IAmNick

Downsy is kind of annoying I guess but tbh I just tune him out, and I do that for basically all the stadium announcers and mute the half time chat on RobinsTV. I don't really understand why people get so worked up about him, he has zero effect on my enjoyment of the game.

Yeah I get that, especially when we all put so much time, money, and emotional energy into the club. Emotions run high and like with Ashton I'll have a smile on my face if Ipswich blow it this year. I think karma is whatever happens in his professional life though... he's still just a guy at the end of the day and doesn't deserve personal abuse.

I partly agree and think his role is probably overstated a bit, but it's also disingenuous when people try and remove him from everything good just because of current sentiment (not saying you're trying to do that btw). In reality he was part of a team up there who were successful. No one of them was fully responsible, and I'm sure Probert would say the same thing, as would Pearson. They probably deserve an equal share along with many more names we don't know - but that's not at the exclusion of Tinnion imo. It appears he was an important figure up there and was for some time. I get the feeling if he was academy director we'd be saying he was just sat in an office pushing paper and the folk on the ground deserve the real credit. So I think you're right - his contribution is probably overstated, but let's also not diminish it completely. That serves no purpose.

I think it's absolutely fair to question, critique, and be vigorous when talking about his professional role. That extends into how he communicates, his literacy, etc. In my opinion due to the position he's in. It sometimes descends into personal attacks or basically bullying though, and the same with Jon Lansdown which is just sad and unnecessary imo.

Isn't this Murray on that picture?!

£700 for crap mid table Championship football next year, not very enticing. I'm pretty sure Leicester do a renewal discount of 10% or something, would be nice for City to do something like that imo.

Right, so he knows and is skilful at playing football and developing/running an academy. He is poor at communication, first team management (see: his failed attempt here), and basic literacy and numeracy. So given all that which presumably you agree with, do you think he'd be better placed as some kind of academy director, or a technical director/CEO hybrid role of the entire club/footballing operation?

Yeah I agree, what's the point in lying/obscuring the truth? What does it gain them, unless it's something quite personal and they've decided with the player not to release it. But even then you'd think they could be a bit more forthcoming without giving details away, like they did with McCrorie. They're just making life easier today, at the cost of it being a lot more awkward in the future. So naive/short termist. Very odd.

Last minute pen for FGR to give them a 2-0 lead (and win presumably) What a job he's doing, very impressive

Just an absolutely awful game. I'm really pleased we got the points and that'll hopefully be the end of the relegation talk but my god... It was not easy watching. I can't remember being that bored at a game in a long time.

Is it unusual this season? I feel like every season roughly half the division changes their manager and they're usually not all or even mostly all happy. The number of managers who even have back to back success is quite rare too imo. Most we'd even consider reasonably successful have one success then two or three dud appointments. That's just how the game works, there are so, so many variables each time the consistent ones are almost non existent, especially at our level. I think the truth is there's a huge amount of luck, both "on the day" and in them being in an environment they can work well in - people around them, players, facilities, expectations. That's not meant as a derogatory statement, luck is vitality important in success. As someone above said, were Gary and Cotterill really a cut above other managers we've had? Or did the stars just align. In some ways it could equally be Wilson and McInness we're looking back fondly on as other teams do. So the answer is - I don't think there really is an answer!

That'd need every team down there to find better form than they've had all season. I'd be surprised.

High 40s I reckon. 48/49 or so.

FGR 9th in the form table, W3 D1 L2. Long way to go but if Cotts somehow keeps them up it's an absolute miracle he's worked there

Eh? We were four points weren't we, with a worse goal difference and having played an extra game compared to most?

I heard a rumour Tinnion stormed into the dressing room at half time and told them they better start playing terrible boring football or else, then made them watch him take a massive shit (which he subsequently didn't flush)

This season is done though, right? So it's not about getting someone in who'll do a better job until the end of the season, it's about getting someone in who's more deserving of / likely to produce success with the summer and a few reinforcements on top of this current squad. If he's not good enough to keep indefinitely, why keep him for now? Sounds like some sunk cost fallacy there to me. (I agree about there being little point to appointing King either though)

I agree - and as you said, it's incompetence. It also doesn't give us much of a clue what might come next, which is I guess what I was getting at, when their appointment is so at odds with their communication. I guess it maybe comes down to whether you trust that the words they've said recently were the truth, and that'll be our path now - or whether you look at our recent(ish) history and think they're likely to continue in that way. I think they're at odds with each other, so both can't be true. I'd probably be tempted to agree with what I think you're saying, that their actions speak louder than their words and regardless of what they say, we'll likely continue down the tortuous and confused path we've been on for a long time now.

Then why were the club so clear with their expectations for the season, which was progress/success? They didn't say - transition and do our best until the summer when we can replace and rebuild the squad for a year or twos time. So what was Manning brought in to do?

They're amusing, but photographing someone's private conversation and plastering it on the internet is a really shit thing to do.

Yeah you're right Tinnion did as well I think while Pearson was here. Confusing regardless!

I think it was the opposite. In the Joe Simms interview JL implied (or it sounded it to me) that we weren't playing the way the club wanted/expected. The fact they then hired a manger with a very different style backs that up imo.

Probably just a pretty normal kid who liked some subjects, didn't like others, and had a few mates.

Good post and I largely agree. However - is the real question whether we have appetite (as fans) for a rebuild or not? We've been told this is the way the club will now play, so in theory even if Manning goes the next person is likely to run into the exact same problems. Maybe they'll be better at meeting in the middle, but regardless they'll need a new squad to match this style of football we apparently want. In wanting to replace him, we're really hoping the club change strategy and appoint someone who will play a style that suits our players. In theory that should be very unlikely based on what the club have said So I guess if Manning goes, we're looking at a rebuild regardless. So it comes down to whether he's the right man to do that - and the stuff about the style not matching and the fact he'll need to rebuild is irrelevant? Is the real question here - do you agree with the current style of play the club are trying to implement? Everything else is a factor of that.

Will Still, because he likes computer games and so do I. He also said he'd be open to managing in the Championship recently: "I would work for a Championship team without a problem,” said Still. “What I’ve now understood, I’ve now realised, is how important people are. And how important finding the right place to be is going to be for my career. And people who understand the way I work, because I’m a bit different. I’m a bit odd sometimes. But if there’s a Championship club that’s ambitious, that wants to work in the right way and be open and honest about things, and really try and push to get somewhere, then I would love to do that." He operates in our environment: “Because of the DNA of the club, and the way the club is run, we get players in and then sell them,” Still explains. “So, every six months to a year, you just have to renew the whole squad and the whole team. And that’s what happened again here in January. Basically, we sold our best player and we’re now looking to find a new balance.” "“We were basically stripped down to bare bones — playing with kids,” Still says. “Which was really interesting, but makes life a bit more complicated.” On January 21, Reims went to third-tier Sochaux in the last 32 of the French Cup. They finished the game with eight players from the second team on the pitch and were beaten 5-4 on penalties after a 2-2 draw." And he kind of gets where we are at the moment as well: “You can either make a bit of money and sell players, stay a stable club in Ligue 1 where we finish between eighth and 12th, or you decide to really push on, keep your best players, do that for a year or two, get into European competitions, and make your money.” The club is left at a strategic crossroads.