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Am I the only one to think that John Still was way out of order yesterday- not letting the players leave the pitch so he could scream at them in full view of everyone (in the huddle at the end of the game), pushing Nana Kyei out of the way, leaving them to have several very heated and public arguments on the pitch and then to say publicly that he wants to shoot some of them.

Yeah you are the only one! John Still can say whatever he wants to the players even if it makes them feel as low as a seahorse on a Tuesday morning. The best manager in the league knows what he's doing!!!

Signed,

Twoten.

There's a sort of a precedent (I'm sure there's more than one) where a prem manager sat the team down on the pitch at half time and berated them in full view of the crowd.
I found that toe curling personally.
I know this is somewhat different but it really doesn't sit well with me.
After 5 wins on the bounce you'd think there was harmony in the squad.
Maybe there isn't.
The next game is huge not just for the three points.
We win, things should settle hopefully; we lose, it might possibly be a trickier autumn than hoped.

I don't think JS was in the wrong at all. We are all grown ups on here (well most) and the team are all fully grown men. We should be able to handle some backlash/constructive criticism when it's handed out. We was good for a point yesterday, and threw it away.

It's not about the team being able to take criticism. Of course they should. The question is whether a good manager does that by showboating in front of the public or does it behind closed doors. It is also about whether a good manager thinks it's a good idea to allow his team to have a go at each other in public.

The most successful prem manager never once criticised a player publically. Ever!
I'm sure he beat the verbal shit out of some in private though.
He even gave Beckham a bruised head by aiming a boot at him in the privacy of the changing room.
Public berating is poor form and can lead to losing a dressing room whether the players are adult enough to take it or not.
It's not the toughness of the players, or weakness, it reveals other things going on that can't be good.
It also smacks of Still playing to the Bees fans to show his dissatisfaction with the result.
No need John! Show some class. Keep it private, for the good of all !
Imvho.......

I had no problem with the JS reaction Nik.
I suspect the game plan was going perfectly for an hour then we just seemed to switch off and probably should have conseeded 2 more in truth. I honestly felt as comfortable as at Aldershot until their second then the schoolboy errors all over the place started. It is also fair to say that they had very strong impact subs where we are struggling in this department at the mo. I just got the impression that he was angry that a lot of hard work in the last 4 weeks was just cast aside especially as we were holding down some very good opposition. Imvho - of course! Should he be so public? Yeah go for it Johnny.

Win lose or draw JS always does his post match huddle in middle of pitch, I thought it was good to see the players have a debate after the game shows they give a f***, now if they was laughing and joking after a defeat that would annoy me.

The reaction from JS at the end and his post match "shooting" comments are a bit of a departure from his usual 'not getting too high on the wins or too low on the defeats' mantra. Undoubtedly mistakes were made yesterday but it did seem a little harsh. I'm glad he's identified what was wrong but there's always a risk with public displays and singling players out. On the other hand maybe this is usually what goes on in a dressing room, is nothing out of the ordinary and as fans we just aren't used to seeing it?

ape1968 wrote:It's not about the team being able to take criticism. Of course they should. The question is whether a good manager does that by showboating in front of the public or does it behind closed doors. It is also about whether a good manager thinks it's a good idea to allow his team to have a go at each other in public.

You air it all out on the pitch, then once you are back in the changing room. It's done with, you carry on. No one wants to be in a changing room where you can hear a pin drop. It's been said , it's done. Move on.

ape1968 wrote:Am I the only one to think that John Still was way out of order yesterday- not letting the players leave the pitch so he could scream at them in full view of everyone (in the huddle at the end of the game), pushing Nana Kyei out of the way, leaving them to have several very heated and public arguments on the pitch and then to say publicly that he wants to shoot some of them.

Maybe this can help explain the ongoing injury crisis...?

IMO it should be done behind closed doors. There again though, I don't really follow quite why he felt so livid on Saturday.

But he's the manager. As long as he doesn't publicly criticise individual players and as long as he keeps the respect of the players then what goes on between manager and players is their business.

Usually I think that player chats should all be done in the Changing room.... it should be a sacred place, what goes on in there should stay in there. Which is why I am against cameras in changing rooms or when players leak incidents through their agents.

That said, maybe the changing rooms at orient are too small / badly set out, or early season both Still and the players took a lot of stick for the perception of not giving a dam (I was one of those) so maybe in front of 600 away fans he wanted to show that both he and the players do give a dam.

Maybe they didn't want to go back to the changing room because they discovered that it was filled with some debilitating gas which would explain why the second half performance was so lack lustre.

It was clear from the post match interview that John was very wound up after the game, and the last 30 mins in particular. Whether the post-match actions were right or not is down to personal opinion. Half the ground were probably already gone or looking for the exits rather than watching what our players were doing. I haven't got a problem with it as a one-off if it motivates the players to get a result against Fylde next Saturday.