It has not been the best of starts for our new manager Paul Hurst but already he has already shown all the hallmarks of someone who will succeed, and here below are the reasons why I believe he will.
- He is not afraid to stand his corner and even owner Marcus Evans has been surprised by his fortitude and vision. The fact that we now have 12 new players in our ranks is a testament to his desire to clear the decks when needed and rebuild from within.
- Although this is his biggest appointment so far, his track record is impressive and in five different jobs in management, he has yet to be shown the door.
- He is liked and admired by both players and supporters alike. His honest approach to football and the media is a breath of fresh air and at 43 he possesses lots of ambition and he is still hungry for success!
- His desire is to play with good old fashioned wingers again! The formula is a work in progress still but this remains his ultimate aim. Once he has found someone to accompany effectively Gwion Edwards on the other flank, our fortunes I believe will flourish!
- He possesses the frankness of a Yorkshireman without the foulness to accompany it. He is not afraid to criticise the team if they fail to live up to expectations and the players appear to respect his directness without the abuse.
- He is prepared to make tough decisions. This was made abundantly clear when he dropped Polish international keeper Bartosz Bialkowski and replaced him with Dean Gerken against Norwich of all teams. Now that was a real shock to the system!
- He has a good sense of humour but without the sarcasm, and he appears to be comfortable when dealing with the prying press.
- He wants to play entertaining football and understands what the paying public expect to see for their hard-earned spend.
- He is happy to recruit from the lower leagues and although Jon Nolan and Ellis Harrison may be struggling to come to terms with the speed of the Championship they, along with a number of other new recruits, have the technical ability and the football brains to succeed in the long term.
- Getting Jon Walters back after what happened to him here the last time around is a massive boost and he knows it!
The vast majority of Town supporters are still backing our new boss to succeed and although results to date have been disappointing, you cannot expect the squad to gell so well or so quickly when it is almost unrecognisable from the McCarthy era. These things take time and the time to look at the Championship table is around Christmas because only then can we judge whether this new experiment has been a success or not.
On a personal note, I desperately want him to be a success and I feel sure that given time he will. Already we are playing far better football than the last few seasons. The results we want are not there yet but generally speaking, the style of football is, and when all these new players are completely ‘bedded in’ we will get back to winning ways, of this I am quite certain.
F.W. – editor of Vital Ipswich
