If we don't make the play-offs?

[3spirit]

Having seen Keith Scott in attendance at Saturday's Bedworth match.It got me thinking as to whether Steve Bateman really is the right man currently for the manager's job.I certainly feel he has put together,a useful looking squad, on paper but whether he gets the best out of this set of players and has the tactical nous is debatable.We certainly lack in young players [fitter usually !] coming through and Steve seems to favour the more experienced Non-Leaguer in all areas of the team.However,Rome wasn't built in a day and over the last two and a half seasons,Slough have made steady progress under Mr Bateman's guidance.Losing Nathan Bowden Haase,Mo Shariff,Elliot Buchanan and to a lesser extent,Paul Edgeworth and Graham Edwards,certainly hasn't helped continuity for this season and while the performances have been up and down to say the least,we still find ourselves close to the a play-off spot.

 

Is that good enough,given the amount of talent and depth we have in the squad?

 

We are no where near a title winning side and lack consistency and fluency and our free-flowing passing football only appears sporadically [although pitch certainly hasn't helped]. I often get frustrated by Steve Bateman's laid back style,when sometimes our team look lethargic and uninterested and definitely his poor use of subs and alternating squad players.However,I believe we should keep Steve Bateman for next season at the helm,even if we don't make the play-offs.Although I can't help wondering what Keith Scott would bring to the job!

What do other fans think?

[Windsor Rebel]

Stick with Steve Bateman, we dont need Keith Scott.

[Tom]

Keith Scott, the man who effectively bankrupted Windsor. Yes, bring him in....

 

However,Rome wasn't built in a day and over the last two and a half seasons,Slough have made steady progress under Mr Bateman's guidance.

 

You have said it yourself, I'd like to think that Bateman, regardless of whether we get promoted or not this season is allowed to stay on. What Scott did at Windsor (money aside) didn't happen over night so give Bateman a chance. You get rid of him and we are back to where we were 2 seasons ago. Bateman has proven himself to get teams out of this league and I fully support him in doing so with Slough.

[Mark44]

Steve Bateman has single handedly done what the 4 or 5 managers before him failed to do. Make us a competitive side. Ever since the day he walked in the door we have been miles better.

 

We are building steady and promotion will come. Whether that is this year we will have to wait and see.

 

As for questioning Steve's ability you will definitely be in the minority as SB has done an amazing job considering.

 

I think Steve's biggest problem is that he has raised expectation which leads to posts such as this one.

[3spirit]

Keith Scott, the man who effectively bankrupted Windsor. Yes, bring him in....

 

However,Rome wasn't built in a day and over the last two and a half seasons,Slough have made steady progress under Mr Bateman's guidance.

 

You have said it yourself, I'd like to think that Bateman, regardless of whether we get promoted or not this season is allowed to stay on. What Scott did at Windsor (money aside) didn't happen over night so give Bateman a chance. You get rid of him and we are back to where we were 2 seasons ago. Bateman has proven himself to get teams out of this league and I fully support him in doing so with Slough.

 

 

I was impressed by what he did at Leighton Town than Windsor but both teams,on the pitch was successful.

I have no axe to grind with Steve Bateman,who carries himself well and has been a good servant both as a player and a manager in Non-League football. He is the best manager we've had,for quite a while but there are always better[and worse!] around,if you know where to look..

Dave Anderson,maybe a better bet, if Bateman did ever leave, anyway.

 

I was just offering up a healthy debate for the forum,as to who makes a good manager, in the supporters eyes on here.

We are supposed to have relevant football discussions here,aren't we?

 

As for budget terms at Windsor.Who really knows who's to blame? The Chairman or Keith Scott?

Also our current financial budget,must be one of better ones in this division,by the number of players and the quality of player we have here at Slough and Leighton didn't have a loads of money,when Keith Scott was there but he still got them to the top. Which we haven't achieved yet at Slough.

[Tom]

Also our current financial budget,must be one of better ones in this division,by the number of players and the quality of player we have here at Slough and Leighton didn't have a loads of money,when Keith Scott was there but he still got them to the top. Which we haven't achieved yet at Slough.

 

But that's like comparing chalk to cheese. Competitiveness of the league was different back when he was at Leighton. Windsor's league position was cheated. I find it hard to believe that anyone can say XYZ should be top of the league, that's not how football works. At the start of the season I don't recall anyone predicting the likes of Biggleswade, Aylesbury and Leighton to be challenging for the play offs instead they were suggesting Ashford and Burnham would be.

 

By all accounts I would suggest a large portion of the blame for Windsor's demise does lie at the feet of Scott (yes the Chairman will take his fair share of the blame too) but when someone is linked to that history I wouldn't want them near our club especially given Slough's recent history with it's finances.

[Mark44]

I think that Steve Bateman has good contacts and can bring players in. Also Sonner and Murphy turned down clubs in a higher division over the summer. This is a sign that there is a unity in the ranks and SB has got the team bonding well.

 

I think that these are signs of a good manager who can man manage people.

 

Also, Steve is very open but remains professional about news regarding new players and who may be leaving and everyone does get a chance at some point.

[A Rebel and a Saint]

Is this really a productive area of discussion at this stage of the season?

Bateman has the experience of getting out of this league, and regardless of whether we make the playoffs/go up this season, we should give him our full support for next season. He has come in and improved the squad and the performances by a massive amount since coming to the club.

I would certainly have no problem with him being the man to lead us into our new stadium (whenever that may be!) because he has done such a good job, and I think that the majority of Slough fans will agree that he should still be our manager this season.

We need to get behind Steve and let him know that we are supporting him and the team in the run up to the end of the season.

[Windsor Rebel]

Well said Dan

[Nathan]

Regardless of my opinions about our team balance, style of play, use of substitutions etc., I really don't want Steve Bateman to be treated in the same manner as some people on this board treated Derek Sweetman when we all thought we should be doing better.

 

Whilst I don't think we have really got going as a team this season (and this has certainly got to be down, at least in part, to Bateman), results-wise we're not quite out of the play-off race yet, although we are certainly playing catch-up to sides like Biggleswade. I think that any discussion regarding whether Bateman has the nous to take us onto the next level should be postponed until the end of the season at the very least (assuming of course that we don't make the play-offs).

 

 

Having said that however, I think we can and should be doing much better than we are now.

[Ted]

The end of the season is the time for this discussion, and maybe not even then.

 

 

judging by his comments last season, SB would consider not reaching the play offs a failure, in which case we might be begging him to stay.

[3spirit]

Steve Bateman has single handedly done what the 4 or 5 managers before him failed to do. Make us a competitive side. Ever since the day he walked in the door we have been miles better.

 

We are building steady and promotion will come. Whether that is this year we will have to wait and see.

 

As for questioning Steve's ability you will definitely be in the minority as SB has done an amazing job considering.

 

I think Steve's biggest problem is that he has raised expectation which leads to posts such as this one.

 

 

I agree that he' s a competent manager and is definitely a better manager than some of the dross[other manager's we have had] and has made Slough far more entertaining to watch and a regular top ten side . His record in Non-League football management is excellent on paper, just as Fabio Capello is for England but like Fabio, he often struggles to change tactics and formations to beat sides and does have blind spots and favours certain players.I don't believe all his selections are the best ones ie Burnell and Sonner playing together but that is only my opinion. No manager is perfect, nor are us- supporters!

 

What I was trying to get over is that some managers have a very different way to getting the best out of their players and squad and are not afraid to have radical ideas to address each given situation. Also some have far more prescence,which can motivate players to wear their hearts on their sleeves.

Who remembers John Docherty,ex Bradford City,when he managed Slough in the Conference.We had a very poor team with no big budget and yet somehow he got us to the top of the division until he left because of a pay dispute with FA and Bradford and then we got relegated !

 

Winning the title is never easy and can never be taken as a formality by any manager.My original question wasn't questioning Steve Bateman's ability or pedigree.It was do I think that another manager could deliver the title with this squad.Well,to me with a few tweaks I would say we should be challenging Hitchin,Daventry and Arlesley for the title.Not trying to just make it into the play-offs and so if we don't make the play-offs,I would regard it as a failed season but would still give Steve Bateman another year to get it right and was asking what others thought.

[Ian]

The end of the season is the time for this discussion, and maybe not even then.

 

 

judging by his comments last season, SB would consider not reaching the play offs a failure, in which case we might be begging him to stay.

 

 

You beat me to it, Ted. Irrespective of what SB achieves this season this is absolutely NOT the time to be having the debate. All efforts should be focused on the remaining games and getting behind the team. If that's enough then we can all enjoy the summer. If not, it's a decision that Mr Chairman has to make at the time.

[richierebel]

probably the least constructive, pointless and morale destroying post all season! and thats saying something having read some of the stuff that has been written recently. Can we all get back to being positive and support the team and management and not look for pointless debates like this.

[3spirit]

probably the least constructive, pointless and morale destroying post all season! and thats saying something having read some of the stuff that has been written recently. Can we all get back to being positive and support the team and management and not look for pointless debates like this.

 

 

Give us a break,RichieRebel.

Surely on what is supposed to be a unofficial football forum,we are allowed to voice an opinion regardless of wether it is controversial or not. Anybody would think I was shouting from the roof tops to sack Bateman! If you had read my three posts on here properly,you would have seen that I too,am advocating Steve Bateman getting another year to try and get us promoted,if we fail in the play-offs or making the play-offs.

However,what's wrong with making observations about the way our team functions.

 

I regularly buy The Slough Observer and The Slough Express and I read all what Steve Bateman says about his desire to be promoted and his ambitions for the team.He talks sense but sometimes looks through rose-tinted glasses at some of the obvious cracks that happen, with his style of management and his team.

No manager is perfect. Just like this supporter that has wrote about this topic isn't, but I'm not looking through those rose-tinted glasses anymore [as most on here, who have so far replied to this seem to be], as Steve has stated,on more than one occasion that his aim is to get Slough promoted.If he had said,at the start of this season,that he would be just happy being in the top half of the table,then expectations wouldn't be so high.

 

If any players or management do take any notice of what is written on here [which I very much doubt]. Then if anything,it should stir the leaders and troops in playing more together,to prove some of our criticisms wrong.After all,they enjoy the credit when it goes right.

 

So to all followers of this forum,if we're not allowed to voice an opinion, we might as well talk about the weather !!!

[3spirit]

probably the least constructive, pointless and morale destroying post all season! and thats saying something having read some of the stuff that has been written recently. Can we all get back to being positive and support the team and management and not look for pointless debates like this.

 

 

Give us a break,RichieRebel.

Surely on what is supposed to be a unofficial football forum,we are allowed to voice an opinion regardless of wether it is controversial or not. Anybody would think I was shouting from the roof tops to sack Bateman! If you had read my three posts on here properly,you would have seen that I too,am advocating Steve Bateman getting another year to try and get us promoted,if we fail in the play-offs or making the play-offs.

However,what's wrong with making observations about the way our team functions.

 

I regularly buy The Slough Observer and The Slough Express and I read all what Steve Bateman says about his desire to be promoted and his ambitions for the team.He talks sense but sometimes looks through rose-tinted glasses at some of the obvious cracks that happen, with his style of management and his team.

No manager is perfect. Just like this supporter that has wrote about this topic isn't, but I'm not looking through those rose-tinted glasses anymore [as most on here, who have so far replied to this seem to be], as Steve has stated,on more than one occasion that his aim is to get Slough promoted.If he had said,at the start of this season,that he would be just happy being in the top half of the table,then expectations wouldn't be so high.

 

If any players or management do take any notice of what is written on here [which I very much doubt]. Then if anything,it should stir the leaders and troops in playing more together,to prove some of our criticisms wrong.After all,they enjoy the credit when it goes right.

 

So to all followers of this forum,if we're not allowed to voice an opinion, we might as well talk about the weather !!!

 

Oh and by the way,I'm not keen on the play-off system even though it keeps your interest and excitement up till the end of the season.I prefer the first past the post method [and maybe the runner up promoted]. Too many distinctly average sides get promoted. However,of course,I still hope that Slough make it through the play-offs this year or next.

[Sue]

Then talk about the weather because I dont think this thread is at all appropriate!!

 

 

 

 

[chris sliski]

The weather forecast is for light rain .. clearing to the east .

 

tomorrow a very very wet day could see up to 6 mm of rain in the south east , again the heavy rain clearing the home counties by 5pm.

 

This could have an effect of the Youth match on Wednesday . I will try to keep this updated on the message board...if the game will go ahead or not, youth

 

games are subject to last minute decisions ... always...!

 

It would be nice to see a few make the short journey over to Wealdstone's ground on Wednesday ko 7-45pm

 

especially it being so close and The 1st Team don't have a game this week...

 

cheers Chris s

[HorshamRebel]

Sunny days are ahead

[readingrebel]

Intermittant showers today, moving eastwards as the day progresses.

 

Heavy, more persistant rain moving in from the west tomorrow morning, clearing to the east overnight.

 

 

On the plus side Beaconsfield won't have to water the pitch