Post by stewart on Nov 18, 2012 19:47:23 GMT
The problem with that scenario is that we had good players and a good manager in 1965.
I know what you are saying Stewart but many things are different. Mr Ling hasn't got two pennies to rub together to buy or even borrow players. In 1965 wages throughout the Football League were not high and to contribute to the wages and the other running costs of the club the club had many more coming through the gates every game.
The players that we have got are certainly good enough for this league and to be a top half team in this league. Howe is a very accomplished player and one of if not the best player in that position at this level. Mansell and Nicholson? Both excellent last season. You do not become a bad player overnight .... but lack of confidence, not playing in your favoured role in a system, and carrying niggling injuries that the fans don't know about but having to play because of the size of the squad, can all contribute to a reduced level of performance. Downes and Saah .... as good a central defence combination as you can reasonably expect at this level. Bodin ..... will play a lot higher than this .... but one day, he is not ready yet but wouldn't it be nice to see him develop as he is going to with us? Thompson .... raw talent and I hope he doesn't feel too much pressure from the fans who surprisingly think he is better than he is at the moment. He'll get there .... but it takes time.
Better manager in 1965? Well Mr O'Farrell was good no doubt about that. He was though able to attract the old buggers from West Ham United where he used to play because wage levels surprisingly were not that different so a slight drop in wages to play for Torquay in the twilight years of a professional career was not something that would be a barrier.
As good as Mr O'Farrell was before that 1-4 defeat at home to Stockport County, we had already lost 1-4 at Bradford and a few weeks later would lose 0-4 at home again to Darlington. Did he panic or take any notice of what the fans were saying after those complete hammerings? No, he went on and got us promoted.
Last season at this stage of the season we had already lost 1-4 away to Southend United and 2-5 at home to Gillingham. Did Mr Ling panic about what fans were saying? No. We picked ourselves up, brushed ourselves down, and deservedly ended up in the play offs.
I noticed earlier that somebody said we are playing free scoring York City next week. I also noticed that we have scored more goals than them .... well that didn't happen by accident did it?
I am not going to try to suggest what Mr Ling should do. He is the professional with many years of experience in how the professional game works. He sees the players on the training ground every day. He knows what injuries they are carrying. He sees the players before and after games and will know how each player copes mentally with the pressures of the game. He is therefore the one to pick the team and decide the system we play.
If anybody should be depressed in Devon it's our old friends down at Home Park. On the verge of the Premiership only a few short years ago, but now peering down at the grave yard they call the Conference.
We know our place, but it's great that we so often punch above our weight
Stefano, you make some really good points, not least that Frank O'Farrell was the club manager at a time when the wage differential between the divisions was low enough that he could persuade players of the quality of John Bond, Ken Brown and Tony Scott to come to Plainmoor. That will never, ever happen again.
However, I would maintain that, man for man, the players of 1965 were far superior to the current crop, for whatever reason. None of the players of today would be anywhere near the team of O'Farrell's days.
It seems that funds for players are apparently non-existent, and this is undoubtedly due to the ridiculous wage demands now being applied. However, I doubt whether income from match days has changed that much. Average crowds in the mid-sixties were around double what they are now, and although I can't remember how much I paid for entrance in those days, I'm pretty sure that they were nowhere near half of the current prices.
What has really turned me off the present manager is this. Whether or not he has good players is debatable, but he is insisting that they fit into a "system" of his choice, rather than adopting a "system" which ideally suits their strengths and positional capabilities. For me, that is a shocking way to go about managing a team.
