Pragmatism makes way for Ideology

When it was announced that Town had managed to acquire the services of the Cowley brothers, there were large swathes of goodwill, adulation and hope for the future. However, at that point, I’m not sure anybody including even the Cowley brothers themselves quite realised the scale and magnitude of the task on their hands.

It could very easily be argued that it was unparalleled to anything they had faced in their managerial career to date. Without a pre-season or a transfer window to work with, they were thrown into the deep end in one of the most challenging and competitive leagues in the world.

If being asked to perform and excel at a level that they had never managed at wasn’t enough, the managerial duo were also handed the difficult task of rectifying an unbalanced squad and a split dressing room. Amongst those loyal and dedicated to this football club were some who vocally expressed their desire to leave whilst others appeared psychologically scarred from a chastening season in the Premier League which left them completely void of any confidence.

Without much room for manoeuvre or moment for respite, the Cowley brothers turned to pragmatism both as a means of man-management but also on the pitch as a means of securing results to help a club which had all the hallmarks of a sinking ship, keep just afloat.

To be so pragmatic on a game to game basis, it did feel like the reactive game plans constructed to deal best with the opposition came at a cost. Ultimately, a sacrifice had to be made and that sacrifice was the implementation and imposition of our own philosophy and style of play.

Fast forward to now, rather than being the profound centre-piece of Town’s stylistic approach, pragmatism has begun to make way for a footballing philosophy and a definitive style of the play has come to fore.

Throughout the months, we have seen snippets and glimpses of what they are collectively attempting to achieve, but it was only that. Singular passages of play or ten-minute spells which couldn’t be sustained for any real period of time.

The argument could be made that, that is still the case and we have still yet to see a full ninety-minute display where we dominate from the first whistle to the last. However, the periods of dominance in the game are lengthening and the promising passages of play and glimpses of individual and collective brilliance are becoming more and more frequent.

It does feel like this past week has been a real turning of the corner for the Cowley brothers. Confronted by two possibly season defining home fixtures, where defeat in both could have seen Town truly dragged into the depths of a relegation scrap, Town were utterly dominant in both.

The common denominator in both of the performances was that it was clear to see that the Cowleys’ vision and ideology is beginning to be translated onto the pitch. Whether that is as a result of having the right personnel be brought in to suit the system or the healthy blend of youthful exuberance and seasoned professionals, it now feels like Town are the engineers of their own fate.

Whereas other sides may need to rely on results elsewhere and three sides being simply worse than them, Town seem to have control of their own destiny. Of course, such is the Championship, in a week’s time we could be back looking over our shoulder with a pack of desperate relegation rivals snapping at our heels.
However, it does feel like Town have demonstrated that they have enough and points per game earned since the Cowley brothers have arrived does leave us in somewhat of a false position.

Whilst it may have taken longer than some may have expected or wanted, we are now beginning to see what is in store for this football club, both imminently in the immediate future but also what we can expect to see next season and beyond.

The pragmatism which put us in a position where we have any sort of gap between ourselves and the relegation zone does still remain but it has manifested itself in a different form. It is no longer the default course of action, more a lingering presence in the background acting as a safety net which can be called upon if necessary, to ensure that we don’t slip back into trouble.