Ollie and Les - an insight into their working relationship?

[Stanley]

For sure there are some that are descent that have came in and made some sort of an impact but collectively I think too many were bought as potential yeah we'd hope they will come good but imo that's likely to be next season , look at our squad 2 poles 2 Dutch a German a Frenchman an African an ozy from the 3rd tier along with teammate from Swindon plus our own youngsters making the step up , just my thought but a senior championship quality forward and a m/ f player should have a priority , surely as professional football men they could have bought in a more balanced group of players

Ollie is the type of manager who will always look to see where the strong characters are in the squad - he had those in abundance in the 2003/04 squad because that's the type of player he brings the best out of and is how he works his magic - that is his main strength as a manager. He will look at the squad we have now and immediately see that this key ingredient is what's lacking and I suspect will seek to address in January.

[dogsrrs]

Ollie is the type of manager who will always look to see where the strong characters are in the squad - he had those in abundance in the 2003/04 squad because that's the type of player he brings the best out of and is how he works his magic - that is his main strength as a manager. He will look at the squad we have now and immediately see that this key ingredient is what's lacking and I suspect will seek to address in January.

Hear Hear

[Shania]

We probably need a Marc Bircham type of player.

[1QPRDK]

As should be the case from now on, a manager who comes in, should do two things. 1) every window, give a list of positions he needs players in, as well as the attributes he wants them to offer; 2) give a list of players he wants. From that point, the DoF and scouting team goes and gets reports on these guys, judging their resale potential, how closely they match his required attributes, expected value, etc. They come back to the manager with a list of 5 players who most closely fit the club's budget and his requirements. The manager then makes a choice on his preferred approach order and the club aims to pursue those players, in order of preference.

This is what we know to be true, based on what the DoF role is and what Les and others at the club have said in the past, including JFH himself. Ultimately, the choices are his, what this does is allow him to focus more on managing than searching for targets.

Good post.

[hal9thou]

This is what we know to be true, based on what the DoF role is and what Les and others at the club have said in the past, including JFH himself. Ultimately, the choices are his, what this does is allow him to focus more on managing than searching for targets.

I think we all know what a dof is supposed to do in theory. What he does in practice should determine whether or not he has justified his position. I thinking sacking JFH while retaining Les illogical, and an obstruction to the appointment process, but you can't let TF out on his own. Thats the real reason we have a dof in the first place. This all goes back to Kia J, pants puller down in chief.

Olly would have worked with anyone as DoF, he wanted in that badly. His appointment was never going to threaten Les' position. I think Olly's the type of boss who needs decent backroom, someone who gets the tactical side of the modern game. God only knows if that will come to pass. At least it'll be a fun ride this time, and Olly stands a better chance than most of making LR a nasty, intimidating place to visit. Like it used to be - an asset.