@jackodiamonds ... there are several managers in our history that have managed a few games (<=4) and on multiple occasions (Curt). I have excluded these from the comparison list. Sheehan managed 7 league plus 1 cup match. More than a handful. He could have lost all 8, in which case we could consider him worthless. But he didn't. In a time of stress, he stepped in, got things organized and performed (himself) and the squad at a significantly higher level than his predecessor and other notable managers, all with an unfavorable fixture list.
I am not dismissing numbers, I am basing my position on them. xGs are nothing but fancy mathematical guesses. Results and scores after 90+ are the numbers that are factual. Sheehan has those numbers on his side.
It's a small sample, but with a significant outcome. Williams didn't arrive into bedlam, nor a string of poor form (as did Sheehan). He arrived into a reasonably well organized stable setup earning points. Players and commentators have, with limited prompting, spoken effusively about the job Sheehan did.
I don't like Sheehan per se, I don't know him. I respect him and for what he achieved and how he went about his job. I like people that GSD (get shit done), I dislike people that don't. Sheehan got a better tune out of the same squad of players that Duffer mis-handled.
Similarly, I don't dis-like Williams. I speak objectively based on his prior experience, his hefty compensation package (3.5 year contract) and his current return on the trust placed in him by execs. He is expected to GSD. To date, he's been far less than expected. He hasn't done his homework like he should have. He's been far closer to doing a Rooney than doing a Laudrup, or a Rogers, or a Sousa. Each of these other three managers took over from the previous manager (Sousa walked into a compromised situation - the loss of Scotland, Gomez, etc) and took what they inherited and prudently enhanced and dealt with any issues smoothly and efficiently ... for the most part.
What I dis-like is the Club's persistence in hiring people deemed by the broader industry to only be good enough to coach D league clubs when we're aspiring to play in the A league. We've now done it three times in succession. And the results have been mixed to poor. Cooper was the exception. I haven't placed Potter into this analysis because I don't know how to compare where he was with where we are. And I immensely dis-like the 3.5 year contract we've encumbered ourselves with on nothing more than hope as been-there-done-that is not a part of the equation. It's really fucking annoying and financially reckless. Based on probability, 4 managers in the Championship (Potter to Duff), we have a 25% of finding a winner, 25% of finding a loser and 50% of being stuck in the middle. Based on results and performances to date, approach, and drawing similarities to previous managers, Williams is a lot closer to Duff than Cooper. This could all change around, but any time now would be good.
This season, apart from escaping relegation, is yet another ho-hum nothing and it's over. I just don't see glimmers of betterment in our future. I could be wrong, but, I'm seeing more ghosts of our past.
On the spectrum ... Williams appears to be of the Martin mold ... the universe orbits him ... the players are there to service him, not he's there to service the players and the club. I consider Mowbray, for example, based on his pre-match comments against us, to be at the opposite end of that spectrum. Not that I'm advocating Mowbray be our coach, but his approach on entrance is pragmatic and prudent, knowing he has been assigned an end goal, but the journey starts with step #1. And he stepped into a situation in free-fall following Rooney.
