Matt Taylor - 2 Years As ECFC Manager...

[Banksy]

This is probably going to be an extremely difficult season for him and may really test his mettle and maybe supporters‘ nerves as well as he tries to put a decent team together with all the financial restrictions brought about by C19. We may have to settle for mid table for now and he has to keep supporters onside and convince them that he is consolidating and building foundations for the future in this event even though we seem to be marking time. And of course ,something few are contemplating , staying clear of the bottom of the table and the perils of non league.He has a lot to do and learn in my eyes given the lack of tactical nous and embarrassing beating we received at Wembley. I know we can argue that we may have got autos if it were not for C19 but we were already faltering a bit then so who knows.Although we got to the final we weren’t exactly firing on all cylinders on our return to football.
Of course , we may yet get that cash windfall which will bring yet another type of test , whether he can spend what he’s allocated for the team wisely.
At the moment I’ll give him a six out of ten , still learning and time will tell.

 

[Worcester Grecian]

Has made a promising start, but this season is the real test for him. How we get on this year will make or break his career.

 

[GJW]

Good first season which ended in the disappointment of missing the playoffs by a whisker. Better second season, although ended in the disappointment of losing the playoff final. As others have said this is the season that will tell us which direction he will go as a Manager. I’m confident it will be promotion. He doesn’t hold back in his interviews with the truth. He is knowledgable and knows tactically what he wants from his players, although he may not always get it from his players. 8/10. I would recommend this movie.

 

[Rosencrantz]

Matt has done well to retain a stable position after such a long period under Tis which could easily have gone badly as we have seen at other clubs following long serving managers. Whilst doing that, he has really changed the make up of the team quite quickly.

Everyone saying that this will be a big season for Matt need to define what their expectations of what a good outcome will be. I sense there is quite a divergence among many who are looking for anything from promotion to surviving and all points in between.

If the club are serious about opening pathways for youngsters coming through, then any money we get from Ollie moving will have to be very carefully targeted in terms of what is given over to the playing budget. That will no doubt upset those supporters who want to prioritise promotion and instant success with money burning a hole in the clubs pockets. There are a few on here already spending .

Realistically, a consolidating season whilst embedding the younger players into first team football and building experience is a fair target. If it turns out we are successful enough to get in the promotion mix, then great. But we have to expect some bumps in the road and hold our nerve.

 

[StudentGrecian]

Matt has done well to retain a stable position after such a long period under Tis which could easily have gone badly as we have seen at other clubs following long serving managers. Whilst doing that, he has really changed the make up of the team quite quickly.

Everyone saying that this will be a big season for Matt need to define what their expectations of what a good outcome will be. I sense there is quite a divergence among many who are looking for anything from promotion to surviving and all points in between.

If the club are serious about opening pathways for youngsters coming through, then any money we get from Ollie moving will have to be very carefully targeted in terms of what is given over to the playing budget. That will no doubt upset those supporters who want to prioritise promotion and instant success with money burning a hole in the clubs pockets. There are a few on here already spending .

Realistically, a consolidating season whilst embedding the younger players into first team football and building experience is a fair target. If it turns out we are successful enough to get in the promotion mix, then great. But we have to expect some bumps in the road and hold our nerve.

Agree with this.
Hopefully people are talking about a big season for MT in terms of the new challenges he will face this year, not that he should be delivering promotion. There’s 6 or 7 teams that look really strong already in terms of recruitment, so making the playoffs again will be good going. I to am expecting, and would be accepting of a consolidation season where our youngsters get a good amount of first team experience.

 

[i8cornwall]

Really like the bloke, think he has a tunnel vision to get us out of this league which is like along with his honesty.
First two seasons have been a bit hit and miss, overall we haven’t really gone forward or back compared to the last man in the hot seat.

next two seasons are key now, steady the ship this season and build next summer, if we fall short again that season then think it’s time we part ways but that is a hell of a long time in football.

 

[Banksy]

Everything including opinions may change if he gets cash in and he spends it wisely. ( Or not as the case may be.) A couple of decent additions might change the team’s prospects substantially.

 

[robchave]

Everything including opinions may change if he gets cash in and he spends it wisely. ( Or not as the case may be.) A couple of decent additions might change the team’s prospects substantially.

This.

Although even without additions I think we'll do better than many expect. At our level, football is more about building a 'team' rather than buying success. Man management and motivational skills could be the key to success, or failure, this season.

 

[LOG]

Matt has done well to retain a stable position after such a long period under Tis which could easily have gone badly as we have seen at other clubs following long serving managers.

I think that's why it was so important to appoint from within. He didn't just (largely) inherit Tisdale's squad, it was also the culture of the club but from both his playing and coaching days he was already tuned into that.

I don't think i really had any expectations, other than to avoid any kind of flirtation with relegation, in his first season as he in his first job and needed time to make his mark on the squad and our playing style. Second season, and although difficult to judge given the circumstances, i was generally quite happy, playoff final excepted, mind.

The coming season could well be very unpredictable as we don't know how clubs are going to emerge out of the last six months. I don't think people would be willing to accept a successful relegation battle as any kind of victory but, at the same time, i'm finding it difficult to decide what success might look like.

 

[Rosencrantz]

I think that's why it was so important to appoint from within. He didn't just (largely) inherit Tisdale's squad, it was also the culture of the club but from both his playing and coaching days he was already tuned into that.

I don't think i really had any expectations, other than to avoid any kind of flirtation with relegation, in his first season as he in his first job and needed time to make his mark on the squad and our playing style. Second season, and although difficult to judge given the circumstances, i was generally quite happy, playoff final excepted, mind.

The coming season could well be very unpredictable as we don't know how clubs are going to emerge out of the last six months. I don't think people would be willing to accept a successful relegation battle as any kind of victory but, at the same time, i'm finding it difficult to decide what success might look like.

We needed continuity and above all we needed a speedy appointment at that time. I think our coaching set up is as good as we have ever had. Any money coming back in should be partly spent on a GK coach again to complete the line up.

Although it hurt like hell, last season is being coloured too much by the play off final. We will never know where we would have ended up if the season hadn't been ended when it was. But what there was, was a good season.

Now, we have to forget the "Ollie money" to an extent and not get blinkered into a short term outlook. Only bring in essential players in positions we do not have a youngster coming through. We can rate a youngster all we want, but until they play in L2, we don't really know. And the only judgements that really count are those at the Cat and Fiddle.