Hunts gone

[MartinRdg]

People keep harking back to a time when Managers were given 'time'...

That's all well and good if the cost of stagnation is bearable by the owner....

That's not the case nowadays and these new owners have been very clear about their objectives...

The future is all that counts...

I think someone should be given time if you can see the thinking behind the tactics and the way they try to get the team to play but I just couldn't see that with Noel. He just seems to have continued with Selles approach which is now dwindling as he runs out of ideas about how to continue.

[WestYorksRoyal]

People keep harking back to a time when Managers were given 'time'...

That's all well and good if the cost of stagnation is bearable by the owner....

That's not the case nowadays and these new owners have been very clear about their objectives...

The future is all that counts...

I think someone should be given time if you can see the thinking behind the tactics and the way they try to get the team to play but I just couldn't see that with Noel. He just seems to have continued with Selles approach which is now dwindling as he runs out of ideas about how to continue.

Even SJM acted when it wasn't working. Remember Rodgers?

[Snowflake Royal]

dellor has never done an interview with couhig. he will only talk to Lewis Coombes of bbc south today. He burnt his bridges slagging him off during the takeover saga. So really he has nothing to lose in slagging them off now. its actually quite refreshing for him to say it as it is. by that i mean the stuff about Wycombe. the hunt stuff he's wide of the mark. but the wycombe stuff he's bang on. the sooner couhig and his wycombe buddies fcuk off the better. they are the reason this season has gone to shit. poor recruitment and late recruitment oxf*rd noel over. I dont think noel was ever going to take us to the next level, but we wouldn't be where we are at the moment if couhig and JJ hadnt fcuked around so much in the transfer window, penny pinching and leaving far too late in the window to bring anyone in.

I’ve no real issues with them bringing in people they know and trust. That pretty much happens at every company or club

Agree the recruitment was a mess though, Hunt should take some responsibility as well though. Never seemed to be a clear plan. I don’t think we were ever intending bringing in Marriott, Williams and maybe Ritchie. Signed because other signings weren’t good enough.

Doyle was then back up plan for Knibbs leaving but they aren’t similar. MoM and Jacob signed because we could and S Hunts clients . Academy players offered contracts and then never played

All a bit of a mess

I think the fact that several of the signings came from Noel's brother's stable has to be a clear sign Noel was working his contacts to bring players in and laid at his door for some of the failures, not just everyone else's.

Brogue has been anti Couhig from before the takeover was complete because his source inside the club is actively briefing against Couhig.

[Snowflake Royal]

People keep harking back to a time when Managers were given 'time'...

That's all well and good if the cost of stagnation is bearable by the owner....

That's not the case nowadays and these new owners have been very clear about their objectives...

The future is all that counts...

I think someone should be given time if you can see the thinking behind the tactics and the way they try to get the team to play but I just couldn't see that with Noel. He just seems to have continued with Selles approach which is now dwindling as he runs out of ideas about how to continue.

Even SJM acted when it wasn't working. Remember Rodgers?

Although Rodgers got ~22 league games, not 14, and had us firmly in the bottom 2 and absolutely clueless, losing a lot. And no history of success with us. And had spent a lot of money. And reportedly just demanded more money to fix things in January when challenged on his performance. And took over a side in rude health.

Managers are sacked too soon these days. This was reaching the point it was getting inevitable, but I would have expected it at least a few games later.

Obviously a key part of not having a revolving door is to stop appointing absolute clowns like Gomes, Stam or Ince, and to actually support the managers with good signings.

[stealthpapes]

There was a good bit in Clyde's article where three managers at risk of being sacked were detailed - in all three cases, we did not sack the managers.

[Hound]

dellor has never done an interview with couhig. he will only talk to Lewis Coombes of bbc south today. He burnt his bridges slagging him off during the takeover saga. So really he has nothing to lose in slagging them off now. its actually quite refreshing for him to say it as it is. by that i mean the stuff about Wycombe. the hunt stuff he's wide of the mark. but the wycombe stuff he's bang on. the sooner couhig and his wycombe buddies fcuk off the better. they are the reason this season has gone to shit. poor recruitment and late recruitment oxf*rd noel over. I dont think noel was ever going to take us to the next level, but we wouldn't be where we are at the moment if couhig and JJ hadnt fcuked around so much in the transfer window, penny pinching and leaving far too late in the window to bring anyone in.

I’ve no real issues with them bringing in people they know and trust. That pretty much happens at every company or club

Agree the recruitment was a mess though, Hunt should take some responsibility as well though. Never seemed to be a clear plan. I don’t think we were ever intending bringing in Marriott, Williams and maybe Ritchie. Signed because other signings weren’t good enough.

Doyle was then back up plan for Knibbs leaving but they aren’t similar. MoM and Jacob signed because we could and S Hunts clients . Academy players offered contracts and then never played

All a bit of a mess

I think the fact that several of the signings came from Noel's brother's stable has to be a clear sign Noel was working his contacts to bring players in and laid at his door for some of the failures, not just everyone else's.

Brogue has been anti Couhig from before the takeover was complete because his source inside the club is actively briefing against Couhig.

It’s not a total suprise we didn’t recruit right - first time Noel had ever made a proper signing, JJ new to the role

I think they actually listened too much to Twitter and SM noise rather than trust their judgement. All the 5 contracted players noise got to them and they made some silly signings and contract renewals out of panic

Noel won’t get the chance but hopefully JJ will learn for next time

[Esteban]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cx2l0m355k3o

Dellor's take on things - has a real problem with the new owners and the last paragraph is childish.

In one breath he's bemoaning the lack of quality transfer activities and in the next, saying he's been unlucky with injuries. Both statements are true, but both involve Hunt to some degree. It's pretty lazy journalism.

[Snowflake Royal]

I’ve no real issues with them bringing in people they know and trust. That pretty much happens at every company or club

Agree the recruitment was a mess though, Hunt should take some responsibility as well though. Never seemed to be a clear plan. I don’t think we were ever intending bringing in Marriott, Williams and maybe Ritchie. Signed because other signings weren’t good enough.

Doyle was then back up plan for Knibbs leaving but they aren’t similar. MoM and Jacob signed because we could and S Hunts clients . Academy players offered contracts and then never played

All a bit of a mess

I think the fact that several of the signings came from Noel's brother's stable has to be a clear sign Noel was working his contacts to bring players in and laid at his door for some of the failures, not just everyone else's.

Brogue has been anti Couhig from before the takeover was complete because his source inside the club is actively briefing against Couhig.

It’s not a total suprise we didn’t recruit right - first time Noel had ever made a proper signing, JJ new to the role

I think they actually listened too much to Twitter and SM noise rather than trust their judgement. All the 5 contracted players noise got to them and they made some silly signings and contract renewals out of panic

Noel won’t get the chance but hopefully JJ will learn for next time

Yeah, some of the renewals did stink of desperation to have names in the squad.

Saying that, Yids, Dorsett and Abrefa all seemed questionable decisions given fitness and are all playing fairly well.

[Hound]

I think the fact that several of the signings came from Noel's brother's stable has to be a clear sign Noel was working his contacts to bring players in and laid at his door for some of the failures, not just everyone else's.

Brogue has been anti Couhig from before the takeover was complete because his source inside the club is actively briefing against Couhig.

It’s not a total suprise we didn’t recruit right - first time Noel had ever made a proper signing, JJ new to the role

I think they actually listened too much to Twitter and SM noise rather than trust their judgement. All the 5 contracted players noise got to them and they made some silly signings and contract renewals out of panic

Noel won’t get the chance but hopefully JJ will learn for next time

Yeah, some of the renewals did stink of desperation to have names in the squad.

Saying that, Yids, Dorsett and Abrefa all seemed questionable decisions given fitness and are all playing fairly well.

Said this elsewhere but if you’re signing players like Ryan and Dorsett back on it’s its with the expectation to be fit and play, not on the hope they’ll stay fit. I thought it might be what Couhig referred to as not ruthless enough

Clark, Rushesha, JOP don’t think have played at all in the league, Ryan barely, Stickland was surely earmarked to be 3rd choice cb and then binned off. Don’t think Camara isn’t going to get much time now either. That’s six who are too old to go back to learn in the u21s who aren’t good enough for the first 11

Then signing 3 over 30s because Stickland, MoM and various wingers didn’t perform. All have done well but they’ve all got injured unsurprisingly considering where they’ve come in from

[under the tin]

It's a terrible shame, but the inconsistent performances of the First XI made the CEO's mind up for him. IMHO, right decision.
Bloody marvellous away at ex Champ Cardiff, followed by a laboured victory just a few days later at home over Northampton, and a turgid struggle against Donny.
"The players looked tired"
Oh puhleese, these are professional athletes keeping fit with Bearwood's state of the art facilities: they're not carrying hods of bricks between games!

The summer recruitment WAS scatter-gun. We now have a relatively big squad of players (with a few exceptions) of largely a similar standard; those who can't keep their place in another side, so are released/loaned out.
Couhid said in interview that he'd rather pay more in wages, and less on transfer fees. I reckon that he might need to review that approach until the academy produces a striker or two ready to step up. Goalscorers don't come free or cheap any more.

I sincerely hope that Noel's now having a cocktail in a beach bar somewhere warm.
Thanks mate, but we move on.
URZ.

[Stranded]

I think someone should be given time if you can see the thinking behind the tactics and the way they try to get the team to play but I just couldn't see that with Noel. He just seems to have continued with Selles approach which is now dwindling as he runs out of ideas about how to continue.

Even SJM acted when it wasn't working. Remember Rodgers?

Although Rodgers got ~22 league games, not 14, and had us firmly in the bottom 2 and absolutely clueless, losing a lot. And no history of success with us. And had spent a lot of money. And reportedly just demanded more money to fix things in January when challenged on his performance. And took over a side in rude health.

Managers are sacked too soon these days. This was reaching the point it was getting inevitable, but I would have expected it at least a few games later.

Obviously a key part of not having a revolving door is to stop appointing absolute clowns like Gomes, Stam or Ince, and to actually support the managers with good signings.

I guess if we were reaching the point where a sacking was getting inevitable then pulling the trigger now is arguably the right decision rather that waiting until it was too late in the hope that we suddenly hit a decent run of form and push up the table with the current manager.

[Sutekh]

New bloke needs to look at what’s what here and define a plan that enables the club to move forward without too much expense in the January window. Really need an obvious identity with plan a’s and b’s to hand, rather it was something that was attacking and entertaining rather than the scary play it out from the back style that’s favoured in many places these days. Most of all someone with flexibility, man management skills and who is a decent tactician with good in-game management.

[Linden Jones' Tash]

Dellor and C1871 are not having a good week - hard to justify the existence of either on recent showings....

NH was given a fair shot, despite new ownership coming in with clear objectives - its unfortunate that he was neither tactically astute or lucky with results...

This next hire is going to be pivotal to the Couhig regime's opportunity to turn their investment into profit (whilst hopefully getting us promoted and improving the fan experience)...

If hiring criteria is just based on WW connections, then it is going to be harder to justify when results don't follow...

Given that these owners are not flush and do want to run the club more sustainably, they should be hiring the next manager based on tactical competency, ability to motivate and fit with the current playing squad - some knowledge of modern sports science would be a plus - to ensure the load on older players is appropriate and injuries are better managed.

[Snowflake Royal]

Even SJM acted when it wasn't working. Remember Rodgers?

Although Rodgers got ~22 league games, not 14, and had us firmly in the bottom 2 and absolutely clueless, losing a lot. And no history of success with us. And had spent a lot of money. And reportedly just demanded more money to fix things in January when challenged on his performance. And took over a side in rude health.

Managers are sacked too soon these days. This was reaching the point it was getting inevitable, but I would have expected it at least a few games later.

Obviously a key part of not having a revolving door is to stop appointing absolute clowns like Gomes, Stam or Ince, and to actually support the managers with good signings.

I guess if we were reaching the point where a sacking was getting inevitable then pulling the trigger now is arguably the right decision rather that waiting until it was too late in the hope that we suddenly hit a decent run of form and push up the table with the current manager.

It certainly wouldn't have been too late for months yet.

[Armadillo Roadkill]

Although Rodgers got ~22 league games, not 14, and had us firmly in the bottom 2 and absolutely clueless, losing a lot. And no history of success with us. And had spent a lot of money. And reportedly just demanded more money to fix things in January when challenged on his performance. And took over a side in rude health.

Managers are sacked too soon these days. This was reaching the point it was getting inevitable, but I would have expected it at least a few games later.

Obviously a key part of not having a revolving door is to stop appointing absolute clowns like Gomes, Stam or Ince, and to actually support the managers with good signings.

I guess if we were reaching the point where a sacking was getting inevitable then pulling the trigger now is arguably the right decision rather that waiting until it was too late in the hope that we suddenly hit a decent run of form and push up the table with the current manager.

It certainly wouldn't have been too late for months yet.

It would have been a bit of a gamble though. The longer you leave it, the longer it will take the new manager to turn things around, the closer towards the end of the season you get.

I think there were signs of improvement under Hunt, and none of the options for a new manager seem great to me, so I do understand your position. But it's never going to be an exact science.

I also think that who ever it was in 1871 starting the "you're getting sacked" chants need to hang their heads in shame.

[stealthpapes]

It would have been a bit of a gamble though. The longer you leave it, the longer it will take the new manager to turn things around, the closer towards the end of the season you get.

Hmmm. All the stats I've seen suggest that new managers get a bounce, of about 6-8 games, before reverting to the mean.
That alone suggests that, if your plan is to throw in someone and hope for a bounce, you would leave it later, 3/4 of way through season or so, when wins have a far greater 'impact'.

[The Royal Forester]

I am beginning to think this was a knee jerk reaction by Couhig and co. No caretaker manager named, no manager seemingly lined up. Perhaps he expected Bloomfield would jump at the chance of be our manager and he/they were wrong. I just hope it won't be a case of him/us regretting the change. Club 1871 will not give the new man long to turn things around. Does it have to be a man though? A female manager would give RFC plenty of media attention, at least for a while.

[Linden Jones' Tash]

I am beginning to think this was a knee jerk reaction by Couhig and co. No caretaker manager named, no manager seemingly lined up. Perhaps he expected Bloomfield would jump at the chance of be our manager and he/they were wrong. I just hope it won't be a case of him/us regretting the change. Club 1871 will not give the new man long to turn things around. Does it have to be a man though? A female manager would give RFC plenty of media attention, at least for a while.

Cherie Lunghi is 3 years younger than Colin.....

Is she available to make a return tho?....

[Snowflake Royal]

I guess if we were reaching the point where a sacking was getting inevitable then pulling the trigger now is arguably the right decision rather that waiting until it was too late in the hope that we suddenly hit a decent run of form and push up the table with the current manager.

It certainly wouldn't have been too late for months yet.

It would have been a bit of a gamble though. The longer you leave it, the longer it will take the new manager to turn things around, the closer towards the end of the season you get.

I think there were signs of improvement under Hunt, and none of the options for a new manager seem great to me, so I do understand your position. But it's never going to be an exact science.

I also think that who ever it was in 1871 starting the "you're getting sacked" chants need to hang their heads in shame.

For me, the main reason earlier is better than later, and when I say later, I'm not talking leaving it to 10 games left, was to stop the toxicity in the fanbase getting out of hand.

We did so well building a rapport between fans and players the last couple of seasons, it would be devastating to throw that in the bin because a few toxic pcunts lead everyone into booing and abusing the team and manager for weeks and weeks.

[MR. CYNICAL]

I know I am in a minority as most of you seem to have wanted Noel gone at any cost, but I’m so annoyed that I actually hope we get relegated this season to teach the impatient owner a lesson.

I have attended all the games I can so far this season, but I cannot see me wasting any more money supporting a club that truly deserves to go down.

What a strange comment from a so called supporter.
Managers get sacked, normally when things are not going well and that was the case here, would of loved a resounding win on Saturday, we all would of went home happy that maybe we have turned the corner and Noel would of got the plaudits.
As it turned out, we produced another turgid performance leaving us dangerously close to the bottom four. We look a poor team set for a relegation scrap.