After the Ipswich debacle last season, FRECKS told me he was fit and keen to play but Redfearn wanted to be cautious and give him another 2 weeks recovery. Warnock comes in with FRECKS out injured with a 2 week recovery prognosis. Warnock asks FRECKS to give him an hour which he did, and more, and started us on that remarkable recovery. According to today's Star, Stubbs made a decision on Saturday to err on the side of caution even though FRECKS was ready to play. Different managers, different approaches, different results!
We did indeed need a seasoned manager ian and I actually thought that that particular lesson had been learned by the club after Warnock - the gap between experience and the new boys on the block was there for all to see.
When TS said he was after a manager with Championship experience I thought the penny had dropped. Apparently not. We dont have the time to faff about learning and experimenting over 46 games, we need the points on the board to ensure safety, get established and take it from there. I can only assume AS was a cheap option and there being no guarantees in the game, TS considered it the best option.
Oh and also remember how Warnock was always upbeat, always saying how much he was enjoying the cut and thrust of the Championship always smiling, always with a sense of humour, cracking cheeky jokes at the news conferences, and how much he told the lads to go out and just enjoy the game. Stubbs always seem rather dour and fed up by comparison.
A lot stems from enjoying your work, after Redfearn the players we're on the floor, he tweaked it slightly, but only slightly, same players, just got them smiling again, when the wins started coming the confidence & self believe came back and that run was one of our best for goodness knows how long. It wasn't a fluke