by alfie9 »
27 Sep 2020 10:34
I am impressed so far. Not just the results but he seems to be cultivating a good atmosphere, the core unit of the squad seems to be closer than ever. He is using Bowen's team and a 4-2-3-1 that I'm sure the team has a degree of familiarity with, but his team selections (Luton was controversial but we weren't trying to win anyway), tactical changes and substitutions have been spot on. A somewhat insignificant example is when he brought on Holmes out of position for the injured Araruna. Had enough wits about him to trust Tom Holmes rather than moving back a midfielder and messing with the winning formula.
I know a lot of you have a bone to pick with Stam but the vibe reminds me of when he came in. Despite the sometimes boring football, Stam cultivated a really good atmosphere and was popular among the players. Veljko seems like a strong man manager in the same vein as Stam, but less obsessed with keeping the ball. Stam's man management got a pretty average team to 3rd place.
While I think Pauno fully deserves credit for this first month, none of this is to diminish the good work Mark Bowen did behind the scenes. If this season ends up being something special, Bowen will be in the conversation simply for bringing in Josh Laurent for free. He will be playing a massive role in our playoff season, if we make it happen.