Well, hands up who knew that was coming? I think it's fair to say that we all presumed Sanchez would be retained until after the Christmas period so the timing seems rather strange to say the very least. Sacking a manager - without having a replacement - 24 hours before a crucial match smacks a bit of Russian Roulette to me, so I wouldn't be surprised if a successor is named this afternoon.
I believe this is the right decision to make. Sad as it is for Lawrie - who did his best, let's be fair - sinking to 18th in the table after four months was never going to be good enough considering the whole point of bringing in him was to bring about something akin to a revolution in fortunes for us. It was a gamble....and it failed.
So who should take over? My personal preference is for a young passionate manager on his way up who can inspire players. To be honest I only really see two people that fit the bill: Paul Ince and John Collins. My personal preference: Collins. He is passionate about the club - as he proved in a relatively recent interview about his time at the Cottage - he has been hugely successful with Hibs and he's got a great rapport with the fans. Three very important qualities.
Signing off
5 years ago
8 comments:
Great that the fans love Collins but the players very much dislike him. So what purpose does that serve?
Our players don't even know him Brian - and, if it's true that those at Hibs didn't, he still managed to persuade them into playing well enough to win a cup...I would be pretty pleased with that wouldn't you?!!!
It's also vital that a manager has the backing of a crowd at matches - when supporters turn on someone their days are usually numbered.
Agree that the timing is strange. That said, giving tomorrow's match to a caretaker already at the club is probably the right move. As for next week...
I think Collins made a mistake last season with his players, any by the looks of things, he learned from it. Hibs were off to a fantastic start this season, which included some big away wins. Wouldn't that be refreshing?
Great move, weird timing. I would support Collins over say, McClaren. And I agree, I bet at any moment, a new manager will be named.
Don't get me wrong Rob. I'm not saying something didn't have to be done. It had passed that point unfortunately.
As much as relegation (overall) helps competition to make players better, it also effects clubs negatively in how they ax and hire managers. It's just all part of the deal these days with the huge money that is at stake. No, I get all that.
It just seems people are all giddy about a manager whom they have no idea what he's going to do with the club. Just like we didn't know with Sanchez. It may be great, it may be disaster. I for one just don't see getting all excited about the prospects of the next manager like he's the second coming when he doesn't even have that great of a track record. Yes, he won League Cup and then the team slumped after that and finished 6th of 12.
I've always like Hib because of there development of youth players.
Just my opinion but that's why we have these comment areas, right? : )
Too right Brian and I certainly wasn't meaning to be unwelcoming of your views so to speak! Apologies if i came across as such.
I do agree with your points about Collins actually. However, I think we also need to be realistic about the type of manager we are likely to attract at Fulham.
We're simply not going to get someone of the standard of, say, Capello, Mourinho, et all. It's really either going to be a guy with no Prem experience or someone that has, effectively, failed at a prem club in the past.
Of those two options i would prefer the former but hey, we could be sitting here in six months' time saying how appointing Collins was the biggest mistake in our history...!
Slaven Bilic is creeping up the bookies' lists. Now *That* would be a signing. He's on 55k a year at Croatia, and while he surely doesn't need the money, he'd certainly be tempted.
However, a bright young man with a good international management pedigree but no club experience worthy of note... sound familiar? If people found Sanchez arrogant, how will they take to Bilic, who is a qualified lawyer, knows his stuff and isn't afraid to tell people this.
I think it comes down to a change being needed anyway. There'll be a lift by dint of any change being made, no matter who takes over. Things were just going the wrong way.
Rich
I wouldn't worry too much about arrogance. If Sanchez had managed to string together three wins at any point this year, nobody would have cared if he'd done so in a Cravenettes outfit.
I know next to nothing about Bilic or Collins, but we can't get into the trap so many posters/bloggers fall into with potential FFC players. If the guy is a proven top-quality manager currently employed, why would he sign with a club mid-season that's odds on for the drop? So who does that leave? Relatively new club managers or relatively new international managers. Or, perhaps people with baggage [Souness, Hoddle, Pearce].
What I've heard about Collins that I DO like is that his sides play attractive football. I don't care if he's a Republican if he can get the guys playing flowing football and picking up points.
In any event, thanks for this blog. Merry Christmas to you and for commenters like bq.
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