Colwill

[Garth Blue]

1 We were in free fall when he took over. Was it 10 straight losses and no 1st half goals all season?
2 He took over and established squad of players, so devoid of talent and confidence.
3 The style of football was unimaginative, unenjoyable and unsuccessful. It was also a style that had been drummed into the players over years.
4 Despite a lack of first team coaching experience and no guarantee of employment beyond the summer he has had the balls to dramatically change the way we play.
5 The January transfer window was possibly the most successful for a very long time when you consider he had to operate solely in the loan market. Compare that to the money wasted by others - especially Warnock.
6 The improvement in all aspects, has been remarkable given where we were when he came in.
7 He doesn't court popularity and is prepared to take unpopular decisions. I note that, many are annoyed by the fact he appears to call out the youngsters and not the more experienced players. But he has to at least keep them motivated till the summer because, no matter how good our youngsters are, they will not keep is up.
8 if we win tonight - and that is an if - we can probably look up rather than down. Given where we were, that is remarkable.

It is hard to imagine anyone doing a better job when all is considered.

The Lone Gunman is unusually quiet. I'd be "genuinely interested" to know why he sees Morison's performance as reasonable.

[Rjk]

The Lone Gunman is unusually quiet. I'd be "genuinely interested" to know why he sees Morison's performance as reasonable.

I think it's a fair position. if we had lost that 4-0 last night then people would be saying we were as good as down and who should we bring in instead in the summer.
we'd shown glimpses but not really put together a full 90 minute performance before.

[The Lone Gunman]

The Lone Gunman is unusually quiet. I'd be "genuinely interested" to know why he sees Morison's performance as reasonable.

I’ll get back to you this evening. I’m in the office and we’re extremely short staffed, so can only reply briefly on my phone at present. But fear not, I’ll provide you with a ‘reasonable’ reply when I can.

[The Lone Gunman]

The Lone Gunman is unusually quiet. I'd be "genuinely interested" to know why he sees Morison's performance as reasonable.

Alright, here goes....

You said: "We were in free fall when he took over. Was it 10 straight losses and no 1st half goals all season?"

No quite. It was eight straight defeats. It became ten games without a win before Morison won his third game - the 2-1 home victory over Huddersfield. As for no first half goals, that was a genuinely incredible stat for those of us who like that sort of thing. However, the man himself scoffed at it in one of his early press conferences, saying it didn't matter when a team scores as long it scores more than the opposition, or words to that effect. The run was eventually ended when Rubin Colwill scored in the tenth minute of Morison's sixth game in charge, the 2-1 win at Luton.

You said: "He took over and established squad of players, so devoid of talent and confidence. The style of football was unimaginative, unenjoyable and unsuccessful. It was also a style that had been drummed into the players over years."

I'd agree with much of that, although daring to say as much on here often incurred the wrath of those who believe the manner in which a team plays is immaterial as long as it wins matches, and it also upset those who believe the manager, the team and the club should be supported unconditionally no matter how bad the football gets.

Nevertheless, Morison did inherit a number of players who are tried and tested performers at this level and several talented youngsters who had already been blooded in the Championship by McCarthy. Although the shape of the team was a right mess, City were never complete no-hopers in my eyes. Big Mick had completely lost the plot and his sacking didn't come a moment too soon as things were getting truly silly, but provided he was moved on, I never believed relegation was anything more than a long shot given the overall lack of quality in the division this season. I was reasonably confident that, as long as someone could sort the defence out and try to rein in the hopeless hoofball the team was so often playing, they'd be alright, mainly because Barnsley are Peterborough are so poor, Derby and Reading have so many problems and a few of the other sides are no great shakes either.

You said: "Despite a lack of first team coaching experience and no guarantee of employment beyond the summer, he has had the balls to dramatically change the way we play."

Even allowing for the abysmal opposition, last night's performance was certainly a dramatic improvement, but let's not forget that only a week ago, the football City played at Barnsley was almost as dreadful as it was under McCarthy, and there were plenty of poor efforts under Morison before that too. Until the victory over Forest, City had gone six Championship games without a win and were often resorting to aimless long balls and hopeless long throw-ins during those matches.

For the life of me, I can't understand why Morison persisted with a back three of McGuinness, Nelson and either Flint or Morrison for so long. Indeed, as I recall, he got a bit stroppy in a press conference when he was questioned about that. I've no idea why he took so long to try something different such as moving NG inside and giving Bagan some game time when the existing defensive set-up so clearly wasn't working. It took that dismal performance at Bristol before he changed it for Forest and that was his 13th league game in charge.

In my opinion, Morison has also persisted with the dismal long throw routine for far too long. They're tedious, they slow the game down and are largely unsuccessful. After years of watching that nonsense, it was great last night to finally watch a City side attempting to use throw-ins properly, at least until Vaulks appeared on the scene.

You said: "The January transfer window was possibly the most successful for a very long time when you consider he had to operate solely in the loan market. Compare that to the money wasted by others - especially Warnock."

I'd agree with that and Morison certainly deserves credit for the impact his loan signings have had. In fairness to Warnock, he did pretty well in the transfer market when he had little or no money to spend. It was when he was given money that things really went pear-shaped.

You said: "The improvement in all aspects, has been remarkable given where we were when he came in."

When Morison took over, City were 21st in the table. They are currently 20th, having improved past Peterborough and Reading, while Hull have improved past the Bluebirds (although City do now have a game in hand). I'd say that's respectable, but far from remarkable.

The biggest turnaround in material terms is that City are now well clear of the relegation zone in terms of points gained, which is good news. However, if we're being honest about it, we all know that situation has as much to do with the various problems at the clubs who are currently below City as it does with City's good form, which has seen a significant upsurge only very recently.

You said: "He doesn't court popularity and is prepared to take unpopular decisions. I note that, many are annoyed by the fact he appears to call out the youngsters and not the more experienced players. But he has to at least keep them motivated till the summer because, no matter how good our youngsters are, they will not keep is up."

On the contrary, I think it's the youngsters who will keep City up (although, as I've already said, I never believed they were in serious danger of going down). The problem is that a couple of them are youngsters who belong to other clubs.

You said: "If we win tonight - and that is an if - we can probably look up rather than down. Given where we were, that is remarkable."

I believe only two managers have done jobs in the Championship so far this season that could be described as remarkable, and they are Rooney at Derby and Cooper at Forest. Morison has, in my opinion, done a reasonable job, but it's not been remarkable by any stretch of the imagination. He's most definitely done some good things and there are promising signs that things can continue to improve, but he's also done some questionable things in terms of tactics and team selections, and his attitude towards the press (who have mostly been supportive of the decisions he's made) has been really poor at times.

You said: "It is hard to imagine anyone doing a better job when all is considered."

Personally, I don't think that's hard to imagine at all, but each to their own.

[rich munn]

Alright, here goes....

You said: "We were in free fall when he took over. Was it 10 straight losses and no 1st half goals all season?"

No quite. It was eight straight defeats. It became ten games without a win before Morison won his third game - the 2-1 home victory over Huddersfield. As for no first half goals, that was a genuinely incredible stat for those of us who like that sort of thing. However, the man himself scoffed at it in one of his early press conferences, saying it didn't matter when a team scores as long it scores more than the opposition, or words to that effect. The run was eventually ended when Rubin Colwill scored in the tenth minute of Morison's sixth game in charge, the 2-1 win at Luton.

You said: "He took over and established squad of players, so devoid of talent and confidence. The style of football was unimaginative, unenjoyable and unsuccessful. It was also a style that had been drummed into the players over years."

I'd agree with much of that, although daring to say as much on here often incurred the wrath of those who believe the manner in which a team plays is immaterial as long as it wins matches, and it also upset those who believe the manager, the team and the club should be supported unconditionally no matter how bad the football gets.

Nevertheless, Morison did inherit a number of players who are tried and tested performers at this level and several talented youngsters who had already been blooded in the Championship by McCarthy. Although the shape of the team was a right mess, City were never complete no-hopers in my eyes. Big Mick had completely lost the plot and his sacking didn't come a moment too soon as things were getting truly silly, but provided he was moved on, I never believed relegation was anything more than a long shot given the overall lack of quality in the division this season. I was reasonably confident that, as long as someone could sort the defence out and try to rein in the hopeless hoofball the team was so often playing, they'd be alright, mainly because Barnsley are Peterborough are so poor, Derby and Reading have so many problems and a few of the other sides are no great shakes either.

You said: "Despite a lack of first team coaching experience and no guarantee of employment beyond the summer, he has had the balls to dramatically change the way we play."

Even allowing for the abysmal opposition, last night's performance was certainly a dramatic improvement, but let's not forget that only a week ago, the football City played at Barnsley was almost as dreadful as it was under McCarthy, and there were plenty of poor efforts under Morison before that too. Until the victory over Forest, City had gone six Championship games without a win and were often resorting to aimless long balls and hopeless long throw-ins during those matches.

For the life of me, I can't understand why Morison persisted with a back three of McGuinness, Nelson and either Flint or Morrison for so long. Indeed, as I recall, he got a bit stroppy in a press conference when he was questioned about that. I've no idea why he took so long to try something different such as moving NG inside and giving Bagan some game time when the existing defensive set-up so clearly wasn't working. It took that dismal performance at Bristol before he changed it for Forest and that was his 13th league game in charge.

In my opinion, Morison has also persisted with the dismal long throw routine for far too long. They're tedious, they slow the game down and are largely unsuccessful. After years of watching that nonsense, it was great last night to finally watch a City side attempting to use throw-ins properly, at least until Vaulks appeared on the scene.

You said: "The January transfer window was possibly the most successful for a very long time when you consider he had to operate solely in the loan market. Compare that to the money wasted by others - especially Warnock."

I'd agree with that and Morison certainly deserves credit for the impact his loan signings have had. In fairness to Warnock, he did pretty well in the transfer market when he had little or no money to spend. It was when he was given money that things really went pear-shaped.

You said: "The improvement in all aspects, has been remarkable given where we were when he came in."

When Morison took over, City were 21st in the table. They are currently 20th, having improved past Peterborough and Reading, while Hull have improved past the Bluebirds (although City do now have a game in hand). I'd say that's respectable, but far from remarkable.

The biggest turnaround in material terms is that City are now well clear of the relegation zone in terms of points gained, which is good news. However, if we're being honest about it, we all know that situation has as much to do with the various problems at the clubs who are currently below City as it does with City's good form, which has seen a significant upsurge only very recently.

You said: "He doesn't court popularity and is prepared to take unpopular decisions. I note that, many are annoyed by the fact he appears to call out the youngsters and not the more experienced players. But he has to at least keep them motivated till the summer because, no matter how good our youngsters are, they will not keep is up."

On the contrary, I think it's the youngsters who will keep City up (although, as I've already said, I never believed they were in serious danger of going down). The problem is that a couple of them are youngsters who belong to other clubs.

You said: "If we win tonight - and that is an if - we can probably look up rather than down. Given where we were, that is remarkable."

I believe only two managers have done jobs in the Championship so far this season that could be described as remarkable, and they are Rooney at Derby and Cooper at Forest. Morison has, in my opinion, done a reasonable job, but it's not been remarkable by any stretch of the imagination. He's most definitely done some good things and there are promising signs that things can continue to improve, but he's also done some questionable things in terms of tactics and team selections, and his attitude towards the press (who have mostly been supportive of the decisions he's made) has been really poor at times.

You said: "It is hard to imagine anyone doing a better job when all is considered."

Personally, I don't think that's hard to imagine at all, but each to their own.

This thread takes the word pedantic onto a new level, which is of course quite reasonable but in many ways remarkable.

[Garth Blue]

Alright, here goes....

You said: "We were in free fall when he took over. Was it 10 straight losses and no 1st half goals all season?"

No quite. It was eight straight defeats. It became ten games without a win before Morison won his third game - the 2-1 home victory over Huddersfield. As for no first half goals, that was a genuinely incredible stat for those of us who like that sort of thing. However, the man himself scoffed at it in one of his early press conferences, saying it didn't matter when a team scores as long it scores more than the opposition, or words to that effect. The run was eventually ended when Rubin Colwill scored in the tenth minute of Morison's sixth game in charge, the 2-1 win at Luton.

You said: "He took over and established squad of players, so devoid of talent and confidence. The style of football was unimaginative, unenjoyable and unsuccessful. It was also a style that had been drummed into the players over years."

I'd agree with much of that, although daring to say as much on here often incurred the wrath of those who believe the manner in which a team plays is immaterial as long as it wins matches, and it also upset those who believe the manager, the team and the club should be supported unconditionally no matter how bad the football gets.

Nevertheless, Morison did inherit a number of players who are tried and tested performers at this level and several talented youngsters who had already been blooded in the Championship by McCarthy. Although the shape of the team was a right mess, City were never complete no-hopers in my eyes. Big Mick had completely lost the plot and his sacking didn't come a moment too soon as things were getting truly silly, but provided he was moved on, I never believed relegation was anything more than a long shot given the overall lack of quality in the division this season. I was reasonably confident that, as long as someone could sort the defence out and try to rein in the hopeless hoofball the team was so often playing, they'd be alright, mainly because Barnsley are Peterborough are so poor, Derby and Reading have so many problems and a few of the other sides are no great shakes either.

You said: "Despite a lack of first team coaching experience and no guarantee of employment beyond the summer, he has had the balls to dramatically change the way we play."

Even allowing for the abysmal opposition, last night's performance was certainly a dramatic improvement, but let's not forget that only a week ago, the football City played at Barnsley was almost as dreadful as it was under McCarthy, and there were plenty of poor efforts under Morison before that too. Until the victory over Forest, City had gone six Championship games without a win and were often resorting to aimless long balls and hopeless long throw-ins during those matches.

For the life of me, I can't understand why Morison persisted with a back three of McGuinness, Nelson and either Flint or Morrison for so long. Indeed, as I recall, he got a bit stroppy in a press conference when he was questioned about that. I've no idea why he took so long to try something different such as moving NG inside and giving Bagan some game time when the existing defensive set-up so clearly wasn't working. It took that dismal performance at Bristol before he changed it for Forest and that was his 13th league game in charge.

In my opinion, Morison has also persisted with the dismal long throw routine for far too long. They're tedious, they slow the game down and are largely unsuccessful. After years of watching that nonsense, it was great last night to finally watch a City side attempting to use throw-ins properly, at least until Vaulks appeared on the scene.

You said: "The January transfer window was possibly the most successful for a very long time when you consider he had to operate solely in the loan market. Compare that to the money wasted by others - especially Warnock."

I'd agree with that and Morison certainly deserves credit for the impact his loan signings have had. In fairness to Warnock, he did pretty well in the transfer market when he had little or no money to spend. It was when he was given money that things really went pear-shaped.

You said: "The improvement in all aspects, has been remarkable given where we were when he came in."

When Morison took over, City were 21st in the table. They are currently 20th, having improved past Peterborough and Reading, while Hull have improved past the Bluebirds (although City do now have a game in hand). I'd say that's respectable, but far from remarkable.

The biggest turnaround in material terms is that City are now well clear of the relegation zone in terms of points gained, which is good news. However, if we're being honest about it, we all know that situation has as much to do with the various problems at the clubs who are currently below City as it does with City's good form, which has seen a significant upsurge only very recently.

You said: "He doesn't court popularity and is prepared to take unpopular decisions. I note that, many are annoyed by the fact he appears to call out the youngsters and not the more experienced players. But he has to at least keep them motivated till the summer because, no matter how good our youngsters are, they will not keep is up."

On the contrary, I think it's the youngsters who will keep City up (although, as I've already said, I never believed they were in serious danger of going down). The problem is that a couple of them are youngsters who belong to other clubs.

You said: "If we win tonight - and that is an if - we can probably look up rather than down. Given where we were, that is remarkable."

I believe only two managers have done jobs in the Championship so far this season that could be described as remarkable, and they are Rooney at Derby and Cooper at Forest. Morison has, in my opinion, done a reasonable job, but it's not been remarkable by any stretch of the imagination. He's most definitely done some good things and there are promising signs that things can continue to improve, but he's also done some questionable things in terms of tactics and team selections, and his attitude towards the press (who have mostly been supportive of the decisions he's made) has been really poor at times.

You said: "It is hard to imagine anyone doing a better job when all is considered."

Personally, I don't think that's hard to imagine at all, but each to their own.

Good to see you still dislike being challenged.
But the bait of " I am genuinely interested" found a bite. I respond similarly to people who say 'with due respect' - they both smack of arrogance and insincerity. I stand by my comments (said before last night) that he has done a remarkable job - but each to their own.

[The Lone Gunman]

This thread takes the word pedantic onto a new level, which is of course quite reasonable but in many ways remarkable.

You quoted my post but described the thread. So, were you intending to refer to my post in isoltation? Or were you talking about the entire thread? Or perhaps both?

I don't wish to be pedantic, but I think it's a reasonable question to ask regardless of how remarkable your answer may be.

[The Lone Gunman]

Good to see you still dislike being challenged.

That's a remarkable misjudgment.

[MacAdder]

That's a remarkable misjudgment.

Your choosing to use the word misjudgement but getting the spelling wrong is both ironic and remarkable

[The Lone Gunman]

Your choosing to use the word misjudgement but getting the spelling wrong is both ironic and remarkable

You might want to check that.....

[Rock_Flock_of_Five]

Your choosing to use the word misjudgement but getting the spelling wrong is both ironic and remarkable

You just scored an own goal!

[Dave Blue]

You quoted my post but described the thread. So, were you intending to refer to my post in isoltation? Or were you talking about the entire thread? Or perhaps both?

I don't wish to be pedantic, but I think it's a reasonable question to ask regardless of how remarkable your answer may be.

isoltation?

[Rjk]

well that's this thread ruined.
great work everyone

[J R Hartley]

Decent debate until Garth crumbled and claimed he was just fishing.

[Garth Blue]

Decent debate until Garth crumbled and claimed he was just fishing.

Get it right. I said TLG was fishing and i bit.

[The Lone Gunman]

isoltation?

You spotted a typo. Well done! Excellent work. It’s always well worth pointing out a typo for the benefit of anyone who hadn’t noticed.

[lardy]

You spotted a typo. Well done! Excellent work. It’s always well worth pointing out a typo for the benefit of anyone who hadn’t noticed.

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote that Cornelius had scored "1 in 2 games" rather than "1 in every 2 games"

Just a typo and I was fine with it being corrected, although you have your particular lofty and superior style of doing it

Not sure where you got that from. He's in fact scored 11 goals in 21 games.

[splott parker]

Get it right. I said TLG was fishing and i bit.

And there’s me thinking Sludge was our resident fisherman

[The Lone Gunman]

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote that Cornelius had scored "1 in 2 games" rather than "1 in every 2 games"

Just a typo and I was fine with it being corrected, although you have your particular lofty and superior style of doing it :

The difference being I wasn’t aware that was a typo and instead thought you were taking stats from a site that was carrying incorrect information. But there we go.

[MacAdder]

You might want to check that.....

Just took your advice...

"...The definition of a misjudgement, or commonly spelled misjudgment, is an*incorrect belief or assumption about a situation. An example of a misjudgement is when you first believe that someone is dishonest but you later find out that you were completely wrong. Alternative form of misjudgment..."

I guess that makes you common

For what it's worth, I too believe that the City turnaround of, not just results but style of play and individual performances since the Severnside derby, is remarkable.

Maybe your response to the use of the word remarkable is that you have formed a negative view on our manager, made your view known and have looked for reasons that support your argument?

Your view of Steve Morrison is not too dissimilar to your views of every manager we have had since "the great" Dave Jones so I'm not really surprised.

Again, each to their own

[MacAdder]

You just scored an own goal!

Nah I see as I hit the post

[J R Hartley]

Surely we are allowed to judge as we go along and change our mind as things develop?

I’m not going to keep repeating myself in the reasons why I dislike the man, I’m boring myself as well as others, but I’m big enough to admit he’s proving me wrong at the moment.

Tuesdays performance was right up there with some of the best football we’ve played since we tore Leeds a new one at Elland Rd one year.

More high energy football and less prickly press conferences and he may well win me over.

[Rjk]

Surely we are allowed to judge as we go along and change our mind as things develop?

I’m not going to keep repeating myself in the reasons why I dislike the man, I’m boring myself as well as others, but I’m big enough to admit he’s proving me wrong at the moment.

Tuesdays performance was right up there with some of the best football we’ve played since we tore Leeds a new one at Elland Rd one year.

More high energy football and less prickly press conferences and he may well win me over.

im not having that, if you start being reasonable then for the sake of balance I'm going to have to start up a hate campaign against him.

[Tuerto]

Surely we are allowed to judge as we go along and change our mind as things develop?

I’m not going to keep repeating myself in the reasons why I dislike the man, I’m boring myself as well as others, but I’m big enough to admit he’s proving me wrong at the moment.

Tuesdays performance was right up there with some of the best football we’ve played since we tore Leeds a new one at Elland Rd one year.

More high energy football and less prickly press conferences and he may well win me over.

Yes, absolutely. And if we find ourselves changing our minds then isn't that exactly what being a football supporter is all about?

[delmbox]

Surely we are allowed to judge as we go along and change our mind as things develop?

I’m not going to keep repeating myself in the reasons why I dislike the man, I’m boring myself as well as others, but I’m big enough to admit he’s proving me wrong at the moment.

Tuesdays performance was right up there with some of the best football we’ve played since we tore Leeds a new one at Elland Rd one year.

More high energy football and less prickly press conferences and he may well win me over.

wtf is this, I was gearing up to bump your MORISON OUT thread. Weekend's ruined, cheers