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Post by warehamgas on Nov 17, 2023 15:20:01 GMT
I knew the process would be ham-fisted when I was reliably informed Wael was leading the search for a new manager. Absolutely right .... Why on Earth he is leading it is beyond me. Then again who else is there to do it .... Could well end up Mangan in charge as everything else isn't to their liking and they have no idea, we go up against decent sides and get absolutely rinsed. Mangan has no experience in a transfer window - what could possibly go wrong? On the positive side - The scouse Mafia led by Finley all get three year deals ! Seriously - we are on a cliff edge here with this appointment. What appointment? UTG!
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Post by warehamgas on Nov 17, 2023 13:44:02 GMT
...aside from the fact it's new owners having to make it, it's still one of the trickiest managerial decisions in recent years. We're closer to the playoffs than relegation, so appointing Mangan sounds great but would he be out of his depth if we did get promoted in six months? So maybe find a manager with Championship experience....? Except we might finish seventh and then we're overpaying for a manager with the wrong experience. ...or try to find a decent League One manager. Who could be the wrong leader if we go up but perfect if we remain stable in League One (and to clarify that would have been their remit but also judged by fans to be a failure). ...or change could lead to a loss of form and we need a scrappy manager to stop us being relegated... I genuinely think this is the most difficult managerial appointment we have had to make for well over a decade, and whatever decision is made is risky in one way or another (and will be criticised by many people for different reasons...) Indeed supergas. There are never any guarantees. UTG,
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Post by warehamgas on Nov 17, 2023 13:42:40 GMT
It's ok to dislike football clubs and their supporters gasdust and live a perfectly normal life. Sorry to break it to you but we can't all get along in this world. But we can survive and tolerate one another. Anyway. Have we got a new manager yet? Do you not think that tarring ALL supporters of Celtic with the same brush because of the actions of a few is a bit childish though? No issue with you not liking Celtic as club but surely you can’t think that literally EVERY supporter of Celtic is the same? Very true. How many fans of Celtic or Rangers or even BRFC are there? 60,000? 70,000? 10,000? It would be very naive or even stupid to think all the club group think the same way politically, religiously, or those who keep their opinions to themselves or those who show them off publicly or have the same opinions regarding world events. And as we know all clubs, even us, have our fair share of idiots. All clubs have all types of fan, it’s just in the bigger clubs the numbers are probably greater, including sensible ones. So to characterise all clubs fans as being the same is a tad unfair and naive to say the least. UTG!
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Post by warehamgas on Nov 16, 2023 16:31:43 GMT
www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/67415987Looks like Oxford have their next manager. Similar profile to the last one without the EFL experience. Another one that perhaps no one had on their list. Probably known in football circles but not by most fans. UTG!
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Post by warehamgas on Nov 15, 2023 18:14:36 GMT
If a Manager was available who had the same stats as Mangan over the last what, 5 games since Barton left we'd all be saying he's the man for us. So why not just give it to him, see what he can do? I think a result against a load of carpenters and electricians and the Newport youth team can be discounted. Reading and Carlisle are in the bottom 4 and we didnt look great against them. That said if this is what we look like all tightened up at the back and grinding out results then Im all for it. Much better than champaign losing calling the oppositon poor winners. I think the board have put themselves in a corner here a bit.Perhaps but I don’t know what else they could do given they sacked JB on a Thursday. They didn’t have anyone ready to come in so they had to make arrangements for the Saturday match v Northampton. Sensible to go for AM and he continued to win. Had they got rid of JB and then sacked his backroom staff not only would it have cost them a packet insofar as they are all in contract but they had no one else to lead the team given all the staff are JBs mates. Doing that might have cost us 7 league points and two progressions in the cup. Of course we may still have done all that but I’m not sure that there would have been anyone else to act as interim manager. I’d suggest the board would be damned if they did or damned if they didn’t. Earlier on I suggested AM got the board ‘out of a hole’ you think they ‘put them in a corner’. I guess time will tell. 😀😀😀 UTG!
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Post by warehamgas on Nov 15, 2023 12:50:52 GMT
Genuine apologies if I upset you with the comment re celebrity. Certainly not the intention, just an observation with the comparisons you made. Anyway, don’t want to upset anyone and certainly not a genuine fan who’s obviously invested the time you do. But after 55+ years of going to see us although a real optimist I know intentions and plans of any lower league club are just that, intentions. I said I enjoyed reading what you post and that was genuine. And your knowledge of Oxford is welcome of course. UTG! Nobody gives a toss about Poxford 🙄 Very good yatton! But it is interesting I guess. 😉 UTG!
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Post by warehamgas on Nov 15, 2023 11:58:06 GMT
Having sacked JB then of course they had to replace and I’d say that with Mangan they did it ok. 3 wins, 1 draw. And if he’d lost all the games or even Saturday then it might have been a different reaction. Of course. But it’s a silly argument isn’t it, he didn’t lose on Saturday he won. If we hadn’t beaten Scunthorpe …… If Lee B hadn’t scored a last minute winner v D&R…. If Mansell hadn’t score that pen…. But they all did, thankfully and Andy M has done well in the short term. So yes we got it right in the short term. Whether he’s the man long term who knows but I see you’ve just said if he wins tonight he should get the job. So you think he’s done a good job as well? And I won’t be “having a word with myself…” I post on what I see and read and your obsession with Oxford as a model is clear. Anyway let’s hope for a win tonight and progression in the cup, albeit not a major one. I’m not looking for a row, it’s now and obsession but earlier I was told I was into celebrity status and then I replied with a reasoned argument that the owner decided to employ the very best he could find to protect his investment, there is nothing celebrity fantasy about this. I will remind you when Wael bought the club, he brought in several people to join the board/consultants to help protect his purchase, one was the ex CEO of Wembley who built that new stadium, these all left quietly when the UWE was pulled. I know a lot about Oxford living up here, like the Gasheads living in Bristol, I hear continually about their business ideas and moves, right now they are going in right direction and one I wish we were. I think Mangs has done well and I’ve publicly said on this thread to give him the job. But it’s clear we never had a plan when we sacked Barton, if we lost today there would be outcry for a new outside manager. I hope we win tonight, I am not obsessed with celebrities in football, I like people with good experience and cv’s working for the club. I am not adverse to on the job training like the club Secretary we had for 19 years until Jennings sacked him. But when you have an ex marketing manager of Brighton and a golf club shop manager putting a planning application for a new stand, you wonder why we don’t get the application passed. Give me ex senior people from top major European sides employed by us any day of the week, nothing Heat/OKMagazine here ☺️ Genuine apologies if I upset you with the comment re celebrity. Certainly not the intention, just an observation with the comparisons you made. Anyway, don’t want to upset anyone and certainly not a genuine fan who’s obviously invested the time you do. But after 55+ years of going to see us although a real optimist I know intentions and plans of any lower league club are just that, intentions. I said I enjoyed reading what you post and that was genuine. And your knowledge of Oxford is welcome of course. UTG!
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Post by warehamgas on Nov 15, 2023 9:30:43 GMT
I think it’s Mangs everyone and I’m surprised no one picked up on his comments last night and Wilson’s. They players have some time off now, Wilson said this as well. So we have made the decision, that’s a collective one, Mangs to the board and they have agreed it all round. Any new man coming in would want to be with the squad flat out now for the next 10 days or so. On the training ground his ideas, 25 plus man squad, he’d want to be having personal meetings with every player and next week would be the time. Mangs today or this week until the end of the season, it’s got to be. Well if they give it to AM surely that goes against want the owners said they wanted in their original statement. Think it was " someone who had experience of getting promotion from League one to the Championship " ?.Well when has AM had this experience ? This in my mind will be one step forward/Two step backwards. The more I hear / listen to these new owners the more I realise they do not know what they are doing. New ground/ JCH Transfer / New experienced manager . More like " Make it up as we go along " . Yes pretty much it I think. They had a plan when JB was sacked but it was vague and along the lines of get someone in who’s got whatever they said. Then they started looking and found it’s not so easy and AM has done well so it gets them out of a hole. As to the ground I quite liked what they said. Instead of pie in the sky plans they’ve been very practical and have gone for a Mem redevelopment. Not unhappy with that and it’s the most practical and realistic ground plan for 15 years. If that happens I’ll be happy. UTG!
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Post by warehamgas on Nov 14, 2023 22:41:25 GMT
Tonight highlighted yet again we need a striker who can score the numerous chances we create. Yes, when it comes down to it that’s exactly what we need. Getting a scorer is always the hardest position to fill and it seems that we’ve been searching for that ever since JCH was sold. UTG!
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Post by warehamgas on Nov 14, 2023 22:20:43 GMT
Going to be hard to go against Mangan now after this run. He’s really managed it well to get the 4 wins and 1 draw. Not too inspiring but it’s been a good run and the results have been good. And in the end you can only beat what’s in front of you. I guess had there been an outstanding candidate then it might still change and what the owners have to balance is the reaction, mid season, of the players who want him if he isn’t appointed. We don’t want another Dave Penny situation like 2011.
Whether Mangan is the guy to take us on and really push us into a challenge on the play offs I’m not sure. The next week should tell us what the owners really think, if they don’t confirm Mangan after this run then perhaps they won’t and will look elsewhere. Or perhaps they have already decided and are just waiting to unveil them. I’m not sure they had a definite plan about who they wanted to replace JB but we don’t know because they have kept very quiet about everything since they came in. They won’t tell us step by step what they’re doing, they will just announce the decision at the end.
UTG!
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Post by warehamgas on Nov 14, 2023 19:10:37 GMT
We know you’ve got a view Roadman but you’re obsessed with celebrity and the Inter Milan connection at Oxford. Blimey, to listen to you about Oxford you’d think they were PL. They've had a good run, are doing well and have a chance of promotion. Will it happen? I’ve no idea but they are doing well. And considering the list of managers I’ve seen linked to the Oxford job I don’t think the process there is much different than the process with us. It’s as long as our list. Whoever we appoint I hope we do a more objective assessment than just looking at connections to Inter Milan or anywhere else. Why have we made a “balls up” of it? I reckon Mangan is doing a decent job, points on the board, players playing pretty well and as for the “no plan, no idea of who to appoint…” Just like me and the rest you’ve got no idea what conversations have been had. No different than the situation at Oxford. Some would say the owners have judged this pretty well. No idea but I guess time will tell though Mangan has done a decent job so far and Bond coming in appears a sensible move. Honestly Roadman, you do seem a bit obsessed with celebrity and who you know rather than the football. No worries because it’s usually entertaining and I do enjoy reading most of what you post. 👍👍👍 UTG! Honestly WTF are you on about, celebrity rubbish? ? The owner bought the club and he went and employed the best he could get to protect his business interests. His board has just delivered planning permission on a new ground, they are getting it. They pay Kassam £1 million rent a year, he takes all good and drink revenue at games, they also rent their training ground, their infrastructure has also brought them in over £13 million in player sales in the last 5 years. And on top of all this, they still lose the same as us, imagine if we were run like them, we’d break even!! Celebrity, he’s dealt with the highest levels of UEFA, they are in the champions league most seasons, he did transfer dealings with Jose Mourinho. I think you need to have a word with yourself pal before you start making statements about me like that. And you are now saying the club got it right re Mangs, what would you be saying if we lost on Saturday, they never knew he was going to go undefeated? And tell me I didn’t hear right when the owner said he wanted someone with Div1 experience and promotion on his CV? Having sacked JB then of course they had to replace and I’d say that with Mangan they did it ok. 3 wins, 1 draw. And if he’d lost all the games or even Saturday then it might have been a different reaction. Of course. But it’s a silly argument isn’t it, he didn’t lose on Saturday he won. If we hadn’t beaten Scunthorpe …… If Lee B hadn’t scored a last minute winner v D&R…. If Mansell hadn’t score that pen…. But they all did, thankfully and Andy M has done well in the short term. So yes we got it right in the short term. Whether he’s the man long term who knows but I see you’ve just said if he wins tonight he should get the job. So you think he’s done a good job as well? And I won’t be “having a word with myself…” I post on what I see and read and your obsession with Oxford as a model is clear. Anyway let’s hope for a win tonight and progression in the cup, albeit not a major one.
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Post by warehamgas on Nov 14, 2023 15:35:42 GMT
Some managers based a bit further north might be holding out and getting excited about a potential opportunity at Notts County if this move goes through... Oxford again going for the successful manager in a job approach. We really have made a balls up of this, I’m just glad Mangs has settled the ship. But if he does the Garry Thompson job who the players wanted him to have the job as well, we can only blame ourselves. No plan, no idea of who to appoint, and for me you’d be an idiot joining us as a manager if you were already in a job. Imagine being interviewed by the ex CEO of Inter Milan, the ex Financial Controller of Man United and Faz who was England assistant manager under Keegan and Sven and Southgate at Boro……….and then us, ex Brighton marketing manager, new owners from Kuwait with Wael and the previous managers best mate in Jennings. When I see the no context Bristol rovers on Twitter bloke post, I really think he has it right most times We know you’ve got a view Roadman but you’re obsessed with celebrity and the Inter Milan connection at Oxford. Blimey, to listen to you about Oxford you’d think they were PL. They've had a good run, are doing well and have a chance of promotion. Will it happen? I’ve no idea but they are doing well. And considering the list of managers I’ve seen linked to the Oxford job I don’t think the process there is much different than the process with us. It’s as long as our list. Whoever we appoint I hope we do a more objective assessment than just looking at connections to Inter Milan or anywhere else. Why have we made a “balls up” of it? I reckon Mangan is doing a decent job, points on the board, players playing pretty well and as for the “no plan, no idea of who to appoint…” Just like me and the rest you’ve got no idea what conversations have been had. No different than the situation at Oxford. Some would say the owners have judged this pretty well. No idea but I guess time will tell though Mangan has done a decent job so far and Bond coming in appears a sensible move. Honestly Roadman, you do seem a bit obsessed with celebrity and who you know rather than the football. No worries because it’s usually entertaining and I do enjoy reading most of what you post. 👍👍👍 UTG!
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Post by warehamgas on Nov 14, 2023 15:17:54 GMT
George Cowley? Now he was a professional! Ffs tea on the sofa, 😂😂😂👏👏. Bodie and Doyle legends. Lol!! Ive never watched The Professionals and didn’t know him. I just marvelled at Marshy’s encyclopaedic knowledge of professional footballers. 😉
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Post by warehamgas on Nov 14, 2023 15:12:36 GMT
Past failures do not inform the future I agree but it does help when to be fair this is the only measure we have. We do it for everyone, remember JCH before he came here - really underwhelming goals record, now the speculation that he'll come back generates 100s pages of comments and positivity. like it or not the past is an indication of the futureNo, it is not the only measure you have. Of course it is an indicator. But (and no idea what you do) I’ve interviewed hundreds of candidates for posts and I’ve known what people say (references) but I also knew they’d sometimes say stuff that isn’t correct and references can be misleading and you’d have to sift through it all. Questioning, giving scenarios, putting them under pressure by putting them into that situation and observing, talking to people you trust if possible. Loads of stuff before finally making a judgement. Football is very different but I bet owners do all those things. As you say at the end, it is an indicator but only an indicator which any appointment will dissect and investigate. After all if Gerry Francis was judged only on his Exeter record he wouldn’t have got our job. Exeter at the time was an impossible job and the owners of Rovers did their stuff and appointed him. I know you could point to examples where it didn’t work but it can as we know. And in the end there are never any guarantees in football whether it’s players’ transfers of the appointment of a manager. Fingers crossed. 🤞🏽 UTG!
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Post by warehamgas on Nov 14, 2023 13:05:45 GMT
Personally I don’t see Barton getting a job unless it’s someone with a poor budget or in financial trouble like Reading or Wigan. He has the ability to offer them his services to work for free to get a foot in the door. Why would you take him on with sponsors etc, it’s a proper time bomb but that’s just my opinion. I keep saying it re Oxford, they have a proper structure, Luke Williams or whoever fits in there perfectly. I might get bashed for this but why would you take the Rovers job of you were Taylor who will be a wanted man? We have no real scouting network, new owners who don’t really understand football ownership yet and a CEO and previous owner who have had 5 managers in 5 years? We are where we are with our candidate list, Monk out of work for 3 years, Robinson looks a good candidate but something doesn’t sit right. The rest, Holloway, Calum Davison, all unemployed and desperate for work. Was told earlier on that one of the names linked to us turned us down last week due to location Possibly the Cowleys? He turned down the Bradford job because of his family situation, children’s schooling being disrupted by a move. That was reported. May have turned us down for the same reason. No idea, just speculating. UTG!
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Post by warehamgas on Nov 14, 2023 12:59:37 GMT
Oxford so-say interested in Luke Williams at Notts County. It would be some statement of intent to land him. He would do well with the players we currently have here. Shows how a job can change perspectives. Imagine the meltdown on here a year ago when his only job would've been a failure at Swindon. Sometimes it's not about the standard of the manager but the fit between the manager and the club. Spot on. Past failure does not predict future success. UTG!
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Post by warehamgas on Nov 14, 2023 12:50:58 GMT
Well I can think of Liam Manning, Neil Critchley and Mark Bonner to name but three who were coaching younger age teams and perhaps John Mousinho (came from Oxford but I’m unsure if he was actually coaching youngsters.) And that’s without checking through and only in League 1. But the point is, a club with a well organised football department/DOF would know who was doing well at different clubs in their age teams. We seem not to have that and will likely go for someone on the managerial merry go round who’s from the list already mentioned. And every time a young inexperienced candidate is mentioned the spectre of Ben Garner is always mentioned. It’s a tad unfair as the idea behind his appointment was a good one it just didn’t work out. And some kind of myth has grown up around him that makes him some kind of bogeyman which isn’t totally fair as there were other reasons for what happened. (Not least the failure to finish the recruitment in Summer 20 to include a proper CF.) Anyway, I think Mangan has a good chance of being appointed having done nothing wrong so far. Robinson would be ok. A good overall record spoilt by his last few months at Oxford. And if they appoint a candidate who hasn’t been mentioned so far it would be a surprise but also something that would fit into what we’ve done in the past given most of our promotions have been achieved by rookie managers. UTG! Manning's in his 4th managerial role, whilst Critchley was a success at Blackpool oddly he returned to being an Assistant at Vila then flopped at QPR and Bonner now looks like he's on borrowed time at Cambridge. There are few ex Academy managers who've been a success in their first job and not ended up being sacked after a couple of seasons. Yes, Manning is, but his first appointment in Belgium went well as did his post at MKD. I guess that was my point him and the other two weren’t really known but were appointed for their coaching experience. Like McKenna. My point was we shouldn’t compare all young coaches with BG every time we have a vacancy. Lots of successful examples out there. UTG!
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Post by warehamgas on Nov 13, 2023 21:11:59 GMT
Good post dave. All those good things happen when you play with pace. Certainly play quickly moving from keeper to full back and then to winger is a way to do this. At Pompey first match of the season Luke Thomas’s goal was like that in a way. It was a counter attack where the ball arrived quickly in midfield after a Pompey attack, it was moved quickly to the forwards and a few passes later to Luke Thomas who arrived in the area to score. Playing with pace is the way esp if you can catch teams on the counter attack. Pompey, iirc, we’re trying to get back as LT scored. Play on the front foot with pace, not just from one or two but as a team so that defenders are outnumbered. 👍
UTG!
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Post by warehamgas on Nov 13, 2023 20:48:30 GMT
But for every Garner there's a McKenna. One thing that definitely hasn't worked for us is experienced managers. Is there, how many other McKenna's are they, I can only think of Rob Edwards? Well I can think of Liam Manning, Neil Critchley and Mark Bonner to name but three who were coaching younger age teams and perhaps John Mousinho (came from Oxford but I’m unsure if he was actually coaching youngsters.) And that’s without checking through and only in League 1. But the point is, a club with a well organised football department/DOF would know who was doing well at different clubs in their age teams. We seem not to have that and will likely go for someone on the managerial merry go round who’s from the list already mentioned. And every time a young inexperienced candidate is mentioned the spectre of Ben Garner is always mentioned. It’s a tad unfair as the idea behind his appointment was a good one it just didn’t work out. And some kind of myth has grown up around him that makes him some kind of bogeyman which isn’t totally fair as there were other reasons for what happened. (Not least the failure to finish the recruitment in Summer 20 to include a proper CF.) Anyway, I think Mangan has a good chance of being appointed having done nothing wrong so far. Robinson would be ok. A good overall record spoilt by his last few months at Oxford. And if they appoint a candidate who hasn’t been mentioned so far it would be a surprise but also something that would fit into what we’ve done in the past given most of our promotions have been achieved by rookie managers. UTG!
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Post by warehamgas on Nov 11, 2023 22:33:46 GMT
Wycombe were accused of trying to get the game called off 😂 By Steve Evans…. The Wycombe manager has said that wasn’t the case. UTG!
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