How many risks should we take? Read on for more
I expressed earlier last week about how appointing Malky Mackay would be a risk. He does have Championship promotion experience, however he also has also done things that would deter many employers.
To be honest, regardless of whether or not Mackay had done what he did, I think that either Chris Hughton or Neil Lennon would still be better choices.
As we all know, Neil Lennon got the job and took two of his friends from Scotland with him down across the border to sunny Bolton.
Lennon joined after resigning from Celtic at the end of the previous season. He was originally installed as their caretaker manager, although his fighting spirit impressed the club and he was given the permanent job and impressed more.
Upon his resignation, it was expected that larger clubs would swoop for the Northern Irishman. However, after several unsuccessful Premier League job applications, he joined us.
A lot of non-Bolton fans have expressed to me their surprise that we have managed to bring in a manager of his calibre and that he wanted to join us.
To be honest, when his name was first mentioned, I thought it was more of a hopeful stab in the dark by the media than serious interest on his behalf.
Luckily it was the latter and we’ve got ourselves a good manager.
We must look at the risk Lennon is taking by managing a team that some say is a bit of a step down from beating Barcelona with England internationals like Fraser Forster and absolute units like Victor Wanyama.
However, we need to consider the fact that both of these players have left. Pretty much all of Celtic’s big names left.
People are saying that it will be hard for Lennon to get used to losing games this frequently. I agree that he will win far fewer than he did at Celtic, but look at it this way.
The Premier League jobs he’d be applying for would hardly have him at a club with a better win rate than Bolton! He’d be looking towards the bottom quartile of the league, where we should NOT finish! (although it looks increasingly likely)
It’s also worth pointing out that appointing Lennon as our new manager is somewhat of a risk on our behalf that he has no experience in managing a team in our country.
As our manager I’d like to see him take a few risks, though I don’t want to see him being stupid for its own sake. Players like Max Clayton and Rob Hall should be getting some more playing time in my opinion. I have seen a fair bit of footage of them since Lennon’s arrival and they look to be very in and amongst the actions of the first team squad, although he himself has said that this might not be the best time to throw on inexperienced players.
What are your views on the risks we need to take and those already taken/not taken?