Quote Originally Posted by KingOfSiamIAm View Post
From my perspective, for what it's worth...

I thought that early on, from the start of the season till Novemberish, that we had exceeded any expectations that I had.

The press conference interviews from the Manager and some of the players that he brought in, eg players like Siopis and Bowler who were both playing well, and with confidence at the time, indicated that they would not be happy with just doing well. If anything, Siopis seemed to be saying one of the main reasons he came was because the Manager wanted success, and not just be happy with the mid table finish that many people would have been happy with after the previous few seasons... me included.

This may have contributed to me thinking that perhaps we may get around the play-off positions come January and our owner might be willing to invest in what the Manager was doing. Ha!

Then as the results got worse, and the performances even worse, the realisation hit me that the Manager had done well to get a tune out of some of the players that we had, and the reality was that expectations were beginning to get out of all proportion.

Anyway, and finally, my tuppence worth on the subject...
The Manager was given a year's contract, he started well, but now it's completely rubbish.
I'd say that from now until the end of the season is a different test of the Managers skill set, one where we will perhaps see the measure of how good he really is. If he is as good as cracked up to be, he will be able to turn things around. Until then my judgement is reserved.
Pretty much my view too.

The jury should still be out on Bulut but the evidence is mounting up in the negative column.

I don't blame or congratulate him for the summer or January signings. I don't think he was the main factor in either window. As a club we have been trying to assemble a competitive squad through a partial transfer embargo and with our heads banging on the Profit and Sustainability (FFP) ceiling. I'm reasonably pleased with what was done in those circumstances (more than many other clubs in our league) but it clearly didn't match the expectation built up by Bulut. Was that down to his naivety, miscommunication (or no communication) or last minute EFL clarification of what was allowed under the rules? I don't know but it had the manager threatening to quit.

The main thing now is for Bulut - albeit still learning about the league in his first season of Championship football - to show he has the skills to lead and improve the team/squad he has got. Can he drive and motivate? Can he set up a team - and change things during the game - to get the best out of the players at his disposal? Can he and his coaches improve players? Will he use younger players at the right time and in the right way? He's not ticked many boxes so far. Hopefully that will change.