Is Hargreaves fit for purpose?

[chunkygull]

Can't imagine any fan enjoys watching the team being humiliated 5-1 at home to part-time footballers.

Personally would have loved Hargreaves to succeed as a manager. What could be better than a 'club legend' leading the club to promotion as manager, having already done so as a player?

Unfortunately he got the job because of who he is, not what he'd achieved (as a manager). Many excellent players have failed to reciprocate that in management. There is no disgrace in it, you just have to acknowledge it and move on.

Why do people keep calling players "club legends"? That title is bandied about, chucked around and handed out far too readily, easily and far too often. There can only be a very select and exclusive few that have earnt that title and I just dont see anyone in modern times that has.

Dont get me wrong Hargreaves was a good player for us, a very good captain and I am grateful for what he did when playing here, if some of the players we have seen here recently had a quarter of Hargreaves' passion, drive and commitment, likeability and connection with the fans we would be in a much better place but please stop over-reacting and calling players legends when they are not. The same goes for Mansell and Nicho, good servants, good players (well Nicho was), worked hard, very commited, connected with the supporters but not club legends! :no:

[Fonda]

It was a slightly ironic description. I agree, the term gets bandied about too readily. Having said that, he led us back into the league so will always have a special place in the history of the club.

[kevgull]

Can't imagine any fan enjoys watching the team being humiliated 5-1 at home to part-time footballers.

Personally would have loved Hargreaves to succeed as a manager. What could be better than a 'club legend' leading the club to promotion as manager, having already done so as a player?

Unfortunately he got the job because of who he is, not what he'd achieved (as a manager). Many excellent players have failed to reciprocate that in management. There is no disgrace in it, you just have to acknowledge it and move on.

[wivelgull]

I agree with Mr. Chunkygull. Robin Stubbs if a club legend; is Hargreaves anywhere near him? No.

[Fonda]

I agree with Mr. Chunkygull. Robin Stubbs if a club legend; is Hargreaves anywhere near him? No.

So we're only allowed one? This club has had precious few moments of real significance, or players of true quality. Hargreaves provided one of those moments, so in TUFC terms it's probably not too far-fetched.

[chunkygull]

by Fonda » 19 Mar 2015, 23:40

It was a slightly ironic description. I agree, the term gets bandied about too readily. Having said that, he led us back into the league so will always have a special place in the history of the club.

So we're only allowed one? This club has had precious few moments of real significance, or players of true quality. Hargreaves provided one of those moments, so in TUFC terms it's probably not too far-fetched.

Sorry if my post seemed a bit harsh or a pop at you Fonda, Im becoming a grumpy old bugger and I get narked at these little nitpicky type of things. There are quite a few posters on here using the "legend" "club legend" title too easily for a certain few players and I just dont see it or get it, but each to their own I suppose. I suspect its mainly the younger ones as they wont have much more to compare to. I wasnt singling you out or anything, its just I read it time and time again and I get a little irked by it (in a good natured but dismayed kind of way).

[Fonda]

Sorry if my post seemed a bit harsh or a pop at you Fonda, Im becoming a grumpy old bugger and I get narked at these little nitpicky type of things. There are quite a few posters on here using the "legend" "club legend" title too easily for a certain few players and I just dont see it or get it, but each to their own I suppose. I suspect its mainly the younger ones as they wont have much more to compare to. I wasnt singling you out or anything, its just I read it time and time again and I get a little irked by it (in a good natured but dismayed kind of way).

Not a problem at all. I agree with your general point - every other player is apparently a 'legend' nowadays.

I do think we've had precious few true 'legends' over the years, and having led us back into the league previously, Hargreaves comes close to justifying it.

[Gullscorer]

I do think we've had precious few true 'legends' over the years, and having led us back into the league previously, Hargreaves comes close to justifying it.

Along with Paul Buckle..

[Sesimbra]

This question has now been comprehensively answered by the fans and the management. The fact that the management are looking for someone to help Hargreaves proves that he is not fit for the job and needs assistance. Whoever agreed to his 2 year contract has a lot to answer for.
He was a rookie manager and should have been given 1 year to prove his ability. With any other club Hargreaves would have been shown the door sometime ago especially after the Braintree defeat.
It beggars belief that we may have to put up with this manager for another year.

[kevgull]

My guess is that after bulldozing through the appointment CH, Thea and her son knew of PS 's coming and therefore decided to step down a month early thus avoiding the sacking of a 2nd manager during their tenure.

We are now left with a supposed ex ref at the helm TUFC. Oh what joy!

Shit refs.....we only get shit refs!

[nickbrod]

For those in the CH out corner here's some food for thought as he's clearly leading the team into the next season: Apart from a few exceptions John Still at Luton, Gary Waddock at Aldershot and Paul Fairclough at Barnet (not counting this season yet) the average tenure of a Conference promotion winning boss over the previous ten seasons is 38 months.
Give Chris the chance to build his own squad on whatever budget he's given and let's see what happens. Being in post for 38 months in order to have a chance of promotion is a sobering statistic. Unless you can buy it football rarely gives you instant success.

[SBP]

For those in the CH out corner here's some food for thought as he's clearly leading the team into the next season: Apart from a few exceptions John Still at Luton, Gary Waddock at Aldershot and Paul Fairclough at Barnet (not counting this season yet) the average tenure of a Conference promotion winning boss over the previous ten seasons is 38 months.
Give Chris the chance to build his own squad on whatever budget he's given and let's see what happens. Being in post for 38 months in order to have a chance of promotion is a sobering statistic. Unless you can buy it football rarely gives you instant success.

CH's tenure so far has been poor and that's being nice. I dont see any kind of plan or pattern that he wants to play or develop. If I could see a glimmer of hope I would possibly agree with you. Unfortunately I cant. I wanted him to be successful, however he's made a catalogue of errors and I cant see any way forward for him in his role.

[arcadia]

For those in the CH out corner here's some food for thought as he's clearly leading the team into the next season: Apart from a few exceptions John Still at Luton, Gary Waddock at Aldershot and Paul Fairclough at Barnet (not counting this season yet) the average tenure of a Conference promotion winning boss over the previous ten seasons is 38 months.
Give Chris the chance to build his own squad on whatever budget he's given and let's see what happens. Being in post for 38 months in order to have a chance of promotion is a sobering statistic. Unless you can buy it football rarely gives you instant success.

We won yesterday against a poor side nothing has changed except a few players gained a bit of confidence.

[Dave]

There's no excuse for this season, had we finished around 8th say 10 points off the play-offs I would have taken that, personally would have said the manager, team and club had achieved what should have been a reasonable expectation, anything above that would have been a bonus. The problem is the best likely finish now is 12th although think a lower finish is likely, we're currently 20 points of the playoffs, not even close to good enough.

Look at our squad, people go on about the lack of experience, however when you go down the spine of the team, you see Rice, Downes, Pearce, Young, Briscoe, Bowman, add to that Tonge, Cruise, Harding and how much more football league experience did we want. This squad should have been top 8 with an outside chance of the play-offs at the very least, and if they'd been managed right they would have been.

Buckle was hung, drawn and quartered on here, and rightly so, for arrogance, thinking he was always right, player fall outs, excuse making. Yet similar stories of arrogance, failing to admit at times he's got things wrong and general thought that he (CH) is always right, excuse making have emerged regards Chris Hargreaves and silence, clearly going to be forgiven by many, maybe because he's a club legend I guess.

Having said all that, we all make mistakes, we all misjudge situations, I fully believe everyone is owed a second chance, yes, game 1 next season CH starts with a clean slate as far as I'm concerned, but it will not last long, I personally will want to see at least 18-20 points from our opening 10 games, reasonable expectation, and failure to achieve and I will be right on his case, as this season for me can't be, and will not forgiven.

[kevgull]

[quote="forevertufc I personally will want to see at least 18-20 points from our opening 10 games, reasonable expectation, and failure to achieve and I will be right on his case, as this season for me can't be, and will not forgiven.[/quote]


The 1st chance I gave him was to keep us in league 2
His 2nd chance was to get us into the conference playoffs
His 3rd chance and last chance, should he still be with us on the opening day of the season is above!