Adam Barrett - the right time take over as Player Manager?

[RobM]

What an utterly stupid thread.

What an utterly stupid reply.

 

[greyerfox]

Not quite yet but RM has backed PB to the hilt this season and if he thinks that his backing is in danger of not bearing rewards then he may feel that a gamble on an AB type might be justified. It is in many ways quite remarkable that there is this sort of discussion going on given our position but we have not been convincing. Our home form is disappointing. Some bizarre selections and substitutions have not helped. I still have a mental picture of a lonely figure on the Roots Hall touchline as his unconvincing Preston team were knocked out of the FA Cup by Blues. That manager was PB. His sacking was not long delayed thereafter. I would love to know how the discussions about a new contract for PB have developed between chairman and manager.

 

[Thundersley Blue]

I am so pleased that there has been no further mention of a new deal for Brown. Hopefully, that 4 year contract waiting to be signed has disappeared for ever.

Brown has achieved no more or no less than Paul Sturrock. I would give him another month and if by that time we are only on the brink of the play offs then time for the P45. Barratt and Maher in which ever order would be an ideal combination to take the Club forward. Any change could be made at the end of March giving just enough time for a last throw of the dice and an opportunity for a new management team to decide players futures etc.

There are a lot of managers looking for work but mostly because they have failed in their previous jobs, so I would always prefer someone not tainted with previous failure.

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

Why do people on here keep banging on about former/current players becoming coaches - someone was going on about Gower recently and now Barrett - what evidence is there that they would be any good :stunned:

Our most successful managers were both in their second stints at the club.

For me, the advantage is that there's hopefully an extra bit of loyalty and are more likely to settle. If Phil Brown was any good, he'd be off as quick as Barry Fry as soon as anyone came in with an offer. Brown's already been touting himself around with the Palace and Bolton jobs. Compare that to Tilly who wasn't as attractive to other clubs and was settled in the area.

This lack of loyalty of doesn't allow you to build things. The manager needs to be someone who will be able to develop the club over a sustained period. You want someone with links to the area as they're more likely to settle and give you that continuity.

As for Barrett's credentials, my understanding is that he was one of our most influential captains in terms of running things off the pitch as Tilly's modus operandi was relatively hands off and gave the players a large amount of independence. I think he'd be the most prepared ex-player to step from playing to management. There would also be a huge upswell of goodwill to Barrett - you only had to see the reaction he had when he made his return. It would unite a currently divided club, it would re-energise a disillusioned fanbase.

I can see far more arguments for making this move than for retaining Brown and treading water for a further year. Even if we get promoted I can't see how the football gets better - do people think if we go up we'll score more?

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

Brown has achieved no more or no less than Paul Sturrock.

In the league, without the injuries.

Sturrock also took us to Wembley. We've had nowhere near the highs of beating Orient in the semi-finals (live on Sky) and the day out of Wembley (except the match - but that wasn't Sturrock's fault).

 

[Thundersley Blue]

Agreed and it still really annoys me that Paul Sturrock wasn't kept on until after the Final. He deserved to lead the side out at Wembley.

The more I think about it the more convinced I am that Brown should go sooner rather than later.

 

[Beefy]

At our level, success is to large degree down to having a great team spirit. The man is a natural leader and players would give their all for him. He demands respect and the feeling of togetherness he would create amongst the players would be huge.

Brentford manager Mark Warburton used to work as a trader in the city before out of nowhere he got his big chance. Look where they are now. Any managerial appointment carries an element of risk. AB knows what makes players tick at this level......He would get the best out of each and every one of them.
With 14 games to go, I know who I'd have in charge to get the 30 points we need to secure a place in the top three.
Roots Hall would become a pleasurable place to visit once again for home supporters.

He clearly wants to go into coaching and management. Let's give him his big chance before someone else does.

I assume you don't see any irony in you citing Warburton in a thread in the same post in which you advocate sacking a manager who has his team in promotion contention.

 

[Pubey]

I'm not against considering a change in management. I do think we're in a worrying rut and maximising our chances of getting out of this league this season is crucial.

Do I think we have a good squad? Yes

Do I think we've played good football at times? Yes

Do I think we're a better team now than when Brown took over? No

Do I think Brown is an above-average manager? No

Has Brown shown any willingness to accept and learn from mistakes? No

Does Brown have a clear vision for our style of play and tactics both home and away? No

Could we see numerous important (and established L2 quality) players leave for a free at the end of the season - Corr, White, Timlin? Yes


Because of my views with all of those questions, bringing in someone like AB isn't the stupidest thing to do. We're treading water at the moment.

 

[Lincolnshire Shrimper]

Our most successful managers were both in their second stints at the club.

For me, the advantage is that there's hopefully an extra bit of loyalty and are more likely to settle. If Phil Brown was any good, he'd be off as quick as Barry Fry as soon as anyone came in with an offer. Brown's already been touting himself around with the Palace and Bolton jobs. Compare that to Tilly who wasn't as attractive to other clubs and was settled in the area.

This lack of loyalty of doesn't allow you to build things. The manager needs to be someone who will be able to develop the club over a sustained period. You want someone with links to the area as they're more likely to settle and give you that continuity.

As for Barrett's credentials, my understanding is that he was one of our most influential captains in terms of running things off the pitch as Tilly's modus operandi was relatively hands off and gave the players a large amount of independence. I think he'd be the most prepared ex-player to step from playing to management. There would also be a huge upswell of goodwill to Barrett - you only had to see the reaction he had when he made his return. It would unite a currently divided club, it would re-energise a disillusioned fanbase.

I can see far more arguments for making this move than for retaining Brown and treading water for a further year. Even if we get promoted I can't see how the football gets better - do people think if we go up we'll score more?

A fantastic post. I couldn't have put it better myself. I don't think there is anything better than supporting a club who are managed by someone who lives and breathes that club just as much as you do. It's a special feeling and one that can suddenly see a club literally take off.
A case in point being Eddie Howe and Bournemouth. He did leave Bournemouth with a heavy heart to join Burnley only to return to 'his club' 18 months later and look at them now. The whole club is together as one and they are growing on and off the pitch year on year.
Of course there is no guarantee of success, but surely it's worth a punt, if only until the end of the season initially.

As PB has said on a number of occasions, your home form/ results are your bread and butter. This season at Roots Hall I'm not sure I've had my bread, never mind my butter.
The next few weeks should be interesting. ......

 

[Special Blue]

I'm not against considering a change in management. I do think we're in a worrying rut and maximising our chances of getting out of this league this season is crucial.

Do I think we have a good squad? Yes

Do I think we've played good football at times? Yes

Do I think we're a better team now than when Brown took over? No

Do I think Brown is an above-average manager? No

Has Brown shown any willingness to accept and learn from mistakes? No

Does Brown have a clear vision for our style of play and tactics both home and away? No

Could we see numerous important (and established L2 quality) players leave for a free at the end of the season - Corr, White, Timlin? Yes


Because of my views with all of those questions, bringing in someone like AB isn't the stupidest thing to do. We're treading water at the moment.

Have to agree with this!
I Can't believe how we are in the position we are in,just put it down to the opposition!
You can only play what your up against and feel sometimes we are dragged to the same level.
This season for me has shown how close L2 is to Non-league more than ever.

 

[Lincolnshire Shrimper]

I assume you don't see any irony in you citing Warburton in a thread in the same post in which you advocate sacking a manager who has his team in promotion contention.

I take your point, but sometimes you've got to go with your gut instinct and have the courage to follow your convictions.
I listened to an intriguing interview with the Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan last month. He was asked what his biggest regret was during his time there. His reply was "not replacing Iain Dowie as manager immediately after their promotion to the Premier League". He cited his belief that Dowie's management style was only ever going to have a short term positive impact on the side and he would be found out in the Premier League. Incidently, his views on Peter Taylor were also far from complimentary.

 

[* ORM *]

is it 1st of April? Utterly ridiculous thread and nothing to do with my lack of confidence in AB's abilities. We are fifth and will make the play offs. No promotion and Brown goes. No need for knee jerks before that

 

[Angell Delight]

A fantastic post. I couldn't have put it better myself. I don't think there is anything better than supporting a club who are managed by someone who lives and breathes that club just as much as you do. It's a special feeling and one that can suddenly see a club literally take off.
A case in point being Eddie Howe and Bournemouth. He did leave Bournemouth with a heavy heart to join Burnley only to return to 'his club' 18 months later and look at them now. The whole club is together as one and they are growing on and off the pitch year on year.
Of course there is no guarantee of success, but surely it's worth a punt, if only until the end of the season initially.

As PB has said on a number of occasions, your home form/ results are your bread and butter. This season at Roots Hall I'm not sure I've had my bread, never mind my butter.
The next few weeks should be interesting. ......

Eddie Howe has done a fantastic job at Bournemouth and has certainly played a big part in why they're challenging for promotion but let's not forget that AFCB have had a lot of money thrown at it by their billionaire owners (A LOT - the guy I work with is a Cherries fan!) so appointing a manager who has great standing within the club is very, very rarely the sole reason for success.

 

[Angell Delight]

is it 1st of April? Utterly ridiculous thread and nothing to do with my lack of confidence in AB's abilities. We are fifth and will make the play offs. No promotion and Brown goes. No need for knee jerks before that

Couldn't agree more.

 

[Lincolnshire Shrimper]

is it 1st of April? Utterly ridiculous thread and nothing to do with my lack of confidence in AB's abilities. We are fifth and will make the play offs. No promotion and Brown goes. No need for knee jerks before that

But that's just it! I don't feel, that with the group of players we have, that we should just be settling for the lottery of the play offs again. My point being, that by making this managerial change now, it would give us a better chance chance of making the top three. With PB remaining in charge, I just can't see that happening.

 

[Jam_Man]

Do I think we're a better team now than when Brown took over? No

Because of my views with all of those questions, bringing in someone like AB isn't the stupidest thing to do. We're treading water at the moment.

We were mid table when he came in (when we had the likes of Assombalonga in the side), we are pushing for promotion now.

Treading water would surely be sitting in mid table each season.

Eddie Howe has done a fantastic job at Bournemouth and has certainly played a big part in why they're challenging for promotion but let's not forget that AFCB have had a lot of money thrown at it by their billionaire owners (A LOT - the guy I work with is a Cherries fan!) so appointing a manager who has great standing within the club is very, very rarely the sole reason for success.

Colchester have been appointing from within, not doing them a lot of favours either.

But that's just it! I don't feel, that with the group of players we have, that we should just be settling for the lottery of the play offs again. My point being, that by making this managerial change now, it would give us a better chance chance of making the top three. With PB remaining in charge, I just can't see that happening.

Where does this expectation that we should be top 3 come from?

Two of the teams above us were league one teams last season, one was the winner of the Conference (who more often than not do well the next season) and the other is the play off losers.

I certainly think we should be competing with our new found stability and decent resources, but I dont see any reason why we should be a shoe in to the top 3.

Making a change at this time in the season, when a week ago we were 10 games unbeaten is absurd.

 

[Ricey]

is it 1st of April? Utterly ridiculous thread and nothing to do with my lack of confidence in AB's abilities. We are fifth and will make the play offs. No promotion and Brown goes. No need for knee jerks before that

Exactly there is no need, but there was no need to sack Sturrock before the JPT final but Ron did it.

 

[Jam_Man]

Exactly there is no need, but there was no need to sack Sturrock before the JPT final but Ron did it.

There was a need, we were going to miss out on the play offs and he did it to get us back up there.

Brown has us there and a point of two off the automatics two games ago, so less of a reason to push the button.

Worth bearing in mind when he did do it back then it had no effect whatsoever anyway.

 

[Ricey]

There was a need, we were going to miss out on the play offs and he did it to get us back up there.

Brown has us there and a point of two off the automatics two games ago, so less of a reason to push the button.

Worth bearing in mind when he did do it back then it had no effect whatsoever anyway.

But what was to say we weren't going to go on a great run after the final with Sturrock? Changing it just unsettled the camp so it wasn't really needed at that time either!

 

[manor15]

If we don't get promoted at the end of the season then Brown will be out. I think now is too early to be deciding that, we're in the mix and weirder things have happened than a team in our position now getting automatically promoted, we hit form while one or two of the teams above us slip up and we're there. I think we'll end up in the lottery of the play-offs and who knows what will happen there.

Think it would be harsh to sack Brown now, we're in a position to compete and he needs to see the job out before he can be blamed for missing out if that is what happens. AB may be a candidate should he go in May but RM has tended to prefer experienced managers (with the exception of Tilson who proved himself in his spell as caretaker) and I think he'd go for that kind of option again.