At this stage it lloks to me as a bit of a Les Reid right club wrong time hence mainly unlucky with a smattering of the other two. That said he went there with a 'reputation' as a 'top' manager. On paper WHU are a bigger club than CAFC and perhaps needed a totally fresh unit post Pardew not a class full of Charlton Old Boys. The biscuitman only had to look at how we had performed for the last two years and his handling of big names to perhaps have been a bit more cautious, he should have left us a couple of years back in so much as he should have joined WHU at that time, thank you very much for Alan Pardew
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He has tried his normal method of freezing out players with attitude and playing it tough. He would have expected that his signings would re-invigorate the side but they just haven't had the fitness, thus the put up or shut up motivational method he favours has fallen flat. I think to that extent he has been unlucky but probably he just took the job at the wrong time. I still think he is a capable manager.
Curbs is still a great manager whatever eventually happens to him at West Ham. His record over15 years demonstrates that.
His reputation improved in the first few months of the season while we were having our problems with Messrs Dowie and Reid, so expectations were high that he was going to march in there and turn it all round.
He has been unlucky with injuries, but spending £5m on Boa Morte looked bizarre at the time and even more so now.
The whole Mascherano thing is also baffling - he walks straight into the Liverpool team, but both Curbs and Pardew didn't pick him ahead of Quashie, Mullins and co, which suggests there must have been a lot going on behind the scenes.
Curbs could easily be out of there by the end of the week, but he's probably just the man to bring them back up if/when they're relegated.
However, even if he comes back next week [which would be a massive risk] then there's just no way he'll be properly fit before the end of the seaon, it just does not work that way.
As for Curbs, it would be madness for them to sack him until he has had a proper chance to gut the squad in the summer and re-build them to his specs. I mean, who is out there who could realistically replace him and has any sort of track record? Les Reed?
His transfer window activity was bizarre but he was damned either way because if he had NOT bought in some new players then their fans would have crucified him for not using the Biscuitman's fortune to buy them out of trouble.
Moreover, you can only sign players if they want to join you and if you are bottom four then you will only get the cast-offs [Quashie, Blanco] and greed merchants [Neil, Boa Morte, Upson].
Pre Curbs
1. They had a lot of defensive injuries - Gabbidon and Ferdinand plus one or two others
2. Ashton - major injury blow
3. Harewood turned back into a sulker
4. Etherington - gambling problem
5. Carrol - gambling and drink
6. Reo Coker - arsey cos he didn't get a move out in the summer
7. Tevez and Mascherano - foisted upon Pard's with, it appears, some strings attached (Mascherano)
Post Curbs
1. Players signed injured/unwell - Upson/Neil/Boa Morte
2. Neil/Upson wages - jealousy
3. Continued existing players injuries - Ashton, Gabbidon, plus others
4. Still question marks over Tevez.
5. Bust ups with players - Konchesky, Green, Ferdinand, Sheringham
6. Players still loyal to Pard's
If you add these all up (even if not all of them are true), then he's got a very difficult job to change it round. If you add in the "he's only managed a small club" factor which is playing with the fans and will rub off onto the players, the West Ham board will come under huge pressure to dump him. I think of he gets some luck and time, he will turn things round but I can't see it happening this season.
Loyalty to the back room staff could be Curbs downfall...get rid of Merv and get a decent coach (Les Reed??) and Mr. Motivator?? That would be interesting...
I thought that too. His interview was so negative, it was basically "we are sh*t, i've run out of ideas, please sack me"
Curbishley built up a squad here of generally "honest", hard working pros lacking a bit of quality lacking at the back and in the middle. Pards has been able to come in, beef up those areas and get the players working hard again.
Pardew left a bling squad at West Ham who after last season were probably bigging themselves up and now blame everyone except themselves. They ain't ever going to work hard at West Ham - wholesale change is required and Curbs has probably tried his best to do that in Janaury but then been unlucky with injuries. Hopefully he stays unlucky - sorry Curbs.
I think what you say is very perceptive. It is too facile to say that one must be a good manager because he's got Charlton playing and the other is a poor manager because he's failed to sort out West Ham.
What can be said thus far is that Pard's has approached the uplifting of our fortunes in a very professional manner and with the bit of luck you always need and the fans behind him (not difficult really after what went before), he has turned the club from desperate pessimists into cautious focussed optimists.
Curb's has come in, tried to sort out the big time charlie bling merchants, and the sulker egomanics with a fairly down to earth method of shaming, dropping, hairdryering, and introducing new blood. He's shaken it all about but hasn't been able to re-assemble things in a better way. Almost to a man, the new blood has been unfit or injured. Most of the existing injured players haven't come back. Added to that the luck deserted them. They were 2-0 up against Newcastle and then Uriah Rennie allowed a blatantly offside goal to stand. Where would things have gone if they had won that game?
He's a big boy though and if he does get the tin tack, I'm sure he'll pop up and be succesful somewhere else.