Iffy's Need for Speed

[Dazzza]

At two quid a wrap is it a viable way to improve performance?

Iffy’s need for speed
5th May 2006

IFFY Onuora’s need for speed means Town’s new-look squad will be assembled before a ball is kicked in the World Cup, if the manager has his way.

http://www-utenti.dsc.unibo.it/~mciuffre/ig/immagini/Spud_al_colloquio.jpg
Swindon manager hopes to emulate the Spud speed influenced philosophy of "other peoples leisure being his pleasure"

That means contract decisions concerning existing players have to be made now and Onuora is adamant that he won’t tolerate matters dragging on endlessly.

He views it as a two-way street. He will tell each of his players how he views their respective futures on Monday and he expects equal consideration from those with deals on the table.

He said: “I don’t want it to be a situation that lingers.

“If players decide to leave then I have to find replacements.

“I have to make plans and I want to hit the ground running in terms of recruitment.

“Hopefully part of that has started already.

“The PFA list doesn’t come out until June but I know there’s enough players around that I’m aware of who I’d like to think I could get a head-start with.

“To do that then I need to be straight and frank with the players who I’ve got and the ones who are out of contract have to be straight and frank with me.

“We all knew our fate a week ago. This week has given people time to think things through.”

Onuora knows change is part of football, whether you are out of contract or not.

He said: “It’s an inevitable part of football that some will go.

“You make an assessment whether that league is suitable for them.

“There are others under contract that you might think aren’t suitable for a league.”

Onuora, who confirmed that striker Lee Peacock had followed midfielder Paul Smith by going under the knife yesterday, said: “Successful clubs tend to have got everyone on board by the time they start pre-season training.

“The people they want are there on the first day.

“There are exceptions but when players are still coming in during August then I don’t think that helps the bedding-in process.

“Ideally I’m looking at getting a lot of business done in May, ideally a lot in the next two or three weeks.

“Obviously contracts don’t get signed until July 1 but you’re looking for those verbal assurances.”

One man certainly part of Onuora’s plans for next year is striker Peacock.

The manager said: “Lee was having his knee operation on Thursday and we felt it was important to get both his and Paul Smith’s done as quickly as possible.”

http://www.thisisswindontownfc.co.uk/News_Headlines_Story.asp?NewsID=5506

[Dazzza]

Good move though and hopefully one that comes to fruition.  The past few years we seem to have been late players in the transfer market and even later when it comes to getting contracts tied up.

The ability to nail players down as early as next week will be a massive boost to the recruitment drive.

[sonic youth]

mah pleasuuuur in ovva peepels leshurrre

er, yeah.

i think iffy's realised the importance of a good pre-season, i still think one of the reasons for our poor start and the 9 game losing streak was down to a lack of fitness due to a poor pre-season under king and after a run like that, it's almost an impossibility to recover from it.

if we could have 90% of the squad in place by 1st july i'll be delighted.

[Ben Wah Balls]

With the investment from Bill power we probably have more of a chance of getting players early on now whereas before we didn't really have much of a choice but to wait until players hadn't received any better offers. You can end up with good or crap players either way though.

This seems to suggest that Iffy is going to be here next season.

[my-velocity]

Hopefully all contracts and signings will be ready for the Copa Ibiza ttrip which will help the team get used to eachothers playing styles. Iffy has to get a certain amount of discipline into the squad too as we want the players playing like pro's not semi-pro's.

[my-velocity]

I think he'll bring in some good players as he did with some of the youths he brought into the academy which are hopefully staying now. Looking forward to who he will buy in the transfer window.

[Dazzza]

From O'Hanlon today.....

I'll Keep You in the Picture
By Jon Ritson
SEAN O'Hanlon has promised to deliver a swift answer when he sits down with Iffy Onuora on Monday.

The manager has said he will be straight and frank with his dealings and the Town captain is equally keen to adopt that approach.

He is not about to discuss his future before speaking to Onuora but whatever transpires, he wants a speedy resolution.

The former Evertonian has been offered a new contract but has yet to commit himself to it.

What he doesn't want is a summer of uncertainty and is anxious to resolve where he will be reporting back to in July.

He said: "I've not spoken to the manager properly yet. "He's going to speak to all the lads on Monday.

"Basically it's going to be decision time for me really.

"I don't want this to drag on. I want to go in to the summer holidays knowing what my future is.

"At the moment it could be Swindon Town.

"I want my future sorted in the next week or two weeks, no longer than that."

Whether a Town player or not next season, O'Hanlon is anxious to end the current campaign on a high note.

He wants his colleagues to treat it as seriously as any other match as there is the stigma of being the worst team in League One to be avoided

Good man should hopefully see a swift resolution in the next week or so.   :thumbs: