Is the End Nigh for Wagner (at the end of the season) ?

Knapper became the SD on the 13th of November. He then said how impressed he was with the coaching team and their relationship with the players. Attanasio said in November that he didn't see why teams changed their coaches so often here. Delia and Michael also came out in support of Wagner, which they were unlikely to do if a decision had been made to change the coach. IMO this is all down to speculation by FLW and other blogs back in November to fill column inches.

I don't subscribe to the "It happens in Business all the time so why not Football?" logic. The purpose of businesses is to make money. The purpose of a football club is to achieve success on the pitch. Yes it has to manage it's finances, but it's results that measure a club's success. The autumn slump was down to the lack of key players through injury not because of the coaching.

The return of Sargent and Sainz settling in after his injury made a huge difference. The clever deployment of Sara up front and the development of Núñez as a deep lying playmaker/DM has also had a big impact, freeing up McLean to become a more dynamic player all over the pitch. Yes, if we somehow succeed in the playoffs we will need to strengthen the squad, but we have a core of high performing players to provide the foundations for that. If we remain in the Championship we will still need to strengthen to achieve Knapper's aims and that to me is where the changes will come.

 

Knapper's first NCFC interview after taking up his post in November:

Briefly outlines his football philosophy from 6 mins onwards.

Pink'Un interview after the January transfer window:

NB the remarks about SVH, and the commitment to player development and open pathway to the first team.

 

What is to be expected from Knapper can't be discussed independently of his role in the new Attanasio-driven business model for the club, which has just received approval from the EFL, triggering the transfer of shares to Norfolk FB Holdings. To quote a poster (MC_NCFC) on the Pink'Un forum:
"We attracted Ben Knapper because of this innovative model and are bringing in a significant academy manager to manage the next lot of talent."
In order to succeed, the new business model also requires us to appoint a "significant" Head Coach, someone capable of attracting ambitious players to the club in his own right, and developing them. Furthermore, the model is built on an innovative use of performance data to identify targets for development by the club, both at first team and academy level. Knapper is crucial to all this. His was the first "significant" Attanasio-approved appointment.
If DW wasn't already in post, would his be seen as a "significant" appointment? I don't think so.

 

There is a certain 'chicken or egg' about all of this. To attract a 'significant Head Coach' we need to have a significant squad of players. Talk is easy but until such recruitment happens what 'significant coach' is going to be interested? The Academy has made those steps up with Academy One status and the Colney improvements so a new youth development manager is viable now. The next stage is attracting new quality players during the summer. I have my doubts that we'll be able to do that in one window, especially if we're still in the Championship. It's more about evolution than revolution given our financial situation.

 

If we are still in the championship it will be a coup to maintain our current attacking and begin the long awaited surgery of our backline. If we do happen to go up, the surgery on the backline becomes all the more pressing. I think Wagner is okay for now, unless there is someone who is A++ out there and is available that I do not know about.

 

Potential frying pan to fire situation. A repeat of Farke to Smith.

 

Liam Rosenior has been sacked after failing to steer Hull into the play-offs. The official statement cites a mis-match between Rosenior and the Hull board's long-term vision for the future. To quote the Hull chairman: “No matter how trying the circumstance, I have to remove personal sentiment from these moments and ensure the long-term vision of the club is at the centre of my thinking."

 

Dean Smith it is then

 

Or Farke after we beat them

 

They invested quite significantly in their promotion push with some high profile loans as well, as harsh as it looks he will have failed to reach the objective of playoffs as a minimum