03 Dec 2021 09:54:53
If the board do decide to part company with Rafa, then I feel they have to do the same with Brands. He can't stay immune from all this mess, sit back and let Rafa take all the flack.
If they do decide to part any suggestions for replacement? I only wish someone like Brian Clough was around to shake them up from top to bottom, but not to get relegated of course. Seriously, they took a chance on David Moyes years ago and perhaps look in that direction again rather than a well known one who may just come for the money like Ancelloti.
{Ed025's Note - i would go for potter myself brian, but lets hope rafa and the boys turn it around starting with arsenal and we dont need a new manager mate..
03 Dec 2021 10:43:35
Potter all day long. Wanted him before Rafa and still want him now. And before you all jump in on the “ what has he won” bandwagon, well I would say this. Stop looking at what people have done in their past, because that’s exactly what it is the past.
Start looking towards the future, with a young manager who has served his apprenticeship, and would be coming to us with a fresh modern approach to how the game is now played.
03 Dec 2021 11:07:54
Spot on Bob.
03 Dec 2021 11:38:22
Good point Bob.
However why any of us think Potter would come to us if we got rid of Rafa is beyond me.
He’s in a good stable job at Brighton, board appears to support him, he’s improved their style of play and got the players playing for him.
Conversely at Everton he’d be working under a board that is trigger happy and offers little stability, he’d have to try and get the 6 previous managers selection of players playing as a cohesive unit, he’d also be stuck with majority of squad due to ffp - actually would probably lose the saleable assists like mina, DCL and Ricky for us to try and balance ffp.
I think some of us fans need to give our heads a wobble - we are not an attractive proposition as a club at the moment.
As rough a time as we are having and as frustrated as I am with some of Rafas decisions we can’t get rid of him. He needs time to build us back up - several seasons and then we become an attractive proposition for these young managers who would then be interested in taking over from Rafa.
03 Dec 2021 13:15:55
Carry on the way we are and we will be in the Championship. Find it baffling that people can’t see this.
03 Dec 2021 13:19:52
I agree with all of you. Potter would be a good choice but why would he want to come to us is difficult to envisage with the everything that has gone before.
03 Dec 2021 14:11:33
That's the catch if we sack rafa who comes in? We missed the boat now on potter, why would he come here no money, no decent players and a 5 manager mess to deal with on top of a happy shopper owner, with an itchy firing finger.
03 Dec 2021 14:15:42
Because despite all that is currently going on, we are a much bigger club than Brighton, and he has probably taken them as far as they can go.
If he is ambitious he would see this as a massive opportunity.
03 Dec 2021 14:33:50
If we had any semblance of a plan at Everton I might agree with you Woburn and we might be a bigger club than Brighton
The big but is why risk it when there will be other better run, bigger than Brighton clubs available if he waits.
03 Dec 2021 16:37:22
Sorry Woburn mate but we aren’t a big club.
In the 80s yes but nowhere near since.
The only opportunity we are at the moment is a graveyard for managers.
03 Dec 2021 16:38:32
If their bigger and better run, then they will punt for the bigger names. We don’t need sixty year old once where’s. and I say that being sixty plus myself.
But your right club need to show that they need to change or we could be doing this every year.
03 Dec 2021 17:31:12
Sorry Dan have to disagree. We have won nothing for close to thirty years yet still get thirty thousand plus for home games. Try getting away game ticket.
Football supporters are transient these days, and follow whoever is playing well at the time.
Everton supporters don’t. They have a passion for their club and it’s something they are born with. That to me is the definition of a big club.
03 Dec 2021 19:57:39
Woburn have to disagree - just because we can sell out our home games and have a good travelling support is not the definition of a big club.
We’ve a passionate fan base but we’re not a big club any more.
For me a big club is one that’s challenging at the top of the top league in their country, regularly playing in top European competitions, has won recent silverware or come close, can sell out their stadium but also is known globally.
That was us in the 80’s and really hope we can get back to that level but at the moment we’re nowhere near it.
03 Dec 2021 20:50:50
Agree with gingerdan. No chance are we a big club. We have a big fan base but so do Newcastle and they aren't a big club either.
03 Dec 2021 20:55:15
Couldn't agree more with your original post Gingerdan and lots of your points in your replies. Not only are we in dire financial straits and have a very poor squad but we also have a fan base that is thoroughly fed up and very quick to create a toxic environment/ force managers out - to me that is about as far away as is possible from being an attractive proposition to an up and coming manager!
03 Dec 2021 21:38:32
TNS must be a big club then. Full ground. Win League every year. Qualify for Champ league every year.
They must be massive.
03 Dec 2021 22:22:39
I imagine The New Saints are a big club in their respective league - which is the welsh premier league which is pretty much the equivalent of the National league so 5th tier. So nowhere near the top level I suggested.
I’m also not sure they are known globally.
If you want to believe we are a big club that’s fine by me.
I personally don’t think we are anywhere near a big club, as I said before in the 80s we were but nowhere near since.
However we definitely have the potential to be one again if we sort our act out.
03 Dec 2021 22:35:08
I think you can only justify the comparison in the same Countries league system Woburn. FC Koln and Schalke have for a long time had average attendances of over 30k and a real passionate fan base. Would you classify them as big clubs? If so …. us Villa and Newcastle are I’d agree. It’s a shame as we were once an Elite club, but I suppose so where Forest and we are no further to closing that gap ?.