A month to go - Dougie Freedman Review

With a month to go before we "see where we're at and make a decision on Freedman", I want to know how everybody feels.
From the last poll I did, it seems most people think Freedman will start next season as Bolton manager irrespective of how this one ends.
So assuming that's the case, how do you feel?
My thoughts on Freedman are exactly the same as they were before we went on this decent run, but I know how fickle you lot can be, which is why I think it calls for a fresh poll.

Cast your votes and elaborate if you wish.

Unless we lose all our remaining games he'll still be in charge come next August.

Freedman had momentum going into this season after our decent finish, but fucked it up with some poor buys, shit tactics, and zero motivation within the team.

He stumbled into a formation and tactic that suited the players, but rather than stick with it he's tinkered with both the personnel and the formation because he clearly has a 'we'll do it my way' attitude.

With Freedman in charge we'll never get out of this division (upwards anyway) because negative managers simply don't win enough games over a season. It really is that simple.

He will still be there next season unfortunately as we cant afford to sack him. Seriously considering not renewing my season ticket because of it,another week in week out of watching the little shit on the touch line in his ridiculously oversized jacket fills me with despair and thats without his stupid team selections,tactics,substitutions and public utterances. Fuck off Freedman.

I expect Freedman to be in charge next season and I expect to have a better season. At times along with everyone else I think he has made some bewildering  selections/ substitutions and signings but I think that he has had a difficult job financially and with moving on some that don't fit in with his plans, from next season I expect him to walk the walk not just talk the talk.

According to Dougie he has identified his targets for the summer and expects to get his business done early regarding the first team and he will be able to move on one or two, Eagles / Knight and Mears we would imagine. He has had time to look at the development squads, who appear to be performing much better, and has loaned out players with a view to deciding if they can be involved in the first team or need to be released.

He has had the time and he knows the score regarding finances, next season must see an improvement at least top half.

My two cents

NickFazer wrote:
According to Dougie he has identified his targets for the summer and expects to get his business done early regarding the first team

I will give him more time if this happens - if he can get the major signings playing in pre-season so we hit the season running then great. But I suspect it'll be the usual last minute loan signings meaning they play like strangers for the first month.

I've gone for something in between, Im far from confident about next season and I'll have to see what signings we make before I can predict where I think we'll finish - getting Juke's important. Unlike most posters on here I don't think the squad that started the season should be top 6, too many 'big players' have let us down and been nowhere near the standard their pay grade suggests.

Dougie's made mistakes tactically, but I do think the last 9 games have been an improvement in the application of the players, which is down to their motivation and the approach to each game. Whether or not he reverts to being a bit over cautious is another matter, he's got a history of it and I hope he's learnt something this season.

Next season is when we're supposedly seeing the 'long term plan' kick in and some youth come through, we saw some evidence of that yesterday with Hall. Also sounds as if Vela's started quite well at County and White's impressed with the couple of games he's played, having put this plan in action it will be interesting to see how it pans out. If it doesn't we can safely assume Dougie will be on his way.

I quite like Freedman - so I guess I'm in a small minority.

I think he had a very difficult job with the shite that Coyle had left behind - not only the crap players he inherited, the transfer budget blown on non researched players such as Sordell - but also the culture of the club where training, work ethics, and fitness seemed to have been non existence under Coyles management but also too things like the squads balance (for example - no wide midfield players apart from powder puff wingers), the lack of any thought (and presumably ability to execute) systems other than the mandatory 4-4-2 (with two attacking - non defending - wingers), plus the aparent abscence of scientifically analysing player performances (both our own and opponents), the complete joke of our so called medical staff.  Chuck into this the culture that must have been toxic throughout the club of players seemingly getting their own way or stropping if they didn't - Kevin Davies flouncing out, Andrews bad mouthing the club, Sordell being 'homesick', Mears just pocketing his money with wanting to play anywhere, Eagles turning down a loan move apperently, etc, etc.

Any manager let alone a relative new one career wise, such as Freedman is, would have had a very great challenge to take on - and one that few if any could have done without making some mistakes along the way.

If all that wasn't enough it seemed to me that the club was woefully slow in spending money to bring loan players in - particularly at the start of the season.

People can argue until the cows come home about the benefits (or not) of having loan players playing for us but the truth of the matter without the likes of Danns, Juke, McNaughton, Hutton, etc, we would now be facing a very real relegation threat and further financial meltdown if we had fallen into Division 3.

I again am probably one of the few that think that changing the team - based upon the strengths and weaknesses of the opposition is a good thing - not a bad one.

Why do people think that a 'one system fits all' approach is the right way to go?  Maybe if we were world beaters like Barcelona we could do that but we have to use our brains if we want to beat teams at our level.

I liken it to DIY at home - you have various jobs to do - change a light bulb, tighten a lose screw, knock a nail in, oil an hinge, etc - you use what you have in your tool kit to do the various jobs around the home (and if you don't have the required tool you borrow one (or buy it).  You simply can't do all the jobs if say you only have a hammer and nothing else.

Yes Freedman as made mistakes (and still does) his main one seemingly that he is far to negative at times - but he does seem to have more than one idea of how to play a game in his head, he has seen and brought in some good loan players and he does slowly seem to be changing the culture in the club - and will do more so when the likes of Mears and Eagles are gone.

One big factor next season that will determine how our season will turn out os what if any impacr the FFP will have upson us.  Seems we may be hit with a transfer embargo next January?

Hope we have signed the likes of Juke well before then!

  

If he can shift out the likes of Eagles, Knight, Mears and Lee to make up some free funds I seriously hope he makes the Juke a top priority signing along with 2 decent full backs then we may have a decent season next year.

He has to stop tinkering every week though or it's just going to be the same story all over again.

Natasha Whittam wrote:

NickFazer wrote:
According to Dougie he has identified his targets for the summer and expects to get his business done early regarding the first team

I will give him more time if this happens - if he can get the major signings playing in pre-season so we hit the season running then great. But I suspect it'll be the usual last minute loan signings meaning they play like strangers for the first month.

If we only had a starting eleven imagine what we could do?  We have not had a starting eleven since CYL and Holden's injuries.

It will certainly be a very busy summer for Dougie in the transfer market. Mears, Knight and Eagles will all leave and maybe Moritz and we shouldn't be paying Holden any longer until he can prove his fitness. I expect Andrews and hopefully Sordell to leave or be loaned out again. I also think Lonergan will go and we will probably cash in on Chungy, with Hull apparently interested, the selling of Chungy could help us sign the Juke, which is imperative.

I also think Dougie will complete his transfer business very early and I'm quite looking forward to seeing who he brings in. I think Dougie has a good eye for a player, without blowing loads of cash like Coyle did.

There can be no excuses for next season though, the team that Dougie will select for our first League game, will be HIS team and the buck stops with him, if it goes tits up!

he will still be in charge next season and at the moment i can't decide if that is a good or bad thing, until recently i thought it was a very bad thing and that he had to leave,  but i may be softening slightly, our form recently has improved slightly but all the constant tinkering drives me insane.

The letting go of the high earners should free up a sizeable amount of money and he has the opportunity to stamp his mark on the team and as Culcheth says he has no excuses next season if the shit hits the fan.

There has been a vast improvement recently.DF has slowly got rid of N'gog next will be Eagles,Mears,Knight and hopefully we can sell CYL and get Juke in with Beckford upfront will be interesting to see.A solid back 4 with Wheater and Mills hopefully staying fit.ID get Danns in and Mavies ( regardless of what you think about hin) is here till 2017.Spearing and Medo and if believed that Moritz was looking for a club and didn't have a preseason I would give him a long contract.He is the sort of player that can turn matches.The most important thing is we get a good start.The Zat Knight saga first 9 matches 2 points before DF dropped him and we won at Birmingham.A good start is essential two good centre backs.Purchase the Juke then get Hayden White playing RB unless we get Hutton,Baptiste has been very poor this season.If we get a natural Left back all good and well but Ream has made that position his own.Roll on August.

I trust Dougie with Transfers, tactically he's not impressed me and has made strange decisions, which the vast majority seem to back fire.

Like most of our managers barre Ginger ....he seems like a nice bloke.....good to go for a pint with.

As for football I'm not impressed so far.  No evidence has been presented that next season will be any better than this one. Nat and myself were about the only ones to predict relegation for this season which most posters laughed at.  When we were sitting dead bottom a couple of months back is wasn't funny anymore. Doogie stated yesterday and on other times that he is a "young" manager and has a few things to learn yet.....well it's nice learning on the job int it.
This is BWFC shouldn't we have a bloke who already knows the job?

Side note: Today Brendan Rogers brought on a third striker at 75 minutes ....Liverpool were leading 4-0 at the time......why? ..... he wanted 5 .... pump up the confidence....entertain the crowd.....
Can you Imagine our Doog doing that....neither can I.

I have a three niggling concerns about Dougie which are complicated and probably all emanate from the same trait. 
I don't have a problem with his tactics or selections per ce - in theory everything he's tried would seem sensible for the particular opposition we're up against IF he had the right players to do it. Far too often this season, it's been shown that the players we have are not up to it - in which case why bother doing it? Either he has great misplaced faith in certain players or he's stubbornly determined to force a square peg into a round hole.
The second thing is that he's slow to change things during a game when it's patently not working. I'm no fan of rash decisions, but sometimes it's bleeding obvious that we're getting overrun. Again - is it misplaced faith in the players or determination to make it work regardless?
Finally, when changes are made it's all a bit one dimensional. If we're winning he'll go defensive and if we're losing he'll throw on attackers - obvious really. But I always feel there's a case to e.g. put on pace up front if we're winning and being pressed back rather than packing the defence and trying to absorb everything they throw at us without giving them more to think about. Again it comes down to misplaced faith in the players ability to defend for long periods or determination to make the approach work regardless.
[size=12.727272033691406]Not quite sure what it is with Dougie, but the outcome is that players seem to be given complicated jobs to do which sometimes seem beyond them.[/size]


That apart, I think he needs to be given a chance to build his own team in the summer, because I trust Dougie to do a decent job within the budget.

aaron_bwfc wrote:If he can shift out the likes of Eagles, Knight, Mears and Lee to make up some free funds I seriously hope he makes the Juke a top priority signing along with 2 decent full backs then we may have a decent season next year.

He has to stop tinkering every week though or it's just going to be the same story all over again.

Forget Juke aaron, that's a non-starter because of the cost of buying out three years worth of contract for a start. 

Decent Full Backs? Where from? Every time we look at one we're told no money is available. Off loading players won't free up funds either. Mark my words, whatever funds ARE brought in/freed up Dougie won't see more than about half of it IF HE'S LUCKY. Most will go to servicing the debt (I mean equity) we owe to ED. Even if he gets some of it there won't be enough toy buy ONE quality FB let alone two. 

Stop tinkering? Freedman? If you believe that's possible in any way shape or form whatsoever please tell me what drugs or booze you are on because i really, REALLY want some of that. In all seriousness I'm NOT having a dig at you aaron, just pointing out that Freedman has been tinkering AT THE WRONG TIME ever since he came in and won't stop until he's gone. The sad fact is for all his can do soundbites and good intentions he is a poor manager and no amount of smart suits or clever turns of phrase can disguise that. 

For my money he should be shown the door on the last day of this season, preferably with Phil Gartside preceding him through it.

It will be same as next season.

Getting Hammered every week for the first couple of months, then a slow improvement and a strong finish.

We will struggle to hit the top 10 again.

I think we all know that Dougie will be here next season so I am prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt. We need to start out with some good performances pre season and Dougie needs to know who is his best eleven and stick with it.

If we have a bad pre season with no wins and start off as poorly as this season then he is up the creek without a paddle.

PS. I know it's an old cliche but how different would it had turned out for Man United if their board had sacked Fergie at the end of his third season in charge?