Last week, Aidy Boothroyd returned to football management with Colchester United. But what did the media and newspapers make of it all?
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
“Aidy Boothroyd is back in football today. Rightly so. Contrary to what most people think, he was desperately unlucky to lose his job at Watford (who, despite that decision, are an admirable club). His new employers Colchester can congratulate themselves for appointing such an exciting replacement for Paul Lambert.
True, Boothroyd might be a bit too fond of ‘management speak’. And, yes, it was laughable to see him speak at press conferences at Watford in front of a giant image of himself in the background.
But there was no doubt that Boothroyd – a brilliant motivator, who is a well-read and thoughtful coach – was the sort of innovator that English football needed to groom. Ultimately, though, he was a victim of his own success at Vicarage Road. He raised expectations well beyond what they were when he took over – and paid for it when he (understandably) could not maintain his earlier brilliance.”
Arindam Rej – Daily Mail Online: – Life In The Football League.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
“Colchester United have confirmed one of the most exciting managerial appointments in their history -when unveiling Aidy Boothroyd as new boss.”
Carl Marston – The East Anglian Daily Times.
“Boothroyd`s arrival says much about the desire and ambition of the club practically that of chairman, Robbie Cowling.
Rather than allow Lambert`s departure to cause tension within the club, Cowling approached the problem of their manager`s unexpected departure full on. They did not dwell on what had happened, rather used the situation as a positive.”
Jonathan Waldron – The Colchester Daily Gazette.
Catchlines: “Decent. Mad. Special. Genius.”
Graham Fisher – SoccerNews.Com.
Friday, September 4, 2009
“He would have liked to have come back sooner; I don`t think anyone expected him to be out as long as he was.
But that will only give him more of a burning desire to do well. He`s a winner and getting promotion in charge will be his first goal.”
Alec Chamberlain during interview in The Colchester Daily Gazette.
“At least the factor of shock wasn`t there this time. Having been shocked by Paul Lambert`s departure, I wasn`t surprised to see how his replacement was.
Things have changed at Colchester United in the last few years and the club is now the type that proven managers want to be a part of. So it was no great shock to learn that Aidy Boorthroyd was on Robbie Cowling`s shortlist.
Why wouldn`t he want the job?
A club that appears to be finically stable, a chairman who will back his manager with cash, a lovely new stadium, the prospect of state-of-the-art training facilities and a squad of players who -with the right leadership – have the potential to get promoted to the Championship.”
Simon Spurgeon – Essex County Standard
“The U`s have made a very smart appointment which has won favour with the vast majority of supporters; he`s young in relative terms for a manager, hungry to get back into football and he knows what success feels like.”
Saturday, September 5, 2009
“On taking the Colchester United job last Wednesday, Aidy Boothroyd sailed worryingly close to this type of personality-based management [alas Ian Holloway].
He compared his departure from Watford and arrival in Essex to the divorce of a “wonderful marriage” followed a new relationship with the ‘right woman`.
Whatever his wife may think of these comments, Boothroyd’s appointment has at least created a great deal of enthusiasm around Colchester.”
Editorial – When Saturday Comes Online Daily.
“What they lacked in experience, they sourced through wider reading. Alan Pardew drew on biographies and the words of Green Bay Packers’ coach Vince Lombardi while Aidy Boothroyd devoured Malcolm Gladwell’s The Tipping Point. Pardew coined the phrase ‘Tenacity, Spirit and Flair’ at Reading and printed T-Shirts calling West Ham the ‘Original Academy’ for the club’s play-off final against Crystal Palace in 2004 (which they lost 1-0, incidentally).
Boothroyd had a sign saying Carpe diem (Seize the day) at Watford’s training ground, spoke openly of his desire to manage England one day and made his players practise penalties after a 2-1 win over Ipswich to get used to the pressure of having an audience.
Both, however, lost their jobs in November 2008 and, despite being linked to almost every management role going, were out of work until this summer.
Has the time away made the pair wiser?”
Laura Williamson – Daily Mail.
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Some great quotes from people there! Up the U’s!