The news coming in is that Steve Clarke, after talking to Fulham people, has decided to stay at Reading. Main source: http://www.getreading.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/steve-clarke-live-boss-makes-10466426 This fiasco could well create problems for both clubs but especially Fulham. Because of all the speculation and 'leaks' anyone coming in now knows that they are at best 2nd choice. Oh well, over to Curbs, the not-caretaker manager, for Saturday's game.
Bit of a joke now that we had a whole 2 weeks to make this appointment and nothing has happened. Clearly not for lack of trying but hard to believe that when Kit was sacked that we had no one lined up, seemed like a bit of a scatter gun approach and just hope we got one out of about 10 possibilities. What seemed like the perfect opportunity to get a new man in, give him the international break to spend with the players, implement his ideas etc. Nah, that would've been too simple.
If we're now back to square one then I go back to my original choice of Karl Robinson. I mentioned him last year as well before we gave Kit the job, said before I think he's took MK Dons as far as he can, coming to Fulham would be a step up that I think he deserves. Would be good timing too, steal him away right before Saturday's match against MK Dons.
There is only one person who is happy about this whole mess, step up Alan, your strategy of waiting around our joke of a club for the past year and a bit has paid off.
I don't think the business of being seen as second choice is an issue, to be honest. When we appointed Mark Hughes, it was clear that he wasn't the first person the club wanted and it didn't stop him taking the job. Football people, by and large, are resilient and tend to take their opportunities rather that worry about who was ahead of them in the queue. Fabio's choice of Karl Robinson is an interesting one, but the more I read about Paul Tisdale once his name was mentioned, the more I like the sound of him. There are still good choices out there, so let's not get too downhearted about it. It's also a chance for us to see what a Fulham side under Curbishly's command would look like. Let's not forget that he had a really good record as a manager. The one thing really against him is that he's been out of management for so long. If he shines as caretaker, he'll have demonstrated that that isn't really an issue (and if he doesn't, it at least answers the question the other way). In summary, it's a pain that we've not made better use of the international break, but there are still good managers out there and there's no reason that we can't go out and get one. But please not Nigel Pearson.
Maybe not only Curbs. You can certainly see the scenario looming where Curbishley is given the Head Coach job - ably assisted by new coach Scotty Parker - until 1 June 2015.
My worry in this following Clarke's comments that he decided that what he had at Reading was better is that Rigg is trying much to much to be the big I Am. Fulham should be a more attractive cub than Reading, it really should, and Clarke is a very good Head Coach so what would have put him off? Presumably pay wouldn't have been an issue so it can only be the control that he would have wanted. Step forward Mr Rigg. He looks like a hard nut from the video and I wouldn't want to work for him so I wonder what experienced managers/coaches think when he is laying out his "vision". No Head Coach/Manager worth his salt is going to be a simple puppet for someone in the background who is making most of the decisions, buying the players, selling the players, etc. If he has no real say in recruitment, all the signings, which he has had no real say in, turn out to be crap and he gets the sack for not performing where is the incentive to take the job? It's like playing Russian Roulette with several chambers loaded.
The MK Dons game is going to be a strange one. Who will pick the team Curbs or Rigg ? Who will be on the bench to pick the substitutions. They don't seem to have named Curbishley as a caretaker manager yet, no pre-game video saying who is available for selection so far. The only thing I've seen is a line reported by Rigg about our staff being capable of leading the team till we get someone in.
Clarke told the press today that if he hadn’t spoken to us he would always have wondered “What if?” He then went on to say, “I went to Fulham and decided what I had here was better for me. It wasn’t about money – it was about ambition and professionalism.” Read into that what you will !
Pretty damning - I'm not 100% but don't think he has the same constraints at Reading as he did at WBA - we probably wanted him to go back to that and he's thought sod this for a bag of chips. We've probably not pledged much in terms of investment (which I think is fair enough given we have brought in good players over the summer). I think a big part of the problem is that Kit was a very weak manager in general and in terms of the influence he had at club over anything but team selection and coaching. Rigg's become an overmighty subject as a result and isn't going to want to let up on that, especially given that he'll see himself as a big fish in a small pond. He want's another Kit when the club needs someone to take control, which is what almost all managers will want. Clarke could have been the one to fit in as he's late to management and was willing to compromise how influence before to be a manager. Any of the experienced heads who were in the running are not going to be attracted by the prospect of being dictated to by Rigg. In the end Clarke wasn't willing to compromise and we're left with a small pool of people who will work in the way Rigg wants - Alan C being someone who needs to compromise to get back in the hot seat. Let's just appoint Rigg to be First Team Dictator and give him the rest of the season.
I've been keeping up with results but I've been majorly out of the loop for a few months; what's the story with this Rigg character? Who and what is he? As objectively as you can, preferably.
Rigg was brought in as Director of Football to oversee all the transfer and be in charge of all coaching staff at all levels. He seemed to base his transfer strategy on buying Players that had been voted Fans Player of the Year (which I have always thought a good strategy) in the last 2 seasons, so he got Pringle, Stearman, Ream, Cairney under that, O'Hara promoted himself asking for a Trial, Richards was here last season, Garbutt and Husband were loaned in, Fredericks was a lucky purchase, & Mattila seems a good buy but has had few games. The 2 keepers Lewis & Lonergan have been needed after injuries. Not bad business. But he also had some buying failures in Dunk & McDonald which dragged on to no end product. His downfall seems to be his 'Vision' BullS that keeps hitting the rocks ever since he arrived, and his insistence of wanting a Head Coach and not a Manager, will limit the list of top applicants. the question being asked is he a control freak ?
Will restrict my response to the last two weeks Bidley. Whether that reflects his true character, who knows. And of course anything I say is without knowledge of what has really gone on. However as a long time supporter of this Club and a season ticket holder to boot, a wee bit of license is perhaps permissible. Who is he? Someone trying to prove to Mr Khan, and using Fulhaman’s analogy, that he’s The Big Billy Bollocks. What is he? Someone full of Utter Bollocks. And for evidence there is that video at the start of this selection process when he attempted a presidential persona and nonetheless managed to shoot himself in the foot by publicly declaring that "we" were only interested in appointing a Head Coach. I take that to be the Royal "we", and King Canute comes to mind. The video was posted a while back but it’s worth having another look – The first eight days of the process are a bit of a blur to be honest; full of pick lists germinating from goodness knows where. But what is clear is that Pearson was in the bag until Tuesday when, for some reason, it went belly up*. Rigg then panicked and made an approach to Reading seeking permission to speak to Clarke. This was obviously the first contact and there seems to have been no preparatory intelligence (due diligence?) gathering as to whether this was even a runner. The pair met on Wednesday and by Thursday .. back to square one and nothing but lost credibility. [Edit: * Apparently the main stumbling block was Pearson wanting to bring in his 2 previous coaches. However they are still at Leicester and on a bonus scheme of 2 x salary if the team stays in the Premiership (which is more than likely) and would only join if we matched that. We weren't prepared to.]
I have never been impressed with Rigg,and agree with much of what Fulhaman said and what sort of manager with ambition wants to work under him
Thanks gents. Well to be honest the incomings have been pretty decent; Cairney, Pringle and O'Hara have looked pretty good to me. So he deserves some credit for that, IMO. But in the video he does come off as a bit of a cock. He seems to go to great length to state that the 'head coach' will be in charge of what's on the pitch, will be involved in all the dealings... But then makes it very clear they they are not looking for a manager, but a head coach. Those two things seem to be at odds with one another. It's also noteworthy that he said, when he first took over, that he and Kit "had a chat" about what would happen if results didn't go his way. Seems counterproductive and overly heavy-handed, as that's completely obvious. It also seems as though the 'head coach' will be the one taking all the flak, which he's happy about. It's no secret that I liked Kit, but for all his shortcomings, I feel with his departure a little piece of the club's soul went with him. Now we're left with Charlie Big Potatoes and whoever comes in that's willing to be his toadie.
I just remember earlier this season overhearing Rigg on his mobile at the friendly at Maidenhead saying "Kit is a good man, everything he does is in the interest of Fulham football club" - I wonder if that translates to he does everything I say.
Possibly. But if you consider the length of time we held onto Magath for, the timing of Kit's sacking looks almost knee-jerk, and if Rigg wants a yes man you wouldn't think he'd be so quick to let Kit go... Very much open to interpretation.
