I suppose we have been creating but haven’t had a Kone or Fink to prod, nod, tap the ball in. If our latest international isn’t ready for Reading, I would bung Fred up the middle and start Junior.
( I should point out I am neither practically nor statistically qualified as a football coach.)
I just watched Dodd’s pre- Reading match interview he’s so deluded and spouted word salad.
You could have fooled me!
Fred has been such a disappointment lately. If he doesn’t wind up on the deck trying to beat the first challenge, he often seems to deck the next challenger by shoving him in the back. It’s something he’s very fond of and he’s not at all subtle about it. Junior seems to stay on his feet without too much difficulty. Definitely should get a start on Saturday and I like your suggestion of bunging Fred up the middle. Sounds vaguely rude but I think we could do far worse than playing him through the middle.
I only saw about 20 minutes of the first half at Brisbane Road but I was very impressed by Cameron Stones, the 16 year old, who definitely has pace and, for his age, good strength.
I watched the last 15-20 minutes but didn’t particularly notice Arthur Gregory, the 17 year old.
The post match interview with Darcie was an absolute gem. As someone else said, Cameron is 16 going on 30.
I had a look at the numbers for the first 25 games (all comps) under Alan Smith and Neil Smillie.
Current incumbent has fewer goals and more defeats than managed by Smith in his first 25, and fewer goals than managed by Smillie in his first 25 after replacing Gregory (i.e. not counting his 3 wins from 5 as caretaker after Smith).
Neither Smith nor Smillie were coming into a team that were top scorers in the division under their previous boss.
Smith picked up a team who’d banked the highest ever finish in our club’s history.
But despite his first season being fairly mediocre he did have a few goal fests. Still to be seen if we’ll be treated to any under Doddsy.
There are parallels with Sm*th in that he did take over a successful team after the previous manager left to a ‘better’ club.
It therefore took him a little while to dismantle and demoralise that team into his own way of doing things, so I would have expected there to have been a fairly decent start results wise.
There are differences though. Mike Dodds does seem to be a decent human being. Al**n Sm&th was an utter…*
Decent human being he may be, but Dodds reminds me of Smith more than any other manager we’ve had. It’s the ‘other-worldly’ thing he has going on.
Supported with additional spending power to remodel a perfectly decent squad, he displays a similar blind refusal to acknowledge reality and regularly hints that the agnostic simply aren’t great enough to understand that the football he proffers is both highly sophisticated and extraordinarily entertaining.
Plus, he likes to talk at length (like all scoundrels) about stats, as long as they don’t include tangible things like goals scored or conceded.
There’s confidence and then there’s arrogance. For me, he’s starting to dance with the latter. ‘We replay that game 10 times and we win 10 times’. Says he’s not going to discuss what the Exeter staff said and then suggests they said we should’ve won. Likewise, he’s not going to blame officials but goes on to do so.
That’s interesting. I can’t say that’s been my perception. Bloomfield, in his fallow period, was prone to telling us about how great the underlying stats were. But it took spending the OG’s money in the summer of 2024 on Udoh, Harvie and the loanees to bring that statistical vision to life.
Two books that are essential reading for those trying to understand recent events.
There will be a test tomorrow afternoon……
anyone who experienced the rancid Smith years knows it’s ludicrous to compare that era to this spell of indifferent form
Agree with the Sm*th comparison but wouldn’t say bombing any chance of promotion and then starting with no league wins in 4 was indifferent. It’s certainly different to what was going on before.
Anyway we’re the Hogwarts team now, good in spells.
Yes, there’s absolute levels to go to have any comparison to Smith.
For that, we’d need Doddsy to say that he “genuinely” thinks he’s doing well, and that “someone close to the running of the club” said we’d be certs for relegation without his magical management, despite following a successful manager
Comparison between the results from the opening 24 league matches under the last three managers / head coaches.
Mike Dodds P24 W7 D7 L10 F20 A24 / 29%
Matt Bloomfield P24 W9 D5 L10 F30 A35 / 38%
Gareth Ainsworth P24 W11 D5 L8 F31 A32 / 46%
Out of interest, are you including the play off matches as well?
Yes, that includes the two-legged play-off semi-final.
Updates…
Shortest permanent managerial reigns in WWFC history (league matches only).
Peter Suddaby P25 W5 D6 L14 / 20% (asked for resignation)
Ted Powell P32 W17 D8 L7 / 53% (asked for resignation)
Neil Smillie P38 W10 D13 L15 / 26% (sacked)
John Reardon P42 W22 D9 L11 / 52% (sacked)
Tony Adams P46 W9 D20 L17 / 20% (resigned)
Alan Smith P52 W16 D17 L19 / 31% (sacked)
For comparison:
Mike Dodds P25 W7 D7 L11 / 28%
Comparison between the results from the opening 25 league matches under the last three managers / head coaches.
Mike Dodds P25 W7 D7 L11 F20 A25 / 28%
Matt Bloomfield P25 W9 D6 L10 F32 A37 / 36%
Gareth Ainsworth P25 W11 D5 L9 F31 A33 / 44%
Longest winless league runs since team selection wasn’t decided by committee (1969).
13 - 2003/04 - Tony Adams - D9 L4
12 - 1998/99 - Neil Smillie - D3 L9
12 - 2018/19 - Gareth Ainsworth - D3 L9
12 - 1987/88 - Peter Suddaby - D4 L8
12 - 2023/24 - Matt Bloomfield - D6 L6
11 - 2024/25 & 2025/26 - Mike Dodds - D3 L8
11 - 2006/07 - Paul Lambert - D5 L6
10 - 1995/96 & 1996/97 - Alan Smith - D4 L6
NB: the only manager sacked due to these winless runs was Alan Smith.
Worst starts to a season since team selection wasn’t decided by committee (1969).
2025/26 – P6 W0 D2 L4 PTS 2 - Mike Dodds
1998/99 – P12 W0 D3 L9 PTS 3 - Neil Smillie
1996/97 – P9 W0 L4 L5 PTS 4 - Alan Smith*
2020/21 – P9 W1 D1 L7 PTS 4 - Gareth Ainsworth
2012/13 – P9 W1 D2 L6 PTS 6 – Gary Waddock*
2003/04 – P14 W1 D4 L9 PTS 7 – Lawrie Sanchez*
2009/10 – P16 W1 D5 L10 PTS 8 – Peter Taylor*
2011/12 – P11 W2 D2 L7 PTS 8 – Gary Waddock
*sacked as a consequence
