Can Garner turn it around?
When asked in the absence of certain players, whether not signed or injured, how he was going to get results, Ben Garner has always answered that it will be hard work and improvement on the training ground.
I understand that. His number one KPI is to improve the players individually and collectively, although I always sigh when manager’s say that they’ve had a great week on the training ground.
I do think Ben Garner deserves a chance. A cultural and directional shift takes time, even if the tools and support is not provided. We all chuckled this week when Watford removed their manager, but remember Thomas Sandgaard is already on number 4 in just 24 months.
Undoubtedly at some point Garner will take the bullet, or if he can somehow make a silk purse out of a pigs ear, he will be headhunted.
Garner’s record in L1 is not good but he was signed by Sandgaard as a project manager, and he proved at Swindon that he could actually build something.
Nonetheless the key for me is has he learnt from his mistakes? Will he learn from those errors in judgement or be too blinkered and stubborn in his thinking. We had this with Karl Robinson, Nigel Adkins and Johnnie Jackson, whereas Lee Bowyer would turn the whole team and formation upside down on an almost weekly basis!
The trend line is that we are picking up very similar traits to his Swindon team, and the complaints were that he was too inflexible there with similar tactics producing the carbon results.
Garner sounds like a decent bloke, with I suggest good man-management skills. He’s bright and a modern thinker, but is he able to better the players and make us hard to beat. That has to be the starting point, and to give this season any life, that has to start soon.
I want the football team I love to have an identity, a style, and a direction that club and supporters can move lockstep together in, and possibly Garner can drive that ambition, but that has to start at the top, and watching Sandgaard melt back into his own selfdom has brought all the angst that Addicks have had back out to the forefront of our minds.
Football though is about winning, and there will be no better way to improve morale than to start that trait now.
Chicago Addick 
I’ve never believed that Garner was the manager to get CAFC promoted this year or any year, principally because TS does not have the same mindset. TS is currently focused on reducing costs and ignores the aspirations of the coaching staff and fans, which is to win games and in doing so increase revenues. Frankly I think Garner will be gone by year end, leaving us with his L2 players and a new manager trying to get something out of the mismash of players that remain. Would not be a surprise to me if TS balances the books and then sells the Club.
I have a very simplistic view on this; we are not as bad as everyone thinks but we simply cannot hit the target with our shots. I almost wonder if they miss on purpose. Looking at the match stats we have a lot of shots every game. Our goals are 14 for and 14 against but this is heavily skewed by that edge game against Plymouth (who are now top of the table!) We’ll concede a few more with our number 2 goalie in the absence of our number 1 (why is our number 2 so highly rated? Thought he was poor last year and expect this to continue, he must be good on the training gound….). Anyway until we can get a striker or sort out the immature thinking, nervousness or just plain lack of form in the final third for the rest of the team we will be stuck in the bottom half of the table and in stadium support will continue to reduce.
Sadly Chig our club is going nowhere under the management of TS. He has naively bitten off more than he can chew.
Garner was lied to. But currently keeps up the pretence that he knows what he’s doing.
After the next failed transfer window, Garner may see the light.
I think the answer CA is no. The current squad are struggling to adapt to his method of play and in the next transfer window the owner will not be giving Garner the amount of cash needed to get the relevant players in that are required. As we have seen already, his purse strings have remained tightly closed.
Can’t see the manager still being in charge for the New Year if results don’t improve.
I am not interested in a playing style or identity….I am only interested in 3 points however that might be achieved.
A good manager / coach will learn the strengths and weaknesses of his players and set up the team to use the strenghts at his disposal. It is ridiculous to say ‘This is the way we will play and you will fit into the system’.
I did not always agree with how Curbs set up his team but he did, over time, learn how to win football matches….and that did NOT come by sticking to a system which did not work.
What the hell do the current players do in training? Certainly not shooting practice because our shooting has been abysmal this season. When any player has a chance to shoot there is only one rule….HIT THE TARGET and force the keeper to make a save. Super Clive very rarely missed the target.
At the moment I am unsure if I shall go to the Oxford game even though I am a season ticket holder. Will my masochist tendancies get the better of me?
Let’s free up some money is available to buy decent players. Sack the manager as he has no idea, we were going up this season!!!
Despite his denials on the Q&A session, Sandgard has made clear he has only 1 interest – balance the books as near he can.
The only way to do that is by a) selling players and b) non investment in the team and c) increase revenue via the gate. A and B are scenarios being played out, and C) is going backwards due to A) and B). We have had plenty of money coming in via the likes of Burstow, Pope and Davison, yet absolutely zero spent since the farcical decision to pay £300k for Aneke and then pay him £30k a month for 3 years to hone his football manager skills on his ipad.
Compare some stats:
1) Washington 2nd top scorer last season not replaced.
2) Stockley top scorer last season no goals this season from open play (OK 1 pen) after 10 games.
That is over 65% of last seasons product taken away.
Sorry but relegation looks a certainty without a drastic shift.
And of course Rak-Sak will move to higher pastures when recalled in Jan.
By which time we will be the laughing stock of football (if not already)
Sad times.
Even they are also struggling, I bet Karl Robinson is rubbing his hands with glee for Saturday to put one over us.
Knowing Karl he definately will have Oxford player’s briefed as I’m sure he is silently wanting 3 points just to rub it in a bit !!!
one thing that struck from the management Q&A was all three coaches are attack focused. IMHO, we need one defence-focused coach and probably a specific shooting coach.
Garner is still young but needs some refining, but unless TS allows the club to provide the depth and quality of players he needs, the expertise on the defensive side of his game, and the time to develop, I don’t see him succeeding or staying.
Liam Rosinior for us ?…if BG goes ?
I can see the grim reaper sharpening his sythe in the Directors box already !!
Sharpening his guitar more like. Probably composing a new song as we speak!
😂 CA….I’m sure he would play…”Help” by the Beatles…showing my age now !!!
Or ….”you can go your own way”…. Fleetwood Mac
Yes i agree with all above but we must get agoal scorer and also play four four to we must have two up front.
‘Good man-management skills’, I think is still up for debate! I understand and admire the idea of sticking to ones principles, but ultimately football is all about results, and that is what Garner and CAFC need, first & foremost. I actually feel a bit sorry for Garner, with the lack of serious backing from TS in the transfer window. But looking at how the season is going now, and if results don’t pick up, it will be his apparent refusal to utilise JFC, and set up the team to get the most out of Stockley, that will end up costing him the job, and for that, Garner will only have himself to blame.
Those sages at transfermarket.com have rated Stockley our most valuable player at £900k. Maybe no surprise, but look who is at number 3 in the list – dear old Chuks at £500k (wot shurely shome mishtake). They obviously rate his skills at football manager very highly. You could not PAY someone to take him and his £30k a month off our hands (other than Sandgard)
We clearly have the players who can turn it on. We’ve seen this happen but not so often. However when on form, each defender attacks and those centre forwards defend as being their duty. So this is how a team is suppose to play if to garner greater success. Sorry for the pun. So what is it that registers with the players that makes them play with grit, hunger, determination and anger [anger is an energy right Mr Rotten?]? We’ll work on that please BG.