It has been widely reported over the weekend that the tenure of Aitor Karanka has ended. There has been no official announcement by the club as of yet, however his stats make for horrific reading.
His win rate is around the 20% mark, meaning he has only won around a 5th of the games he has been in charge of. We have conceded at least 1 goal in 89% of our home matches and have failed to score in 44% of the home matches. 66% of the points, have been earned away. 67% of the conceded goals were conceded at home. One of the worrying statistics, is we have lost 67% of our home matches. Also we have conceded at least 1 goal in each of our last 11 home matches, in the majority of those cases – going on to lose.
There have been plenty of comments about Karanka’s bizarre substitutions, unable to find a stable formation for the players he has and his inability to even use players properly. The most common complaint I have seen on forums and social media, is playing Juke up front without wingers to cross the ball in. The bloke seems to have completely have lost the plot, and for that matter – the players. The last few performances appear to demonstrate that.
The other point, is his post match interviews. EVERY time, he shrugs his shoulders. Now while I accept that this may be a cultural thing, and possibly even justified sometimes – doing it every time, only reinforces the belief that he he doesn’t know what he is doing!
Finally, before talking about next steps – if you need confirmation that he is out of his depth, his interview on Radio WM after the Bristol City game confirmed it. In summary he said:
1. He appeared to completely blame the players and not himself, he says he hasn’t spoken to the players. If he hasn’t, how can he deal with the issues?
2. He also said he hasn’t looked at the table – that is utterly ridiculous.
3. He also, incredibly, appeared to say the he was doing everything brilliantly, but the players weren’t. No wonder the players don’t appear to want to play for him.
So HOPEFULLY this IS the end of the road of someone who should be grateful that no fans were allowed in St Andrews during his disastrous reign!
So on to what next. There are some names kicking around and here are some thoughts provided by our very own Bazza, he of A View From the South! Over to you Baz
Here are my thoughts on the possible replacement options.
Tony Pulis; would certainly sort us out defensively but dull as dishwater would be an understatement. He is capable of making dishwater look effervescent! I could see him keeping us up but the problem there is that they would then give him the job long term and I’m not sure that we wouldn’t be in exactly the same place in 12 months time. So no for me.
Frank Lampard; young English manager who is used to working with top class players; got egg on face written all over it.
Lee Bowyer; Young manager, got experience at Charlton where he’s done a decent job, ex-Blues player who knows the club and understands our ethos. Whether he would have the time to turn this oil tanker round is questionable but a good shout. He also knows what’s required in League 1 should we end up there.
Danny Cowley; very impressive managerial career at non league and lower league levels. He’s got teams promoted repeatedly wherever he’s gone to and revitalised Lincoln City from nowhere. I thought he was unlucky to get the sack from Huddersfield where he saved them from relegation from the Championship when they were a sack of shit! That’s an ungrateful chairman for you! Yes a definite possibility for me.
John Terry; no managerial experience as a number one. Tarnished by association with the Vile and I’m not sure how the fans would react. A definite no for me and besides, he’d probably think Blues are a bit beneath him.
Eddie Howe; would be an excellent choice but I honestly can’t see him coming to us. We are north of Watford for a start and he’s waiting for the Palace job to replace Woy.
Neil Lennon; nah! He’s OK in Scotland where you’ve only got one realistic rival to worry about but the Championship? He’d be gone before Christmas. The Championship is a far higher level and intensity from the Scottish Premier League and it would be too much of a gamble in my opinion.
Karl Robinson; has done very well at Oxford United and was unlucky not to get them promoted a couple of years ago. Clearly a good coach and motivator and has turned things around this season after a very poor start; an acceptable choice but it would depend on how much Oxford would want even if they wanted to release him.
Neil Harris; is another excellent choice given that he has played and managed at Championship level and knows the league. A great servant of Millwall and resigned for reasons that weren’t entirely clear given his relative success in getting them back up from League 1 and established in the Championship. He did ok at Cardiff I felt but they panicked when the results turned sour.
So there you have it, one man’s opinion. If I’ve got to choose one from the list, I’d choose Danny Cowley.
Thanks Baz. So what do you think? Hopefully the official announcement will be made today, tell us in the comments who you think would do the job and why.
Kev
A few interesting names there though in the club’s present predicament, both financially and league position it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand that we won’t attract a top manager. Having said that I would personally like to see Lee Bowyer at the helm for whichever level we play at next season.
No to pulis because he is a welsh karanka in my eyes. Did his bit for stoke but not done anything since. Did ok at the baggies but wasnt amazing.
Howe would be my personal choice but pretty sure he wouldnt touch us like wilder.
Harris not sure about although he does play 4-4-2. I have just looked at our next round of fixtures and to stay up we need a min or 6 points from 4 games. Not going to happen. For me pederson, dean, sunjic need to be dropped and gardner, clarke salter, roberts and seddonn given more of a chance and no chopping and changing game after game. Cosgrove and hogan up top. Lets bloody go for broke and score some goals. I am not even sure sanchez has been that effective but with 1 up front maybe that might change. we need to throw balls into the box at every given chance. lets try and push team back and let them worry about us
Disgrace how Dacres Cogley, Clarke Salter and Seddon have been treated by Krankie and Sunjic has be turned into a Parks player. However we should be grateful that Krankie bought in two has beens in Friend and Clayton because they quote new how to win, ha ha with 2 year contracts to boot, should have been sacked for that alone. Danny Cowley for me please
So Bazza you mention taking Oxfords Karl Robinson, but not Slaven Bili??
Even getting shot of Karanka became another farce!! Ren the Dong needs to go or it is more of the same poor decisions and sneakiness. Funny how when things turn to s–t Dong goes missing?? Looks like it’s Bowyer… Meh?
I was going through the list of betting I was given and a couple whom I’d seen in the media and Slaven Bilic didn’t feature. Not sure he would be a good fit for Blues somehow. I agree with Walker’s comment about getting up and at ’em and make the opposition worry about us for a change. We wouldn’t have to defend so much and the strategy has merit. It looks like you’re about to get your wish John. The latest is that Lee Bowyer has resigned at Charlton and he’s heavily touted as our next boss. I believe he will motivate the players and instil some belief. He has a job on keeping us up though. At least we’re not hopelessly adrift but we need points and quickly.
Without doubt this had to happen before whatever crowds are permitted to return to B9. Erasing what has gone on we have to have some belief as we move forward. Hearing that Bowyer has taken his first training session today is wonderful news and I cannot help feeling that this is the first step in gearing the club for life in league one.Not being negative but absolutely realistic. Naturally we still have an escape route as the Championship table now stands but the likes of Sunjic Harper Halilovic Friend Clayton to name just five are not going to change matters. 4-4-2 can be the only hope.Hogan and Jutkiewicz must be persevered with Sanchez and Bella out wide. Tracey Tyler again pushes for Seddon and why not. Today has been a good day for supporters of our beloved club and should we fail at this very late stage of the season- so be it. My saving grace is that if Lee Bowyer is prepared to put his soul into our current, dreadful situation then it is my role to believe again.