Ian Woan

[Gaz1980]

To say that we had two of the best wingers we've had in the last 35 years with us, our crossing was a total shambles!

 

[Kjetil Osvold's Cat]

Rumour was he lost the dressing room. Players not responding to his methods. Likely Pearce laid into those who didn't pull their weight and they didn't like it. I don't blame him for it.

Maybe we need to look at modern day footballers who only care about their own interests, they usually down tools if they take offence to a managers methods instead of getting in with the job that they are paid an absolute fortune to do. We've seen it with our lot this season. Gen Z mentality unfortunately, they demand respect without having any attributes about them to earn respect. There is too much player power.

Clough or Fergie wouldn't last more than a few weeks these days. That's a shame. I preferred their respective eras.

Back to Woany, it was great to have him back albeit for a few months. Always a City Ground legend.

I guess it's hard to know (and this goes for Ange, Dyche, whoever) what we'd really think about a situation or disagreement without seeing it develop, but I guess I'm in between - not really liking either extreme (the 'old-fashioned' guy who might verge on bullying quieter players or baulk at anyone not acting like a hard man on the pitch, dwelling on the ball to see what develops or whatever - not saying this is what Pearce was like btw, or the ultra-modern spoilt rich lad who acts too much like a diva and not a team player - not suggesting anyone in particular for that either).

Clough's own attitude was maybe a bit hard to totally fathom too I guess. For sure he could be blunt, intimidating even for some players I guess, but ultimately he also said he wanted players to be free to do what they were good at, and he wanted them to be able to relax on the pitch:

234K views · 2.4K reactions | “No point in being an idiot relaxing if you’ve got no talent” - Brian Clough 💫🌳 #NFFC #nottinghamforest #fblifestyle #70s #80s #football | Forest Chat

“No point in being an idiot relaxing if you’ve got no talent” - Brian Clough 💫🌳 #NFFC #nottinghamforest #fblifestyle #70s #80s #football

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I guess he was somewhere in between the "you're 100%" of the Shredded Wheat adverts and the pure football advocate (we don't have problems with referees, we play on grass not in the sky etc). He wasn't adverse to a few swear words himself, but he didn't necessarily want it from fans (language gentlemen please etc) or bad behaviour from his players (didn't he once substitute Woan and Keane because of their behaviour in one game?).... - we know what he thought of how Leeds won their trophies under Revie too.
He was seemingly a bit harsh with Justin Fashanu (maybe he did see that more as a diva issue than being homophobic as such?) but talked someone out of suicide once I read, and had a very left wing attitude apparently too.

 

[Otis Redding]

A fundamental difference between Cloughie's era and the modern-day PL footballer is that back then most players had a mortgage payment to meet every month, and appearance/win bonuses etc were often a hugely important motivation, whilst a decent percentage of a transfer fee made life a little more easier financially. Today, a single 3 or 4-year PL contract can, quite literally, set a young lad up for the rest of his life.

 

[Captain Sinister]

A fundamental difference between Cloughie's era and the modern-day PL footballer is that back then most players had a mortgage payment to meet every month, and appearance/win bonuses etc were often a hugely important motivation, whilst a decent percentage of a transfer fee made life a little more easier financially. Today, a single 3 or 4-year PL contract can, quite literally, set a young lad up for the rest of his life.

We had a fitted furniture design consultant round the other day who had recently done some work for for a Forest footballer (no names, no packdrill).;
Said footballer had accepted the design and the quotation (which ran close to £1 million, without meeting the designer, without looking at the design, and without even trying to barter a discount if he paid cash!
Our quote was for a more modest £8k, and I went throught the design with a nit-comb, had the designer make several changes, before haggling over the price, and then taking the design to a local chippie, who is doing the work for less than half the price, including a discount for cash.
These footballers only need to sign the initial contract.
Once both parties have signed it is unbreakable, and the player is laughing all the way to the bank (or rather his Personal assistant is doing the bank run on the player's behalf).
It's a different world for professional footballers these days.

 

[andover red]

If former players return to the club in another capacity, we have to separate the roles and how we think of them.

Psycho, O'Neil, Stone, Woan.... all great players for us but all moderate at best as managers/coaches for us.

Doesn't change our respect for what they achieved on the pitch, but we can't afford to tolerate them failing off the pitch out of nostalgia.

 

[Chappers85]

If former players return to the club in another capacity, we have to separate the roles and how we think of them.

Psycho, O'Neil, Stone, Woan.... all great players for us but all moderate at best as managers/coaches for us.

Doesn't change our respect for what they achieved on the pitch, but we can't afford to tolerate them failing off the pitch out of nostalgia.

It probably buys them a little more grace with the fanbase. I think a lot of people felt the Dyche appointment was an easier pill to swallow because he was fond of the club and had Woan and Stone with him. But once it's clear it's not working, the gag reflex starts kicking in.

When I think of Woan in the future, I'll think about the screamers he scored against Newcastle, and Stone working his way down the right wing playing one-twos with Des Lyttle. It would have been nice for them to come in and do well, but like you say, nostalgia doesn't get results.