Post by Taxigirl on May 28, 2005 8:16:12 GMT
www.leedsunited.com
KEVIN BLACKWELL AS BOSS.
BACK IN THE PREM NEXT SEASON LADS WHERE YOU BELONG. ;D
Kevin Blackwell's appointment as the new Leeds United manager was confirmed and he set about the process of building a team that would later stabilise the club in the Championship.
The milestone is likely to go un-noticed by Blackwell himself, currently occupied on a coaching course in Milan, but he is just pleased that the club is finally achieving stability off the pitch as well as on it.
For supporters too it will be the first summer in three years when they are not waiting on a new appointment, and there will be some relief that the managerial roundabout has come to a standstill.
"David O'Leary lost his job and we went with Terry Venables one summer, Peter Reid the next summer and then Kevin Blackwell the next," said Blackwell.
"And there is no doubt that the clubs who keep changing their managers the most seem to be struggling more than anybody.
"Nottingham Forest changed four managers in the last two years and they're now in the third division, Coventry keep changing their manager and they only just avoided relegation.
"You can only tell people that the warning signs are that club's that keep changing are always in trouble. Even in the Premier League, Southampton have changed their manager four times recently too and now they have joined us in the Championship."
The first few weeks of his reign was busy with transfer dealings, the scale of which had never been seen at the club, and possibly not at any other relegated club before. Alan Smith's move to Manchester United was complete 24 hours after taking the hot-seat and Danny Pugh moved in the opposite direction to become Blackwell's first capture at the club.
Then the framework was done to bring in Clarke Carlisle, Jermaine Wright, Paul Butler, Julian Joachim, Michael Ricketts, Matthew Spring and Danny Cadamarteri on free transfers on July 1st. As soon as the new arrivals came in, players such as Mark Viduka, Ian Harte and Dominic Matteo were heading out of the exit doors.
"We were in a situation where we were welcoming in new arrivals and still had the likes of James Milner and Dominic Matteo training with us but then they were gone the next. It didn't help matters.
"The difference next season will be that unlike the last one where I have had to introduce dozens of players to the club all at once, there will be a nucleus of the team already there and we will add to that.
"There were so many changes at the start because we didn't know what our best combination was and we had to experiment to find things out. I think that was reflected in our early results.
"Some things clearly weren't good enough but we added quality where it was needed with the likes of David Healy and Sean Gregan and the improvement has been clear."
That Blackwell was able to eventually build a side that would guide the club away from the murky waters at the foot of the table that the likes of fallen stars Forest, Wolves and Leicester waded in for so long is testament to his success.
Learning The Lessons
Having come through his first season, and one full of hurdles to overcome at every turn, Blackwell's focus and belief in what he has doing remains stronger than ever and it's with some excitement that he looks forward to the new season.
"It's great now that I can come back for my second summer in charge, third in total at the club and the first squad of players that I will actually know.
"The stability is starting to come back and like they say, Rome was not built in a day. We've had our walls kicked down and our club was in ruins. We are now building that back up to hopefully have a nice palace at the end of it which will enjoy success.
"I came here to do a job, I know what that is and I know where I want to end up. I know I wasn't the most glamorous name in the book but I give 110 per cent and I know what I'm doing.
"I just need the support of everybody around me and I believe we will get there."
KEVIN BLACKWELL AS BOSS.
BACK IN THE PREM NEXT SEASON LADS WHERE YOU BELONG. ;D
Kevin Blackwell's appointment as the new Leeds United manager was confirmed and he set about the process of building a team that would later stabilise the club in the Championship.
The milestone is likely to go un-noticed by Blackwell himself, currently occupied on a coaching course in Milan, but he is just pleased that the club is finally achieving stability off the pitch as well as on it.
For supporters too it will be the first summer in three years when they are not waiting on a new appointment, and there will be some relief that the managerial roundabout has come to a standstill.
"David O'Leary lost his job and we went with Terry Venables one summer, Peter Reid the next summer and then Kevin Blackwell the next," said Blackwell.
"And there is no doubt that the clubs who keep changing their managers the most seem to be struggling more than anybody.
"Nottingham Forest changed four managers in the last two years and they're now in the third division, Coventry keep changing their manager and they only just avoided relegation.
"You can only tell people that the warning signs are that club's that keep changing are always in trouble. Even in the Premier League, Southampton have changed their manager four times recently too and now they have joined us in the Championship."
The first few weeks of his reign was busy with transfer dealings, the scale of which had never been seen at the club, and possibly not at any other relegated club before. Alan Smith's move to Manchester United was complete 24 hours after taking the hot-seat and Danny Pugh moved in the opposite direction to become Blackwell's first capture at the club.
Then the framework was done to bring in Clarke Carlisle, Jermaine Wright, Paul Butler, Julian Joachim, Michael Ricketts, Matthew Spring and Danny Cadamarteri on free transfers on July 1st. As soon as the new arrivals came in, players such as Mark Viduka, Ian Harte and Dominic Matteo were heading out of the exit doors.
"We were in a situation where we were welcoming in new arrivals and still had the likes of James Milner and Dominic Matteo training with us but then they were gone the next. It didn't help matters.
"The difference next season will be that unlike the last one where I have had to introduce dozens of players to the club all at once, there will be a nucleus of the team already there and we will add to that.
"There were so many changes at the start because we didn't know what our best combination was and we had to experiment to find things out. I think that was reflected in our early results.
"Some things clearly weren't good enough but we added quality where it was needed with the likes of David Healy and Sean Gregan and the improvement has been clear."
That Blackwell was able to eventually build a side that would guide the club away from the murky waters at the foot of the table that the likes of fallen stars Forest, Wolves and Leicester waded in for so long is testament to his success.
Learning The Lessons
Having come through his first season, and one full of hurdles to overcome at every turn, Blackwell's focus and belief in what he has doing remains stronger than ever and it's with some excitement that he looks forward to the new season.
"It's great now that I can come back for my second summer in charge, third in total at the club and the first squad of players that I will actually know.
"The stability is starting to come back and like they say, Rome was not built in a day. We've had our walls kicked down and our club was in ruins. We are now building that back up to hopefully have a nice palace at the end of it which will enjoy success.
"I came here to do a job, I know what that is and I know where I want to end up. I know I wasn't the most glamorous name in the book but I give 110 per cent and I know what I'm doing.
"I just need the support of everybody around me and I believe we will get there."