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If BCFC was a company there would be an interim lined up NOW!


headhunter

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Right here and now there is no time set for Nigel's return. OK, its a free weekend coming up but then City face 3 tough games in 8 days. Just 1 or 2 points from those and the spectre of relegation will loom larger.

City must have a footballing leader at the helm. Nigel will not be fired as that means paying off his contract. I am sure like any employee there is an occupational sick pay scheme such that it is likely he would be on full pay for six months and then half pay for a further 6 months. After that is when the negotiating starts for agreeing a sum to terminate the contract based on inability to continue work. With SL in charge you can rest assured City will do the right thing. The optics of relieving him of his duties would not look good.

A normal business would take stock of the situation and if, say, their FD was going to be absent over a testing period [for year end, company acquisition read relegation battle in football terms] an interim would be hired to address the issue. I know this as I have helped companies do this in my day job!

I suggested Warnock over the weekend as an interim but, not unexpectedly, that bought hoots of derision on OTIB although one or two are now coming around to the idea. A less contentious, and dare I say more popular choice, would be Joe Jordan who could call on Harry Redknapp to sprinkle some stardust on matchday [they worked together at Spurs].

There will be no clarity on this until we know just how long Nigel is going to be absent for and then there will be those that say even while he's been here results suggest he's not improved things so why have him back?

One final point on Warnock, his win % over the past 5 years is not too shabby compared to Nigel's.

 

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Not Warnock, even short term - but yes. 

This team needs some organisation, leadership & management in place. Now! 

If our manager is going to be absent, then a short term solution needs to be found. 

Surely plenty of out of work managers would fancy a 2 month agreement..? 

 

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1 minute ago, LondonBristolian said:

I don’t agree with the title of your post. If a company had a senior manager off for an as yet undetermined period of time, someone would most likely cover from within until there was a bit more of a sense of if it was days, weeks or months. If it was days someone would cover informally, if weeks interim cover would be appointed from within. If months someone external might be brought in.

If Pearson is signed off long term by a doctor or decides he won’t be back for a number of months, I imagine an interim would be appointed.

Right now I imagine the club are giving it a week or so to work out if this is long term. Pretty much any business would do the same.

Spot on. Initial cover would be found internally... which is exactly what City have done.

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4 minutes ago, Laner said:

Spot on. Initial cover would be found internally... which is exactly what City have done.

OK, maybe I was being over zealous in saying NOW but do you have confidence in Fleming and Ball to improve our form if, say, Nigel was given until January 1 [opening of transfer window] to regain his strength? Many have said on here about the impact of long Covid - we could be talking about 6 months, not 6 weeks.

Also, this health issue has been bubbling since his last absence which was reported as contracting Covid for a 2nd time. The diagnosis this time has not been spelled out but suggests the debilitating symptoms of long Covid or issues linked to his bout of rheumatoid arthritis last year - from an article written by Henry Winter 7/11/20:  Pearson takes a mix of steroids, pills and homeopathic medicines to strengthen his immune system, to keep him moving. 

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30 minutes ago, headhunter said:

Right here and now there is no time set for Nigel's return. OK, its a free weekend coming up but then City face 3 tough games in 8 days. Just 1 or 2 points from those and the spectre of relegation will loom larger.

City must have a footballing leader at the helm. Nigel will not be fired as that means paying off his contract. I am sure like any employee there is an occupational sick pay scheme such that it is likely he would be on full pay for six months and then half pay for a further 6 months. After that is when the negotiating starts for agreeing a sum to terminate the contract based on inability to continue work. With SL in charge you can rest assured City will do the right thing. The optics of relieving him of his duties would not look good.

A normal business would take stock of the situation and if, say, their FD was going to be absent over a testing period [for year end, company acquisition read relegation battle in football terms] an interim would be hired to address the issue. I know this as I have helped companies do this in my day job!

I suggested Warnock over the weekend as an interim but, not unexpectedly, that bought hoots of derision on OTIB although one or two are now coming around to the idea. A less contentious, and dare I say more popular choice, would be Joe Jordan who could call on Harry Redknapp to sprinkle some stardust on matchday [they worked together at Spurs].

There will be no clarity on this until we know just how long Nigel is going to be absent for and then there will be those that say even while he's been here results suggest he's not improved things so why have him back?

One final point on Warnock, his win % over the past 5 years is not too shabby compared to Nigel's.

 

100% agreeing both an interim/locum and Warnock. (Some of us have wanted Warnock for years). 

I’m never confident of City’s ability to deal with things like this. Other clubs seem to work behind the scenes to get managers in place. Standby for another global search….

Reflecting on last night’s interview the one question I don’t recall being asked is “who will be in charge for City’s next game?”.  Is it definitely Fleming? Might it be Nige? Do we have a plan? 

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5 minutes ago, headhunter said:

OK, maybe I was being over zealous in saying NOW but do you have confidence in Fleming and Ball to improve our form if, say, Nigel was given until January 1 [opening of transfer window] to regain his strength? Many have said on here about the impact of long Covid - we could be talking about 6 months, not 6 weeks.

Also, this health issue has been bubbling since his last absence which was reported as contracting Covid for a 2nd time. The diagnosis this time has not been spelled out but suggests the debilitating symptoms of long Covid or issues linked to his bout of rheumatoid arthritis last year - from an article written by Henry Winter 7/11/20:  Pearson takes a mix of steroids, pills and homeopathic medicines to strengthen his immune system, to keep him moving. 

No.

The longer the prognosis the more likely it would be to bring in cover. But the tickly question to answer would be 'how long do we wait?'

Also I wonder who would be available as short term cover. Yes, we can all name names and look-up managers who are out of work... but realistically would they really want to jump onto the sinking ship at this time, even for only a few months?

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39 minutes ago, headhunter said:

Right here and now there is no time set for Nigel's return. OK, its a free weekend coming up but then City face 3 tough games in 8 days. Just 1 or 2 points from those and the spectre of relegation will loom larger.

City must have a footballing leader at the helm. Nigel will not be fired as that means paying off his contract. I am sure like any employee there is an occupational sick pay scheme such that it is likely he would be on full pay for six months and then half pay for a further 6 months. After that is when the negotiating starts for agreeing a sum to terminate the contract based on inability to continue work. With SL in charge you can rest assured City will do the right thing. The optics of relieving him of his duties would not look good.

A normal business would take stock of the situation and if, say, their FD was going to be absent over a testing period [for year end, company acquisition read relegation battle in football terms] an interim would be hired to address the issue. I know this as I have helped companies do this in my day job!

I suggested Warnock over the weekend as an interim but, not unexpectedly, that bought hoots of derision on OTIB although one or two are now coming around to the idea. A less contentious, and dare I say more popular choice, would be Joe Jordan who could call on Harry Redknapp to sprinkle some stardust on matchday [they worked together at Spurs].

There will be no clarity on this until we know just how long Nigel is going to be absent for and then there will be those that say even while he's been here results suggest he's not improved things so why have him back?

One final point on Warnock, his win % over the past 5 years is not too shabby compared to Nigel's.

 

He would keep us up wouldnt be pretty but whatever it takes and he wouldnt need money .

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32 minutes ago, LondonBristolian said:

I don’t agree with the title of your post. If a company had a senior manager off for an as yet undetermined period of time, someone would most likely cover from within until there was a bit more of a sense of if it was days, weeks or months. If it was days someone would cover informally, if weeks interim cover would be appointed from within. If months someone external might be brought in.

If Pearson is signed off long term by a doctor or decides he won’t be back for a number of months, I imagine an interim would be appointed.

Right now I imagine the club are giving it a week or so to work out if this is long term. Pretty much any business would do the same.

Is the football business bound more by time constraints though? The length of the season?

Im trying to think of a comparable business without over exaggerating…

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Being honest, the GT interview yesterday evening left me in a quandary. When RG said 'they hoped' Nigel would be back, did he mean they are unsure / hopeful or did he mean Nigel has the opportunity to resign rather than be pushed, thereby saving the club a bundle of cash? 

His answer to that series of questions sounded rehearsed and rather cryptic to me.

Meanwhile, the club is stuck in limbo.

Bad times.

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15 minutes ago, exAtyeoMax said:

Is the football business bound more by time constraints though? The length of the season?

Im trying to think of a comparable business without over exaggerating…

There is more time pressure, for sure, and I'd expect the club to act within a week or two if action is needed.

But, right now, all the club know is that Pearson is taking a week off and seeing if he feels better after that. My guess is the plan is for Fleming and Ball to take training up until the end of the international break and - if Pearson isn't ready to set a return date at that point - that will be when a decision is made to either add to the coaching staff, appoint an interim or do whatever is necessary then.

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4 minutes ago, mozo said:

There are so many out of work managers and coaches who could have the sufficient influence and steadying hand, who would be grateful for a short term payday, that I don't know why on earth we wouldn't?!

When I recruit interims for client companies you tend to over recruit. Yes, there are many out of work but you go for the best which in football terms means you start at Warnock and move up from there. i.e. Flynn ex. Newport would be a budget option [no record at this level]. 

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3 minutes ago, Ska Junkie said:

Being honest, the GT interview yesterday evening left me in a quandary. When RG said 'they hoped' Nigel would be back, did he mean they are unsure / hopeful or did he mean Nigel has the opportunity to resign rather than be pushed, thereby saving the club a bundle of cash? 

His answer to that series of questions sounded rehearsed and rather cryptic to me.

Meanwhile, the club is stuck in limbo.

Bad times.

My guess is that they just can't predict the nature of the illness and that they hope that a week or two off will make a difference but are realistic that Pearson cannot say for sure if or when he will feel well enough to return. 

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11 minutes ago, mozo said:

There are so many out of work managers and coaches who could have the sufficient influence and steadying hand, who would be grateful for a short term payday, that I don't know why on earth we wouldn't?!

I don't necessarily disagree but what if said interim was getting a tune out of our squad? We would then have to dispense with the interim or get shot of Nigel wouldn't we?

That would be very unpopular if the interim had got us playing IMHO.

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1 minute ago, LondonBristolian said:

My guess is that they just can't predict the nature of the illness and that they hope that a week or two off will make a difference but are realistic that Pearson cannot say for sure if or when he will feel well enough to return. 

I guess it really boils down to whether we (the fans) have faith in CF? I think that’s what’s concerning most people, as well as Nige’s well-being.

 

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1 minute ago, exAtyeoMax said:

I guess it really boils down to whether we (the fans) have faith in CF? I think that’s what’s concerning most people, as well as Nige’s well-being.

 

Of course, we have no idea of Nigel's attitude. Obviously, we wish him good health but he may have to be persuaded to come back, which wouldn't be ideal for the club or for Nigel.

Maybe, he's already made up his mind and the club are waiting for him to step down?

It's a mess, albeit nobody is actually at fault.

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1 minute ago, Ska Junkie said:

Of course, we have no idea of Nigel's attitude. Obviously, we wish him good health but he may have to be persuaded to come back, which wouldn't be ideal for the club or for Nigel.

Maybe, he's already made up his mind and the club are waiting for him to step down?

It's a mess, albeit nobody is actually at fault.

My guess - although I don't know - is that Pearson wants to go come back but doesn't want to mess anyone around or be unrealistic about what he is up to being able to do and it may be that he has been honest that he's given it a week or two to see if how well he feels before deciding whether he is well enough to continue - hence the fact the club cannot make a definite commitment. 

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2 minutes ago, LondonBristolian said:

My guess - although I don't know - is that Pearson wants to go come back but doesn't want to mess anyone around or be unrealistic about what he is up to being able to do and it may be that he has been honest that he's given it a week or two to see if how well he feels before deciding whether he is well enough to continue - hence the fact the club cannot make a definite commitment. 

Quite admirable TBH LB. 

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11 minutes ago, exAtyeoMax said:

I guess it really boils down to whether we (the fans) have faith in CF? I think that’s what’s concerning most people, as well as Nige’s well-being.

 

Looks like we don't have a choice eAM.

The fact CF was so angry post the Cov game would suggest he's on the right track.

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1 hour ago, LondonBristolian said:

I don’t agree with the title of your post. If a company had a senior manager off for an as yet undetermined period of time, someone would most likely cover from within until there was a bit more of a sense of if it was days, weeks or months. If it was days someone would cover informally, if weeks interim cover would be appointed from within. If months someone external might be brought in.

If Pearson is signed off long term by a doctor or decides he won’t be back for a number of months, I imagine an interim would be appointed.

Right now I imagine the club are giving it a week or so to work out if this is long term. Pretty much any business would do the same.

Also, players in yesterday but now off, so there is a small window of continued comms between Nige and club to understand what the state of play “might” be next week, when prep for Blackburn starts.

From @headhunter’s point of view the club should at least be scenario planning.  That might be Fleming (Ball, Cisse, Mountain) can cover a short term position, e.g. 2/3 games.  Beyond that it could be they bolster coaching, but keep Fleming in caretaker charge.  Could be they feel Fleming needs to stay as assistant and they bring in an external.

As long as they are planning I’m comfy.  What you don’t want is, “we didn’t sound out person A because we thought Nige was gonna back next week”.

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31 minutes ago, LondonBristolian said:

My guess - although I don't know - is that Pearson wants to go come back but doesn't want to mess anyone around or be unrealistic about what he is up to being able to do and it may be that he has been honest that he's given it a week or two to see if how well he feels before deciding whether he is well enough to continue - hence the fact the club cannot make a definite commitment. 

I don't see any problem with the club just being honest and transparent if that were the case.

"Nigel will take the next two weeks to recover and reassess when the International break is concluded. He's desperate to be back and we want him fit and well and back in the dugout. We don't want to speculate about what happens if he can't resume his duties because we're optimistic that he will, and for the time being we'll speak with Nigel at regular intervals and keep the fans in the picture too."

All sounds reasonable and we know where we stand. Instead we get weird answers to straight questions. 

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13 minutes ago, mozo said:

I don't see any problem with the club just being honest and transparent if that were the case.

"Nigel will take the next two weeks to recover and reassess when the International break is concluded. He's desperate to be back and we want him fit and well and back in the dugout. We don't want to speculate about what happens if he can't resume his duties because we're optimistic that he will, and for the time being we'll speak with Nigel at regular intervals and keep the fans in the picture too."

All sounds reasonable and we know where we stand. Instead we get weird answers to straight questions. 

You’re in the wrong job, unless you are indeed a speechwriter 

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1 hour ago, exAtyeoMax said:

I guess it really boils down to whether we (the fans) have faith in CF? I think that’s what’s concerning most people, as well as Nige’s well-being.

 

I don't recall the exact wording but Gould suggested our recent run of defeats has coincided with Nige being unwell. I think he was making the point that the team have been missing his influence for a while and were doing OK up until he got ill again. 

Good points for supporting a case that Nige will sort this when he's back well. Pretty damning of CF though as it suggests he has been filling in for weeks now and just look at the results. 

Edited by robin_unreliant
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