| Warbs talks lockdown form, signings, contracts and defence — Interview 10:04 - Sep 9 with 24534 views | Northernr |
Spent some time yesterday afternoon with Warburton. Interview here, Patreon subs can download the audio.
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| Warbs talks lockdown form, signings, contracts and defence — Interview on 20:01 - Sep 16 with 1449 views | GloryHunter |
| Warbs talks lockdown form, signings, contracts and defence — Interview on 18:08 - Sep 16 by PinnerPaul |
Just got round to this - excellent interview.
1 best bit from MW and 1 worse - bad first 'Had to find a bike from somewhere' - that was a bit pathetic, footballers not usually known for being the brightest and having everything done for them, but surely buying/borrowing a bike shouldn't have been TOO difficult!
Best bit was his detail on how post lockdown prep and analysis was different from pre and well done Clive for persisting with that line to get the specifics from him.
Very informative interview and for those who have been a bit sensitive to criticism of the criticism, when someone writes/posts that Luke Amos wouldn't get in his pub team, then clearly he IS going to bite over that sort of cooment. [Post edited 16 Sep 2020 18:30]
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I'd forgotten about the "Had to find a bike from somewhere" bit. For players who are on a few grand a week!
Top tip guys - there's a website called Amazon, and you order online with your credit card and they deliver stuff to your home the next day! |  | | |
| Warbs talks lockdown form, signings, contracts and defence — Interview on 22:02 - Sep 16 with 1357 views | stainrods_elbow |
For me - though one would also want to hear the tone of voice (I must have missed the update on the new 'sold' acoustic content - Clive?) - there was a marked contrast between the reasonable and mildly mischievous approach of the interviewer and the bullishness of the interviewee, which latter was arguably as excessive (though I don't wish to defend personal abuse of the likes of Joe Lumley any more than he failed to in his own performances at times last season) as those 'keyboard-warrior' objects of our manager's displeasure.
My post-interview queries to Warburton on the basis of his interview performance:
1. Exactly how do you distinguish between the trolls you write off and 'genuine supporters' in this domain (which I'd say includes most of the posters to this board) and, to clarify, what criticism do you agree would be fair from fans for last season? To be fair to you, you kind of answer this by implication in your words about where we let ourselves down last time out. But I do get the feeling that some things at QPR, like the season-on season determination to throw cup matches and sugarcoat the aftermath, as well as over-praising players (for Gerry Francis' love-affair with Rob Steiner, hello you and Luke), will never change, whatever fans feel.
2. Still on the subject of (constructive) critique, you say some goals we conceded last season were 'ridiculous', yet you'll never criticise the players. Am I the only one who's a little confused here?
3. Forgive me for going in harder than my journalistic superior, Mr Whittingham - why did we have (for the 2nd season in a row) almost the worst defensive record in the league? What further pointers can you provide as to how we are going to change that this season? How have the players and backroom team been learning from their mistakes? Yes, there was some wonderful attacking football at times last year, but it was all too often spoiled if not actually undone by systemic failures to track, cover and mark opposition players, plus some embarrassing goalkeeping at this level. We've also now lost Eze, Hugill and Wells, and I'd be surprised if BOS is still with us come January. Are you as confident we'll score as freely as before and, if so, on what basis? If we don't progress on the pitch, what's the point of a business model at all? We're a FOOTBALL club, not playing the stock market after all!
4. When fans see things like the above mentioned Amos bottling a key tackle and throwing his hands up in the air vs WBA to help them to score, you and the player have to understand that pelters will legitimately follow. How do you reconcile this with your views on how well he presses and what not? It's nothing to do with 'knowing/not knowing the game' - it's telling it as it is, Mark. Managers have plenty to lose from being truthful, given the egos and preciousness of players. Fans are fans - they love their club, and that makes them passionately truthful, if not always fully informed - though that is more often than not down to clubs' refusal to communicate important context to their fanbase, citing internal/in-house confidentiality, the hackneyed sanctity of the dressing room and associated, self-serving cliches. But no one needs to have played professionally to see that Jose Bosingwa was a cast-iron c*nt, for instance. A journalist like Clive isn't an 'arse' and neither are the rest of us (though I've been called one recently myself by someone who arse-ily thinks he isn't, so I feel any pain he might feel).
5. If you are implying there's some kind of perfect correlation between earnings and ability, the best-paid players and most well-resourced clubs would clear the table. Have you not been in football long enough to recognise that is not the case? If it were, Leicester would never have won a Premiership and we wouldn't have beaten Leeds and Spurs and Arsenal and Liverpool over the years in all the wonderful ways we have.
6. Given your almost fetishistic emphasis on being respectful (to the point, frankly, of suspiciousness), I think it's you who lack respect for the intelligence of your interlocutor when you seriously suggest we couldn't defend for toffee last year (and couldn't learn) because the players are 'human'. Give me a break, Mark! Does that does that make well-drilled defences like Burnley's superhuman? (I suppose the two or three teams in the whole league who were worse than us would be subhuman.) Why not be honest and admit that either there was something not working with the coaching, or the players weren't willing or able to take it on board for some reason? Please don't insult my intelligence and give such facile non-excuses. As you like to keep telling us they're 'professional athletes' so, if the coaching is competent and they're taking it seriously, we poor fans shouldn't have our hearts in our mouths at every corner we're supposedly defending, wouldn't you agree? Those of us who've been watching/writing about/analysing QPR for decades in different forums deserve better than this.
7. Finally, do you think there is a risk that not setting any targets gives the club an excuse (the same kind of excuse you tell us you and Mr Hoos complaining so loudly about returning after lockdown wasn't actually an excuse) not to aspire upwards in footballing terms? And, if not, why not?
Despite some of the above, I remain a (more qualified) fan of yours - of the hopefully genuine variety. I like your passion and vision and history and intensity. But you will be rightly judged this season on your decisions, your coaching and learning from your and your team's shortcomings. Personally, I suspect we may concede fewer this season (we could hardly concede more), but I think we'll also struggle to score as many, so will be surprised if we even manage to equal last season's final position. I hope I'm wrong, and I think Dickie and Dykes, whatever the Carry On qualities of their names, are promising acquisitions in the current context, and, since football rarely stays the same, it can always surprise us, as the Forest performance and result did in a happy way. Let's see, shall we!
I'm being totally sincere and respectful here, by the way! (runs for cover) [Post edited 16 Sep 2020 22:56]
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| Warbs talks lockdown form, signings, contracts and defence — Interview on 09:58 - Sep 17 with 1242 views | GloryHunter |
Football managers are usually very prickly about any criticism whatsoever. It is hard for them to accept that the paying customers know anything about football. Before the internet, there were only fanzines, and they only started in the 1970s. Ray Wilkins once took umbrage about something written in AKUTRs (I think), and said there was no need for fanzines. He said fans could get all the information they needed from the match programme. | | | |
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