I honestly think the next appointment will need to be the real deal, even the blinkered fans will eventually see what the club is aiming to achieve. I don't think there is any doubt the good SL has done towards the infrastructure of the club, but now needs to show, he means business in regards to team affairs...starting off with a proven coach, one who's only goal is success... nothing less....
I agree but I have see little or no evidence of that happening in the last 7 SL managerial appointments, even though Cotterill got us promoted.
True, at least Cotterill had a track record of promotion from the third to the second tier, so SL learnt the lesson of the previous failures, yet when it came to the next appointment after LJ, I just can't fathom why they didn't go and look for a manager who had that track record and experience in taking the 'next step' that MA and SL always bang on about? I hate to say it, and I'm punching myself in the face as I type this, but maybe we should have gone for Warnock for a season to see if he could get us promoted.
There is no way that SL would employ the likes of Warnock. There is no way that Colin would tolerate being marched up and down by Ashton. If Deano goes it's gonna be another young and inexperienced manager, who would put up with Ashton and the 'structure' in order to cut his teeth.
Supcon72, I agree with most of your comment but why AFTER LJ? We should have gone with, as you suggest, a manager with a 'track record and experience ', when SL removed Cotterell. LJ doesn't fit the thrust of your comment.
I don't see the logic in giving LJ a free pass in the list, he does not fit the profile either. In more recent years only Johnson senior, Coppell and SOD fitted that bill. Johnson from what I understand made it impossible for SL not to sack him, Coppell was never in the right place mentally and SOD lived up to his initials miserable, difficult and totally media unfriendly.
I only said after LJ because, when SC left and LJ took over, we were in a very different position than we are now. We were newly promoted and looking odds on to go back down; therefore, we probably couldn't have attracted a decent manager, like we could have last year. I don't disagree at all that we should have made a better appointment than LJ, and said so at the time, but you can't confuse where we were as a club then, with the where we were at the end of last season, an established club, in the play-off hunt for 3 straight seasons. Worlds apart in terms of appeal for a prospective new manager! No 'free-pass' to LJ at all. I just see it that the platform was built to leap from after he left, and instead of using that as a platform to leap forward from, we fell off it.
For our approach to work we need to at least be in the championship and be in with a chance of promotion, whilst the PL would be nice, it isn’t a necessity, likewise L1 isn’t an option either, SL is happy as long as we stay in the championship, and will only act if he feels we are in danger of dropping back to L1.
I'm interested to know how you view Johnson Snr as fitting the bill? He didn't have a particularly proven record in the lower leagues, although as we know he did very well for us.
I agree, and have questioned the real desire from SL to achieve Premiership football many times on here.
Well he had a promotion from the conference and a promotion into the same league that we were struggling in and proved that he had the magic formula by getting us promoted.
Well there was no 10 weeks of bullshit and lies, it was 3 weeks and as far as I am aware that 3 weeks was because he was under contract at Barnsley, I am not aware that we ever looked at anybody else, so who knows who we might have attracted?
Yes, but all he had when we signed him was a promotion from the conference, not a proven ability to move us from the third to the second tier, which is what was sought. This is my point, too many people are mixing facts on the timelines. Yes GJ achieved the things you say, but they were not on his resume when interviewed and was appointed by SL. Only SC really had that from the last 7 managers you mentioned?
I think you're arguing against yourself here? I cannot recall who we may have spoken to, or who was available at the time we let SC go, but my point was, we were unproven in the Championship when SC left, so our chances of getting an established, proven manager to get us out of the Championship was probably beyond reality at that point. Also bear in mind, the stadium and facilities then, are not where they are now; I still think some people forget how far we have come as a club in many respects over the last 3-4 years.... It is with all those things now in City's favour that I feel we WERE, finally in a position to attract a manager to take us to the next level after LJ left. We didn't do it, and will now have to re-build again, as we did 4 years ago.
Sorry you need to recheck on that, he had a promotion from 2nd to 1st division with Yeovil before coming to us.
I am saying I would put money on my belief that we never even considered anybody other LJ from day one, the 3 week delay was over compensation, so we will never know who if anybody would have applied. But whatever the in's and out's if you are correct and I am wrong it just goes to show how little faith managers with pedigrees had in the SL/Ashton vision, because with a new stadium, good sized crowds and a new state of the art training facility on the horizon, we should have been an easy sell.
We will never sell it on "Bristol City, the club of football". Never have, which includes attracting decent players as well as decent managers and without success to our name, I'm afraid that will always be the case. Bristol is not and has not, been renowned for it's successful football clubs. So at this point, money and financial backing talks (within FFP) , to show we are a club to be taken seriously....Stadium & Training facilities are in place, but that won't be enough for a top manager that is likely only to get 2/3 seasons to achieve our goal..Of course...the next new manager must be allowed to do it his way...complete control of team affairs..Will it ever happen? Over to you Steve Lansdown......
I believe that they would if they were sold a cogent vision and package and finance + of course the 2nd part of your post, Bournemouth managed it, Swansea managed it, Hull managed it, Bolton managed it and Burnley managed it, the trick is holding on to that status and only Burnley have managed that.
I can't see a 'proven' manager coming to BS3 any time soon for the following reasons: a) He would have to work with the current injury-ravished squad until the Summer. b) He would have to fit into a tightly controlled regime and work under Mark Ashton c) Despite claims to the contrary by both LJ and DH, I don't believe that he would be able to sign who he wanted. He might have a 'wish list' but the ins/outs are controlled by Ashton. d) Considering the above, we are in freefall and too close to the drop. As someone said earlier, nobody wants a relegation on their CV. e) The way we turned down Hughton in favour of Holden would be fresh in their minds. A 'pedigree' manager could pick and choose his clubs. It would be up to SL and Ashton to 'sell' the club to a potential candidate, rather than him to beg them for a job. It won't happen.
