NEIL ADAMS RESIGNS !!

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I agree with what Rob's saying to a large extent and whilst the board are getting bashed for their appointments post Lambert, let us not forget that most of us bar Carabuh were pretty happy to get Hughton when he was appointed. Now I can't really defend the appointment of Adams as I along with pretty much everyone else just could not see it succeeding. But since McNally has been with the club:

Lambert - Looked like a big gamble on someone with limited previous success but some experience - Great appointment
Hughton - Looked a good move for a solid manager to steady the ship, some previous success and good level of experience - OK appointment (Delayed sacking let the board down and I think was the main reason for the questioning of their judgement)
Adams - Cheap, inexperienced, minimal previous success - Stupifying move, no matter what you think of Adams performance over his short reign (Adequate at best) it was always a very misguided appointment and I still can't get my head round why it was made.

So with a recent record of one good, one bad and a bland middling effort the board at least whilst in its current incarnation has not done so bad.
Who ever gets the hot seat next my expectations will be relatively low, if we make the playoffs I will be happy, from here as long as the new incumbant has us heading in some sort of coherent direction and looking better at the end of the season than when he starts.

Not sure who it should be, I reckon Phelan will get the gig, I wouldn't be overwhelmed with that given his lack of managerial experience, but as long as he takes it as caretaker till the summer and no long term contract then it could be OK. My hope would then be either Phelan succeeding or in the summer or whenever a better candidate came along, we could move quickly for the person we want.
To that end, I would have to say that if Everton don't improve soon Martinez could become available and I'd certainly take him! Attractive football and he would be good for giving the club some footballing identity from youth to 1st XI.
But thats all by the by because he'd have to get sacked first and that probably won't happen.

Bah!
I go along with your summary of the recent managerial appointments General and particularly underline your notes about CH who was not nearly as bad as some would have you believe and was personally hard done to at the end. The only point I disagree on is Martinez and I cannot see him as the panacea either. His style would not be that dis-similar to NA who was at times gung-ho and that can work or fail just as easily for Martinez as it did for NA. I cannot see a guaranteed solution or one close to it but think that MP will be given some time - maybe 10 games to see if he can turn things around. When I say turn it around it is not as if we are sinking and hopeless, it is more uninspired and a bit rudderless. The beating of Huddersfield and Millwall papered over a few cracks for sure.
 
I've got this awful feeling of de ja vue and that I'm going to be extremely underwhelmed once again when the appointment is made


It's probably not much reassurance... but I honestly think being underwhelmed is better than thinking it will be the best appointment ever. We are a long way off auto promotion and so we should not be getting our hopes up. Not that it's unachievable - we have the squad to do it - just that it's highly unlikely and we'll need a fair slice of luck.

As long as it's not a complete novice (which I don't think it could possibly be after Adams) then I'm now just content to see what happens.
 
Please GOD not Warnock he is entertaining listening to him complain and blame everyone after a defeat but the guy's an idiot and a proven failure at Prem level if we do go up.

I would like Jol he was terrible at Fulham but the best of a bad bunch from who's available.
 
I reckon it's Sir Alex Ferguson.

Phelan got on the blower to him over the weekend, they went to the fat cat and after about 12 pints of broadside and a promise of a curry along St Benedicts SAF agreed.
 
Great post Rob, but to take on your point of being concerned the board will make a poor decision, it's not so much appointing a manager who will fail (as you say, most do in the end), it's about the logic behind a) keeping Hughton as long as they did; b) sacking him when they did and c) appointing Adams, a novice, when experience was key. They could have appointed Sir Alex in the summer and he failed miserably - it wouldn't make it the wrong appointment but it's not a surprise to see concern at what they do next

I see - I misunderstood the concern <ok>

However, I would say that on your points:
a) I think is open to interpretation - while I think the majority of supporters would agree with you it's far from certain that was necessarily a poor decision. I think it's clear what the board were aiming to achieve
b) can't really argue with. That was one roll of the dice that was never likely to pay off.
c) I maintain this was about the internal changes at the club beyond first team football - given what we've heard, I don't see that there were many really viable candidates for the role. I don't disagree that long term it has proven a poor decision, but I'm not convinced there was as much alternative as fans seem to think in the circumstances. There were some very poorly chosen statements by the board though.

I appreciate that the problem is most fans can't get excited about proper management of affairs behind the scenes. After all, we're here for the football and we all want the first team to be playing well, winning, succeeding. For me, though, our club went from being the poorest run business in the entirety of East Anglia (quote from a local very well-respected business consultant) to one of the most efficient and profitable clubs in the country. Over the last three seasons the board have remained pretty tireless in reforming the club to become a long-term viable entity. Of course, they need the first team to be doing well, and that has to form part of their plans, but I personally think the work that has been done behind the scenes is far more likely to keep us on the top table in future years than a couple of poor managerial appointments keeping us off the top table now.

We will get a good manager some point. I'm actually really confident it will be soon (I accept that the longer it takes, the harder we will find it to get promoted given the resources currently at our disposal). But in my view, we will still have a squad plenty strong enough for promotion next season, we will still probably have it the season after that and in the more distant future our academy looks great. All that is down to certain members of the board (and, to his credit, Chris Hughton, though I imagine some fans won't want to listen to that) IMO.

So, even with poor decisions for the first team manager, McNally still has my firm backing. I also think it's right that he should be in complete control. Don't get me wrong, I'm not unquestioningly supportive of him - of course if more poor decisions occur then we have to reassess. But for now, we have been relegated and are struggling for promotion so it would be better to be patient now <ok>
 
And a quick apology for Thai, and anyone else, whose eyes don't want to wade through my waffle. The last paragraph is a summary!
 
I think a large part of Adams problem was the failure of the board to address a direct replacement for Joe Royle much sooner after he decided to return to Merseyside.
Having an 'old campaigner' like Royle on the payroll would have helped make NA's transition from rookie to established manager so much easier - a problem shared is a problem halved, etc.
By the time this was eventually addressed with the appointment of Phelan, the 'rot' had started to set in.
Confidence and belief was poor among the squad for whatever reason, witness some of the half-arsed body language for proof of that.
Anyhow, all that is history now - let's hope and pray the directors have learned a fundamental lesson from that and make a more informed choice this time?
 
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