The Michael Jolley Effect

I think we can all see that Michael Jolley has had a positive effect on the team since his arrival. I'm really interested to hear people's thoughts of what specifically Michael Jolley has done in terms of tactics, shape etc.

There are some very knowledgeable people on here and I'd love to understand the little changes/adaptations people have spotted during the 90+ minutes.

He's clearly a thinking-man's manager and much more diligent than 'he who shall not be named' and its clear lthat he selects players based on gamelan for specific opposition - is this an effective long-term strategy or would a team benefit more from a settled XI?

I also feel he's very proactive in his substitutions and with it, I changes if shape during the game. He isn't predictable in his changes like Hursty was, but nor does he replace like-for-like, a La baldy and expect drastic improvements.

I don't think he's actually changed too much tactically. He's clearly a manager who likes to be flexible, but I think he recognised from an early stage that our players don't have the ability to carry out what he's ideally like to do, so he's focussed more on making minor changes to what he's inherited and improving our psychology. I think we'll see a completely different style next next, something he tried against port vale but quickly realised wouldn't work with this team.

Fine lines........

I'm really hope MJ is a success and he's got my full support but let's not get too carried away just yet.

We beat a poor Chesterfield team with a late penalty on Saturday and if we lose to Barnet next game at BP we will be right back in the mire.

Just saying........bring on the many red crosses  

I’d say his changes have been more to do with not being sure of his best 11 yet rather than changes to suit his game plan. Nothing wrong with that though. I’m glad he’s not just picked 11 and decided to stick with them. Everyone’s getting their chance to impress him it seems.
His biggest positive for me is as you’ve already mentioned. His ability to realise when things need to change system-wise and put it in to action straight away. I think it was against Port Vale, he gave it 10 minutes in to the second half before things started getting changed all over the place. A lot of managers would just give it until 10 minutes from the end.
Really pleased with him so far for his attitude as much as anything. It’s infectious. Was brilliant to see him celebrate the way he did on Saturday. He deserves it and I hope that was the first of many.

If Jolley had got the job instead of Slade we would not have been in this mess. Slade took us backwards. I'm sure there are loads of decent experienced managers with a proven track record who could have taken us forward this season. Its not as if We started the season with a team full of bad players so we obviously are pay competitive salaries. Its what Slade did with them that has killed us.

Jolley has done a good job as a manager, Whether he can recognise and recruite good players will define him.

Accrington Stanley are top of the league on allegedly one of the lowest budgets in L2. Yes they need someone to manage them properly but someone has done a good job in their recruitment side to put out a team that is capable of being up there.

Eddie Howe is touted as one of the best British managers around. His inability to recruit quality players in the Premiership since he got there is what lets him down. He has made some bad mistakes which have cost a lot of money

Quoted from promotion plaice

Fine lines........

I'm really hope MJ is a success and he's got my full support but let's not get too carried away just yet.

We beat a poor Chesterfield team with a late penalty on Saturday and if we lose to Barnet next game at BP we will be right back in the mire.

Just saying........bring on the many red crosses  

I'm with you. It's way too early to tell the difference he will make and what effect he's had. We will know next season when he gets his own team and time to put his stamp on them.

We looked ok against a very poor side on Saturday. The game was extremely close and could've gone either way.
It worries me that he has chopped and changed every game. I am not sure if he's just swallowed a coaching handbook and thinks he's playing Champ Manager, but he certainly talks a good game.

I really hope he is successful at Town and it as clearly as important for his fortunes as it is for ours, as if he fails here he's unlikely to get a number 1 role in the league again. Time will tell.

Quoted from TheGoalKipper

If Jolley had got the job instead of Slade we would not have been in this mess. Slade took us backwards. I'm sure there are loads of decent experienced managers with a proven track record who could have taken us forward this season. Its not as if We started the season with a team full of bad players so we obviously are pay competitive salaries. Its what Slade did with them that has killed us.

Jolley has done a good job as a manager, Whether he can recognise and recruite good players will define him.

Accrington Stanley are top of the league on allegedly one of the lowest budgets in L2. Yes they need someone to manage them properly but someone has done a good job in their recruitment side to put out a team that is capable of being up there.

Eddie Howe is touted as one of the best British managers around. His inability to recruit quality players in the Premiership since he got there is what lets him down. He has made some bad mistakes which have cost a lot of money

Yeah, fancy only getting the giants that are Bournemouth to 11th in the Premier League.

I think it's changed game to game, depending on the opposition and thats exactly the way it should be.

Against 3rd placed Wycombe away he tried to keep it as tight as possible at the back, and try to nick a goal. It was all going to plan for a big chunk of the game, but unfortunately they just had too much for us.

Quoted from headingly_mariner

I'm with you. It's way too early to tell the difference he will make and what effect he's had. We will know next season when he gets his own team and time to put his stamp on them.

We looked ok against a very poor side on Saturday. The game was extremely close and could've gone either way.
It worries me that he has chopped and changed every game. I am not sure if he's just swallowed a coaching handbook and thinks he's playing Champ Manager, but he certainly talks a good game.

I really hope he is successful at Town and it as clearly as important for his fortunes as it is for ours, as if he fails here he's unlikely to get a number 1 role in the league again. Time will tell.

The thing that gives me hope is that he seems to have got into the players’ heads and have them playing and indeed fighting for each other and for the club. Saturday was the first time for a long time that the 2nd half was better than the first. Instead of folding under pressure it looked like we turned the screw on Chesterfield and forced the error that created the win. Sure it was a bit of luck but as the saying goes ‘the harder you work the luckier you get’.

The thing is, even the best Buckley team lost a few and even the worst Slade side won a few - so over a short period of time it's difficult to conclude much.

However, we scored a late equaliser against Vale and a late winner against Chesterfield in what were the two biggest games of Jolley's six in charge. I think this says something about fitness and psychology.

I think he's brought calmness, a good attitude and done the one thing Slade promised but never did - go back to basics.

We're getting better at the fundamentals, and hopefully that'll show in our remaining four games with at least one more win (preferably on Sat).