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Post by Andrewlang on Aug 30, 2024 0:01:59 GMT
I've not really had that divide in how I perceived manager interviews - Bonner was always pragmatic, analytical and interesting to me right until the end, while I found Harris was always a bit of a surface level tubthumper prone to exaggeration and waffle with nothing interesting to say right from the beginning.
Different moods for different dudes etc etc. Not sure what it ultimately means but both were successful enough with it (albeit one for 3 years and the other for barely 3 months) so it's probably largely unimportant.
Monk interviews always seemed quite relaxed to me last year...maybe seeming a bit aloof and dismissive at times but in hindsight I suspect only in comparison to the depth of information Bonner used to give. Monk was interesting for what he said even if the way he said it wasn't always said as eloquently as Bonner or with as many enthusiastic fist pumps as Harris π.
That aside when we talked about a change in playing style I definitely wasn't expecting quite such a dramatic change, nor was I expecting us to look any good at it. There's obviously still a long way to go but I'm pretty confident from what I've seen that we'll have a solid season.
Andrew
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imp566
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Post by imp566 on Aug 30, 2024 7:52:02 GMT
I think in his first few months at the end of last season, he was feeling his way into the job, quite careful about what he said and occasionally didn't seem to have his finger on the pulse (a good example would be not knowing the names of injured players or an update on their condition).
I would excuse all of that for a man thrust into a club and immediately being asked to keep baling out a club that was sinking perilously close to the relegation zone. If his focus was on those players he was working with on the training ground, rather than those in the physio room, then to me that was excusable, much as we all crave as much information as we could get!
I like his relaxed style, he knows what he wants from this squad and is outwardly quite relaxed about the incomings, both those we have got over the line and those we haven't (yet!). Inwardly I would imagine it is a little bit different, but I like that he can give positive messages in these Press Conferences, and I expect he is the same with the players. Secretly, I don't expect many managers enjoy them, especially when things aren't going the way they would hope, but see them as the necessary evil they are. At least he isn't disingenuous, like some others I could mention.
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addyell
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Post by addyell on Aug 30, 2024 7:59:56 GMT
I remember commenting on here after the Reading game that he looked like a broken man. Like others have said, I think he was finding his way into the job after some difficult results!
He comes across as genuine when he talks, and seems to buy into the clubs philosophy, the way it's ran and actually comments fairly regularly how happy he is to be at a club like that. Certainly more endearing than he who shall not be named before him!
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martinjohn
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Post by martinjohn on Aug 30, 2024 8:39:36 GMT
I'm growing more and more fond of Monk. He did come across as disorganised and half hearted when he came. I remember being really concerned when, during an early press conference, he'd forgotten about Harrison Dunk's injury and couldn't talk about his recovery - it seemed like he wasn't informed or didn't care, or both. Let alone the fact that we lost a cumulative 10-0 in his first week as manager. I think someone did a poll about him..
He's getting better with how he presents himself, and as others have said it's probably shaking off the cobwebs after a few years out - that's understandable.
The first time I began warming to him was after the Derby game (I think...) towards the end of last season. It was during that post match interview that he explained why Jobe was not playing, and then very tactfully and understatedly about Chris Martin's GBH assault on him and how he was very angry with the outcome of the Bristol Rovers game / officiating. Obviously he knew about it after that game but had decided not to say anything then or in the pre-match interview ahead of Derby. I thought that was very classy.
I find it interesting that the persona he presents in interviews doesn't reflect (the best bits of) our performances - which have been electric at best (2nd half of QPR, last 30 mins against Blackpool). It's different to both Bonner and the snake in the sense that you could see their personality in the way the team played.
Anyway, this is rather rambling but I'll finish by saying that I'm growing rather fond of him as a manager. Clearly he chose us as much as we chose him. He wanted a well run club with clear alignment and 6 months into the job he still talks about it, so it's clearly genuine. A big upgrade on the previous incumbent.
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Post by Andrewlang on Aug 30, 2024 11:07:34 GMT
He's fine, yeah I quite like the guy. I've not really formed the sort of strong opinion I had for Bπ₯°nner or the πnake though.
Neil Harris interviews always felt like they were about Neil Harris and how Neil Harris perceives Neil Harris and wants Neil Harris to be perceived. Monk seems a bit more genuine about the clubs in general and seems genuinely quite appreciative about the way it's run. It feels pretty sincere when he says that's something that's important to him.
I'm glad it worked out this way round though because Monk doesn't strike me as fire fighting manager and I feel like a few more games mabbey may've seen us go down last season. He does seem like a long term planner though and has rather nattily and radically changed our playing style while integrating young players. Harris on the other hand was an excellent fire fighting manager but is pretty poor at planning and building a squad beyond that. Fist pumping new manager bounce-ball only lasts so long until the enthusiasm wears off and it looks tedious and directionless (Hello Millwall π).
Andrew
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Post by El Goodo on Aug 30, 2024 12:12:48 GMT
Bonner was a very rare manager in terms of his communication style, which was engaging, insightful and authentic.
Harris was quite engaging but fairly vacuous and very inauthentic. As Andrew says, Harris was always very keen to put himself at the centre of whatever he was talking about, whether that was taking credit or deflecting blame, and he seemed very minded to manage PR and perception to the point of sounding at best deluded.
Monk is somewhere between the two I think. He's definitely a lot more guarded in general with the press β which, along with the general shitshow of a situation he walked into, probably explains his general demeanour last season β than Bonner & Harris were, and is nowhere near as engaging as Harris, nevermind Bonner. But he is & has always come across as both sincere & authentic (that word's overused but correct). I don't think he's a particularly insightful interviewee either, especially post-match, where he's made an art form of saying exactly the same, fairly bland, thing 5 different times.
But that's alright. I'd far rather Monk seeming like he's interested in the team & the club than have Neil Harris try to piss on my back & tell me it's raining with regards to how Neil Harris's Cambridge United team played.
I think my favourite thing about Monk is that he pulls off the Lampard meme at some point in almost every interview.
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Matt Phillips
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Post by Matt Phillips on Aug 30, 2024 12:18:43 GMT
Bonner was a very rare manager in terms of his communication style, which was engaging, insightful and authentic. Harris was quite engaging but fairly vacuous and very inauthentic. As Andrew says, Harris was always very keen to put himself at the centre of whatever he was talking about, whether that was taking credit or deflecting blame, and he seemed very minded to manage PR and perception to the point of sounding at best deluded. Monk is somewhere between the two I think. He's definitely a lot more guarded in general with the press β which, along with the general shitshow of a situation he walked into, probably explains his general demeanour last season β than Bonner & Harris were, and is nowhere near as engaging as Harris, nevermind Bonner. But he is & has always come across as both sincere & authentic (that word's overused but correct). I don't think he's a particularly insightful interviewee either, especially post-match, where he's made an art form of saying exactly the same, fairly bland, thing 5 different times. But that's alright. I'd far rather Monk seeming like he's interested in the team & the club than have Neil Harris try to piss on my back & tell me it's raining with regards to how Neil Harris's Cambridge United team played. But what if he pissed on your back telling you it was raining with INTENT, AGRESSION and making sure that the rain had a WINNING MENTALITY WHICH IT PREVIOUSLY LACKED.
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Post by El Goodo on Aug 30, 2024 12:23:50 GMT
Maybe if he pissed on my FRONT FOOT and it dribbled from the terrace to the pitch
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nickpom
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Post by nickpom on Aug 30, 2024 12:25:52 GMT
Bonner was a very rare manager in terms of his communication style, which was engaging, insightful and authentic. Harris was quite engaging but fairly vacuous and very inauthentic. As Andrew says, Harris was always very keen to put himself at the centre of whatever he was talking about, whether that was taking credit or deflecting blame, and he seemed very minded to manage PR and perception to the point of sounding at best deluded. Monk is somewhere between the two I think. He's definitely a lot more guarded in general with the press β which, along with the general shitshow of a situation he walked into, probably explains his general demeanour last season β than Bonner & Harris were, and is nowhere near as engaging as Harris, nevermind Bonner. But he is & has always come across as both sincere & authentic (that word's overused but correct). I don't think he's a particularly insightful interviewee either, especially post-match, where he's made an art form of saying exactly the same, fairly bland, thing 5 different times. But that's alright. I'd far rather Monk seeming like he's interested in the team & the club than have Neil Harris try to piss on my back & tell me it's raining with regards to how Neil Harris's Cambridge United team played. But what if he pissed on your back telling you it was raining with INTENT, AGRESSION and making sure that the rain had a WINNING MENTALITY WHICH IT PREVIOUSLY LACKED. Really? I thought his comment about us feeling 'sorry for ourselves' after 60 minutes against Crawley was both spot on and fairly trenchant; similarly his critique of our defence of set pieces against Blackpool. I don't think he is remotely bland, I think he's refreshingly direct...
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Post by El Goodo on Aug 30, 2024 12:28:03 GMT
Yep, but then how many more times did he repeat it afterwards?
It's not a particular dig (and probably sounds harsher than I meant it to) as most post-match interviews from most managers can be like that, but it's quite noticeable how he seems to have one or maybe two key messages about a match to give & boy does he make sure he gives them.
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Post by zx10racer22 on Aug 30, 2024 12:30:02 GMT
Neil Harris interviews always felt like they were about Neil Harris and how Neil Harris perceives Neil Harris and wants Neil Harris to be perceived. I think this is the best one sentence summing up I have read on Neil Harris and his time at our club. I don't think I actually dislike him for leaving. I think I dislike him because he tried to make it all about him. Talking about himself in the third person and those bloody fist pumps. He was a snake before he actually snaked. Monk was a definite upgrade, in every department. And we got paid for it. Worked out pretty well all round.
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Dylan
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Post by Dylan on Aug 30, 2024 12:51:06 GMT
Monk loves a post-match D'You Know What I Mean to the extent that he could be a Gallagher brother.
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foolhandy
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Post by foolhandy on Aug 30, 2024 12:54:23 GMT
Having tried to instill some basic football tactics into various (primary & secondary) football teams over the years and failing miserably at it, I'm amazed at what Monk has done. Yes, he's dealing with adult professional footballers and I was dealing with schoolchildren but...to get this group of players and a few additions to go from how we played under Bonner & Harris to what I've seen against QPR & Blackpool, within the space of a month. Blows my mind... Aside from the time when I think he was worried we were going down, I've always liked the twinkle in his eye during interviews too. I do really believe that we're lucky to have him.
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Post by Delbert Gradius on Aug 30, 2024 12:55:43 GMT
Monk is a man of the cloth. Harris is a man of the coin.
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lionel
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Post by lionel on Aug 30, 2024 13:12:24 GMT
He just reminds me of David Brent.
There goes Garry Monk. I must remember to thank him.
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