Date of New Manager Appointment

[hector]

Whilst I can understand the need not to act in haste and repent at leisure, there is also the feeling that there is some prevericating going on. In other industries recruitment can be much swifter even when the starting date may be some months off.

There is no need for it to take so long. It is bordering on farcical.

[CP Gull]

Whilst I can understand the need to make sure that they get this appointment right it is disappointing that it's going to be another week (at least) before an appointment is made - for a number of reasons.

Firstly, we have already lost one of our out of contract players (Bevan) and are surely running the risk of losing another (Branston) over this delay - who knows whether these guys would have left if the new Manager was in place? Likewise, by the time the appointment is made there is every chance that the likes of Jake Robinson and even more crucially Craig Stanley will be fixed up with other clubs. Similarly the number of free agents getting fixed up will inevitably increase as the weeks tick by and inevitably a lot of the players getting fixed up early are often the better ones. It will also leave the new Manager with an ever decreasing pool of talent from which to choose from when trying to add to the squad.

Secondly, I think it adds even more pressure to the process. In other words having waited so long to find out who the new Manager is then anything less than an appointment that is well received by the (majority of) fans will be met with criticism. Inevitably if one of the favourites get it such as Hargreaves or Trollope - then people may question why did they need to go to such lengths if the new Manager was "obviously going to be him so why the delay" etc etc .

Thirdly and perhaps most importantly I would have thought an appointment (provided it's someone that is well treceived by the fans) in the early part of THIS week may just have convinced a few "floaters" to take up the early bird season ticket offer which I believe runs out on Friday. Any appointment next week is unlikely to see a mad rush to pay FULL PRICE for a season ticket even if the new man is seen as a statement of the club's ambition etc etc .... it's quite simply too late to have an impact - unless the Board extend the offer even further (unlikely perhaps given that it has already been extended by a week).

Finally, the timing of the appointment means that the new men (Manager and Coach) will hardly have had time to get their feet under the table and it will be time to start pre season - as it stands even if the appointment is made in the middle of next week there will only be just over TWO weeks until the players are back in!

Given that the club have presumably know that they were on the verge of losing their Manager as long as a MONTH ago it's disappointing that they seem, on the face of it at least, to have only really started searching in earnest once Paul Buckle had actually been appointed at BRFC.

Unfortunately I think we are paying the price for not having a "football man" at the helm - for all his apparent faults I have no doubt that had we still had Colin Lee at the helm then more than likely as Paul Buckle walked out of the door a new Manager would have been walking in. It seems to me that the Board is lacking someone who can drive the club forward at this time - it very much appears that making any sort of decision has to be done as a collective - with no one individual having the clout to take responsibilty and act upon it. It is one of the drawbacks of having ELEVEN people involved in the decision making process I suppose - just getting them together once a week for a meeting must be difficult in itself without then having to try and broker an agreement as to how best to take the club forward when inevitably with such a large group there will be differences of opinion. It was probably a lot simpler when they left the footballing decisions (and general running of the club) to Colin Lee and "roped in" Paul Bristow (RIP) when they needed someone to write the cheque to pay for it!

[DavetheRave]

Monday 13 June - 15:00

[Yellow4life]

Just to add CP...we lost potter too(2 of the 6 out of contract)

[Glostergull]

Just listened to Spotlight and it's reported that they had something in the region of 60 applicants. 50 of which were serious ones. Thats a lot of poeple to filter through. It seems as if the last 4 years have certainly lifted our profile if nothing else. No longer looked on as a joke maybe? A good start to a career in managment.
Hope they can fifnish this soon though. it's getting too quiet on here and on the OS

[cambgull]

So in other words, 10 applications from Exeter/Plymouth/BR fans saying they have "Football Manager experience".

50 applications is a lot to get through, I now understand the extra week delay, especially if at least half of those are genuinely in line for the job.

[Regiment]

a shame, however, we've not had 50 applications from players wanting to come down !!

[numpte]

10 not serious......i once applied for the West Ham job when Lou Macari left and to their credit they sent me a reply saying I wasn't going to be conisdered. Ha ha.

Considering they only started last week, to make an appointment by next week is pretty good going and you'd have to think that whoever is on the short list, they themselves will already be lining players up and bring those names to interview.

Forster the stand out candidate so far for me, young, ambitious and hungry.

[hector]

Whilst I can understand the need to make sure that they get this appointment right it is disappointing that it's going to be another week (at least) before an appointment is made - for a number of reasons.

Firstly, we have already lost one of our out of contract players (Bevan) and are surely running the risk of losing another (Branston) over this delay - who knows whether these guys would have left if the new Manager was in place? Likewise, by the time the appointment is made there is every chance that the likes of Jake Robinson and even more crucially Craig Stanley will be fixed up with other clubs. Similarly the number of free agents getting fixed up will inevitably increase as the weeks tick by and inevitably a lot of the players getting fixed up early are often the better ones. It will also leave the new Manager with an ever decreasing pool of talent from which to choose from when trying to add to the squad.

Secondly, I think it adds even more pressure to the process. In other words having waited so long to find out who the new Manager is then anything less than an appointment that is well received by the (majority of) fans will be met with criticism. Inevitably if one of the favourites get it such as Hargreaves or Trollope - then people may question why did they need to go to such lengths if the new Manager was "obviously going to be him so why the delay" etc etc .

Thirdly and perhaps most importantly I would have thought an appointment (provided it's someone that is well treceived by the fans) in the early part of THIS week may just have convinced a few "floaters" to take up the early bird season ticket offer which I believe runs out on Friday. Any appointment next week is unlikely to see a mad rush to pay FULL PRICE for a season ticket even if the new man is seen as a statement of the club's ambition etc etc .... it's quite simply too late to have an impact - unless the Board extend the offer even further (unlikely perhaps given that it has already been extended by a week).

Finally, the timing of the appointment means that the new men (Manager and Coach) will hardly have had time to get their feet under the table and it will be time to start pre season - as it stands even if the appointment is made in the middle of next week there will only be just over TWO weeks until the players are back in!

Given that the club have presumably know that they were on the verge of losing their Manager as long as a MONTH ago it's disappointing that they seem, on the face of it at least, to have only really started searching in earnest once Paul Buckle had actually been appointed at BRFC.

Unfortunately I think we are paying the price for not having a "football man" at the helm - for all his apparent faults I have no doubt that had we still had Colin Lee at the helm then more than likely as Paul Buckle walked out of the door a new Manager would have been walking in. It seems to me that the Board is lacking someone who can drive the club forward at this time - it very much appears that making any sort of decision has to be done as a collective - with no one individual having the clout to take responsibilty and act upon it. It is one of the drawbacks of having ELEVEN people involved in the decision making process I suppose - just getting them together once a week for a meeting must be difficult in itself without then having to try and broker an agreement as to how best to take the club forward when inevitably with such a large group there will be differences of opinion. It was probably a lot simpler when they left the footballing decisions (and general running of the club) to Colin Lee and "roped in" Paul Bristow (RIP) when they needed someone to write the cheque to pay for it!

I could not have expressed my fears any better. My fears concur exactly with what you have stated here.

It sort of puzzles me the seeming 'lack of urgency' by the board and one wonders if they want big characters and alleged high earners like Branston to go. I just do not understand - when they know how much the supporters value Branston - that they have not signed him up. It seems madness.

The point you make about the season ticket is a very valid one indeed. I have that same quandry. At least signing Branston on would be a positive move and gain the board some good PR and reassure supporters. The bad feeling that will surely occur if he is allowed just to sign elsewhere when he wanted to stay at the club and didn't simply because the board didn't bother to approach him, I think will be immense.

[numpte]

They couldnt really be expected to go any faster than they already are IMO.

They could hardly start advertising before the PO Final could they? Even though they knew.

So, 1 short week to get all the applications in and 1 week to appoint. Although not high profile, its not exactly tea boy either.

[andygull]

Mixed feelings about the delay. Naturally i am a bit on edge like many of you. We all want this situation resolved as quickly as possible so we can crack on for next season. Part of me understands the application process and i know it takes time but i believe many applications nowadays are submitted via email so surely the club should have invited applications from tuesday - friday, interviewed over the weekend and perhaps today then been ready to make an announcement tomorrow. With the speed of the web this surely could have been achieved. I know it only gives prospective managers a week from applying to accepting but this is football and they should know anything can happen at any time. I just feel that the the board are taking life a little to much the west country way at the moment and it's not really fair on the fans.

[Gulliball]

Can't add anything to what CP Gull said - that sums everything up perfectly.

We can't afford to rush it, but every day at this stage is crucial. If we haven't chosen a candidate yet, then we obviously aren't already looking at, and talking to, potential targets. By the time we have a manager appointed in 10 days time, we're about 2 weeks before pre-season starts. What kind of player won't have fixed himself up with a new club that length of time before he starts his job? House/flat hunting, moving and school finding etc takes time. The season ended a month ago for most clubs, add on another 3 weeks for us to finish the play-offs and appoint a manager, and that's how far behind we are. Two weeks for the new guy to build on a squad of 11 players, with absolutely zero time to settle into his job, how is that going to work out well for us?

With hindsight, I wish we'd have made the Buckle announcement public weeks ago, invited applicants for it and made the switchover the Monday after the final when Buckle went. It could hardly have worked out worse.

[Fonda]

CP has summed it all up perfectly. It was important to get the decision right, but seriously, it shouldn't take this long. The ridiculous thing is, you can almost guarantee the new manager will be Trollope, Forster (hopefully) or Hargreaves. Lets not kid ourselves someone with more serious credientials will be up for the kind of battle the manager of TUFC has on his plate. Let's just cut to the chase. Those three had their applications last week i assume. They should have been interviewed over the weekend with an announcement made today. I expressed concern that the quotes in the paper at the end of last week, suggesting we needed to act 'fairly quickly' seemed to lack urgency. It shouldn't need a 'football man' to have realised the importance of getting this sorted quickly. Any of those in our boardroom should have enough intelligence to realise this delay is doing increasing damage to our season. Get on with it!

[numpte]

it shouldn't take this long?????????

What UTTER drivel.

Next.

[Fonda]

it shouldn't take this long?????????

What UTTER drivel.

Next.

Presumably 'next' is where you explain your point of view. That's kind of how forums work...