Garry Monk OMDT

[Lord Snooty]

 

 

So the Monk has arrived. The work of the bookies in the previous 48 hours had muddied the waters and pointed the vain eastward to Lincoln creating a diversion which only added more fuel to the fire when the Sincil bank incumbent Cowley didn't rule out the possibility (as he had done the Huddersfield talk) by saying he 'knew nothing about it' (just as Bruce had) and then made vague comments about perfect opportunities and "the 3 parties involved". If there was nothing from Wednesday then there would surely only be the two parties wouldn't there? His team and the Lincoln hierarchy. 

It remains unclear what went off. It is possible that Cowley might have been playing the game and trying to encourage a Wednesday, hope that a bidding war could be matched with Huddersfield or even to get some sort of further backing from Lincoln.  All these things can be used as bargaining chips. 

 

 

What can't be argued is that all of this had an effect on the announcement of Monk. Had sky not started spinning the Cowley yarn and we had simply gone from post terrible-QPR-loss to announcing Monk I suspect the news would have been greeted with far happier response from the fan base. Yesterdays response from supporters was almost muted.  

Of course it is not only the Cowley story that has affected the response to the new man, but also the timescale which has spanned from Bruce going and Monk being announced. 

The man has been out of work. Why the delay?  Many will put that down to it being "Typical Wednesday" or "Chansiri not doing owt"

I suspect that is far from the truth.  Chansiri , far from looking pi$$ed off and mardy at the press conference as some have suggested looked, IMO, a man totally drained. Someone who had been burning the midnight oil and who having jetted from one side of the World to the other and then half way back across again in the previous two week looked like it was starting to catch up with him.

Anyone who has ever done a lot of travelling knows only too well the effect it can have on the sleep pattern, the body and how physically and mentally tiring it can be.

Add to the that the stresses of the SAG, SYP City Council Witch-hunt of The Wednesday and the stadium sale investigation and it's not hard to understand, if you have a reasonable about of grey cells why the owner might have looked a bit tired at the press conference. Not including the pressure of 30,000 fans demanding regular updates

Frankly , that anyone could have seen the man yesterday and not see that he had obviously been running about like a looney trying to get things sorted is astonishing.

 

 . 

 

He said when the Job became available that there had been 100 applicants.  Given the way that he's been previously shafted and before that got the appointment badly wrong, this process won't have been a case of sitting at a desk and casually flicking through those applicants "yes, no, no, yes, maybe, no, yes".  He'll have been looking into them in detail and will have also have been seeking advice from other people. 

He's also, as we know, someone big on the respect side of things. 

Chansiri won't have been making snide phonecalls to in work managers like other clubs do. He'll have gone through the proper process of approaching clubs seeking permission. They might not have answered the requests until the 4th time of asking.

 

There are all these things to consider and they all take time. He's then had to talk to people on the shortlist. Preliminary chats. Does he like them? Do they like him? Can they see each other working together?

You don't just pick a name out of the list offer them a contract and get off to the pub in time for last orders. Then there will have been second rounds of talks , trying to lay out the vision you have to the candidates, and them there's to you.  They need to know the conditions they will be working under and they will have had their own ideas that they want to get out in the open before things proceed. Then...one of them says no and you move on again to the next man.

 

In the meantime Bullen and the team have been holding the fort and doing ok. The Chairman was probably happy with this in knowing that it meant he could thoroughly investigate the possible candidates and make sure no stone was left un-turned. It might have frustrated us, but in the long term shouldn't we be happy that the best possibilities have been investigated and looked at to ensure we get the right man at the right time. After all timing is key in football. 

 

Which brings us to Monk....

 

Currently in a war with his previous clubs about the transfer activities and the use of his agent in brokering deals. Am I not the only person who believes another reason for the delay might be that Chansiri had been seeking reassurances about these affairs and had possibly been getting the clubs briefs had been drawing up a water tight contract to avoid any possible future disputes between themselves and their new manager? I think that there's every chances that some things have been included in the wording to make sure there are no future 'coincidences' occurring at Hillsborough. 

 

 

 

So what of Monk the manager?

 

Starting at Swansea as a caretaker after the Laudrup experiment went wrong Monk saved them from the drop with a game to spare.

He then took the role full time in the summer.

In his first full season he guided The Swans to eighth position with a club record points tally.

Monk signed a new three-year extension.

However he was sacked before Christmas following a run of one win in 11 Premier League matches, which left the club 15th

 

 

 

 

L**ds

June 2016, Monk was appointed head coach of Championship club L**ds United on a one-year rolling contract

Leeds were firmly in the playoff positions and in the hunt for automatic promotion, having pulled 11 points clear of 7th place.

However, after a dramatic loss of form in the final 8 matches of the season, Leeds mathematically missed out on the playoffs on the final day of the season, finishing in 7th place.

Despite this L**ds were set to activate a 1-year contract extension with the option of exploring a longer term deal, but on 25 May, Monk resigned as Leeds United head coach, with (new owner) Radrizzani saying that Monk's decision to quit the club had been a 'shock'.

 

 

 

 

Middlesbrough
On 9 June 2017, Monk was appointed as the manager of newly relegated Championship club Middlesbrough.

Monk stated that he aimed to have the club promoted immediately back to the Premier League.

On 23 December 2017, it was announced that Monk had left the club to be replaced by Tony Pulis three days later.

Boro were just 3 points from the play-offs when he was given the boot!

 

 

 

Birmingham City
 March 2018 he signed a three-and-a-half-year deal, and became Birmingham's fifth permanent manager in 15 months in a time of great disharmony at the club!

With the team in danger of relegation, he led them to five wins out of the eleven matches remaining to save them from the drop.

Monk said  he would be "relentless" in raising the mentality throughout the club, and "whoever is not on board with that won't be here."

 

He excluded several players, including both senior goalkeepers, from consideration for the 2018–19 first team. 

 

Despite a 9 point deduction and a hampered transfer summer because of EFL restrictions Monk finished the season 17th.

Xuandong Ren announced he was dissatisfied with Monk's playing style. Monk said Ren knew nothing about football.

 After making it clear he would not resign, Monk was sacked on 18th June much to the total disgust of the Birmingham fan base disgusted at the way their club had been run and who had, in Monk found someone to galvanise the football side and the supporters. This was a man afterall who managed to get a tune out of Jaques Maghoma!

 

 

 

Management style?

 

Quote

Balance rather than bollockings...

"The word I always use when I walk into a changing room, especially at half-time, is balance. When I'm angry my players know it, but you don't have to go absolutely mental. If I spend five or six of my ten minutes just bollocking someone, I haven't really helped him, or the group. If I've gone nuts, I haven't given him the information to make him better.

Put yourself in his position. Number one, you probably don't know what you've done wrong. Number two, you probably don't know how to correct it. Number three, you go out there, p****d off. You'll probably end up trying harder, but still making the same mistakes.

It's far better for me, as manager, to concentrate on the next half. I give them three points defensively, three points offensively, as a group, so they have clear information. What's done is done at that point. I can show them what was wrong the next day in the post-match reflections.That's when accountability kicks in, because there's no hiding place."

 

I want players with game intelligence. Weed out the the ones who can't think. They stand out like a sore thumb in the sort of training we do.

You're doing a passing and movement drill, a shooting drill, or whatever, and you see the ones that get it straight away; bang, and they're into it.

They're the thinkers. I need more of them."

Garry Monk 2017

 

 

 

Playing Syle?

Whilst at Swansea Monk’s tactical philosophy was keeping hold of possession and cautiously building from the back. With a three point midfield in a 4-3-3, the 3 often rotate around each other creating gaps and space to play passes out to the two wingers. In the course of this season, the two wingers , both coming with bags of pace and directness in running at the opposing full-backs.

The central midfield rotation usually evolves around having one man on his own, with the other two either in front or behind. 

 

However.....

 

..........in more recent times .Both Middlesbrough and Birmingham made comment on his exit about his style of football not being what they were after, wanting a more continental possession based, nice looking aesthetic game.  Monk himself has offered comment on this perceived shift to a high tempo high pressing style...

 

Quote

"Of course, I want us to play good attacking football. But you also have to play to your strengths. To your players strengths. In the long term of course you have a way you want to play, attractive possession football  but in the short term to ensure you get to the long term then you have to get results by getting the best from the players you have. A platform. That's football.

Garry Monk 2018

 

 

 

So will Garry Monk be a success at Hillsborough?

Will he be the man to change our fortunes?

The truth is non of us know. No one can predict the future no matter how desperate they might be to convince us otherwise. 

The Chairman doesn't know, the players don't know, and we sure as hell don't know. 

All managerial appointments are gambles.

You have to just pick the person you think best suited and then.... require a bit of luck! 

 

"We have some lucky elephants"

"I was hoping you were gonna say a proper left back"

 

 

 

What I do know is that despite only having a short time as a manager in the game Monk has managed to get more experience in those 5 years than he will have in his entire playing career and than many managers will have gained in careers twice as long.

Why?

Well, because you truly only learn the most when there's a $hitstorm.  When you have to batten down the hatches as the storm rages around you.

 

In his 5 short years he's worked for clubs and fans with expectations well above their level,  some crack pot owners,  he's had to work under EFL restrictions!!.

Despite his short career he is probably the perfectly experienced man in that sense to take on the Wednesday

All that and he's only 40 ! Get this right and he might have a secure job for a long time. Chansiri is a man who backs his managers. Monk taps into the club and gets us in the right direction he's as much chance as anyone of going down as one of the best!!!

 

GOOD LUCK GARRY MONK

You'll bloody need it!

 

 

Also a quick thank to @OWLERTON GHOST

I'm back in the game after Dottys tip nearly ruined me.

Thank you Brother!

 

 

 

[areNOTwhatTHEYseem]

Three points today would be a real bonus.

 

UTO

[Lord Snooty]

Just now, areNOTwhatTHEYseem said:

Three points today would be a real bonus.

 

UTO

 

Or we can forget about promotion etc etc

[The Night-Owl]

Although admittedly not among my preferred choices, I can see the reasoning behind appointing him, even despite a lack of promotions and the agent controversy. He's still young, despite boasting plenty of experience, he seems to me to favour a mix of Carlos and Bruce's playing styles. Despite some doubts and reservations, I hope Monk wins me over with improved more exciting performances and results. Good luck to him.

 

 

[Guest Bulgaria]

Cracking post that Mlord 

 

Thanks, I feel better now.

[trev]

6 minutes ago, Bulgaria said:

Cracking post that Mlord 

 

Thanks, I feel better now.

Me too.

 

Agreed about the Cowley rumour and timings.

 

If we had appointed Monk a week after Bruce left I would have felt quite positive....ish.

 

Like the bit he says about wanting "thinkers". I've always said that we are missing that in our team. 

 

I'm not too fussed about style of play, I just want to see us create chances and score goals. Don't care If we only have 35% possession tbh.

 

I'm boarding the monk train....i just wanted to have a brew in Cowley station for a bit first.

[Lord Snooty]

9 minutes ago, The Night-Owl said:

Although admittedly not among my preferred choices, I can see the reasoning behind appointing him, even despite a lack of promotions and the agent controversy. He's still young, despite boasting plenty of experience, he seems to me to favour a mix of Carlos and Bruce's playing styles. Despite some doubts and reservations, I hope Monk wins me over with improved more exciting performances and results. Good luck to him.

 

 

 

Exactly.On the outside, young and not much experience. But when broken down he's probably seen more sides of the game in that short window than some will in their entire careers. 

 

[The Night-Owl]

5 minutes ago, Lord Snooty said:

 

Exactly.On the outside, young and not much experience. But when broken down he's probably seen more sides of the game in that short window than some will in their entire careers. 

 

 

Yep and evidenced by your thorough post, he's had a few jobs with varying degrees of success and different playing styles. His biggest success was arguably the 8th position at Swansea in the top flight, whilst his experience in the Championship didn't achieve promotion, his teams did go through spells of promotion form. If he can rekindle that promotion form on a more consistent basis, whilst mixing his impressive style at Swansea and Leeds, with the effectiveness of his time at Birmingham, then he might be a good fit here in time and with backing.

[Nswowl]

Top work Lord. A thorough balanced appraisal. 

[Costello 77]

He's morphing into  picture by picture..

[Pablo Bonvin]

Fingers crossed that he’ll be a success here. As you say Snoots, no one knows if he will be, but sooner or later someone has got to come good surely, and why shouldn’t that be Monk?

[HIGHERSTATE]

0/10

 

Too much common sense

 

Not enough over reactionary, hyperbolic finger pointing or flouncing.

[sonofbert2]

My (Irish) mum very often used to say, "You're never lost, you're just finding somewhere new," normally when my dad was effing and blinding somewhere in Lincolnshire on the way to Great Yarmouth...

 

My point is that although Bruce leaving and Bullen's more recent games as caretaker have left some feeling very flat following a wave of optimism, we now find ourselves with a new boss and a new opportunity.

 

Very often in life the very good stuff very often follows the crappest of circumstances and comes about through a mixture of perseverance, timing and an evening out of "luck"- There is a hell of a long way to go yet this season.  Let's get behind him and hope all this recentbollocks happened for "a reason".

 

 

[Stubbs]

 

Just write it in a word document , it has a built in spell checker. Write it in word and then copy and paste it in here.

 

FFS!

 

 

[Stoop]

Good work

 

If only The star could put together a piece as informative as this

 

[prowl]

He will do. I didn't think DC would go for him with the transfer question hanging over him but DC has obviously satisfied himself that isn't an issue,

 

I'm looking for steady form up to Christmas then maybe a bit of wheeling and dealing. If we end the saeson top half that will be the minimum that I'd find acceptable. just outside the playoffs would be decent. play offs good to very good, automatic, not even a chance despite DC's comments.

 

Onwards and upwards. The future starts now.

[HOOTIE AND THE SHIT TU]

I've liked Monk since he was at Leeds, some of my relatives are Leeds fans, we go abroad with them every year. They were gutted when he left. Since then I've always hoped he would manage us one day. When Bruce left, same as most people, I went for Hughton. I dismissed Monk because of legal case hanging over him. When dotty started telling everyone about Rowett, I mentioned I'd much sooner have Monk, I never dreamed we'd get him.

 

Monk is a thinker, his teams have always done well against us. He's feisty too, and not afraid of tackling reputations and ego's

 

If I remember right, he likes a unit up top, at Leeds he had Wood, Monk will get the best out of Fletcher, but he will be on the look out for someone a bit more mobile, with a bit of pace and power

 

Buckle up boys, this is going to be one of those fun rides

[WindygrOWLer]

I just hope he instils into the players a winning mentality and a high press, with a strong desire to win the ball back....much like when Bruce was here. We looked so much better than when we sit deep and invite teams to run at us. 

Winning is more important than style as you never get bored of winning. Obviously both are desirable, but he could be a good fit here....time will tell.

Edited September 7, 2019 by WindygrOWLer

[Hookowl]

1 hour ago, Lord Snooty said:

 

 

 

"We have some lucky elephants"

"I was hoping you were gonna say a proper left back"

 

 

[Lord Snooty]

5 minutes ago, prowl said:

automatic, not even a chance despite DC's comments.

 

 

You never know Prowl, you never know....

 

Afterall....