Lennie Lawrence

[Guest Ron]

To be honest SteveL has gone back on his word enough times already recently, I don't think he's going to say something & do something else AGAIN. Are you sure it wasn't Red Robin who started this rumour?

[Taz]

Are you sure it wasn't Red Robin who started this rumour?

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Nah, he says that Martin Allen is definately going to be the new man still....Despite saying he definately wasn't the other day, after saying he was definate.

[Keep the Faith]

It's not the fact that Lawrence may be appointed that annoys me but if every potential candidate is not considered and interviewed then I think SL has lost the plot. After last time he needs to see that time must be taken to consider everyone. If the appointed is made on Monday and therefore leaving no time for interviews then I will be dissapointed.

I will keep supporting the team though, on to the City ground and another search for three pointswe so desperately need!

[Guest SteveinNC]

Very strong rumour today in the SC that Lawrence has already been appointed to the City job.

The Bet Fair staff were told to close the book on him as well.

If he has got the job then we have to give the bloke a chance but imo its hardly an inspiring appointment that will bring the "feel good" factor back to AG.

So many fans have become disillusioned and todays crowd of less than 10000 reflects that.The club had a great chance to but some bums on seats with an exciting managerial appointment but have missed the boat in the Lawrence rumour is true.

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This is just a rumour, and until the club make an official announcement then it's pointless commenting. Anyway, why is everybody so set against LL?

[tinman-is-god]

This is just a rumour, and until the club make an official announcement then it's pointless commenting. Anyway, why is everybody so set against LL?

Since leaving Middlesbrough in 94, he has been manager of Bradford, Luton, Grimsby and Cardiff. In all four of these jobs he has been sacked. Speak to any Cardiff fan and they will tell you what a waste of space he is.

[SimplyRed]

I have said in other posts that Lansdown needs to make an appointment quickly.

But if the rumours are true, I'm afraid Lennie Lawrence just doesn't inspire any confidence in me and there are surely other managers around who would bring a better image to the club.

I still don't understand why people say some of the 'big name' managers wouldn't come because of money. If they're out of work, surely some money is better than none at all? Why can't they get them on a rolloing contract like Wilson had when he was appointed?

[Guest RedSi]

Since leaving Middlesbrough in 94, he has been manager of Bradford, Luton, Grimsby and Cardiff. In all four of these jobs he has been sacked. Speak to any Cardiff fan and they will tell you what a waste of space he is.

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Totally agree mate... And Sam Hamman was chucking money at Cardiff left right and centre and LL's signings hardly set the place alight (with the exception of Graham Kavanagh, possibly) could still not get them playing decent football...

75% of fans on here think he should not be appointed for goodness sake surely that should count for something, or maybe SL can see something in this guy that we can't?

[Tunley Legend]

Surely there can be no "done deal" at this stage. If Steve Lansdown interviews all interested and credible applicants, perhaps whittles them down to a small number for a second no holds barred interview and he still thinks Lennie Lawrence is the right man then I would have no problem with that.

If, however, the Chairman is jumping into bed with the first guy to come along with the words "promotion, big club, massive potential, I want this job badly" etc, etc then he is failing in his duty to the supporters of this club.

I would rather wait three weeks for an appointment and get the right man even if it means this season is a write off because, surely, if and when we do climb out of this poxy division we have to consolidate into a decent Championship (Division 2 in old money) team first rather than get relegated first time round and wait annother seven or eight seasons for the next promotion.

We are a poor side at the moment playing ugly football and a new manager has two major jobs to do. First is to get us to 50 points as soon as possible so we are not in a relegation scrap. Second is to form/mould his team into a system they are comfortable with, both home and away, and which will get the results we need to get promoted NEXT SEASON (anyone with average eyesight can surely see that the current rabble are simply not good enough to get us out of this division).

I believe Steve Lansdown has the most important decision to make in his time as Chairman. Please DO NOT make another disastrous appointment on a whim.

[Gerry Gows' Tash]

Why is this a disappointment?

He has a decent track record in management, I ask you to put forward another name that has a better record and is out of work and is a realistic appointment for City?

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Peter Reid or Martin Allen

[Milo]

Anyway, why is everybody so set against LL?

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For the record, if LL gets the job he'll have my full support because I'll want him to be successful. Unfortunately of all the potential candidates linked to the position he is the one for whom I have a set negative opinion which I'd need to work hard on to change.

For me, my dislike was borne out of a 0-0 draw when his Luton team visited Ashton Gate on 28/12/99 and played out a match that made yesterday's game feel like last season's Champions League final. Many teams come here to shut up shop but Luton were absolutely determined not to attack for 90 minutes. I left that game feeling frustrated, angry at having been deprived of entertainment and sorry for Luton fans having to suffer a team that steadfastly refused to play football.

When he joined up with Cardiff, an appointment which my memory tells me was based on Hamman's friendship with him, he inherited a team that had, within the previous 12 months, spent £700K on Spencer Prior, £1M on Graham Kavanagh, and £1.7M on Peter Thorne. The year before that, Cardiff had spent £2M on players including Danny Gabbidon and had Robert Earnshaw on the books. LL then spent £950K on Andy Campbell, a player who has gone on to make 25 starts for Cardiff in his career to date.

With these resources behind him, Cardiff finished 6th in his first full season and were promoted via the play-offs in front of a home-town crowd.

In his managerial history, LL has achieved promotion with Northampton, Charlton, Middlesborough and Cardiff and been at the helm for the relegation of Middlesborough, Luton and sacked by Grimsby before their relegation.

Soccerbase shows a managerial career history, relative to other experienced names, as follows;

Lennie Lawrence - Games Won - 393, Games Lost - 426

Graham Taylor - Games Won - 531, Games Lost - 379

Dave Bassett - Games Won - 405, Games Lost - 323

Peter Reid - Games Won - 231, Games Lost - 168

Put another way, of those four, LL is the only manager to have lost more games than he's won.

The thing about appointing a football manager is that it shouldn't be about how well the man comes over in an interview. This is especially the case when there's a 27 year track history that is open to scrutiny from TV footage or more importantly from what other people say. The proof of LL's pudding is in the eating, and I've not enjoyed what I've tasted so far.

[Guest Frank]

Very strong rumour today in the SC that Lawrence has already been appointed to the City job.

The Bet Fair staff were told to close the book on him as well.

If he has got the job then we have to give the bloke a chance but imo its hardly an inspiring appointment that will bring the "feel good" factor back to AG.

So many fans have become disillusioned and todays crowd of less than 10000 reflects that.The club had a great chance to but some bums on seats with an exciting managerial appointment but have missed the boat in the Lawrence rumour is true.

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What constitutes a 'very strong' rumour compared with the sort of stuff we read on here? i.e. My mate's a steward and knows a bloke who cleans the Academy toilets and he says....

[havanatopia]

Very strong rumour today in the SC that Lawrence has already been appointed to the City job.

The Bet Fair staff were told to close the book on him as well.

If he has got the job then we have to give the bloke a chance but imo its hardly an inspiring appointment that will bring the "feel good" factor back to AG.

So many fans have become disillusioned and todays crowd of less than 10000 reflects that.The club had a great chance to but some bums on seats with an exciting managerial appointment but have missed the boat in the Lawrence rumour is true.

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Absolute cobblers. Maybe he will turn out to be the boss but what on earth is the point of holding back on the announcement and risking more dodgy results and

instability. If he has been decided he would already have been unveiled.

[Guest Frank]

Very strong rumour today in the SC that Lawrence has already been appointed to the City job.

The Bet Fair staff were told to close the book on him as well.

If he has got the job then we have to give the bloke a chance but imo its hardly an inspiring appointment that will bring the "feel good" factor back to AG.

So many fans have become disillusioned and todays crowd of less than 10000 reflects that.The club had a great chance to but some bums on seats with an exciting managerial appointment but have missed the boat in the Lawrence rumour is true.

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Also as far as I can see, Bet Fair aren't offering odds on the next City manager. What staff were told to close the book on Lawrence?

[Robbored]

Also as far as I can see, Bet Fair aren't offering odds on the next City manager. What staff were told to close the book on Lawrence?

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The two ladies who work for Bet Fair and come around the SC clubroom before every home game taking bets.

They said they had been told not to take any bets on Lawrence being the next City manager.Closed book in other words......now what you presume the reason to be?

[Guest routabout]

Yup money talks. Closing the book on Lawrence is the biggest indication of what's going on.

So, as I said elsewhere, done deal and now we're simply going through the motions to make it look different. Apart from anything else, this is an insult to the fans. Humouring us are you SteveL? Oh how very patronising!

[PhatWill]

Very strong rumour today in the SC that Lawrence has already been appointed to the City job.

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A very incorrect rumour.

[Guest Frank]

A very incorrect rumour.

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Incorrect but strong.