Mark Ashton admits it was Lee Johnson's decision to remove assistant head coach John Pemberton By a_stockhausen | Posted: March 09, 2017 please log in to view this image John Pemberton, right, had been at Ashton Gate since 2013 but was sacked prior to Tuesday night's match with Norwich Bristol City chief operating officer Mark Ashton has confirmed that the decision to remove John Pemberton from the Ashton Gate coaching staff was Lee Johnson's. But he also revealed that the decision to relieve the 52-year-old assistant head coach of his duties now rather than at the end of the season was taken by the board of directors. In an interview with City head of media Adam Baker, Ashton claims Pemberton was sacked and replaced on the senior coaching staff by Under-23 boss Jamie McAllister in the interests of aiding the club's fight for Championship survival. please log in to view this image Head coach Johnson had previously informed the board that he did not want to work with the long-serving Pemberton beyond the end of this season, after which Ashton and his cohorts opted to act immediately following Saturday's 0-0 stalemate with fellow strugglers Burton Albion. Pemberton's removal came as a shock to City fans, many of whom have been calling for Johnson to go following a poor run of form that has seen the Robins drop into the relegation zone. Ashton went public last night in an attempt to explain the tumultuous behind-the-scenes changes that dominated the build-up to Tuesday's home game against Norwich. He said: "We have made a change and I can understand why supporters are asking why we've made that change and, specifically, why we've made it right now. "Any decision of that magnitude is never easy and is not taken without real care, consideration and consultation with all key stakeholders within the football department, whether that be players, staff or members of the (management) team. "Following the Burton game, the board sat down and asked what things we could do differently. We had spoken to Lee a while ago now to ask about what happens next season and he told us he wanted to make a change in his coaching set-up. "He said his coaching set-up next season would not include John Pemberton. That was Lee's decision and that was how he wanted to set up." please log in to view this image Already in possession of that information, City board members decided to act swiftly and decisively last weekend and they broke the news to Pemberton on Monday, prior to confirming his departure 24 hours later. Ashton added: "After the Burton game, we spoke to Lee, and said we felt we needed to have a dynamic change now. If the decision was already made to change in the summer, we suggested to Lee that perhaps it would be better to make that change now, especially as we already had a young, hungry and dynamic Jamie McAllister, pictured below, in the door. "We believed that would have a positive impact on the dynamic of the squad and the (first team) environment. Lee considered that and agreed to that. He said 'I can understand why we should do that pow, let's do it.' "We then sat down with John and had discussions. John being John, he shook our hands and said 'time to move on, you've decided to make a change', and was extremely professional." please log in to view this image The timing of the announcement of Pemberton's sacking – barely an hour before the Norwich game – perplexed City supporters, who felt it served as a distraction from the match itself. Ashton explained: "Once we had spoken to John, we had to follow de process.. In a world where legalities rule, we had to make sure the I's are dotted and the t's crossed. "We were in the middle of a process to sort out John's departure and, while we were in that process, we simply couldn't come out and say what we would like to. "I was keen that were able to get something out before the Norwich game and we at least explained that John had left the football club and was not going to be in the dugout. I did not feel it was appropriate that he simply wasn't there." Read more at http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/mark-a...0191309-detail/story.html#sIz3YT5VCf6QF47a.99
'Already in possession of that information, City board members decided to act swiftly and decisively last weekend and they broke the news to Pemberton on Monday, prior to confirming his departure 24 hours later.' So they knew about it Saturday PM and decided to act swiftly and break the news 1 hour before kickoff on Tuesday night, very cleanly handled wasn't it..
As I pointed out previously Lee Johnsons role is not that of Head Coach. It was not to be the Head Coaches role to alter the structure of the club. He is the Manager. A novice Manager.
I'd add, and also, a bad Manager. His appalling record will be talked about when we're all dead and gone.
Maybe he is ridding the club of what he sees as 'rotten apples'? I want LJ gone asap, but as long as he is in charge and people are challenging him and his authority then a cull is a natural management way of doing things. I've seen it many a time.
Humans are not fit to govern We see it in virtually every country now, and its even inherent in our football club. Lansdown has been teaching them Conservativism and Trump-speak Bring in the Chinese. At least we know we won't understand them, which makes life a lot more simple
The phrase in the original thread where it stated Ashton and his cohorts sums up the skullduggery going on at Bristol City and it's not quite like rats leaving a sinking ship, but rather where can I find a warm place to hide until this storm blows over, and probably the best place to avoid the maelstrom is in the boardroom with champers and prawn sandwiches. What a total bunch of wallies not worthy of our support ,and to think I just wasted some money renewing my BCFC World membership.
