Rofesleg
Well-known member
I would like to think that players Wilder signs for his very specific system, e.g. as you said - a left footed centre back who is good on the ball and can drop into midfield, but can also defend in a 3 - are by definition very flexible and should easily be able to adapt and play in any system.To be clear, I’m a huge fan of Wilder as a coach and think he’s a perfect fit for us. Can see the green shoots of what he’s doing here and I think he’s the best manager outside the Premier League at the minute, his record backs it up.
But… on one hand, 5 wins in 19 is nowhere near. If we don’t get close to promotion this season I can’t see us or him hanging around.
On the other hand, I get twitchy every time a PL manager loses their job, because you can see why Wilder would be a great choice for Bournemouth, Everton, Southampton, whoever else will change manager in the near future.
If Wilder goes, whether that’s because he’s taken the Burnley job of his dreams or if Gibbo loses patience with our form - which could happen, if it continues for another month - will he be uniquely hard to replace given the squad atm?
Getting Wilder seems like a real medium term project. Because his system is so specific, it’s like the requirements for players are unusually specific - never in my days following Boro have we been so desperate for a left footed centre back who is good on the ball and can drop into midfield, but can also defend in a 3.
He’s been here for a year and we still haven’t got near building a team that works with his system, though we can all see what we need.
If he does leave this season or next, will he be harder to replace than the average manager? Because the players have all been signed to fit the Wilder template? What would a Warnock do with a team of wing backs and ball playing centre halfs? Are we committed to playing 3-5-2 for the next ten years?
And, does all that make him less tempted to take a Premier League job, because he has to build a very specific squad from scratch to be able to do his thing?
I don't think Jones, for example, would
worry if a new manager wanted to play him as an out and out Winger.