City's last 10 Managers - ratings

Hateley - 1 ?? Thats bloody generous !!

Because of him we saw David Rocastle and Glyn Hodges in a City shirt. And we had that little Boyack/McGinty-inspired spell at the end of his first season where we looked quite good. These factors just scraped him a '1'. With the emphasis on 'just'.
 
He was out of his depth, fact.

That's not to say he is a bad manager, he simply wasn't prepared for English football, the Championship, dealing with a relegated team and working with difficult owners.

His tactics and substitutions didn't work and he couldn't keep his team focused for the full 90 minutes.

He might go on to be a very good manager in this country, put him in charge of team challenging for promotion with supportive owners and he might flourish.

But for this club, in this situation he was out of his depth.

How can a manager who has managed in the CL and the Euros be 'out of his depth' in the EFL???

This suggests the level of complexity and skill, the sophistication of the opposing managers and team, the sheer quality was of a level he never been exposed to.

But he has worked and prospered at a much higher level than the EFL, so it's disingenuous to say 'he was out of his depth'.

He had no assistants (unlike Marc O'Silver and his 3 helpers) and was not given the funds like O' Silver was.

Instead he was hung out to dry, under resourced and systematically undermined by the owners who sold his best players and left him no time to replace them.

He is still the only City manager to have beaten Benfica. Like Phelan before him, he was sent into battle with a peashooter and a water pistol.

Surely you can see this?
 
I can't be bothered going through them all.

Phil Brown 10/10

He gave me my first every day out at Wembley, he got us to the promised land something that had never happened before and gave us some of the best away days of our lives. His time at the club was amazing and should never be forgotten. It seems fun to take the mick of him, and run down his achievements but he achieved so much on the pitch which was taken over by what happened off it. Duffen got carried away, but Brown should be a club legend.

Any other football club would hold him in the highest regard, we seem to take the piss out of him.

i appreciate that he was first to get us into the top division and briefly and excitingly to the top of it. in the prem, we won 6 of our first 9 games but only 7 of the next 58, and that latter period was like chinese water torture, which i found nothing remotely like amazing.
 
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It's worth remembering just how much Brucie spent then got us relegated - 2014/15 was a complete **** up - he should have been sacked before the January transfer window, his record was almost identical to Phelan's half season with a significantly better squad - having got us relegated, the Allams stopped funding the club - that season more than any other is part of the reason why we're in such a mess now
 
Yet he still managed a better win rate than Nigel Pearson, despite not being given a penny to spend.

I enjoyed Bamrbys spell. At the start we played some of the best football I’ve seen us play. Anyone remember Derby away? Obviously it was fairly bad towards the end, but he never got backed at all.
 
Didn't Bobby Collins win his 1st three games in the BP hot-seat, after that did a Sluty and won jack $hit in 8 or so leading to the tin-tack.
 
I'll give you the second paragraph but not the first and third

'Out of his depth' is pretty much how Slutsky described his own circumstance, he admitted that he wasn't prepared, that he lacked the knowledge and he ignored his entourage's advice. So it's contextual.

If you think the thread is "pointless" then what's the point of any debate/review? Why go on a bloody forum then?
Slutsky also left by mutual agreement, he admitted he was out of his depth and knew it too. He went back to Russia during the last International break and surprise surprise he's got himself a job at his old club a month later, but not the manager's role.
I'll stick my neck out and guess that his trip home was really for a job interview ?
For me.
1. Phil Brown for achieving the previously unachievable for Hull City.
a close 2, Steve Bruce, two promotions and a Cup Final. Beat that.
3. Nigel Pearson, he moulded the squad for others to reap the rewards then left to do the same at Leicester.
4. Peter Taylor. Couldn't really go wrong at the time ( but many had) Club could only go upwards at that time under Adam Pearson and a new stadium on the horizon. City saved his career, as we did with Bruce, then Taylor saw the bright lights of London and a chance to shine at his old club, Palace, but fluffed the interview and came back with his tail between his legs. Dead man walking from then on.
5. Jan Molby, big headed maybe but he did sign us Stuart Elliott and Ian Ashbee, which made managing Hull City a whole lot easier for those who followed.
6. Marco Silva, organised yes, some incredible home form at the highest level under him, Liverpool 3-1, being the highlight for me. Only the width of the post prevented us beating Man Utd away too, a win which could have kept us in the Premier League. He had every one of his own back room staff and a host of new players but blew it when it really mattered. Unforgivable in my eyes.
7. Nicky Barmby, being a local lad was his best asset and also perhaps his biggest handicap. Surprised he isn't in management or coaching at league level somewhere else.
8. Slutsky, if someone who laughs a lot made a good football manager then Ken Dodd would be the manager of England. We may have beaten Benfica in a friendly and he did see his senior players leave from under his nose but that friendly v Nantes at Craven Park was a benchmark of what was to come, which wasn't good enough.
9. Mike Phelan. To his credit he stepped up to the plate eventually, after holding out and not getting a better contract then Bruce, then we saw why has been a number two all his life. Depleted squad and a dogs dinner of a pre season didn't help the bloke at all but I wasn't sad to see him go at all. He was out of his depth.
10. Dowie, panic appointment following an appalling decision by Adam Pearson.
....
Before these. of the one's I have seen....
1, Cliff Britton, three wonderful signings, some great attacking football but he either was not allowed too or didn't know how to strengthen his defence or buy a decent goal keeper. Should have taken us into the First Division with the forward line he had.
2. Brian Horton. Did wonders. Wrongly sacked.
3. John Kaye, Wagstaff's injury and Alf Wood signing didn't help him. Great defence ( unlike Britton) but we couldn't score at the other end. Wrongly sacked when he should have been backed.
4. Colin Appleton, now that was a cheap option which paid off although at the lowest level but was lacking further up the ladder.
5. Warren Joyce. Great season at the bottom of the football ladder, quality lacking but his teams made that up with heart, pride and fight. Wouldn't have taken us any higher though.
6. Parkinson, too young, too modern and too early for him.
7. Dol*n. No thanks, if fans think following City is hard work now they never supported us under Fish and Dol*n. Made a couple of decent signings though and to be fair, in hindsight, the club had the financial clout of North Ferriby at the time.
8. Mike Smith, expensive appointment with his own backroom staff and flopped, another one out of his depth. Signed Tony Norman though which was a bonus. Plus Billy Whitehurst.
9. Ken Houghton. Signed Keith Edwards which was his highlight.
10. Bobby Collins, three games, three wins including 2-0 v Spurs, but he was ex-Leeds and we were in danger of becoming the Elland Road retirement home.
11. Stan Ternant, six good months when he saved us from relegation them he was given cash to spend and nearly bankrupt the club.
12. Eddie Gray. Swopped Norman for Hesford. What more can you say ?
13. Terry Neil, apprentice manager which we became good at. Ruined a good team and he was probably the worst player in it. Blew a real chance of promotion to Div 1 in 70/71 and blew it in the FA Cup from 2-0 up in the 6th rd v Stoke. Then left for better things.
14. Brian Little, good appointment at a bad time for the club, held us together during the lock-out then it seems he didn't match new chairman Pearson's ambition.
15. Wilf McGuiness, see Mike Phelan, almost a replica appointment but at a much lower level.
Finally Mark Hateley. I still have nightmares about that first game as manager at Field Mill when we were two down in the first 10 minutes. We expected so, so much more after all the hype of his appointment and the coming of David Lloyd. Bold appointment at the time and one welcomed with open arms by City fans after the dourness of the Dol*n era, but he turned out to useless. To his credit he always speaks well of City when asked. But manager material ? No way.
these are not necessary in order of achievement.
 
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Based on the things that I value, and on more than simply win ratios, here's mine:

Slutsky 2.5 - Never stood a chance but didn't help himself with a series of bizarre team selections and substitutions. If the ranking was based solely on hook-a-duck skills, however, he'd get a 9.5.

Silva 8 - A staggeringly good manager. Turned us around ludicrously quickly in spite of having to sell our leading scorer/assist maker and a central midfielder who was to play for England in a few weeks time. We should have been relegated without trace. That we made a decent fist of avoiding relegation was a hugely impressive feat.

Phelan 3 - Those opening three league games aside, he just looked as Slutsky had. In truth, probably isn't a manager.

Bruce 8.25 - A 10 for his first two seasons, a 5 for the season after that, and a seven for the season after that. We should never have been relegated with that squad, and the meek Euro capitulation was hard to stomach. Finishing fourth with that squad the season after, and having us endure that second leg against Derby, made going up seem a bit of an empty achievement to me. Steve Bruce was wonderful for us, I don't deny that, but he had resources no other manager in our history could have dreamt of. Resources that should have seen us take residence on the lower reaches of the Premier League.

Barmby 6 - Difficult to say really. Had no support from the Allams, but did bring back Brady when nobody wanted him after that stupid sending off against Southampton, which led to us making a mint off him. Also brought in Joshua King when no one else saw anything in him. Look at how he's doing now. The other players he wanted to bring in - Tomlin, Marshall, Hammill - would have been very good at Championship level too. Had we not suffered those injuries to Chester and Hobbs who knows what we might have done that half-season. Seeing us field Sonny Bradley and Liam Cooper together was scary but we had no cover in the squad. He did better than many - Assem Allam included - often admit. But it can't be denied that we upgraded in bringing in Steve Bruce.

Pearson 7.5 - We were a wreck when NP took over. The way he turned the club around in that first six months was an incredible achievement. I think that under most managers we'd have been in a relegation battle. He made some unpopular decisions, and I hated the way that Ash was treated in the end, but ultimately he rebuilt what was a shell of a club and gave us the foundations that Steve Bruce was to build on. He might have been a nob, but a manager isn't judged on his radio interviews.

Dowie 2 - Bab.

Brown 9.5 - Doesn't matter how things ended up under him. He took us from a team heading for relegation to League 1 to a team joint top of the Premier League in the space of less than two years. That's almost Clough-esque. The wheels came off, and the half-time team talk affected things more than I think many realise. But he'd broken so many shackles that had impeded the club for more than a century by that point, that to not hold him up as the greatest manager in our history is almost churlish. I love Phil Brown. And I'm fully aware of his faults. Football just doesn't get better than our 2008, though.

Parkinson 3 - One point each for the signings of Turner, Ricketts and Marney. A good man, a very nice man, who was the wrong man at the wrong time for City.

Taylor 9 - A brilliant manager for us. AP was so close to scaling everything down, but Peter Taylor did what Little and Molby had totally failed to do in resurrecting Hull City as a (sort of) force in English football, which we had only fleetingly been since the early 70s. He delivered days like Yeovil, the Sheffield Wednesday 4-2, the two wins against Tranmere, the 4-0 at Bournemouth. Even in the much-maligned consolidation season back in the Championship there was the likes of the 1-0 win against Leeds. He and Colin Murphy were so important for us, and were nowhere near as negative as some now claim.

Also, briefly from my time supporting the club (working backwards):

Molby 2 - A point each the Elliott and Ashbee signings. An egotistical prick who couldn't man-manage to save his life.
Little 6.5 - That first play-off run with the likes of Big Kev, Rodney Rowe and co was terrific. Couldn't cope with the money though, and assembled a squad totally unsuitable for fourth-tier football. A lovely bloke though.
Joyce 9 - The most important manager in our history.
Hateley 1 - Utterly dreadful. Woeful.
Dolan 3.5 - Whisper it quietly, but Dolan was actually a pretty good manager for the second and third seasons back in the third tier. We were skint but watching City for those two seasons was pretty enjoyable. I don't lay too much blame at his feet for the first relegation either. That said, the relegation and next season in the fourth tier were utterly abysmal.
Ternant 4 - Spent a lot, but when he first took over he was terrific. We were going places we never won - Sunderland, Wolves, etc... - and winning. All went to sh*t, obviously, but showed there was something there. A nob. however.
Appleton 1.5 - An atrocious appointment. An atrocious manager by that point.
Gray 6 - Did pretty well. That period that led to the Liverpool FA Cup game was utterly joyous. Was a bit crazy to sack him to bring Appleton back.
Horton 8 - A great manager for us, and on those resources did well to have us in the top half Division Two for so long. His signings were terrific, and his sacking marked the start of our demise, even if we were in something of a rut. Was great to see him help the club get to the Premier League.
Mark Hateley is by far the worst manager City have ever had , fortunately Doncaster were abysmal that season or we could have fallen through the league trapdoor . Think our first game after Hateley was sacked saw his team in theory get beaten at home to 9 man Brighton . That night is to my mind the lowest point in the history of Hull City AFC . Warren Joyce was our new manager and he conjured up the great escape .The man in the Brighton dugout was Brian Horton . 10 years later we were a Premier league team and Brian Horton was Phil Brown's assistant . During his first spell with City Brian moulded a good side that finished 6th one year , A play off spot now , and brought some great players to the club . Browny did great , but what influence did Horton have . I think he assisted Browny really well and would put him above Phil Brown as our best manager based on his first spell and then his role in getting into the premier league . Peter Taylor laid a great foundation after Warren Joyce saved the club when we had become a national joke and looked set for oblivion .
 
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Warren Joyce saved us from oblivion - got to be right up there
I quite agree but only decided to do the last 10.. My own experience goes back to Brian Horton although I wasn't really clued up at that time on club behind the scenes stuff, transfers etc. just listened to what my Dad told me and RH in the car!

My Grandad spoke very highly of Terry Neil and when he left for Arsenal, Terry got him tickets down dat Lundun, so.. dare I say it on here.. he became an Arsenal supporter! So there were plastics back in the 70s ;)
 
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Slutsky also left by mutual agreement, he admitted he was out of his depth and knew it too. He went back to Russia during the last International break and surprise surprise he's got himself a job at his old club a month later, but not the manager's role.
I'll stick my neck out and guess that his trip home was really for a job interview ?
For me.
1. Phil Brown for achieving the previously unachievable for Hull City.
a close 2, Steve Bruce, two promotions and a Cup Final. Beat that.
3. Nigel Pearson, he moulded the squad for others to reap the rewards then left to do the same at Leicester.
4. Peter Taylor. Couldn't really go wrong at the time ( but many had) Club could only go upwards at that time under Adam Pearson and a new stadium on the horizon. City saved his career, as we did with Bruce, then Taylor saw the bright lights of London and a chance to shine at his old club, Palace, but fluffed the interview and came back with his tail between his legs. Dead man walking from then on.
5. Jan Molby, big headed maybe but he did sign us Stuart Elliott and Ian Ashbee, which made managing Hull City a whole lot easier for those who followed.
6. Marco Silva, organised yes, some incredible home form at the highest level under him, Liverpool 3-1, being the highlight for me. Only the width of the post prevented us beating Man Utd away too, a win which could have kept us in the Premier League. He had every one of his own back room staff and a host of new players but blew it when it really mattered. Unforgivable in my eyes.
7. Nicky Barmby, being a local lad was his best asset and also perhaps his biggest handicap. Surprised he isn't in management or coaching at league level somewhere else.
8. Slutsky, if someone who laughs a lot made a good football manager then Ken Dodd would be the manager of England. We may have beaten Benfica in a friendly and he did see his senior players leave from under his nose but that friendly v Nantes at Craven Park was a benchmark of what was to come, which wasn't good enough.
9. Mike Phelan. To his credit he stepped up to the plate eventually, after holding out and not getting a better contract then Bruce, then we saw why has been a number two all his life. Depleted squad and a dogs dinner of a pre season didn't help the bloke at all but I wasn't sad to see him go at all. He was out of his depth.
10. Dowie, panic appointment following an appalling decision by Adam Pearson.
....
Before these. of the one's I have seen....
1, Cliff Britton, three wonderful signings, some great attacking football but he either was not allowed too or didn't know how to strengthen his defence or buy a decent goal keeper. Should have taken us into the First Division with the forward line he had.
2. Brian Horton. Did wonders. Wrongly sacked.
3. John Kaye, Wagstaff's injury and Alf Wood signing didn't help him. Great defence ( unlike Britton) but we couldn't score at the other end. Wrongly sacked when he should have been backed.
4. Colin Appleton, now that was a cheap option which paid off although at the lowest level but was lacking further up the ladder.
5. Warren Joyce. Great season at the bottom of the football ladder, quality lacking but his teams made that up with heart, pride and fight. Wouldn't have taken us any higher though.
6. Parkinson, too young, too modern and too early for him.
7. Dol*n. No thanks, if fans think following City is hard work now they never supported us under Fish and Dol*n. Made a couple of decent signings though and to be fair, in hindsight, the club had the financial clout of North Ferriby at the time.
8. Mike Smith, expensive appointment with his own backroom staff and flopped, another one out of his depth. Signed Tony Norman though which was a bonus. Plus Billy Whitehurst.
9. Ken Houghton. Signed Keith Edwards which was his highlight.
10. Bobby Collins, three games, three wins including 2-0 v Spurs, but he was ex-Leeds and we were in danger of becoming the Elland Road retirement home.
11. Stan Ternant, six good months when he saved us from relegation them he was given cash to spend and nearly bankrupt the club.
12. Eddie Gray. Swopped Norman for Hesford. What more can you say ?
13. Terry Neil, apprentice manager which we became good at. Ruined a good team and he was probably the worst player in it. Blew a real chance of promotion to Div 1 in 70/71 and blew it in the FA Cup from 2-0 up in the 6th rd v Stoke. Then left for better things.
14. Brian Little, good appointment at a bad time for the club, held us together during the lock-out then it seems he didn't match new chairman Pearson's ambition.
15. Wilf McGuiness, see Mike Phelan, almost a replica appointment but at a much lower level.
these are not necessary in order of achievement.

Slutsky’s back at CSKA?

When did this happen?
 
Slutsky also left by mutual agreement, he admitted he was out of his depth and knew it too. He went back to Russia during the last International break and surprise surprise he's got himself a job at his old club a month later, but not the manager's role.
I'll stick my neck out and guess that his trip home was really for a job interview ?
For me.
1. Phil Brown for achieving the previously unachievable for Hull City.
a close 2, Steve Bruce, two promotions and a Cup Final. Beat that.
3. Nigel Pearson, he moulded the squad for others to reap the rewards then left to do the same at Leicester.
4. Peter Taylor. Couldn't really go wrong at the time ( but many had) Club could only go upwards at that time under Adam Pearson and a new stadium on the horizon. City saved his career, as we did with Bruce, then Taylor saw the bright lights of London and a chance to shine at his old club, Palace, but fluffed the interview and came back with his tail between his legs. Dead man walking from then on.
5. Jan Molby, big headed maybe but he did sign us Stuart Elliott and Ian Ashbee, which made managing Hull City a whole lot easier for those who followed.
6. Marco Silva, organised yes, some incredible home form at the highest level under him, Liverpool 3-1, being the highlight for me. Only the width of the post prevented us beating Man Utd away too, a win which could have kept us in the Premier League. He had every one of his own back room staff and a host of new players but blew it when it really mattered. Unforgivable in my eyes.
7. Nicky Barmby, being a local lad was his best asset and also perhaps his biggest handicap. Surprised he isn't in management or coaching at league level somewhere else.
8. Slutsky, if someone who laughs a lot made a good football manager then Ken Dodd would be the manager of England. We may have beaten Benfica in a friendly and he did see his senior players leave from under his nose but that friendly v Nantes at Craven Park was a benchmark of what was to come, which wasn't good enough.
9. Mike Phelan. To his credit he stepped up to the plate eventually, after holding out and not getting a better contract then Bruce, then we saw why has been a number two all his life. Depleted squad and a dogs dinner of a pre season didn't help the bloke at all but I wasn't sad to see him go at all. He was out of his depth.
10. Dowie, panic appointment following an appalling decision by Adam Pearson.
....
Before these. of the one's I have seen....
1, Cliff Britton, three wonderful signings, some great attacking football but he either was not allowed too or didn't know how to strengthen his defence or buy a decent goal keeper. Should have taken us into the First Division with the forward line he had.
2. Brian Horton. Did wonders. Wrongly sacked.
3. John Kaye, Wagstaff's injury and Alf Wood signing didn't help him. Great defence ( unlike Britton) but we couldn't score at the other end. Wrongly sacked when he should have been backed.
4. Colin Appleton, now that was a cheap option which paid off although at the lowest level but was lacking further up the ladder.
5. Warren Joyce. Great season at the bottom of the football ladder, quality lacking but his teams made that up with heart, pride and fight. Wouldn't have taken us any higher though.
6. Parkinson, too young, too modern and too early for him.
7. Dol*n. No thanks, if fans think following City is hard work now they never supported us under Fish and Dol*n. Made a couple of decent signings though and to be fair, in hindsight, the club had the financial clout of North Ferriby at the time.
8. Mike Smith, expensive appointment with his own backroom staff and flopped, another one out of his depth. Signed Tony Norman though which was a bonus. Plus Billy Whitehurst.
9. Ken Houghton. Signed Keith Edwards which was his highlight.
10. Bobby Collins, three games, three wins including 2-0 v Spurs, but he was ex-Leeds and we were in danger of becoming the Elland Road retirement home.
11. Stan Ternant, six good months when he saved us from relegation them he was given cash to spend and nearly bankrupt the club.
12. Eddie Gray. Swopped Norman for Hesford. What more can you say ?
13. Terry Neil, apprentice manager which we became good at. Ruined a good team and he was probably the worst player in it. Blew a real chance of promotion to Div 1 in 70/71 and blew it in the FA Cup from 2-0 up in the 6th rd v Stoke. Then left for better things.
14. Brian Little, good appointment at a bad time for the club, held us together during the lock-out then it seems he didn't match new chairman Pearson's ambition.
15. Wilf McGuiness, see Mike Phelan, almost a replica appointment but at a much lower level.
Finally Mark Hateley. I still have nightmares about that first game as manager at Field Mill when we were two down in the first 10 minutes. We expected so, so much more after all the hype of his appointment and the coming of David Lloyd. Bold appointment at the time and one welcomed with open arms by City fans after the dourness of the Dol*n era, but he turned out to useless. To his credit he always speaks well of City when asked. But manager material ? No way.
these are not necessary in order of achievement.

Pretty good summary Phil, just reading down it had crossed my mind that this debate about Turbo not working for the team, was very much levelled at Keith Edwards from some fans at the time. Just stayed in the box and did nothing else. Sometime players are like that, but you just have to live with it.
 
Mark Hateley is by far the worst manager City have ever had , fortunately Doncaster were abysmal that season or we could have fallen through the league trapdoor . Think our first game after Hateley was sacked saw his team in theory get beaten at home to 9 man Brighton . That night is to my mind the lowest point in the history of Hull City AFC . Warren Joyce was our new manager and he conjured up the great escape .The man in the Brighton dugout was Brian Horton . 10 years later we were a Premier league team and Brian Horton was Phil Brown's assistant . During his first spell with City Brian moulded a good side that finished 6th one year , A play off spot now , and brought some great players to the club . Browny did great , but what influence did Horton have . I think he assisted Browny really well and would put him above Phil Brown as our best manager based on his first spell and then his role in getting into the premier league . Peter Taylor laid a great foundation after Warren Joyce saved the club when we had become a national joke and looked set for oblivion .

Definitely right about Hateley, are what a tosser of a man he was, I used to see him quite often in the Swan in Swanland pissed put of his head. He got dogs abuse from the punters but was so pissed it didn't register.
 
Slutsky also left by mutual agreement, he admitted he was out of his depth and knew it too. He went back to Russia during the last International break and surprise surprise he's got himself a job at his old club a month later, but not the manager's role.
I'll stick my neck out and guess that his trip home was really for a job interview ?

Can't blame Slutsky for a trip home in the international break, common practice for foreigners in the PL. Working without a meaningful support structure won't have made his life any easier up here either. Perhaps he had take his underpants back to Moscow to get them washed? See my previous comments on this thread about 'out of his depth'.

We're now on our 4th manager in just over a year. Something is wrong at the club and the way it appoints managers.

Good start for Adkins, just like it was for Bobby Collins when we beat Spurs 2-0 in 77. He was sacked 4 months later.
 
Slutsky may already have had an agreement in place that he could get back to his old club if things didn't work out. He said when he took the job here that his family would only move over if he was still in the job by Christmas. So I think that's the likelier picture.
 
Slutsky 4
Silva 7
Phelan 5
Bruce 9.5
Barmby 5
Pearson 7.5
Dowie 1
Brown 6
Parkinson 4
Taylor 8.5

Imo ****which is flawed as only saw 2 Slutsky Games and Phil Browns last 5 home games.