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Clive Woodward


Ziggy
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I've just read Gavin Henson's autobiography and whilst he clearly is a bit of a knob, his references to Clive Woodward are less than complimentary and he portrays him as a man obsessed with publicity and utterly closed to anyone else's opinions. The bit that made me smile was when Gavin mentions that Clive is "off to Southampton and it will be interesting to see how it works out" .....

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Interesting, as at a fans forum at SMS he came across really well and quite inspirational (then again he was up alongside either Redknapp or Burley, so inspiring that I can't remember which one).

 

Of course, that's not to say that the apointment was the right one at the right time alongside the right people with regards us;)

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What were we thinking of???? Clifford was an early version of Poortvliet!!!!

 

We might meet up with him again if things go really pear shaped:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

 

Perhaps if we plummet into the non league scene we may be in the Blue Square with Garfoth Town.

 

I can imagine the following in the Echo after a 4-0 home defeat by promotion chasing Garforth :

 

Rupert Lowe's newly appointed Director of Football,Ian Branfoot, said after the game " Southampton cannot expect to live in the same street as Garforth Town,and our fan had better get used to that fact."

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I've just read Gavin Henson's autobiography and whilst he clearly is a bit of a knob, his references to Clive Woodward are less than complimentary and he portrays him as a man obsessed with publicity and utterly closed to anyone else's opinions. The bit that made me smile was when Gavin mentions that Clive is "off to Southampton and it will be interesting to see how it works out" .....

 

No wonder Lowe liked him. They are kindred spirits.

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It might have worked but was never likely to. Two main flaws: (1) no football background and (2) most (all?) of the "new" methods he was supposed to bring in had been used elsewhere and built upon by ther football clubs for quite some years. You don't have to go any further than Arsenal. So to try to reinvent the wheel and start from scratch doesn't make sense: take other people's ideas that have been shown to work.

 

So to appoint him seems the work of someone who really doesn't know much about what's going on in the modern game yet thinks they do. Who could that be?

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For the last few years, i've attended a two day HR forum on the Oriana, decided not to do it this year and...... the key note speaker is one Sir Clive Woodwood. I'm a bit gutted, because you do get time to speak to them personally and would have been quite interesting.....Prime him up with a few beers and then start the questions :D

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I've just read Gavin Henson's autobiography and whilst he clearly is a bit of a knob, his references to Clive Woodward are less than complimentary and he portrays him as a man obsessed with publicity and utterly closed to anyone else's opinions. The bit that made me smile was when Gavin mentions that Clive is "off to Southampton and it will be interesting to see how it works out" .....

 

Why, oh why, has no-one questioned why on earth you were reading Gavin Henson's autobiography yet?

 

I must be older than I think! ;)

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Why, oh why, has no-one questioned why on earth you were reading Gavin Henson's autobiography yet?

 

I must be older than I think! ;)

 

 

Because I'm a Welsh rugby fan in my spare time and a season ticket holder at Cardiff Blues! I spend most weekends either driving down to the Saints with son number one or driving down to Cardiff with son number two.

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Ah Gavin Henson

 

A real muppet if there ever was one. So far up his own arse its unreal

 

I suspect the reason he is knocking Woodward is probably something to do with the lions tour a couple of years ago when woodward and co ignore some of the welsh boys at the time . Henson was one of the vocal gob****es at the time lambasting SCW.

 

Oh and the reason he is having ago at SCW is because his book is not selling well. so needs the crap about woodward and no doubt used his GF Charlotte Church to sell a few more copies.

I see he had a **** poor performance against the irish last week

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Ah Gavin Henson

 

A real muppet if there ever was one. So far up his own arse its unreal

 

I suspect the reason he is knocking Woodward is probably something to do with the lions tour a couple of years ago when woodward and co ignore some of the welsh boys at the time . Henson was one of the vocal gob****es at the time lambasting SCW.

 

Oh and the reason he is having ago at SCW is because his book is not selling well. so needs the crap about woodward and no doubt used his GF Charlotte Church to sell a few more copies.

I see he had a **** poor performance against the irish last week

 

Have to agree with that to be honest - although he wasnt that bad against the Irish I thought!

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It might have worked but was never likely to. Two main flaws: (1) no football background and

 

Does being offered a proffesional contract not count then?:rolleyes:

 

I had a good long chat with SCW at Staplewood one evening. Nice guy, very approachable and happy to chat, and really does know a thing or two about football. AS much as I hate Lowe for everything he's done I reckon bringing in SCW was actually one of his better idea's, just the timing and execution were wrong. He was never going to be able to work with a dinosaur like Redcrap, however if he had been teamed with a younger up and coming manager who wasn't so stuck in the dark ages, things could have been very different IMO.

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Does being offered a proffesional contract not count then?:rolleyes:

 

I had a good long chat with SCW at Staplewood one evening. Nice guy, very approachable and happy to chat, and really does know a thing or two about football. AS much as I hate Lowe for everything he's done I reckon bringing in SCW was actually one of his better idea's, just the timing and execution were wrong. He was never going to be able to work with a dinosaur like Redcrap, however if he had been teamed with a younger up and coming manager who wasn't so stuck in the dark ages, things could have been very different IMO.

 

 

The younger up and coming Manager..Brazi;ian style could have been Clifford ala Garforth....Maybe Not.:---)

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He was never going to be able to work with a dinosaur like Redcrap, however if he had been teamed with a younger up and coming manager who wasn't so stuck in the dark ages, things could have been very different IMO.

 

Cause Redknapp's done nothing since he left us.

 

If he was stuck in the dark ages, modern class players wouldn't want to play for him. Since Redknapp left, name one thing that indicates Lowe/SCW were right and Redknapp was wrong.

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Cause Redknapp's done nothing since he left us.

 

If he was stuck in the dark ages, modern class players wouldn't want to play for him. Since Redknapp left, name one thing that indicates Lowe/SCW were right and Redknapp was wrong.

 

How about Woodwards Olympic activites and his recen demotion, then? Eh? Eh?

 

Oh, sort of proves your point really.........

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Does being offered a proffesional contract not count then?:rolleyes:

 

I had a good long chat with SCW at Staplewood one evening. Nice guy, very approachable and happy to chat, and really does know a thing or two about football. AS much as I hate Lowe for everything he's done I reckon bringing in SCW was actually one of his better idea's, just the timing and execution were wrong. He was never going to be able to work with a dinosaur like Redcrap, however if he had been teamed with a younger up and coming manager who wasn't so stuck in the dark ages, things could have been very different IMO.

 

Like Glenn Hoddle

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Cause Redknapp's done nothing since he left us.

 

If he was stuck in the dark ages, modern class players wouldn't want to play for him. Since Redknapp left, name one thing that indicates Lowe/SCW were right and Redknapp was wrong.

 

You've conveniently managed to miss the entire point of my post.

And you tell me what redcrap has done since he left us, apart from bankrupting the skates on their way to a cup final.

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Does being offered a proffesional contract not count then?:rolleyes:

 

I had a good long chat with SCW at Staplewood one evening. Nice guy, very approachable and happy to chat, and really does know a thing or two about football. AS much as I hate Lowe for everything he's done I reckon bringing in SCW was actually one of his better idea's, just the timing and execution were wrong. He was never going to be able to work with a dinosaur like Redcrap, however if he had been teamed with a younger up and coming manager who wasn't so stuck in the dark ages, things could have been very different IMO.

 

It only goes to show what a plank Lowe was - he couldn't get anything right on running the club from working with the traditional manager, new coach or a revolutionary set up, he ballsed it up!

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He was never going to be able to work with a dinosaur like Redcrap, however if he had been teamed with a younger up and coming manager who wasn't so stuck in the dark ages, things could have been very different IMO.

 

Funny how the old dinosaur Redknapp managed to utilise the latest in sports science at pompey then wasn't it?

 

This dinosaur stuff is just ******, every manager in the league would be up for anything that give stheir team an extra 1%.

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Woodward built an infrastructure for English rugby world domination that lasted three days and he is now kicking his heels on the Olympic sidelines as he has been found out.

 

Hoddle showed everyone with his post-Saints coaching results in the Premiership and Championship that he was a great singer.

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You've conveniently managed to miss the entire point of my post.

And you tell me what redcrap has done since he left us, apart from bankrupting the skates on their way to a cup final.

I'm not a fan of Redknapp's however since he left us, Pompey stayed up, 2 top 8 finish's, and won the cup. He's been offered, and taken 1,the Managers role of 2 big clubs. I would also suggest that in a poll of Managers would be the general public's number one choice to manage England( if the choice was only Englishmen). He has had a pretty good career after leaving Saints, and it's hardly his fault he's "Bankrupted the Skates". If that's the case then George Burley rather than Michael Wilde, Hone ect should take the blame for mismangeing our finances.Surely Peter Storie or Gaydamak himself should carry the can. Which Manager would turn down players or finance if it was offered?

 

If you asked supporters of every other League Club to choose between Redknapp and SCW at their Club, how many would choose SCW. My opinion, nil.

 

If SCW was so much in demend and so brilliant(in football terms), why is it only Lowe can see it?

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The SCW debate is not even a debate anymore, his time in football was nothing but an expensive failure. Lowe tried to fast track him to the managers position and he left with his tail between his legs having achieved nothing and at great cost to the club.

 

The fact that so many fans were willing to put up with our nut case chairman trying to make a rugby coach a football manager, under the guise of sports science, is laughable - as comedies go it's up there with the Jamaican bob sleigh team and racing Zebras. The only thing that makes it unfunny is the fact that while the whole panto has been played out we've dropped from the Prem to bottom of the Championship.

 

Redknapp's gone on to prove he can actually manage if left to do the job (and actually embrace sports science), Woodward's jumped on the Olympic gravey train and we are stuck here skint while Woody's computerized eye gyms sit there in the mult millionpound dome gathering dust.

Edited by aintforever
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Ah Gavin Henson

 

A real muppet if there ever was one. So far up his own arse its unreal

 

I suspect the reason he is knocking Woodward is probably something to do with the lions tour a couple of years ago when woodward and co ignore some of the welsh boys at the time . Henson was one of the vocal gob****es at the time lambasting SCW.

 

Oh and the reason he is having ago at SCW is because his book is not selling well. so needs the crap about woodward and no doubt used his GF Charlotte Church to sell a few more copies.

I see he had a **** poor performance against the irish last week

 

WAS that the Lions Tour that was a complete flop , and exposed the myth about Woodward

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The SCW debate is not even a debate anymore, his time in football was nothing but an expensive failure. Lowe tried to fast track him to the managers position and he left with his tail between his legs having achieved nothing and at great cost to the club.

 

Personally, I never had a problem trying to learn new things from anyone and was open minded about SCW coming in to help, but once again the execution was poor.

 

As you say Lowe's attempts/desire to get SCW and Clifford in to the hot seats really was pie in the sky thinking.

 

Here is one of the articles where Clifford lifted the lid on Woodward for the Manager's role (or probably Head Coach under Lowe).

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2006/sep/08/newsstory.southampton

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Personally, I never had a problem trying to learn new things from anyone and was open minded about SCW coming in to help, but once again the execution was poor.

 

As you say Lowe's attempts/desire to get SCW and Clifford in to the hot seats really was pie in the sky thinking.

 

Here is one of the articles where Clifford lifted the lid on Woodward for the Manager's role (or probably Head Coach under Lowe).

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2006/sep/08/newsstory.southampton

 

SO this is the second attempt by Rupert to re write the football manual,

firstly it was a rugby coach aided by a soccer school owner

now we have had 2 very average dutch coaches trying to use "tyro " cast offs

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To have a Manager like Redknapp in place and then undermine him with SCW was maddness. Redknapp hated his time at Southampton and that's down to Lowe and the way he ran the Club. My eldest's girlfriends family have known the Redknapps years, and her father's spoken at length to him about his time at SMS. From calling him Redknapp to his face, to holding conversations in French with Cowan, in front of him, Lowe made him uncomfortable from the word go.I think Redknapp was a two faced money grabbing so and so, for not resigning. By not being interested, he caused a lot of problems at the Club. However, he was not interested because of Lowe and Lowe alone.

I've always thought another Chairman, dare I say it, Leon with Lawrie, could have got the best out of Redknapp. There's no doubt had he been given the money and the free reign Burley was given, he'd have got us promoted.

 

There's obviously no way of ever knowing, and the only thing that can give us a clue is subsiquent events. Redknapp went on to win the cup, and get a big move, SCW and Clifford are unlikely to get a decent job in football again, and Rupert still seems incapable of realising his mistakes, and continue's to make them (NP)

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I think that we still may see SCW as Saints manager.

 

Until Lowe is removed anything is possible. Be afraid, be very afraid.

 

 

 

Laugh if you like but, I'd like to see SCW as CHAIRMAN.

Staying away from the playing staff, but having good squad coaches.

 

His ideas seems crazy to some people but one of my rugby acquainatances

claimed he put an new meaning on the word " organisation".

He had vision and an eye for detail and brought out talents / skills in others.

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