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who is our greatest manager ever?

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I was thinking about this earlier and can''t decide so I thought I''d see what you thought.

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Ken Brown, and what a nice bloke he was. I remember travelling home from a midweek game in the midlands somwhere and we stopped the minibus in some obscure place before the pubs shut for a coulple of pints, a few minutes later in walks Ken Brown to buy a couple of crates of soft drinks for the players who were sitting on the team coach that was now sitting outside and as soon as he realised who we were(he didn''t get a lot of choice)he payed for a round of drinks for all 15 of us and then gave the landlord the money to pay for the next one.Needless to say he''s always been my fav manager.[:)]

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John Bond, after Saunders finally put us on the map Bondy gave us some much needed razzmatazz. 

The joy of a Sunday afternoon watching Match of the Week and Bondy  interviewed by Gerry Harrison, Magic Gerry.

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1. Dave Stringer

2. Ken Brown

3. Ron Saunders

4. Mike Walker

5. Archie Macaulay

6. John Bond

7. Nigel Worthington

IMO Walker can''t go top because he only had 2 decent seasons and inherited most of Dave Stringer''s side rather than having to build his own. For that reason it has to be Stringer at the top because he effectively built the side which finished 3rd in 92/93. Yes we got into Europe under Walker but who knows what we could have acheived with Stringer (or Ken Brown for that matter) if it wasn''t for Heysel?

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Although I agree with the comments regarding Stringer, Walker, Bond and Brown, can I put forward the name of Archie Macaulay. He was in charge before most of us were born, he took a Bankrupt club from re-election, to Division 2 and guided us through the fabled 1959 cup run for good measure. It could be argued that together with Geoffrey Watling they put the club on the map and raised our sights from survival in the league to going for higher things. We really need his like now, don''t we?

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[quote user="John Morlar"]Although I agree with the comments regarding Stringer, Walker, Bond and Brown, can I put forward the name of Archie Macaulay. He was in charge before most of us were born, he took a Bankrupt club from re-election, to Division 2 and guided us through the fabled 1959 cup run for good measure. It could be argued that together with Geoffrey Watling they put the club on the map and raised our sights from survival in the league to going for higher things. We really need his like now, don''t we?[/quote]Think I''d agree with Archie Macaulay. Difficult to imagine how that cup run just kept going and how it gripped the nation - and just one goal kept us from Wembley. Ron Saunders would be my second choice - getting us into the top flight for the very first time  was no mean feat and was just so unexpected: he did it with largely a mediocre squad (Stringer was good and dependable as a player - but not a great player) from whom he squeezed their very best in terms of fitness and ability. To that he added a few very good players while working within a very tight budget - Graham Paddon being one and (eventually) David Cross. Bond was OK but I think Stringer and Walker can both make a claim ahead of him.

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Brown is ruled out because he presided over an entirely unnecessary relegation. No team with Woods, Watson and Bruce should have gone down.Having said that I find it impossible to separate Bond (the most exciting football), Stringer (the purest football) and Walker (the best team). And they all built on Saunders getting to the top flight in the first place.

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It''s gotta be Ron Saunders for me, He took over an ageing team who had finished mid table for over ten years and changed them into the fittest and most exciting team in the division and worthy champions.

many a City Legend in that team !

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[quote user="PurpleCanary"]Brown is ruled out because he presided over an entirely unnecessary relegation. No team with Woods, Watson and Bruce should have gone down.

Having said that I find it impossible to separate Bond (the most exciting football), Stringer (the purest football) and Walker (the best team). And they all built on Saunders getting to the top flight in the first place.[/quote]

This was Stringer''s side - tweeked in respect of Robins replacing Fleck. For me it has to be STRINGER. 4th in top division & 2 FA Cup semi''s. His win ratio was very marginally less than Brown''s, but the stats for the latter include a season when we walked away with the 2nd tier championship & therefore cause a distortion (being that Stringer''s reign was solely top flight).

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[quote user="Pboro_Canary"]Mike Walker narrowly pips Ken Brown for me[/quote]

From DEB''s post ''Walker was a phoney'':

Taken from Wikipedia:

''Walker failed to meet the high expectations of a bigger club. Although Walker oversaw an extraordinary last day escape from relegation with Everton securing a 3-2 home victory over Wimbledon (Everton had been 2-0 down at one point in the game), Everton made a disastrous start to the 1994/95 season, failing to win a single league game until November. With Everton bottom of the table and having made their worst ever start to a league season, Walker was sacked having spent just ten months in charge and recording only six league wins, leaving him with the worst record of any post-war Everton manager. After Walker''s dismissal, Everton went on that season to not only successfully avoid relegation but also win the FA Cup under Royle. Walker did not return to football until taking over again at Norwich in June 1996''

Another interesting artice:

http://www.sportingo.com/football/a7540_mike-walker-worstever-premier-league-manager

Makes you wonder why any board of directors would give him serious consideration after the ''Everton Nightmare''!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Delia Out. Indeed, Walker built on Stringer''s fine side. I do think, though, that we were perhaps a bit tougher and more resilient under Walker. But if pure football is the criterion, then it has to be Stringer.

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[quote user="PurpleCanary"]Delia Out. Indeed, Walker built on Stringer''s fine side. I do think, though, that we were perhaps a bit tougher and more resilient under Walker. But if pure football is the criterion, then it has to be Stringer.[/quote]

Very fair point, but I very much doubt that Walker could have sustained his early achievements, especially if the board had ''opened the (non-existent) purse strings'' & allowed him to enter the transfer market signing the kind of players he took to Everton!

What is not in doubt is that he motivated & organised a very talented squad of players (assembled by Stringer) for 18 months, which resulted in our highest ever finish - for which reason he will always be fondly remembered & admired.

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Ron Saunders got to be  i dont think  he would have paid sick note Sibieski  25k a week to sit on the bench.. remember Trevor Howard working on a building site in the summmer during his time  If only Gunny could sign a jem like Jimmy Bone (the hucks of the seventys) dream on

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