Matt Taylor - 2 Years As ECFC Manager...

[dontpassback]

The one thing you can be sure about with Matt Taylor is that he is realistic,his interviews bear witness to that,and the youngsters that he coached are now coming through and we have exciting times ahead.He is far from the finished article and he would be the first to acknowledge this,but when I look around and see the managers of other clubs,I am very happy that we have Matt as manager,and credit to the people who appointed him after Tisdale moved on,I think nick hawker says what a lot of fans are thinking.as an aside it’s also worth noting that Ryan Lowe was asked after the play off defeat how he thought city Would do this season,he thought we would struggle and maybe the youngsters would not be up to it,he is entitled to his opinion,but whilst the season isn’t over by any means we are doing better than a lot of people expected UTC !

 

[dommers]

I can sense defensiveness here... I wasn't looking at compare an contrast, I was more interested in your decision alone to not back MT. What can he do to win your support back? Currently we have scored the most goals in England... do you feel you may have got it wrong with him or judged him too soon given he was a rookie manager (PT obviously had time with Team Bath prior to us)

I'm quite happy to dmit I might have it wrong although for me the rookie manager is irrelevant. If he's good enough to manage a league two club then should be treated as such. His first game was the best football I'd seen for a while although was disappointed with the first sense when I think we had an opportunity on the back of the Watkins money to move forward and we didn't. Last year fizzled and the playoff final was the worst one-off performance I've seen in years and years both on the field and from a tactical ineptness point of year.
This year is so hard to comment as I've haven't seen any games and have no desire to watch on ifollow when I spend 12 hrs a day stuck in front of a screen and have with an 18 mth old and another one on the way. I guess only time well tell.

 

[Grecian Max]

I remember fans say they'd never go whilst Tisdale was at the club

I never agreed with this back then however this was understandable given we won 3 games in the entirely of one calendar year at home (think it was 2016) and almost got relegated one year. Some of the football was really, really poor. Which I found bizarre as he had given us some good times but he seemed to want to over control in the end.

Matt Taylor has finished 8th, then left in 4th position, entirely possible we would have made autos still having smashed Argyle 4-0... and now we sit 3rd with 30 goals and are smashing teams currently....so although the choice is the same the logic feels off wouldn't you agree?

 

[Grecian Max]

I'm quite happy to dmit I might have it wrong although for me the rookie manager is irrelevant. If he's good enough to manage a league two club then should be treated as such. His first game was the best football I'd seen for a while although was disappointed with the first sense when I think we had an opportunity on the back of the Watkins money to move forward and we didn't. Last year fizzled and the playoff final was the worst one-off performance I've seen in years and years both on the field and from a tactical ineptness point of year.
This year is so hard to comment as I've haven't seen any games and have no desire to watch on ifollow when I spend 12 hrs a day stuck in front of a screen and have with an 18 mth old and another one on the way. I guess only time well tell.

I hear you on the ifollow/screen thing, that's fair. RE: Watkins he only went towards the end of the transfer window so I can't see how thats Taylors fault... he hasn't had the cash to spend?

Northampton was really poor, but I think given the circumstances, understandable. A big pause in competitive football for the players and no chance to get rhythm. We were outdone tactically for sure that day, but MT does appear to evolve and learn...

Last year fizzling is a tad harsh, we'd slipped out of the autos in the one weekend that mattered and had Argyle away coming up. We were right in with a shout still.

 

[Average Joe]

I'll admit I was wrong about MT - I've always liked him, a lot. However I did see flaws in his management game, and I still think maybe he takes things personally and will force players out of the club. I believe he did this with Moxey and most likely with Ajose. He is a brilliant at managing players on the pitch and his pre/post match talks are straight to the point, I like him. 8/10

 

[andrew p long]

Well first off, he's prepared to give youth a chance more so than the previous manager. The key difference in that multiple youth prospects playing at the same time rather than one or two at most. Perhaps his work with the u23s helped in that regard, certainly Jay has ultimately benefitted from the trust of the manager.

Signing wise looking at the list...

Season 1

Forte - class and did well before unfortunately retiring
A Martin - wasn't the CB Taylor wanted, but a classy player which many wanted retaining and POTY?
L Martin - Very decent, hard working, scored some great goals
Law - unbelievable signing at this level
Bowman - annoying player but we all know his pros and cons, he is
Willliams

Season 2
Atangana - excellent player, injuries have been an issue
Fisher - signed as cheap back up
Maxsted - easily could be no.1 at most L2 teams
Parkes - proper CB, think he's been a good signing
Ward - class
Warren - back up
Ajose - a "flop" but still a quality player, as it's clear to see
Smerdon - who knows
Visser - back up when needed, did a job
Dickenson - best left foot I've seen at the club, would have stayed had it not been for covid
Thompson? - dunno

Season 3
Caprice - quick, skillful, probably L1 quality
McCardle - does a job
Page - same ad Caprice

Compare that to the constant wasting of resources and bloating squads of PTs latter years...

a rose tinted assessment methinks

 

[tonykellowfan]

This thread has taken a bizarre turn.

I like MT and he clearly is doing a good job at the club in pretty difficult circumstances.

He hasn't got everything right but I am glad that the club have backed him over these first few seasons as there is no point continually getting a new manager in.

 

[Grecian Max]

which players have I got it wrong on?

 

[Red Devon]

which players have I got it wrong on?

Over rated Lee Martin compare and contrast with Joel Randall this season.

Over rated Lewis Ward, needs to improve on most aspects of his game but does have an excellent long throw out.

Nigel is very inconsistent was absolutely fantastic at Gillingham last week but dire at Salford on his other start this season.

Alex Fisher Classs! Worth a lot more

 

[andrew p long]

which players have I got it wrong on?

Different views could be expressed on

Warren, 35, out injured a lot, didn't play a single league game
Forte - ageing striker (32) two year contract, injury prone, career ended by injury after just 18 starts and 5 goals
Atangana - over 30 now. Injured when signed, out for half a season. Out injured this season too. 20 starts in 16 months
Ajose - marquee signing. Big money,3 year contract. Manager doesn't rate him and won't play him. Pre existing injury, out injured a lot, now 29. Two league goals so far, at a cost of pushing 100k each.
Fisher. two year contract for a reserve. Now 30. Out injured a lot. 5 starts and 2 league goals in 16 months

(bit of a theme with ageing injured players?)

Jimmy Oates. A mate(?). Didn't play a single minute of league football before being released.
McArdle. A mate(?). 33. Has lost his league place to Pierce Sweeney

Page. Injury prone. Out injured with old problem within a month. Out injured again. Good player but only when fit.
Caprice. Out injured. Has lost his first team place.
Smerdon. Paid a fee. Can't get into the second eleven.

The above assessments are on the harsh side, but are arguable views about MT's signing record. I very much support MT but can see the other side of the coin on signings

Of last night's 11 it is worth noting how many were brought to the club by MT. The answer is 4. the other 7 were all at the club when MT was appointed 2.5 years ago