitely chipped in a few goals. Also remember the farce at the beginning of the season with the dreamer that had no money but promised us the earth, how can any manager work and prepare a squad under those circumstances? All in all I Believe the SG deserves at least a crack at taking us on with some stability and support both financially and from the fans, he's already got the support of the players it seems.