New Manager

[Tilehurstsouthbank]

I have nothing against foreign managers and if and when things get sorted i truly believe a foreign manager would be the best approach for reading football club. However we are in a bit of a pickle at the moment and need something different which is why i also would like to see either Parky or Gareth Ainsworth as the next boss.
Parky is a good boss and i really believe he would steady the ship and give this team the kick up the arse that it needs!! and yes he is also a former fans favourite and i miss the good ole days of Parky flying into a tackle at Elm Park, and i'm sure he would bring back the feel good factor to RG3.
Ainsworth is a bit different and a bit more of a gamble, but he is an up and coming manager with plenty of passion and belief and i would much prefer this style of appointment over the journeymen managers that have been quoted on this site!
Whatever happens, a new manager must be given time to change the fortunes of this club and not 9 months etc...

RG3? Have we regressed back so far we're back in Tilehurst?

[DOYLERSAROYALER]

It was a tongue in cheek, throwaway comment (the type HNA specialises in) that I didn't realise would generate quite so much fury, it certainly wasn't meant to be a serious post analysing the pros and cons of Nigel Howe's abilities as a CEO.

However, I would say that Howe is a businessman, and certainly during the Coppell/McDermott years his involvement in the football side will have been very limited.

He would've been involved in hiring/firing McDermott and Coppell. The idea of Howe being an innocent bystander during all of that success is, in my humble opinion, a little naive.

Ha, a fair point, although I would certainly argue that previously Nicky Hammond would have been a lot more influential from the football side back in the day, and Madejski was certainly playing a more active role. 10 years ago Howe will have just been a man in a suit to most fans, but now - in this post-Gourlay era we live in - I think his influence is probably exaggerated. Although admittedly, without a DoF in place, he will have more say from a footballing POV.

Which actually brings me to a wider point. Should Howe be making these decisions, or should we have someone with more football savvy leading the charge (like Hammond used to do)? Could certainly draw parallels with Ed Woodward at Man Utd here.

Now Nani has disappeared, I think we're in urgent need of a good Sporting Director who can form that long term view and then seek to hire a manager who fits into that.

Totally agree also with Winchester Royal....Whilst Howe may have many qualities suited to a CEO, he doesnt have a football background and as such imho, I dont think he has the necessary experience to select a new long term manager..this is where the DoF is essential...if rumours are to be believed he is drawing up a shortlist (long) of 10 candidates to take to the board..anyone with the right experience in this area would be able to draw up a shortlist of 2/3...Cant afford to get this appointment wrong..

[Old Man Andrews]

Suppose a lot is to do with who we bring in

I’d happily wait a month if it meant Jokanovic coming in at the end of it

We could lose all of our games and be cut adrift by then! Too late. We should have had someone lined up and signed, poor planning.

If only life was that simple....

Clement was Gourlays signing..
Clement was safe until Gourlay went / Gourlay refused to sack Clement
Gourlay gets sacked
Howe comes in days after Gourlay went
Howe sacks Clement..

I cant think of any other scenario how anything couldve been done differently, - without the above sequence of events..

He was interim CEO for three weeks prior to being the official new CEO. He would have known the he wanted rid of Clement and should have had someone lined up.

[Coppells Lost Coat]

We could lose all of our games and be cut adrift by then! Too late. We should have had someone lined up and signed, poor planning.

If only life was that simple....

Clement was Gourlays signing..
Clement was safe until Gourlay went / Gourlay refused to sack Clement
Gourlay gets sacked
Howe comes in days after Gourlay went
Howe sacks Clement..

I cant think of any other scenario how anything couldve been done differently, - without the above sequence of events..

He was interim CEO for three weeks prior to being the official new CEO. He would have known the he wanted rid of Clement and should have had someone lined up.

This. Before sacking anyone you should have a contingency plan in place regardless how big or small a company you are (unless sacked via gross misconduct). Or at least have a clear direction, not sack someone and hope someone comes to fill the void that you think fits. More square pegs in round holes.
As a businessman and CEO of Reading, brand RFC has taken a big hit. Having no real candidates lined up is a bit embarrassing. Hopefully a lot more has been done behind closed doors than what has been let on by the media.

[Wycombe Royal]

Clubs get criticised for having some "lined up" as it means you are recruiting for a position whilst someone is still in the job. Yes it goes on, but it is isn't looked upon as an ethical thing to do.

Yes you can put "feelers" out there to see if certain people might be interested if a position becomes available but it will inevitably be leaked to the media and it still doesn't provide any guarantee that the person would take the job.

We have a perfectly good caretaker manager in place who can keep things ticking over (to be honest it can't really get any worse) whilst they take their time to recruit the best person for the job.

[Old Man Andrews]

Clubs get criticised for having some "lined up" as it means you are recruiting for a position whilst someone is still in the job. Yes it goes on, but it is isn't looked upon as an ethical thing to do.

Yes you can put "feelers" out there to see if certain people might be interested if a position becomes available but it will inevitably be leaked to the media and it still doesn't provide any guarantee that the person would take the job.

We have a perfectly good caretaker manager in place who can keep things ticking over (to be honest it can't really get any worse) whilst they take their time to recruit the best person for the job.

What evidence do you have to suggest the caretaker manager is "perfectly good"? I'll wait.

[El Diablo]

We could lose all of our games and be cut adrift by then! Too late. We should have had someone lined up and signed, poor planning.

If only life was that simple....

Clement was Gourlays signing..
Clement was safe until Gourlay went / Gourlay refused to sack Clement
Gourlay gets sacked
Howe comes in days after Gourlay went
Howe sacks Clement..

I cant think of any other scenario how anything couldve been done differently, - without the above sequence of events..

He was interim CEO for three weeks prior to being the official new CEO. He would have known the he wanted rid of Clement and should have had someone lined up.

He was Vice chairman - completlety different role. When you sack Employees at a Senior level, you have to be very careful that you do it the right way. Simply underming Gourlay and his role, by forward planning successors to the Managers ( non vacant) job , could be construed aggresive , and leaving RFC open to action against the Club from Gourlay , such as constructive dismissal.

Like I say - in the real world - these situtions can create a whole number of risks , that have to be considered. The way that its happened isn't ideal, and has left us in a hole - I agree - but the process that was taken is the correct one, and mitigates numerous other risks.

The fact that theyve bought in an Agent ( Joorabchian) to try and speed up the recuitment policy underlines the situation theyve unfortunately found themselves in - for all the right reasons ( ie Gourlay & Clement both being well under par and needing to go)

[Old Man Andrews]

If only life was that simple....

Clement was Gourlays signing..
Clement was safe until Gourlay went / Gourlay refused to sack Clement
Gourlay gets sacked
Howe comes in days after Gourlay went
Howe sacks Clement..

I cant think of any other scenario how anything couldve been done differently, - without the above sequence of events..

He was interim CEO for three weeks prior to being the official new CEO. He would have known the he wanted rid of Clement and should have had someone lined up.

He was Vice chairman - completlety different role. When you sack Employees at a Senior level, you have to be very careful that you do it the right way. Simply underming Gourlay and his role, by forward planning successors to the Managers ( non vacant) job , could be construed aggresive , and leaving RFC open to action against the Club from Gourlay , such as constructive dismissal.

Like I say - in the real world - these situtions can create a whole number of risks , that have to be considered. The way that its happened isn't ideal, and has left us in a hole - I agree - but the process that was taken is the correct one, and mitigates numerous other risks.

The fact that theyve bought in an Agent ( Joorabchian) to try and speed up the recuitment policy underlines the situation theyve unfortunately found themselves in - for all the right reasons ( ie Gourlay & Clement both being well under par and needing to go)

He was vice chairman and interim CEO. He would have had an idea fairly quickly that he didn't want Clement in charge so at the very least he should have been putting feelers out there.

[Nameless]

Where ones this idea that it was NH’s idea to sack Clement come from ?
Was it his idea to sack Gourlay ?
Much more likely that the owners decided that their various senior staff weren’t delivering and needed to be replaced, so they removed Gourlay, replaced him with NH and told NH his first job was to find a new manager.
Our owners are experienced football people ( way more so then SJM was), I suspect the changes have come from them directly.

[Silver Fox]

The fact that theyve bought in an Agent ( Joorabchian) to try and speed up the recuitment policy

Fact?

[URZZZZ]

Where ones this idea that it was NH’s idea to sack Clement come from ?
Was it his idea to sack Gourlay ?
Much more likely that the owners decided that their various senior staff weren’t delivering and needed to be replaced, so they removed Gourlay, replaced him with NH and told NH his first job was to find a new manager.
Our owners are experienced football people ( way more so then SJM was), I suspect the changes have come from them directly.

Why did they take so long to sack Stam though? He should have gone after Burton, or at the very least the Birmingham home game, but he ploughed on till the end of March with about 1 win in that time

[El Diablo]

He was interim CEO for three weeks prior to being the official new CEO. He would have known the he wanted rid of Clement and should have had someone lined up.

He was Vice chairman - completlety different role. When you sack Employees at a Senior level, you have to be very careful that you do it the right way. Simply underming Gourlay and his role, by forward planning successors to the Managers ( non vacant) job , could be construed aggresive , and leaving RFC open to action against the Club from Gourlay , such as constructive dismissal.

Like I say - in the real world - these situtions can create a whole number of risks , that have to be considered. The way that its happened isn't ideal, and has left us in a hole - I agree - but the process that was taken is the correct one, and mitigates numerous other risks.

The fact that theyve bought in an Agent ( Joorabchian) to try and speed up the recuitment policy underlines the situation theyve unfortunately found themselves in - for all the right reasons ( ie Gourlay & Clement both being well under par and needing to go)

He was vice chairman and interim CEO. He would have had an idea fairly quickly that he didn't want Clement in charge so at the very least he should have been putting feelers out there.

How do you know that didnt happen?

[Hendo]

Clubs get criticised for having some "lined up" as it means you are recruiting for a position whilst someone is still in the job. Yes it goes on, but it is isn't looked upon as an ethical thing to do.

Yes you can put "feelers" out there to see if certain people might be interested if a position becomes available but it will inevitably be leaked to the media and it still doesn't provide any guarantee that the person would take the job.

We have a perfectly good caretaker manager in place who can keep things ticking over (to be honest it can't really get any worse) whilst they take their time to recruit the best person for the job.

What evidence do you have to suggest the caretaker manager is "perfectly good"? I'll wait.

He is currently employed by the club as the manager of one of the youth teams who have gone on a long unbeaten run.

I would say, as a caretaker manager, there aren't many better placed. Name me a better one, I will wait.

[Old Man Andrews]

He was Vice chairman - completlety different role. When you sack Employees at a Senior level, you have to be very careful that you do it the right way. Simply underming Gourlay and his role, by forward planning successors to the Managers ( non vacant) job , could be construed aggresive , and leaving RFC open to action against the Club from Gourlay , such as constructive dismissal.

Like I say - in the real world - these situtions can create a whole number of risks , that have to be considered. The way that its happened isn't ideal, and has left us in a hole - I agree - but the process that was taken is the correct one, and mitigates numerous other risks.

The fact that theyve bought in an Agent ( Joorabchian) to try and speed up the recuitment policy underlines the situation theyve unfortunately found themselves in - for all the right reasons ( ie Gourlay & Clement both being well under par and needing to go)

He was vice chairman and interim CEO. He would have had an idea fairly quickly that he didn't want Clement in charge so at the very least he should have been putting feelers out there.

How do you know that didnt happen?

Er the last 7 days mainly...... Jesus.

[Old Man Andrews]

Clubs get criticised for having some "lined up" as it means you are recruiting for a position whilst someone is still in the job. Yes it goes on, but it is isn't looked upon as an ethical thing to do.

Yes you can put "feelers" out there to see if certain people might be interested if a position becomes available but it will inevitably be leaked to the media and it still doesn't provide any guarantee that the person would take the job.

We have a perfectly good caretaker manager in place who can keep things ticking over (to be honest it can't really get any worse) whilst they take their time to recruit the best person for the job.

What evidence do you have to suggest the caretaker manager is "perfectly good"? I'll wait.

He is currently employed by the club as the manager of one of the youth teams who have gone on a long unbeaten run.

I would say, as a caretaker manager, there aren't many better placed. Name me a better one, I will wait.

Nigel Gibbs who has worked with the first team for the last 8 months. Didn't have to wait long did you. Got a feeling I might be waiting a bit longer to have opinions on the club that make sense though.

[Lower West]

Where ones this idea that it was NH’s idea to sack Clement come from ?
Was it his idea to sack Gourlay ?
Much more likely that the owners decided that their various senior staff weren’t delivering and needed to be replaced, so they removed Gourlay, replaced him with NH and told NH his first job was to find a new manager.
Our owners are experienced football people ( way more so then SJM was), I suspect the changes have come from them directly.

Why did they take so long to sack Stam though? He should have gone after Burton, or at the very least the Birmingham home game, but he ploughed on till the end of March with about 1 win in that time

With hindsight made little difference. Thank goodness Cardiff were happy to play out a draw in the last game of the season. Very easily been very different. Aluko's wonder goal being perhaps the defining moment in a string of post Stam insipid performances.

[Lower West]

Clubs get criticised for having some "lined up" as it means you are recruiting for a position whilst someone is still in the job. Yes it goes on, but it is isn't looked upon as an ethical thing to do.

Yes you can put "feelers" out there to see if certain people might be interested if a position becomes available but it will inevitably be leaked to the media and it still doesn't provide any guarantee that the person would take the job.

We have a perfectly good caretaker manager in place who can keep things ticking over (to be honest it can't really get any worse) whilst they take their time to recruit the best person for the job.

What evidence do you have to suggest the caretaker manager is "perfectly good"? I'll wait.

More than a manager is required.

[Hendo]

What evidence do you have to suggest the caretaker manager is "perfectly good"? I'll wait.

He is currently employed by the club as the manager of one of the youth teams who have gone on a long unbeaten run.

I would say, as a caretaker manager, there aren't many better placed. Name me a better one, I will wait.

Nigel Gibbs who has worked with the first team for the last 8 months. Didn't have to wait long did you. Got a feeling I might be waiting a bit longer to have opinions on the club that make sense though.

Nigel Gibbs who has never held a managerial role and has been working with a relegation threatened team better than the manager who has been working within a winning team? Still waiting tbh.

Also, it could be considered that he was offered it and didn't want it/thought that SM was better placed to do the job.

[URZZZZ]

Where ones this idea that it was NH’s idea to sack Clement come from ?
Was it his idea to sack Gourlay ?
Much more likely that the owners decided that their various senior staff weren’t delivering and needed to be replaced, so they removed Gourlay, replaced him with NH and told NH his first job was to find a new manager.
Our owners are experienced football people ( way more so then SJM was), I suspect the changes have come from them directly.

Why did they take so long to sack Stam though? He should have gone after Burton, or at the very least the Birmingham home game, but he ploughed on till the end of March with about 1 win in that time

With hindsight made little difference. Thank goodness Cardiff were happy to play out a draw in the last game of the season. Very easily been very different. Aluko's wonder goal being perhaps the defining moment in a string of post Stam insipid performances.

That's the point I'm making though, if Stam was sacked when he should have been (late December, January time), the new manager could have brought their own players in and done it differently. By bringing in Clement when he did, all he had to work with was Stam's players who obviously weren't up to it

So maybe it's a case of the owners not wanting to repeat past mistakes? Give the new manager their own squad. No-one will ever know but one thing's for sure, they nearly relegated us by leaving it so long last year

[Forbury Lion]

The new manager should be allowed to bed in and come up with a plan to avoid relegation, There should also be a review of the entire playing squad, coaches and supporting staff. The manager will then say which players can go now, which will need to be replaced/upgraded and which ones to keep if we are to meet the target set by the club..... I don't know how it worked before, something clearly wasn't working.

My fear is that Howe has seen us succeed on the cheap (relatively speaking) under Coppell and McDermott and may be looking for a manager to emulate that, However we kind of need a quick fix to at least get out of danger and that may cost a few quid.