Could get interesting .....

[markw]

There is never a good way of sacking someone, although face to face is probably best , however , what is the point of dragging ML 3 odd hours down here for what is essence going to be a 10 min meeting ... As far as Mrs B reading a prepared statement down the phone ...too damn right, there are enough legal experts on the board or with access to them to ensure that as she is a novice in the field of HR (I assume) that she is told exactly what too say otherwise we could be faced with a very big compensation claim for wrongful dismissal .

As far as being a club or a board with bad repretation ....do me a favour , was it not two years ago we let a manager and a " bigger" club walk all over us prior to one of our biggest games ever? Think we will still be seen as exactly what we are ...a small club with a typical league 2 board.

[wodger of awabia]

There is never a good way of sacking someone, although face to face is probably best , however , what is the point of dragging ML 3 odd hours down here for what is essence going to be a 10 min meeting ... As far as Mrs B reading a prepared statement down the phone ...too damn right, there are enough legal experts on the board or with access to them to ensure that as she is a novice in the field of HR (I assume) that she is told exactly what too say otherwise we could be faced with a very big compensation claim for wrongful dismissal .

As far as being a club or a board with bad repretation ....do me a favour , was it not two years ago we let a manager and a " bigger" club walk all over us prior to one of our biggest games ever? Think we will still be seen as exactly what we are ...a small club with a typical league 2 board.

Yes, but I don't think that there was much that could be done about it, also Buckle only enticed the out of contract & loan players away from the club. The same could, of course happen again if Ling gets another job quickly, we could see Saah ,Downes, Jarvis & Howe following him to his new club. I don't think that this is very likely, but he may get a job around October when the first group of L1, L2, & BSP manager sackings occur. By this time we should have a settled manager & team ( I hope ).

[Neal]

I just can't see how the board could have done anything else.

The fact that the illness has been kept secret, very odd. I was I'll recently and off work for several weeks and I felt that because my colleagues were put under more pressure due to my absence I should tell them what was wrong.

The only illnesses i think I would want to keep secret would be an STD, maybe stress or a mental health or an addiction. So why the secrecy, if it is stress related or an addiction then sorry this is hardly condusive for the job of football manager. What you don't want is a manager who cannot handle stress, it goes with the territory. Also it breeds speculation.

The board couldn't divulge what it was which made it difficult for them, because they cannot back up their decision with facts.

And yes they probably did reassure him because no one would want the condition to get worse and exacerbate it.

The decision on Martins future should be made when he was better, which to me it was. Remembering we were in the middle of a relegation fight, and our league status was in question.

Very easy to pick fault, but to me it was handled correctly.

[Alpine Joe]

markw

what is the point of dragging ML 3 odd hours down here for what is essence going to be a 10 min meeting

It's all water under the bridge now, but it depends on whether it would have been necessary to insist on Ling coming to us in order to sack him.
Thea's quite happy to jump into her Jag and make plenty of long journeys to away games, so I wonder whether it wouldn't have been possible for her and a couple of Directors to have met Martin at a hotel nearer his home ?

Yes it would have been a waste of Thea's petrol etc, but sometimes it can be better to put yourself out and be seen to act in the correct manner than to generate the negative publicity that inevitably results from sacking your Manager half way through Countryfile on a Sunday evening, after he's already packed his bag for a return to work in the morning, and leaving it to Sky Sports News to inform the team captain about what is happening at the club.

[SuperNickyWroe]

It's all water under the bridge now, but it depends on whether it would have been necessary to insist on Ling coming to us in order to sack him.
Thea's quite happy to jump into her Jag and make plenty of long journeys to away games, so I wonder whether it wouldn't have been possible for her and a couple of Directors to have met Martin at a hotel nearer his home ?

Yes it would have been a waste of Thea's petrol etc, but sometimes it can be better to put yourself out and be seen to act in the correct manner than to generate the negative publicity that inevitably results from sacking your Manager half way through Countryfile on a Sunday evening, after he's already packed his bag for a return to work in the morning, and leaving it to Sky Sports News to inform the team captain about what is happening at the club.

good point about meeting him near his home somewhere. but its done now so lets move on.

and what a top show that is. I mean if Thea was desperate to watch it, she could have always sky + it.

[MF68]

Look hes gone now whatever the rights and wrongs of the whole thing were. As for him getting other employment........."mud sticks"

If posters o here know what was supposed to have been the issue, every lower league chairman also would. Big gamble for a Board to employ someone who had taken extended leave I think.

[Jerry]

Oh and the issue of being sacked by phone which i said i was the most unhappy about as it is unacceptable and i got slaughtered for it on here? Looks like i was right. Old fashioned Mr Ling and myself may be but there is still a right way of going about something so important as a sacking and by telephone certainly wasn't it. Sounds like he was very unhappy about that and rightly so.

Slaughtered? Really?

A couple of people had a different opinion from you (and a couple agreed with you).

Don't be such a Drama Queen Andy. :na:

[taxilady]

Ah well, that's all dusted then. Next time we sack a manager, let's hope we do it in a less controversial fashion (perhaps in a Travelodge?). Looking forward to more Club announcements this week with regard to the retained list, & hopefully news of our new manager!

[Trojan 67]

Relieved of his duties for footballing reasons. He made his point and got it across. What did he expect the board to say ? Tempting the board to confirm he was relieved of his duties for other than footballing reasons ain't gonna happen.

Now lets say you have an employee who drinks to excess to the point where the piss artist goes on an uncontrollable bender resulting in blinding headaches and memory loss. Meanwhile, back at the office, no one knows what's happened to your star employee or where he is. Without your star employee the future of the company is at risk.

A person's private life is there own affair. A company has every right to stick its nose into your private life when what happens in your private life affects your ability to effectively function for the company. A public transport bus driver with a serious drink problem is an example. Point made ?

Thanks Martin for all you have done for TUFC and I hope your next job is more than manager of a Sunday pub team.

[yellowmonkey]

I just can't see how the board could have done anything else.

The fact that the illness has been kept secret, very odd. I was I'll recently and off work for several weeks and I felt that because my colleagues were put under more pressure due to my absence I should tell them what was wrong.

The only illnesses i think I would want to keep secret would be an STD, maybe stress or a mental health or an addiction. So why the secrecy, if it is stress related or an addiction then sorry this is hardly condusive for the job of football manager. What you don't want is a manager who cannot handle stress, it goes with the territory. Also it breeds speculation.

The board couldn't divulge what it was which made it difficult for them, because they cannot back up their decision with facts.

And yes they probably did reassure him because no one would want the condition to get worse and exacerbate it.

The decision on Martins future should be made when he was better, which to me it was. Remembering we were in the middle of a relegation fight, and our league status was in question.

Very easy to pick fault, but to me it was handled correctly.

I was told from someone who works at the club that the illness was down to an alcohol problem, although I must stress I do not know if there is any basis to this rumour.

[Gullscorer]

I was told from someone who works at the club that the illness was down to an alcohol problem, although I must stress I do not know if there is any basis to this rumour.

I never listen to rumour or gossip, but it should be pointed out that alcohol is often a symptom of a deeper underlying problem.

But whatever his illness was, there's no way that Martin Ling's record this past season was a sackable offence. Managers never used to get sacked simply for a run of poor form while a team is still in mid-table. And when he went sick, despite the team's poorer form compared with the previous season, we were in a very reasonable position in the table. People can complain about Ling's style of play, but artists can only paint with the colours they have available on their palettes.

The club stated that the sacking was purely for footballing reasons, which can only mean the team's style of play and/or its poor form after Ling went sick, with a presumption that he would not have been able to turn things round even if he had remained fully fit. It could also justifiably have been the risk of a possible return of LIng's illness in the future, and/or the fact that he's still based away from Devon. With all these reasons taken together, the club's decision may well turn out to be the correct one, for the Gulls and for Ling. Granted, the club was in an awkward situation with a difficult decision to make. However, the manner of his sacking and the reason given, even if the aforementioned assumption was a correct one, does leave something of a taste in the mouth.

But that's all done now. We can only wish Martin Ling all the best, as we move onwards and upwards..

[ferrarilover]

Deary me, will the club ever do anything right in the eyes of the fans?

Sack him by phone (perfectly practical, saves cost on both sides and keeps the whole thing completely secret) and the Board are uncaring, unkind idiots who don't know what they're doing.

Get ML to come to us (costs both sides money, makes a bit of a **** of Dinger, risks the info being leaked) and the Board are uncaring, unkind idiots who don't know what they're doing.

Send Thea to ML (costs the club money, makes it seem like we are doing all the running around) the Board are frittering away money for diesel and Leigh Delamere services Costa Coffee. The Board are also spineless, doing all the running around in order to sack someone. When are we going to grow some balls?

Meet Dinger halfway (costs the club a fortune, inconveniences both parties) the Board are profligate idiots who don't know what they're doing etc.

The club had a number of options, each of them with positives and negatives. They chose the cheapest, simplest option which involved least inconvenience for both parties.

No one is "suing" anyone. A geezer has been sacked, nothing more, nothing less. It doesn't matter what assurances he was given or by whom. Martin slit his own throat last night when he said he's fully recovered and has been for 5 weeks. Had we sacked him while he was ill, it may (although unlikely) have posed us a problem. What we've done is waited until he's back fit and well before giving him the boot. We haven't sacked a sick man, we've sacked a healthy man.

For me, he's a victim of circumstance and I think we'd have finished higher had he been fully fit all year. Still, he's gone and it's all rather academic now.

Matt.

[Dave]

Deary me, will the club ever do anything right in the eyes of the fans?

Sack him by phone (perfectly practical, saves cost on both sides and keeps the whole thing completely secret) and the Board are uncaring, unkind idiots who don't know what they're doing.

Get ML to come to us (costs both sides money, makes a bit of a t**t of Dinger, risks the info being leaked) and the Board are uncaring, unkind idiots who don't know what they're doing.

Send Thea to ML (costs the club money, makes it seem like we are doing all the running around) the Board are frittering away money for diesel and Leigh Delamere services Costa Coffee. The Board are also spineless, doing all the running around in order to sack someone. When are we going to grow some balls?

Meet Dinger halfway (costs the club a fortune, inconveniences both parties) the Board are profligate idiots who don't know what they're doing etc.

The club had a number of options, each of them with positives and negatives. They chose the cheapest, simplest option which involved least inconvenience for both parties.

No one is "suing" anyone. A geezer has been sacked, nothing more, nothing less. It doesn't matter what assurances he was given or by whom. Martin slit his own throat last night when he said he's fully recovered and has been for 5 weeks. Had we sacked him while he was ill, it may (although unlikely) have posed us a problem. What we've done is waited until he's back fit and well before giving him the boot. We haven't sacked a sick man, we've sacked a healthy man.

For me, he's a victim of circumstance and I think we'd have finished higher had he been fully fit all year. Still, he's gone and it's all rather academic now.

Matt.

100% spot on Matt. as a general point there really are some daft posts on this thread, christ why are we so worried that our club have some how been put in a bad light, christ take one look at Barnet how mnay god damn managers did they sack or kick sideways over the last 5 years only to bring Martin Allen in to save them, it is part and parcel of football.

Of course Alan Knill if the terms and conditions are right will take the job and if he doesn't someone else will, we still remain one of the very few clubs where you can go 20 games as a manager with an awful set of results and be more likely to be offered help than the sack.

The moment Lingy went sick and a interim manager was brought in his postion as manager was under threat, why does anyone think Martin Ling sought an assurance from the board, he knew his time could well be up. As a result of all that has happened on and off the field Lingy's postion became untenable period, our board have got this right.

And what the hell does it matter how, he was going to get the boot, no need for any fanfare, just get it over and done with,

Edit..Oh and on the subject of players, Jarvis was only ever played up top on his own instead of Rene, Rene Howe was only played up top on his own and hated it, those two are not going to be in any rush to re-join Lingy, in fact I think we now have a better chance of holding on to Rene.

And Saah goal celebration against barnet was a very clear sign he like's working with Alan Knill, so think he would probably stay aswell.

[brucie]

Wodger - I think Alan Knill will be more than happy to accept an offer of employment from our board. No doubt the board think that Knill will probably work a damn sight harder than Ling did for his money.
I just don't get people like you actually, bleating incessantly about how bad Ling was treated.
Its actually great to see our board stand up and show that they are not a soft touch and long may it continue.

[hector]

I never listen to rumour or gossip, but it should be pointed out that alcohol is often a symptom of a deeper underlying problem.

But whatever his illness was, there's no way that Martin Ling's record this past season was a sackable offence. Managers never used to get sacked simply for a run of poor form while a team is still in mid-table. And when he went sick, despite the team's poorer form compared with the previous season, we were in a very reasonable position in the table. People can complain about Ling's style of play, but artists can only paint with the colours they have available on their palettes.

The club stated that the sacking was purely for footballing reasons, which can only mean the team's style of play and/or its poor form after Ling went sick, with a presumption that he would not have been able to turn things round even if he had remained fully fit. It could also justifiably have been the risk of a possible return of LIng's illness in the future, and/or the fact that he's still based away from Devon. With all these reasons taken together, the club's decision may well turn out to be the correct one, for the Gulls and for Ling. Granted, the club was in an awkward situation with a difficult decision to make. However, the manner of his sacking and the reason given, even if the aforementioned assumption was a correct one, does leave something of a taste in the mouth.

But that's all done now. We can only wish Martin Ling all the best, as we move onwards and upwards..

I disagree with you there. I think we have seen managers sacked with better form or to wider dismay.

The club were in a no-win situation when it came to Martin Ling. If they had kept him, they would have to have retained the services of a manager whose recent record was poor (although, not causing alarm - though in retrospect it probably should have), a manager who had not really been missed by the fanbase who had moved their affections to someone else and had made it fairly clear that they did not want Martin Ling back, a manager who was succumbing to stress-related illness (which is what ML said on the TV) but is probably code for what we all have heard. The potential for relapse with all the fans against him, with the way the team was playing, perhaps made ML a liability.

So the alternative for the club is to sack him. For those moaning that it was done over the phone, well, you hear of managers who hear themselves on the radio, or by text. Should the club have let him travel four hours there and back to hear such bad news.

I suspect the Bristol Rovers game was the clincher and the club only decided that day that they wanted to go in a different direction.

Martin Ling himself queried the 'football reasons' aspect of the statement, suggesting that there couldn't be any other reason but then I guess the club needed to make that distinction, even though I suspect other considerations have been taken in hand.

I honestly expected the club and Martin Ling to come to a mutual decision and it was only the thread that started suggesting he was coming back that made me question that - so his sacking came as a surprise.

However, I do feel, as unlucky as Martin Ling may be, that the right decision has been made.