Inspired by the Echo's 'which manager are you?' quiz, I was just wondering who everyone thought our worst manager of all time was. I got into football quite late in life (at about 20/21) and George Burley was manager at the time. Stuck with the team through admin and League One, but the worst manager we have had since Burley was arguably Poortvliet, would you agree he was our worst ever? This is just a curiosity question really I don't intend to cause any clashes over this. I appreciate not a lot of people on this site are gonna remember prior to Ted Bates reign, so worst manager post Bates is fine by me.
I think Sturrock was a gamble that didn't pay off - but I can see that he seemed to have potential and could have been great. Unfortunately that was the beginning of our downfall. Stuart Gray was pretty poor, though he was in charge for that last game at the Dell...
I think Branfoot was the worst in the years I'm aware of, because he had the capable players. I also think he was backed by a crap, unambitious boardroom. I liked Sturrock actually. I think we'd have survived relegation that season, had he been allowed to stay. Shortly after he took over we majestically beat Man City 3-1 at the Etihad [then Eastlands] with him at the helm, and it was glorious to watch, because we were ruthless that day. Sadly, this is all I can find of that game, which included a bullet header from Beatts from a cross by Marian. [video=youtube;-lWHci5lHV8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lWHci5lHV8[/video]
Poortvliet had a difficult job to be fair, and his win % is actually higher than Wotte and even Pearson. Statistically it's Dean Wilkins, with 3 games and 3 losses, and the same team that Adkins got promotion with, but that's a pretty small sample and it was under less than ideal circumstances. I think, for me anyway, it has to be Redknapp. He inherited a struggling team, but one with some good players in it. He had a big reputation but he completely failed to get the best from those players. He signed lots of journeymen on big wages (as is his wont) and then when it came to the crunch, having helped to sow the seeds of administration, he jumped ship and went back to Portsmouth as a hero. That takes some beating.
I came in near the end of Branfoot, so can't judge him. Has to be Redknapp...he had a team that could have avoided relegation if they'd had a manager who even cared or put the effort in. He said he knew it was a mistake as soon as he got here...are you telling me the team didn't know that. All the other managers (good and bad) would certainly have cared.
my first game was when branfoot was in charge. we beat Chelsea 1 - 0 and everyone still booed our manage as he left the field. Strange I thought at the time I was instantly hooked on football at the dell!
By the way, I'm not including Caretaker Managers or people who only had a few games. Of those who were permanent, but had only a short while, it has to be Steve Wigley. As grossly unequipped a manager as it's possible to have. Then again, I only blame him for not having the judgement to realise that he wasn't up to the task. I actually blame Lowe for being a cheap twerp again, as he often was. Which is why I picked out Branfoot in the first place. He actually thought he knew better and was proven wrong time and again. He's gone on to carve out a superb managerial career.
'Arry for saying "there were some players out there today who will never play for this club again" and subsequently loaning out Jason Dodd. Just no.
Branfoot, by some distance. If you are not old enough to remember the Branfoot era you are very, very fortunate? Christ I've suffered supporting Saints.
I hated the arrogance of Branfoot, was impossible to warm to him in anyway, even before he started ruining the way we play and mucking around the talented players. However, time is a healer, so Redknapp has to be the worst ever for many many reasons. I mean what manager tells his players before a local derby to "take it easy". Tosser.
I can't let a comment against Steve Wigley pass. A s you mention, he wasn't equipped for the task, that wasn't his fault. He was an excellent coach, as was Gray and both ended up leaving the club due to a bad selection from Lowe. It is too easy to say they should have turned it down, but that just isn't easy to do.
I knew Branfoot from when I took my FA coaching badge. Despite his way of playing with Saints he was very knowledgeable and extremely helpful. However, his big 'fault', for want of a better word, was that he wouldn't acknowledge that he might be wrong. The Dutch guys don't come close to being bad. Given what they had to work with I think that actually they did an incredible job. I would argue that our current way of playing started with them. Burley made some poor decisions including continuing to play an obviously injured Bale in the first leg of the play-offs such that he missed the second leg. By far the worst, and I can't believe that any other name can even be considered: REDKNAPP. Really, this thread should be, who was Saints 2nd worse manager if you want any kind of debate. Of course, prior to Bates you had Bill Dodgen who somehow failed to get us promoted despite a massive lead at Easter, only to leave at the end of the season for Fulham, the team that leap-frogged us.
