This ridiculous abuse towards Parkinson

[Shaun Lawson 0]

Sorry, but I just don''t get it. The way I see it, the clearly outstanding candidates are Jewell, Bruce and Hareide - and the board has probably spent the last few weeks doing everything in their power to get one of them. But Hareide won''t leave the Norway job with them on the verge of qualifying for Euro 2008, Bruce''s future is still up in the air (ideally, he wants to stay at Birmingham - and if Carson Yeung continues to stall, the deal will be off by Xmas and Bruce can carry on as normal), and Jewell... well, who knows? But if we don''t get him, blaming the board would be way off the mark: the chances of him joining any Championship club, let alone one in as much trouble as we are, have always been very slim.

In my opinion, there''s then a second tier of candidates who should at least have been seriously considered: Paul Ince, Iain Dowie and Micky Adams. But two of these are already in a job: with Ince only likely to leave the Dons for a club challenging for promotion to the Prem, and surely reluctant to get himself a reputation as someone who bails out the moment he gets a better offer somewhere. Because Mandaric has plenty of dosh, I''d also imagine Dowie to be a lot more interested in that job than our one - and moreover, he might yet want to hang on at Cov and hope for change off the field. That leaves Adams, of whom little has been heard, and as I say, should have been considered.

And then you have the realistic options: Martin Allen, Steve Tilson, Simon Grayson and Phil Parkinson. All four have succeeded at previous clubs; equally, all four would be a gamble. Allen, much as though I rate him, did well with Brentford and Franchise but didn''t actually take either up; Tilson and Grayson have both done well in their first job, but there''s no way of knowing how either will adapt to a new one; and Parkinson was extremely highly rated throughout the game after doing brilliantly at Colchester. According to the wisdom of this messageboard, because he then failed horribly at Hull, it''d be a disgrace if we now appoint him - eh? Tilson, Allen and Grayson aren''t proven at this level either - and the outstanding candidate, Jewell, did just as badly in his second job at Sheff Wed as Parkinson did at the KC.

I''d be ok if any of these four get the nod: all have potential, all have been successful before, all would be a risk - albeit, they''re probably the best options available to us. Where I would have a fit of apoplexy is if the board are stupid enough to choose either Roeder or Staunton: both would be crazy recruitments, with Roeder especially having an absolutely miserable record pretty much wherever he''s been. But we have to accept the reality: although we want Jewell, Bruce, or even Ince, the chances are that none of them will join a club in such a dire position.

Incidentally, before anyone accuses me of being an apologist for the board, I''m on record as wanting them out: both on this board and in a letter I had published in the Evening News on the day of the AGM. I consider them largely to be well-meaning amateurs, hugely out of their depth when it comes to operating in the ruthless environment that football now is; and would like them to hand over to the Turners as soon as possible. But here''s the thing, folks: it''s blindingly obvious this is already happening, with Sharon and Andrew spending this season examining all aspects of the way the club is run, before a formal handover sometime in the summer. So some of the more hysterical "Delia out!" posts on here completely miss the point - as does Smudger''s absurd trumpeting of Giovanni di Stefano. Not only is he surely the only man on this planet to have considered himself a friend of Saddam Hussein''s, and an enemy of Delia Smith''s - but he also played a large part in plunging Dundee FC into administration. Sorry, but I don''t want such a person anywhere near this club. Change is coming - but when a man such as di Stefano is actually lauded on here, it says everything about the mentality of those who do so.

[ca 1]

Great post Shaun, I think it will be one of your 4 realistic options too.

[Don,tPanic 0]

Spot on mate......well put and a bit of realism amongst all the children on here

[T 190]

Most sensible and realistic post I''ve seen in a while which means I find it difficult to disagree with any of that. I still hope that they get Jewell backed with some generous cash from the Turner''s pockets but then football is as much about hope as reality.

[Hog 0]

The problem is that most people credit Parkinson''s success at Colchester to Geraint Williams, the man now in charge, and if that is true it would be a disaster getting him in.

[Shaun Lawson 0]

[quote user="cityangel"]Great post Shaun, I think it will be one of your 4 realistic options too.[/quote]

As of this morning, CA, it looks like Allen is the one who''s survived

from those four. It looks awfully to me as though it''s a case of:

Plan A: Paul Jewell

Plan B: Martin Allen

Plan C: Glenn Roeder

I''ll be doing cartwheels if it''s Jewell, but would be perfectly ok if

it''s Mad Dog. Roeder, though, is another thing entirely: making him

manager would be the final straw as far as I''m concerned... unless he''s

being considered as a DoF with Allen working underneath him?

[ricky knight 0]

So where are all these highflyers chasing the job, more board spin.

[YankeeCanary 0]

I agree with cityangel. A very good well thought out post. We need more of this input to offset the repetitive negative tripe that a few posters seem determined to flood this forum with. We will have to see what decision is made re the new manager Shaun, but I totally agree with your view on the Turners taking over at some point in an orderly manner.

[Ivana_rubyatitz 6]

Great post Shaun - sensibly argued and a very realistic assessment of the situation we are in. 

Parkinson would not be a good move for me but I have to agree he seems to fit the bill in terms of experience at this level and with working with limited resources to get the best out of average players.  Your other three "realistics" just do that better in my view.  I am not sad to see he seems to be receding if the news this morning is to be believed.  His record as you say though hardly justifies some of the hysterical reaction to his being linked to the vacancy (albeit some of this reaction is from a couple of the usual suspects).

It seems that the mess we are in currently is causing many of us to lose all sense of perspective and reality - understandable as it is largely because the club we love seems in terminal decline and we can see no way out of a spiral of truly clueless performances.  In this scenario we are looking for unrealistic saviours when survival is most likely to be achieved with the likes of your realistic options.  I would love to see Jewell get the job but I just dont see what is in it for him - if he waits around he can have a Premiership job in the near future.  We need someone in post now and we may have to compromise a little to get that (within reason) because if we dilly dally much longer it will be too late for anyone to turn this around.

Likewise with Di Stefano - how anyone can see him as being a potential saviour seems absurd.  I hope your reading of the Turners involvement is correct as I to have come to the conclusion that the time for radical change at board level is now overdue.  I would personally hope that Delia and co could allowed to go with a similar quiet dignity that Grant managed (they did afterall oversee a playoff final and promotion which is conveniently forgotten by many) rather than being forced out in repeat of the last days of Chase.

As I said though, excellent post for a Monday morning and thanks for taking my mind off the monotony of work.

[Yellow Rider 0]

Yes - a very good post although I don''t agree with all the observations such as........''blindingly obvious that the board will be handing over to the Turners in the summer'' (or words to that effact). I think they were taken on due to the urgent need for some short term cash and (maybe) to also add some business acumen to the tired, stale buch of existing directors. However, I can''t see Smith just quietly ''handing over'' to anyone, Turners or not. The Smiths are still top dogs and she ain''t going to give that prestige and power up without a struggle.

Roeder - very good first season at West Ham (from memory I think they finished 7th) so his records hasn''t been totally ''miserable''.

However, the fundamental points Shaun makes about the various managers who may or may not be on the list are absolutely right. Like him, I am no fan of the board at all but I do think this time they have genuinley aimed high at the likes of Coleman, Bruce and Jewell. Unless they pull a rabbit out of the hat in the form of Jewell, the bloke they do eventually appoint will probably be 4th or 5th choice (or worse). Magilton was nowhere near first choice for Ipswich last summer but now seems to be doing a damn good job (and he had no management experience from memory!). Whoever it is we MUST support them - unless of course The Mitchell Bros. get the nod!

The board though are still in drastic need of overhaul and they must be open to those with new ideas and a fresh thought process. That does NOT necessarily mean Smith MUST sell her shares. IMO she and Mr Smith should step down immediately - what they then do with their shares is up to them. Jimmy Jones left the board yet retained his 19% shareholding for sometime.   

[gissing canary 2]

Top post!

 

[Glasgow SUFC 0]

Mickey Adams is in a job, he''s assistant manager of Col Ewe just now!

The Colchester board have already turned down 2 or 3 approaches for him (think QPR was one)!!!

[WilliamG 0]

Why the problem with Parkinson?? Where you at the Hull vs. Norwich game at ''fortress'' carrow rd last year? - in 10 years its probably the worst game i''ve ever watched  

[Herb 0]

[quote user="Pboro_Canary"]

Likewise with Di Stefano - how anyone can see him as being a potential saviour seems absurd.

[/quote]No kidding....this is from a Scottish newspaper article Stefano links to from his own "political party" website:http://www.thecourier.co.uk/output/2005/04/01/newsstory6971200t0.asp

"Di Stefano insists he would be welcomed back to

Dens Park with open arms by the fans, despite reneging on promises to

provide massive funding to the club.

“Do you blame me?” he said, when it was put to him that he had not come up with the promised finance.

“I’m

not a mug, I’m a business man and once I saw there were debts of £20

million, and Dundee were heading for administration, I wasn’t going to

throw money at it.

“Peter

Marr has done a great job there but administration hasn’t taken the

debts away, they’ve just been restructured. I could have done that,

funding was in place with the bank, and all administration has done is

leave a lot of people very angry.

“I

get loads of Emails from people in Dundee who want me back at Dundee

FC, and I will be back, although not while they are heavily in debt.

“They

are going to be my club eventually though. I’m the only person who can

run the club properly, in a businesslike way. It can be a healthy club

again once the debt is scaled down.”

He comes across as an attention-seeking bullsh*tter. Like some of his fans on here, oddly enough.

[nutty nigel 7,513]

That''s a well reasoned post Shaun and I agree with much of it. I also believe the Turners involvement this season must constitute a change even though it''s not yet, and we have no evidence it will ever be, a change at the top. No changes within the club will be recognised until there are changes in results on the field and league position. Until that happens fans will find fault with anything and everything the board do the same as they did with Worthington.

As for your realistic options, I believe Paul Ince should be in that group. However bleak things are right now the managers job at Norwich is bigger than that at MK Dons. But the subject of your post, Parkinson, is a worry to me. He did do well at Colchester but since then things have gone a bit wrong for him and the fact that he has taken a position below manager at another club worries me. Yes Jewell failed at Sheff Wed in a similar way to Parkinson did at Hull. But he had enough belief and people had enough belief in him to return as a number one elsewhere.

 

[Ivana_rubyatitz 6]

This thread is too sensible to be lost on page 2 whilst page 1 is full of dross posts about false manager rumours - so bump. [:$]

[Shaun Lawson 0]

[quote user="Salahuddin"]The problem is that most people credit

Parkinson''s success at Colchester to Geraint Williams, the man now in

charge, and if that is true it would be a disaster getting him

in.[/quote]

Yes - and I find this bizarre, to be honest. If you ask me, the biggest

reason for Colchester''s success is their board: the transition from

Parkinson to Williams was remarkably seemless, and given they''ve

blocked approaches for Adams (cheers to the poster who pointed this

out), that suggests they already have a plan for when Williams

ultimately leaves: they''ll simply promote Adams, a very capable

manager. But were Colchester fans putting their success in 05/6 down to

Williams? No they weren''t: it''s Parkinson who''d acquired such an

excellent reputation across the game, hence his move to Hull.

Doesn''t matter though: Parkinson was ruled out over the weekend in any case.

[Shaun Lawson 0]

[quote user="Yellow Rider"]

Yes - a very good post although I don''t

agree with all the observations such as........''blindingly obvious that

the board will be handing over to the Turners in the summer'' (or words

to that effact). I think they were taken on due to the urgent need for

some short term cash and (maybe) to also add some business acumen to

the tired, stale buch of existing directors. However, I can''t see Smith

just quietly ''handing over'' to anyone, Turners or not. The

Smiths are still top dogs and she ain''t going to give that

prestige and power up without a struggle.

Roeder - very good first season at West Ham (from memory I think

they finished 7th) so his records hasn''t been totally ''miserable''.

However, the fundamental points Shaun makes about the various

managers who may or may not be on the list are absolutely right. Like

him, I am no fan of the board at all but I do think this time they have

genuinley aimed high at the likes of Coleman, Bruce and Jewell. Unless

they pull a rabbit out of the hat in the form of Jewell, the bloke they

do eventually appoint will probably be 4th or 5th choice (or worse).

Magilton was nowhere near first choice for Ipswich last summer but

now seems to be doing a damn good job (and he had no management

experience from memory!). Whoever it is we MUST support them - unless

of course The Mitchell Bros. get the nod!

The board though are still in drastic need of overhaul and they must

be open to those with new ideas and a fresh thought process. That does

NOT necessarily mean Smith MUST sell her shares. IMO she and Mr

Smith should step down immediately - what they then do with their

shares is up to them. Jimmy Jones left the board yet retained his

19% shareholding for sometime.   

[/quote]

Thing is though YR, there''s more than a whiff of due diligence about

what the Turners are up to. I agree they were brought in to provide

much more business acumen, and suspect they''ve been assessing

Doncaster''s performance more than anything else. Equally though, they

fit Delia''s oft-stated desire for new owners who are local and have the

club at heart - and haven''t you noticed how invariably either Doncaster

or one of the Turners are wheeled out for press conferences,

announcements, etc? MWJ and Delia - who''s certainly no shrinking violet

- have faded into the background. If you then consider both Smith and

Jones'' age, as well as the fact that, with our parachute payments gone,

we had to start again from scratch even before results became so

horrendous, I think it''s clear a transition is being planned.

I also have to disagree on Roeder. Yes, he came 7th with West Ham in

his first season; then they went down. This is exactly what happened at

Watford too: 7th initially, then relegated. He also led Newcastle to

their worst ever Premiership campaign; and Gillingham to 2nd bottom in

the entire Football League. He''s a nice, decent man - but his record is

simply appalling, and no way in the world is he the man to turn a club

in so much trouble around. I wouldn''t be surprised if he''s appointed

DoF above a young, hungry manager mind you: and I''m very confident

given all I''ve heard tonight that that man will be Martin Allen.

[7rew 0]

First season 7th, second season down means you just sack him after one season surely :)

[ca 1]

[quote user="Shaun Lawson"][quote user="cityangel"]Great post Shaun, I think it will be one of your 4 realistic options too.[/quote]

As of this morning, CA, it looks like Allen is the one who''s survived from those four. It looks awfully to me as though it''s a case of:

Plan A: Paul Jewell

Plan B: Martin Allen

Plan C: Glenn Roeder

I''ll be doing cartwheels if it''s Jewell, but would be perfectly ok if it''s Mad Dog. Roeder, though, is another thing entirely: making him manager would be the final straw as far as I''m concerned... unless he''s being considered as a DoF with Allen working underneath him?
[/quote]

 

I''d be happy with Martin Allen too Shaun.

[Shaun Lawson 0]

Right, to expand on what I''ve mentioned above about Allen. A few of you

may have noticed a rumour that spread on Saturday: supposedly, Matt

McCann, Wigan''s Director of Communications, told the local radio

station that he was almost certain Jewell was about to take the Norwich

job. Given different people posted this at the same time, I figured it

could well be credible, so emailed Mr McCann. He got back to me earlier

today: and actually, what he told the station was he''d be very, very

surprised if Jewell came here. Quite how this mutated into such

nonsense, I have absolutely no idea.

McCann is regularly in touch with Jewell - and spoke to him as recently

as Saturday morning, while PJ was still in Dubai. Jewell mentioned

nothing about any possible job. To my mind, this suggests very strongly

that he isn''t looking to come back into football right now, has

politely rebuffed our approaches, and is waiting for the right Premier

League job to become vacant. Sorry guys: I''m sure the board have done

their level best, but it ain''t going to be him.

And given I''d concluded this morning that only him, Allen and Roeder

were still in the running, my money is very, very strongly on Mad Dog

being unveiled tomorrow: that''s what I''m hearing at the moment too.

It''s possible Roeder might be a DoF above him - and as long as they

want to work with each other, and embrace their different roles, I''d

have no problem with such a setup. I also have no problem with Allen

being appointed: his record is good, so good that a Championship club

with an ambitious Chairman and lots of money to spend appointed him,

before sacking him scandalously prematurely. Of course it''s a gamble -

but he''s the best realistic candidate we''ve been able to secure, has

passion and fight, and exactly the right kind of mindset to drag us

kicking and screaming away from trouble. If it''s him, as I strongly

believe it is, I''ll be giving him my full support: starting on Sunday

against Ipswich, a game which - almost in spite of myself - I''m

confident we''ll win.

[kdncfc 0]

[quote user="Shaun Lawson"]Right, to expand on what I''ve mentioned above about Allen. A few of you may have noticed a rumour that spread on Saturday: supposedly, Matt McCann, Wigan''s Director of Communications, told the local radio station that he was almost certain Jewell was about to take the Norwich job. Given different people posted this at the same time, I figured it could well be credible, so emailed Mr McCann. He got back to me earlier today: and actually, what he told the station was he''d be very, very surprised if Jewell came here. Quite how this mutated into such nonsense, I have absolutely no idea.

McCann is regularly in touch with Jewell - and spoke to him as recently as Saturday morning, while PJ was still in Dubai. Jewell mentioned nothing about any possible job. To my mind, this suggests very strongly that he isn''t looking to come back into football right now, has politely rebuffed our approaches, and is waiting for the right Premier League job to become vacant. Sorry guys: I''m sure the board have done their level best, but it ain''t going to be him.

And given I''d concluded this morning that only him, Allen and Roeder were still in the running, my money is very, very strongly on Mad Dog being unveiled tomorrow: that''s what I''m hearing at the moment too. It''s possible Roeder might be a DoF above him - and as long as they want to work with each other, and embrace their different roles, I''d have no problem with such a setup. I also have no problem with Allen being appointed: his record is good, so good that a Championship club with an ambitious Chairman and lots of money to spend appointed him, before sacking him scandalously prematurely. Of course it''s a gamble - but he''s the best realistic candidate we''ve been able to secure, has passion and fight, and exactly the right kind of mindset to drag us kicking and screaming away from trouble. If it''s him, as I strongly believe it is, I''ll be giving him my full support: starting on Sunday against Ipswich, a game which - almost in spite of myself - I''m confident we''ll win.

[/quote] You may be right in what you say but even if McCann did know Jewell was coming here I''d be very surprised if he would have told a stranger who sends him an e mail, there''s also the fact that a lifelong friend of Jewell said on the radio this morning that he had spoken to Jewell about Norwich before and he was impressed by the club and there''s also the Benson factor. I''m not saying you are wrong but if you are making your prediction on the basis of the e mail from McCann then it certainly isn''t enough to rule him out imo. 

[Mello Yello 2,281]

[quote user="Shaun Lawson"]Right, to expand on what I''ve mentioned above about Allen. A few of you may have noticed a rumour that spread on Saturday: supposedly, Matt McCann, Wigan''s Director of Communications, told the local radio station that he was almost certain Jewell was about to take the Norwich job. Given different people posted this at the same time, I figured it could well be credible, so emailed Mr McCann. He got back to me earlier today: and actually, what he told the station was he''d be very, very surprised if Jewell came here. Quite how this mutated into such nonsense, I have absolutely no idea.

McCann is regularly in touch with Jewell - and spoke to him as recently as Saturday morning, while PJ was still in Dubai. Jewell mentioned nothing about any possible job. To my mind, this suggests very strongly that he isn''t looking to come back into football right now, has politely rebuffed our approaches, and is waiting for the right Premier League job to become vacant. Sorry guys: I''m sure the board have done their level best, but it ain''t going to be him.

And given I''d concluded this morning that only him, Allen and Roeder were still in the running, my money is very, very strongly on Mad Dog being unveiled tomorrow: that''s what I''m hearing at the moment too. It''s possible Roeder might be a DoF above him - and as long as they want to work with each other, and embrace their different roles, I''d have no problem with such a setup. I also have no problem with Allen being appointed: his record is good, so good that a Championship club with an ambitious Chairman and lots of money to spend appointed him, before sacking him scandalously prematurely. Of course it''s a gamble - but he''s the best realistic candidate we''ve been able to secure, has passion and fight, and exactly the right kind of mindset to drag us kicking and screaming away from trouble. If it''s him, as I strongly believe it is, I''ll be giving him my full support: starting on Sunday against Ipswich, a game which - almost in spite of myself - I''m confident we''ll win.

[/quote]

No more credible than any other ''theory''.......Superfluous supposition, nothing else. Are you actually trying to promote Allen from within, by "BIGGIN'' ''IM UP!" Where do you actually ''source'' your information from? Club Meejah perchance?.......

[Time to go Delia 0]

Anybody who listened to Jewells friend on Norfolk today would be very much inclined to believe Paul Jewell was heading this way .

[Branston Pickle 3,638]

This is such a refreshing thread, including some clearly well thought out and interesting points - what is equally interesting, and sadly unsurprising, is that although some of the more opinionated posters seem to have been about all day they have steered clear of it!!

I agree with much that Shaun has said (on here and elsewhere) - I am not totally convinced yet about who it will be (Allen/Jewell seem to be favourites), but the idea that the board has been collectively sitting on its backside deliberately letting things drag on is surely daft.  It gains them absolutely nothing as it just increases unrest.  The likelihood is that we will have had various applications (not least some from people on these boards!), actively sought out others to fill the role, and sought counsel on what is a particularly important decision.  Sometimes these things take no time to sort out, at others they will take a while, that is merely a fact of life. 

[One Flew Over... 33]

I was speaking with a Luton supporter last night about the merits of Allen..he was not highly recommended..

- much of Luton''s progress was the work of Joe Kinnear the season before Allen was appointed

- Allen was voted..by one vote in as manager by a Internet poll (perish the thought..) - can anyone verify this?

[Camuldonum 0]

[quote user="Shaun Lawson"][quote user="Salahuddin"]The problem is that most people credit Parkinson''s success at Colchester to Geraint Williams, the man now in charge, and if that is true it would be a disaster getting him in.[/quote]

Yes - and I find this bizarre, to be honest. If you ask me, the biggest reason for Colchester''s success is their board: the transition from Parkinson to Williams was remarkably seemless, and given they''ve blocked approaches for Adams (cheers to the poster who pointed this out), that suggests they already have a plan for when Williams ultimately leaves: they''ll simply promote Adams, a very capable manager. But were Colchester fans putting their success in 05/6 down to Williams? No they weren''t: it''s Parkinson who''d acquired such an excellent reputation across the game, hence his move to Hull.

Doesn''t matter though: Parkinson was ruled out over the weekend in any case.
[/quote]

A few comments about Mr Parkinson if I may.  All of you of course must have your own view but most Col Ewe fans held him in high regard for obvious reasons and while it is undoubtedly true that GW played a large part on the coaching scene it was Mr P who galvanised the team and got the dressing spirit going which is what, at the end of the day, created a successful side on very little money (nothing much changes at Colchester, you know).  That takes skill, of course, but above all it takes man management in my experience.

Of course GW played a part - a good coach is worth his weight in gold and on the weight basis GW is worth a hell of a lot!

Why PP didn''t work out at Hull I do not know - I guess you''d all have to ask the Hull fans for their "theories" on the matter but, hey, this is football!  People can do well with one mix of players and then fail with a different mix.  This happens all the time if we think about it.

When PP left us we took a chance on GW (and there were criticisms among the supporters that we did not go for a "famous name", just as comments have been made on here by your supporters).  He had never managed before, remember. 

Our last two stupid results notwithstanding (we should have slaughtered Ipswich who weren''t in the match for 70 minutes and Coventry was just daft).  The appointment of Parkinson was with a different Chairman (who has recently retired) and not with the current owner although he had financial interests and was probably consulted.

We have nearly always had a good board (my opinion) but we have been held back for so long by poor (if enthusiastic) support and lack of finance, plain and simple.  We still have finance problems although they have improved of late.  We don''t have any debt as it stands (although we will have to pay, admittedly a reduced rate, on the new ground) but still our current team has cost less than your goalkeeper and while I believe (as a Sheep) that the current owner would put his hand in his pocket to try and avoid a disaster (he is, apparently, already personally paying some of Sheringham''s wage deal) the Board is not, in my opinion, the major factor in these matters.  We are also lucky to have a terrific Chief Executive, one of the few women in the business, who has been with the club for over 20 years and on the commercial side knows her stuff I believe.

Because I am old fashioned (it comes from being old) I still believe that the most important thing that happens occurs on the pitch.  I think your troops are shell shocked at the moment (you can argue over the reasons) and I hope that your new Manager, whoever he may be, can deal with that.  If he can get team spirit back I do not think you will be relegated.  It seems to me, as an outsider, that this is what is most needed.

Could Parkinson have done that (he seems out of the frame at the moment)?  I don''t know the answer but he did it at Colchester with some very "ordinary" players.  He failed at Hull as mentioned so I do not know the answer but he certainly did it once.

I think one of the reasons that GW has been successful is that he worked alongside the man he succeeded.  Unfortunately that did not happen for you with Mr Grant.

All this is written without ambition except that my club can stay in this League - that comes from decades of watching some good but some utter tripe in lower divisions (including the Conference) which I am not anxious to repeat if possible.

I would like both of us to be in the Championship if we can - it''s good for the region and it''s good for local "derbies".

A final comment before the Norwich trebouchets line up on Sprowston Heath and unleash boulders in the general direction of Camuldonum (and again it is a personal opinion) I think it quite wrong for two people to go public in the way that they have.

Firstly, Mr Huckerby (as stated I know what a fine and dangerous player he can be) but my view is that this stuff should be kept in the changing room or the training ground or "bonding" crap events and not made public.  I am sorry but I cannot get my head round that at all.  I cannot see what "value" comes from such a senior player making disparaging remarks in PUBLIC: he could be just as effective as a senior player ringing Delia or telling her face to face or anyone else directly but: "It''s not me, it''s the others" through the media would be totally unacceptable to me as a fan of my club.

Secondly, Mr Grant''s public castigation of Cureton going for his hat trick was ALSO completely out of order in my opinion.  If he felt it necessary to say it that should also have been done outside of the media.  Mr Grant obviously never had the advantage of watching Greaves or Best play - I''ve never seen two more "greedy" players in my lifetime.  Best had a dribbling skill denied Greaves but Jimmy was just greedy and, like a certain Legend, was often late getting back to...errr...defend.  Or just late getting back.  In my childhood he would have been called a "goalhanger".

I''m very good at man management outside of football.  I''ve done it under extreme pressure all my life - and pressure as great as any football manager I would think.  Results based.  It certainly is if you are self employed as well.  No result, no meal.

There''s one trick - and one trick only - in being successful in that atmosphere (my opinion): you have to sort out very quickly, by instinct almost, who to kick up the arse and who to put an arm round.

If the man you get in can do that it''s also my opinion that you will turn your season round or at least avoid relegation.  I hope he can.  I don''t want to see you go -  but most importantly, I don''t want to see us go either!

Not reported - a Pink Un exclusive - but our Manager kept the team back in the dressing room after Coventry on Saturday for 15 minutes and didn''t spare Mr Sheringham for his stupid sending off (or as a Ewe''s board put it: "Is there a golf tournament in the Algarve in the next three weeks?).

But he did not go public about it apart from observing that it WAS a sending off (which it was).  It caught Doyle on the head so not much risk of damage being done!

Being a Col Ewe I am by the very nature also a Sheep. I think not, personally, but I seriously do think you should hope you get someone in who attempts to get them to play as a team (win, lose or draw).  I hope so, too.

That said, we''ll wallop you at Layer Road and get a point at Carrow Road. 

Or not, as the case may be. 

 

 

[kdncfc 0]

Didn''t know Allen had managed Luton, think you must mean Newell.

[One Flew Over... 33]

[quote user="kdncfc"]Didn''t know Allen had managed Luton, think you must mean Newell.[/quote]

Quite right.....Jewell...Newell...Allen....

It was a few pints...