The long term plan.

Canaryboy

Canaryboy

Well-Known Member
So in the afternoon Alex Neil unveils his plans for a summer clear out and rebuild.

And then soon after that, on the Friday before a game instead of the day after a game he is sacked.

That all feels a bit odd to me. 

Alex Neil: "Russell, I'll be transfer listing you in the summer".

*Russell runs upstairs to mummy, oh I mean Delia".

Russell Martin: "Delia, I don't think Alex Neil is the right man for the job". 

Ha. On a serious note, how embarrassing for him to be allowed to do his press conference and interviews before being sacked? 

Now, I wanted this to happen. Without declaring it good news until we've seen who the replacement is, but I also don't believe the problems are only with the management team. I think we're in a bit of a shambles above that too and unless we sort that out before the end of the season I don't see us progressing. 
 
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G

GJP

Well-Known Member
So in the afternoon Alex Neil unveils his plans for a summer clear out and rebuild.

And then soon after that, on the Friday before a game instead of the day after a game he is sacked.

That all feels a bit odd tone me.

Alex Neil: "Russell, I'll be transfer listing you in the summer".

*Russell runs upstairs to mummy, oh I mean Delia".

Russell Martin: "Delia, I don't think Alex Neil is the right man for the job". 
Oh come on. As if players influence owners to get managers sacked.

That never happens.

You wouldn't find that happening at other clubs like say... Leicester. Not a chance.
 
Canaryboy

Canaryboy

Well-Known Member
I reckon the reason he has been sacked today rather than just after Sheff Wed or the day after Bristol City is that the board wanted to see whether this Rangers link had any legs, possibly after a tentative enquiry which gave them some sort of reason to believe it was a possibility? He may have been their Plan D or something. 

We would have saved £2m in compo by allowing him to move there. But now Rangers have sorted some Portuguese manager from Qatar. In fact Alex Neil was sacked within a couple of hours of the Daily Record announcing that Rangers had their man. 

That would make a lot of sense to me.
 
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Gaffer

Gaffer

Active Member
I reckon the reason he has been sacked today rather than just after Sheff Wed or the day after Bristol City is that the board wanted to see whether this Rangers link had any legs, possibly after a tentative enquiry which gave them some sort of reason to believe it was a possibility? He may have been their Plan D or something. 

We would have saved £2m in compo by allowing him to move there. But now Rangers have sorted some Portuguese manager from Qatar. In fact Alex Neil was sacked within a couple of hours of the Daily Record announcing that Rangers had their man. 

That would make a lot of sense to me.
That seems a good explanation but if true is another really poor decision by the board. They love penny-pinching when it comes to managers, which is why he was recruited in the first place, isn't it? Because he was probably a million or so cheaper than a more experienced manager. But then he makes decisions like buying an aging benchwarmer for £8.5 million when he isn't worth even half of that and the savings we made from having a cheap manager are wiped out many times over. Likewise the savings we made from not sacking Neil straight after the Sheffield Wednesday debacle could be wiped out because we now have virtually no chance of reaching the play-offs. What if our new manager takes us on a winning run and we miss out on a play-off place by 2 points? Keeping Neil for the Bristol City game wouldn't seem like such a smart move.
 
Canaryboy

Canaryboy

Well-Known Member
I think it was a wise decision actually?

I reckon he has been told that the moment the top 6 is out of the question he is out of a job. That was his minimum objective. But when those hopes died (Sheff Wed away probably?) rather than sack him on Monday 6th we waited to see if Rangers would pick up the phone?

Was only a few days later that it was clear they weren't going to do it. 

Sounds more feasible than him being sacked because Delia likes having Wes around for tea. What sounds more plausible actually is not that he wanted to get rid of some particular players, but that he has adopted an attitude recently in which he has diverted attention towards our deadwood and ageing players and in the process not taken any responsibility himself for our situation. 

He has become arrogant and it has felt like he is not being honest with himself. If he had put his hands up at some stage and admitted that he hasn't spent money as well as he could have done and that the squad has been disjointed as a result, then perhaps he'd have got away with sharing the blame with the players. Unfortunately he seems to have bought into his own early hype and seems to think he is the dogs balls.

I do think he could have a good career, perhaps coming down to earth when the only club to pick up the phone is Chesterfield or Livingstone or something would help him in the long run. 
 
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Canaryboy

Canaryboy

Well-Known Member
I reckon he has been told that the moment the top 6 is out of the question he is out of a job.
Going to crap all over my own theory. If he had been told that he wouldn't have told the press about his summer plans would he  :ph34r:
 
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Canaryboy

Canaryboy

Well-Known Member
Saw that, now prepared for a big ant-climax. The only exciting things I can think of are:

  1. David McNally coming back
  2. A new investor coming in and throwing £10m in the pot towards our rebuild
  3. Some fans on the board, elected by club members
Can't think of anything else which would excite the average fan. Most just want to see the players giving 100% on the pitch and don't concern themselves with the ins and outs of whatever happens behind the scenes for the rest of the week? 
 
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Fenway Frank

Fenway Frank

Well-Known Member
Would love it if Dion was getting involved in some capacity. Plus he could help do up my house.
 
N

Number 9

Well-Known Member
Couple of things relating to this.

The Board met monthly and this month it happened to be Friday. 

The Board will have discussed a few items in detail, biggest of which we assume was club management structure and set up, including whether Neil fits in the framework going forward.

This month's meeting coincides with the realization that Play offs are now out of reach, and that fact may well have tipped the balance on when to push ahead with restructuring.

Once it had been decided to get rid of Neil, then he needed to be told as soon as possible. The press conference pre match was just a normal part of his job routine and timing was unfortunate but understandable.

In my opinion, 

Russ Martin would be advised to keep his head down quietly, the chances of him being here next season / being Captain / getting a game seem pretty remote.
 
C

CanaryNath

New Member
interesting times ahead.

Rumour mill in full flow...Pardew for manager? Hodgson as a Director of Football? Who knows.
 
Canaryboy

Canaryboy

Well-Known Member
Once it had been decided to get rid of Neil, then he needed to be told as soon as possible. The press conference pre match was just a normal part of his job routine and timing was unfortunate but understandable.
I bet the board were embarrassed too by that. Can imagine them just singing the board meeting minutes which resolved to sack him and then having the press officer whisper in their ear  :blush:  
 
Fenway Frank

Fenway Frank

Well-Known Member
Russ Martin has now played under three managers. Whether we like him at centre back or think he's actually a right back,( or not in the team at all ) the managers clearly see something in him. 
 
G

GJP

Well-Known Member
Russ Martin has now played under three managers. Whether we like him at centre back or think he's actually a right back,( or not in the team at all ) the managers clearly see something in him. 
Four managers, is it not?

I think the thing is that when we got to the Prem with Lambert he didn't see Martin as a first choice. Similarly he wasn't a first choice in Hughton's first season and only became a regular again as the decline set in in the second season. 

They recognised his limits whereas AN tried to build a defence around him.
 
Canaryboy

Canaryboy

Well-Known Member
There are plenty of players in our squad who I consider a bigger waste of space than Russell Martin.

Ideally he'd just be a squad player who gets the odd game, like Whittaker, but its a bit unfair to continuously single out Russell Martin.

When he made the switch to centre back he should have gone down a level from us (so bottom of this league, or top of League 1). 

But at least the fact that he wasn't a centre back until he was about 28 gives him an excuse for being inconsistent and a bit of a liability. What excuse does Bassong have for being a shambles when he has been called upon this season. He's been a centre back his whole career, and was once an £8m one. 

So its Bassong that should get the ire really, for being so rubbish these days that he can't even dislodge Russell Martin from the team. 

I really hope that our new manager doesn't come in and without knowing much about our squad just sees Bassong as a big name with Premier League experience and hands him a new contract, its about time we sacked him off. He could probably get himself an MLS move or go and make some stupid money in the UAE or something, and even make himself look like a really good player in the process in a weak league. 

If it came down to keeping Martin in the squad next season or Bassong then I'd pick Martin any day of the weak. Irrelevant opinion anyway because we're stuck with Martin until 2019 regardless.

Its just a bit harsh that the man in the team gets the flack, when the man who isn't in the team clearly isn't going to be an improvement.,
 
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C

CanaryNath

New Member
couldn't agree more

Bassong is a complete waste of a squad space, let alone his wages
 

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