Manager/Coach Next Manager

[vapourtrailOX]

Previously only been scrolling through and reading comments on here - it's a shame to see how the course of this dismal season has worn us down as a fanbase. Heard some info tonight which was interesting and could be construed a few different ways (didn't know whether to laugh or not to be honest), but wondered what you all thought.

Some of you may know that Erick Thohir has been engaged in an election campaign to become chair of the Indonesian FA. He finally won on the 16th February I believe. Hard to tell how much say he has on most OUFC matters, but as I understand he was brought on to the board mostly to advise on hiring senior football staff (managers, footballing directors, that sort of thing) because the rest of the board have little xp in that.

Long story short... the sacking of Robinson and finding his successor have been protracted by Thohir's Indonesian FA business. Am told that today he was in Oxford accompanied by Wesley Sneijder (currently advising at Utrecht) and Javier Zanetti (Inter V-P) is expected tomorrow. As I say, not sure what all this means - seems a bit late and random to me, but makes me wonder if there's a left-field choice from Europe being considered...?

 

[greatunclekip]

Belated best wishes to @Sarge's dad and @Scotchegg.

Same from me, very best wishes to both!

 

[OxfordYankee]

his own were even worse than KR’s.

Liam Sweeting, the DoF at MKD, makes their signings.

Just thought you’d like to know.

 

[dickwalton1964]

Liam Sweeting, the DoF at MKD, makes their signings.

Just thought you’d like to know.

He can come too then.

 

[Taff Ewe]

Blackpool this season and Lincoln weren't basket case clubs.

How things get twisted when it is convenient eh Big Ron? I said the first 3 were basket case clubs, i.e. Blackpool 1st time, Portsmouth and Blackburn. I think Big Ron should apply for The Sun. He'd do alright.

 

[Mad Dog]

Best wishes to your dad Sarge, get well soon Scotchers

 

[greatunclekip]

Appleton is a promotion winner who has coached at the highest level and McCann is a title winner. Both have decent track records across several clubs.

Manning is young, local, unproven and has no tangible record. His only decent season was off the back of someone else’s signings and his own were even worse than KR’s.

I can’t see how Manning would get close to what the others would be offered although no manager will be cheap. Certainly whoever is hired it won’t be based around cost but that would be a feeling shared among fans if Manning is appointed.

I am not sure it will be as clear cut as the coach getting given a squad to work with by the DOF, I imagine there are conversations and ideas shared both ways. Ultimately the DOF is on the hook for making the signings. But it's not a linear delineation.

In that sense he has both credit for the squad he helped build last season, and deficit for the heap he put together this season.

 

[Chippy]

Best wishes to your dad Sarge, get well soon Scotchers

Yep think that goes from all of us to u both.

Don’t stay away long @Scotchegg, love the banter, hope all goes well

 

[captainox]

Appleton is a promotion winner who has coached at the highest level and McCann is a title winner. Both have decent track records across several clubs.

Manning is young, local, unproven and has no tangible record. His only decent season was off the back of someone else’s signings and his own were even worse than KR’s.

I can’t see how Manning would get close to what the others would be offered although no manager will be cheap. Certainly whoever is hired it won’t be based around cost but that would be a feeling shared among fans if Manning is appointed.

His jobs as head of U23's at West Ham and roles at New York City - Director of Coaching & Academy Director - will hardly have been paid spare change either.

The only reason I'd have preferred MApp is for the "bounce" it would have brought in the stands. However, if we'd not had him before, and he'd got a L2 promotion at another club, I don't think there would be as many people favouring him.

A title winner in McCann is definitely appealing, though his record in the league above is terrible.

I do wonder if Manning's work in numerous academies, has gained a lot of credit for developing Declan Rice & Ben Johnson at West Ham, has made the board see him as a good "project" type manager who would fit well with the focus on the academy given Stevie K's appointment.

Anyone who has been part of the City Group for a period of time is clearly a very talented coach, same goes for Des Buckingham.

Time will tell. Surely we can't be any worse than the games prior to the end of KR's tenure?!

 

[RyanioBirdio]

The nervy worrying bit would be no change to the backroom staff at all unless that's to come in the summer.

I really believe that any new manager needs at least a coach / assistant of their own choosing with them from the off. They need backup, not to get swallowed up by a setup that basically looks at them and goes, “Well that isn’t how we do things here.” That is always a danger.

 

[Bacon]

What a ridiculous thing to say, there's no romanticism involved, just like there's nothing pragmatic or realistic about your opinion.

Manning, McCann or whoever it ends up being, could go on to have much success with us, but if they don't hit the ground running, they're not gonna get as much patience as someone like Appleton, who I believe would keep us up, and due to his previous time here, would have credit in the bank, and would be given time to rebuild, even if the unthinkable happened this season, and we went down.

That opinion is not down to romanticism, just simple respect and appreciation of how good he was first time round, as a reason for believing he would be just as successful again this time.

During his first time here, Appleton was a reliable, no nonsense and ultra professional manager, with excellent contacts within the game, attracting some of the best young up and coming talent in the country, these kids and their agents were actively seeking Oxford United out to come and play for him, as he was transforming their careers, taking them from fringe players, and b team players, to first team regulars, who have now gone on to have careers playing in the Championship, Premiership, and even Europe in some cases.

He turned us into a serious club, with genuine, serious ambition, but he left because the funding was no longer available, which was gutting, but he left us in fantastic shape, on the pitch, but all that hard work has been undone and ripped to shreds in recent seasons, and needs fixing.

The funding that wasn't there before is available now, even more so in fact, and these are the reasons why many of us would've liked to see him return, as with the resources he'd now have available to him, he could achieve great things here.

on your last point. A few have said Manning is the ‘cheap’ option, but we would have had considerable funds for Appleton if he was appointed?

 

[captainox]

Previously only been scrolling through and reading comments on here - it's a shame to see how the course of this dismal season has worn us down as a fanbase. Heard some info tonight which was interesting and could be construed a few different ways (didn't know whether to laugh or not to be honest), but wondered what you all thought.

Some of you may know that Erick Thohir has been engaged in an election campaign to become chair of the Indonesian FA. He finally won on the 16th February I believe. Hard to tell how much say he has on most OUFC matters, but as I understand he was brought on to the board mostly to advise on hiring senior football staff (managers, footballing directors, that sort of thing) because the rest of the board have little xp in that.

Long story short... the sacking of Robinson and finding his successor have been protracted by Thohir's Indonesian FA business. Am told that today he was in Oxford accompanied by Wesley Sneijder (currently advising at Utrecht) and Javier Zanetti (Inter V-P) is expected tomorrow. As I say, not sure what all this means - seems a bit late and random to me, but makes me wonder if there's a left-field choice from Europe being considered...?

He is the joint owner of the club. Hardly "brought on to the board". Though I know he was 'merely' a board member previously so can see what you're getting at from that previous role, but the fact he stepped up to be an owner is a bit more than just being around to advise.

I don't even know how to react to the other bits - anything is possible with this boards links. Thohir will know both from this time at Inter of course.

 

[Made-in-Jericho]

FFS! 45minutes catching up with the evening’s updates and still no closer to a resolution.
Patience has deserted me.

 

[Big Ronaldo]

Look at the situation we are in ffs.
We need someone in who can stop the slide of this clusterfuck of a season and keep us in this league. We need a manager who has the experience of getting his team out of a relegation scrap.
Just to assume that they will get us back up again next season if the worst happens is utter folly.
History tells you that promotion from any league can be anything but straightforward.
If we are to employ someone who has neither experience of winning a relegation battle or gaining a promotion then I would say that is a completely reckless act.
If you are still awake and reading this Tim, FFS try and give us someone with experience of doing both.

 

[RyanioBirdio]

Previously only been scrolling through and reading comments on here - it's a shame to see how the course of this dismal season has worn us down as a fanbase. Heard some info tonight which was interesting and could be construed a few different ways (didn't know whether to laugh or not to be honest), but wondered what you all thought.

Some of you may know that Erick Thohir has been engaged in an election campaign to become chair of the Indonesian FA. He finally won on the 16th February I believe. Hard to tell how much say he has on most OUFC matters, but as I understand he was brought on to the board mostly to advise on hiring senior football staff (managers, footballing directors, that sort of thing) because the rest of the board have little xp in that.

Long story short... the sacking of Robinson and finding his successor have been protracted by Thohir's Indonesian FA business. Am told that today he was in Oxford accompanied by Wesley Sneijder (currently advising at Utrecht) and Javier Zanetti (Inter V-P) is expected tomorrow. As I say, not sure what all this means - seems a bit late and random to me, but makes me wonder if there's a left-field choice from Europe being considered...?

Maybe WS and JZ simply can’t resist the call of Oxford v Derby.

Or maybe WS is soon to be our new DoF.

 

[Yellows1]

Cheapskate. Just what you would expect from a club trying to fit a rectangular footprint onto a triangular site. Words fail me.

Don’t blame OUFC blame the do gooders, FOSB, come on ffs

 

[Bacon]

Struggling to see why Manning is a "cheap" option and Appleton/McCann aren't?

All out of work, with payoffs from previous jobs in pocket.

I doubt Blackpool/Peterborough pay that much more (if any) than us given our current budget.

The nervy worrying bit would be no change to the backroom staff at all unless that's to come in the summer.

Isn’t it obvious? Manning isn’t the favoured choice of a few on here, so that automatically makes him the cheapest option. If it was Appleton then it would have been ‘ambitious’ no doubt…

 

[Barrywedge]

He is the joint owner of the club. Hardly "brought on to the board". Though I know he was 'merely' a board member previously so can see what you're getting at from that previous role, but the fact he stepped up to be an owner is a bit more than just being around to advise.

I don't even know how to react to the other bits - anything is possible with this boards links. Thohir will know both from this time at Inter of course.

Dream on!

 

[Mad Dog]

on your last point. A few have said Manning is the ‘cheap’ option, but we would have had considerable funds for Appleton if he was appointed?

It doesn't matter who is in charge, regardless of their own personal wage, it's gonna take big bucks, across 2-3 transfer windows to fix this mess.

 

[Marked Ox]

This could have been so easy:

‘Hi, Michael Appleton, do you want the job?’
‘Yes’
‘Ok great. The fans will be happy and there’s no-one miles better available. The job’s yours’

And it goes wrong and then "why wasn't a proper recruitment process followed?" complaints follow.....