I wanted him sacked as far back as October, I was of course ridiculed for the suggestion amongst my blade mates but the writing was on the wall back then. Playing Barnsley at home without a striker was a joke from then on we were just playing out time - Most of us knew in our heart of hearts that that we weren't good enough to trouble the automatic positions.
Correct, the way we set about the Barnsley game was indicative of what followed. Not pretty to watch and not what I want to see from a United team.
The main people who i knew had for not sacking Cough was the old "stability" argument !
Stability, that old chestnut that's misunderstood over and over again. It's meant to imply that we allow a manager the opportunity to impose his mark throughout the club, with, of course, the first team being the icing on this particular case. It's a necessity if we are to give someone the chance to build something of substance and worthy of what we, as United supporters, expect. Otherwise the manager will be driven by those who, in their desire to see positive change, crack the whip without rest and then wonder why the results they seek are at best half-baked, and at worst dire.
I don't want stability in the 3rd tier ! Its not good enough !! - The only time you want stability is in the Prem - no more 3 year plans FFS !!
Stability - see above. Yes, of course if we can achieve success sooner rather than later then we're ahead of the game, but to be driven by emotional drivers without a chance to reflect and check that all's well amongst players and staff, well that's a recipe I'd expect at primary school level.
Can I (albeit tongue in cheek), suggest a contract for whoever they appoint - Be Radical
More info please, this one's clouded in something less than clarity.
You get till x mas - If were not in the top 4 you're out ! If you are,you get till the end of the season - If you fail to get promotion your'e on your way .
Get until xmas uh? Sure know how to attract a manager who we keep expecting will see the wonder of SUFC, don't we? A complete nonsense of a proposition.
One thing that cannot be included in any contract are those variables that will impact on the best laid plans. By your reckoning, the rather over-done story of A.Ferguson of Man Utd needing six seasons to bring success would never have materialised. Now I'm not suggesting anywhere close to that level of patience, what I am describing is the novel idea that managing a football club is unlike most other businesses, and therefore requires an approach you won't find elsewhere.....but hey, if you feel that 6 months is a healthy timescale guaranteed not to drive a manager around the bend let's go for it, at the very least it would be the footballing equivalent of watching a plane crash.
Otherwise we have this woolly word "progress" - which can mean anything you want it to - its ambiguous and used by people who don't reach their goals
Agree, progress should have a rough definition. For SUFC progress should mean getting out of Division 1 as soon as possible. It might take a new manager a couple of seasons to achieve that, but if we find the new messiah and do it in one, bingo!
Make it clear from the outset - Failure is not an option - Anything other than promotion is failure
Mmmmm, I can't imagine anyone wants failure, but does that mean that we're so inflexible that should a manager just miss out on a prize, we sack them? It all depends on circumstance of course, but there are fine margins in decision making, often it comes down to how an interviewer 'feels' about an interviewee, something as unscientific as that (and I'm not suggesting that science has any part to play in this) can be the primary reason why an applicant is chosen. But back to goals that would be difficult to live up to. Of course we make it clear that promotion is the number one aim, without promotion the manager has failed. If a new man can achieve that in the life of his contract we've succeeded.
At least only those with self belief and a desire to succeed would apply -I don't care if they've managed non league before so long as they can get a tune out of 11 blokes once or twice a week !
The alternative is we get some out of work failure with another 3 year plan sat comfortably on a 3 year contract telling us we've made f*ckin progress !
I doubt we're much of a catch for anyone savvy enough to want to manage an ambitious club. The ratio of sackings will act as an alarm bell that screams 'beware, beware'.
I expect self-belief from a manager, but the desire you describe might also be a thinly veiled does of desperation from someone who simply isn't good enough. Like yourself, I don't care what piece of magic the new man performs to get the squad playing in a way that achieves results and thus success, but to make this happen you can't offer a few months of employment, it simply won't work. The manager will know the club's aims and goals, so with that in mind it's best to let them get on with the job, provide the necessary resources to achieve this job, and finally, we all get behind the manager until it's clear they can't deliver.
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