Solbakken new Wolves manager

[Pepe the Horseman]

Who is he?

[Simon's Church]

Who is he?

He's Solbakken, the soon to be Wolves manager.

[Royal With Cheese]

Same sort of style as Roy Hodgson, organized defence, no-risk strategy, direct ball. Should do OK with Wolves.

Sounds like it's exactly what they need.

[Handsome Man]

Hughton to WBA then?

[Starfish]

He's this guy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St%C3%A5le_Solbakken

As a player played 58 times for Norway, had a short spell at Wimbledon, then suffered cardiac arrest playing for Copenhagen. Now has a pacemaker.
Became FC Copenhagen manager, won the league there a few times, some success in the European cups, was manager of FC Cologne where they had all sorts of problems this year with several players drink driving and getting arrested etc, got sacked while they were above the relegation zone, new man came in and they were relegated.

Same sort of style as Roy Hodgson, organized defence, no-risk strategy, direct ball. Should do OK with Wolves.

He was always going to have problems at Cologne but they would have been relegated if he had stayed - they clearly should have sacked him sooner. A respected trainer, he was really not up to taking on the job he did. Clearly. His record in 2012 was won 2 (against Kaiserslautern & Hertha : both either relegated or now on the verge), drawn 2 and lost 9 and that included some very embarrassing performances/results. He even survived a 1-6 home defeat against local rivals Dortmund and was only sacked after a 4-0 defeat against the might of Mainz. They had problems all season (like never before) with players and the general feeling in German newspapers is that he was also responsible for that. The right man in the wrong job, and oddly enough, that's his saving grace.

Having said that, in a league that recycles trainers, he won't be getting a job again anytime soon.

[Friday's Legacy]

Sounds like Wolves have or are about to confirm him. (Daily Mirror and Mail)

[Starfish]

I don't think you can blame him for three players drinking and driving.. players are not children. They need to behave themselves.
What do you expect him to do, babysit each and every one of them?

But he had (supposedly) absolutely no power over the players - they didn't care what he said or didn't, and although Cologne is famously a problematic club, he proved incapable of bonding the players together as a team. At all. In your post, you suggested that Cologne would/may well have stayed up had they stuck with him, but nothing at all in his record at the club suggests that is true. It is a problem club - true, but Solbakken did nothing at all to get things going right on the pitch.

I am sure it'll work out for him somewhere else (and I liked his public image, to be honest), but hindsight shows that he was really not the right man for that job. They were optimistic when he took over (as Cologne always are), and he got them relegated. That's the record he leaves behind him there, unfortunately.

[leon]

was manager of FC Cologne where they had all sorts of problems this year with several players drink driving and getting arrested etc, got sacked

Sounds like it's exactly what they need.

amen to that brother

[Compo's Hat]

Did very well for Copenhagen taking the team probably beyond what they thought they would ever achieve and got the best out of the likes of Grønkjær after he left the Prem.

[Focher]

after failing to get McDermott, this baldy was the next best baldy available and the fact he's a baldy probably got him the job.

[Starfish]

They were optimistic when he took over (as Cologne always are), and he got them relegated. That's the record he leaves behind him there, unfortunately.

They were above the dropzone when he left. The replacement lost all four AFAIK.

There is a link below to the table on the day that Solbakken was fired. Köln were in 16th place which is in the relegation play-off place. They were not above the dropzone - they were in it. The replacement trainer (who, let's be honest, had a pretty unenviable task) lost away to Gladbach (who eventually finished in a CL spot), drew at home to Stuttgart, lost away to Freiburg, and at home to Bayern. Cologne were then relegated automatically. There is nothing to suggest, I mean NOTHING to suggest that Cologne would have stayed up had Solbakken kept his job. From a possible 39 points since Christmas, with very winnable games along the way, Solbakken got them 8. To have had a realistic chance of survival, they should have sacked him earlier. Much earlier.

http://www.kicker.de/news/fussball/bund ... eltag.html

Let's be honest about it Ideal, you are defending him for one reason, and one reason only. It's not results. It's not how he managed or didn't manage to get the players on his side (he clearly didn't) - it is because he is from Norway.

[Starfish]

Let me add though that he came across well in his interviews and it is clear that he was just the wrong man for that particular job (a very difficult job). He's obviously a very respected trainer and I hope he does well at Wolves.

[RobRoyal]

Let's be honest about it Ideal, you are defending him for one reason, and one reason only. It's not results. It's not how he managed or didn't manage to get the players on his side (he clearly didn't) - it is because he is from Norway.

If you're trying to insinuate that Ideal has some sort of national/ racial bias then I'm sorry, it just isn't going to wash.

[Whore Jackie]

I don't know who the guy is to be honest. It is out of the blue.

Seriously, I don't know who he is.

[Big Foot]

I don't know who the guy is to be honest. It is out of the blue.

Seriously, I don't know who he is.

Please tell me they're true quotes?

[Simon's Church]

Apparently the Koln players couldn't understand his complicated system/training. Good LOLuck Stephen Hunt.

[Jackson Corner]

Could be another Sven hopefully, at the end of the day how much does he know about the Championship? It's not a league you can just walk in to spend a wedge of money and hope it all comes right. 46 games up and down the country, blocks of seven games in 21 days is nothing like he would have experianced before.

[TBM]

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=107055

[Big Ern]

This could end up being a very shrewd appointment, but I have a feeling that he will be the Chumps Christian Gross.

[leon]

Let's be honest about it Ideal, you are defending him for one reason, and one reason only. It's not results. It's not how he managed or didn't manage to get the players on his side (he clearly didn't) - it is because he is from Norway.

If you're trying to insinuate that Ideal has some sort of national/ racial bias then I'm sorry, it just isn't going to wash.

he's not white and nordic is he?