I assume they didn't sack MA without first having considered who next.
I further assume they are therefore already negotiating with parties and the 'message to supporters' is mere fluff / PR nonsense about reviewing who / what next.
You’re giving them too much credit if you think they have/had someone lined up. If that was the case they’d have been appointed yesterday. It’s not a nice business but you owe it to the club to have someone lined up ready to takeover.
Look at Forest recently, sacked Cooper on the 19th December, Nuno appointed the next day.
It’s not like Appleton’s sacking came out of the blue, he’d been dire for months. It’s inexcusable for Scott, Rodwell and Methven not to have a managerial succession plan, they clearly don’t have one. Clueless.
I’m really not. I understand the scepticism however.
It’s inconceivable the conversation was not held before they binned him.
More the case might be an inability to pay what they need to pay.
I fear they are having to balance their own costs/remuneration in and around the funds available and 2 x payoffs (however modest) were not budgeted for.
It is inconceivable but they clearly didn’t have a plan when they sacked Holden and if they had someone lined up then they’d already be in charge.
I think they have a plan (of sorts). It is likely not realistic though as I assume we wont pay what we need to pay & that is why we ended up with Holden & Appleton.
The worry is Curtis is the plan and they are simply buying time to announce it.
Again though, they should now how affordable each candidate is. Agents exist for a reason.
I think far too many people are looking at next season. I wouldn't worry about getting out of League 1 next season I'd worry about the next few months and what we need to do. Some need to accept we are in serious trouble & have an awful run of games coming up. Would snap your hand off for Warnock at least till the end of the season, I'd be relatively confident we will be playing League 1 football next season. We are far from being too good to go down.
Been thinking about Fleming and his arrival 12 days ago is no coincidence in my eyes, particularly as him and Appleton have no history of working together.
So to me either
1 Fleming had been brought into club to potentially be an Appleton replacement and there’s been a fortnight of understanding the squad etc, The ‘interim’ phase is effectively a trial to see how it goes and if a positive reaction is gained next game or two, he keeps the job.
2. Or he had been catapulted in in advance for who is going to be the next manager, so that when he arrives, his right hand man is already in the building and they are not starting it cold?
Second one seems the most likely to me. I’m 99% it’s not the 3rd option, that he was genuinely brought in to assist Appleton and it’s all been a coincidence and lucky timing for him he finds himself in this position
If we're looking to bring in a decent level manager then wouldn't he want to bring his own assistant with him?
If i was a good manager and had worked well with my own assistant in previous roles, i don't think i'd be too keen to take a job where someone i'd never worked with before was forced on me.
That is my point 2 Chris; that the next manager was already kind of arranged (in this case Pearson), and his lieutenant has been brought in in advance
I'm sure Pearson has an illness and cannot work so i don't think it'll be him. Although of course they could keep Fleming in situ until Pearson is well enough.
Someone has obviously been having a flutter because Jones has come in to 1/2 Think I would go for Duffy until the end of September, then give it to Jones for the next six months.
Been thinking about Fleming and his arrival 12 days ago is no coincidence in my eyes, particularly as him and Appleton have no history of working together.
So to me either
1 Fleming had been brought into club to potentially be an Appleton replacement and there’s been a fortnight of understanding the squad etc, The ‘interim’ phase is effectively a trial to see how it goes and if a positive reaction is gained next game or two, he keeps the job.
2. Or he had been catapulted in in advance for who is going to be the next manager, so that when he arrives, his right hand man is already in the building and they are not starting it cold?
Second one seems the most likely to me. I’m 99% it’s not the 3rd option, that he was genuinely brought in to assist Appleton and it’s all been a coincidence and lucky timing for him he finds himself in this position
If we're looking to bring in a decent level manager then wouldn't he want to bring his own assistant with him?
If i was a good manager and had worked well with my own assistant in previous roles, i don't think i'd be too keen to take a job where someone i'd never worked with before was forced on me.
That is my point 2 Chris; that the next manager was already kind of arranged (in this case Pearson), and his lieutenant has been brought in in advance
I'm sure Pearson has an illness and cannot work so i don't think it'll be him. Although of course they could keep Fleming in situ until Pearson is well enough.
Nothing online about it, only been out of work since October 2023 (sacked by Brizzle).
His own website looks like a pitch to our owners:
BRISTOL CITY
Manager
• Nominated for Championship Manager of the Month for February 2023 • Significantly reduced the squad budget, enabling the club to be FFP compliant • Introduced a number of academy products in to the side including Alex Scott, Sam Bell, Tommy Conway, while helping to increase the overall squad value and reduce the average age • First profitable sales in years: Antoine Semenyo to Bournemouth for £10.5m and Alex Scott to Bournemouth for £25m • Two comfortable mid-table finishes building a platform for the club to progress • Once coaching team departed, we left the club in 11th place in the EFL Championship, on course to finish on 64 points for the 2023/24 season, showing further improvement on previous campaigns • Reached the landmark of 600 games as a manager
I know Bows family friends and he gets a lovely place to stay at over at montserrat and a Range Rover company car. Sod leaving that to manage Tennai Watson.
I am incredibly jealous, getting paid to visit the Caribbean multiple times a year whilst not having to work that much in between is the absolute dream.
We should be looking for a manager to do that and then get us promoted next season and take us on into the championship. Warnock is not that man
I don’t think anyone thinks Warnock is a long term solution but I’d take him until the end of the season while we undertake a proper recruitment. Of those currently available and with the ability we need, some will not entertain us. That leaves a very small pool to choose from. I just don’t think we should rush appointing if it’s possible to get in someone like Warnock to get us out of a hole while we find the right man. If he could be persuaded to take next season also I’d take that as well. Getting us promoted is the most important thing and I think he’s as qualified to do that as any of the names being mentioned. Sadly I think the chances are next to zero.
Warnock was a big fan of REG while at Huddersfield too btw
If he’d come here I’d definitely have him right near the top of my wishlist, whether it’s 6 months or 18. Think he could give the squad the kick up the arse it needs before a younger bloke comes in.
Someone has obviously been having a flutter because Jones has come in to 1/2 Think I would go for Duffy until the end of September, then give it to Jones for the next six months.
With a board desperate to turn things around, the ownership had an intense brainstorming session in which they encouraged “out of the box” and “blue sky” thinking…
Warnock would be a short term appointment at best. Would rather look for a longer term option so we aren't back on the carousel of looking for a manager at the end of May.
If he keeps us up that's surely all that matters at this point.
Keeping us up shouldn’t be difficult, we shouldn’t need a short term specialist for it.
Much rather pick a manager for the long term, if they are even half-decent they will keep us up. But they also get a close look at the squad ahead of the summer
Main thing is to avoid relegation. Picking a manager for the long term might mean spending a year in L2, which would be a disaster. What’s the betting we’d get stuck there?
Warnock would be a short term appointment at best. Would rather look for a longer term option so we aren't back on the carousel of looking for a manager at the end of May.
If he keeps us up that's surely all that matters at this point.
Keeping us up shouldn’t be difficult, we shouldn’t need a short term specialist for it.
Much rather pick a manager for the long term, if they are even half-decent they will keep us up. But they also get a close look at the squad ahead of the summer
Main thing is to avoid relegation. Picking a manager for the long term might mean spending a year in L2, which would be a disaster. What’s the betting we’d get stuck there?
Just because you’re picking a manager for the long term doesn’t mean they are shit. Duff, Rowett, Jones etc are all more than capable of keeping us in league 1, but they would also want to be part of the long term project
Comments
As exciting as young coaches with new ideas can be, I worry we're not gonna pass and move our way out of this one.
Some need to accept we are in serious trouble & have an awful run of games coming up.
Would snap your hand off for Warnock at least till the end of the season, I'd be relatively confident we will be playing League 1 football next season.
We are far from being too good to go down.
His own website looks like a pitch to our owners:
BRISTOL CITY
Manager
• Nominated for Championship Manager of the Month for February 2023
• Significantly reduced the squad budget, enabling the club to be FFP compliant
• Introduced a number of academy products in to the side including Alex Scott, Sam Bell, Tommy Conway, while helping to increase the overall squad value and reduce the average age
• First profitable sales in years: Antoine Semenyo to Bournemouth for £10.5m and Alex Scott to Bournemouth for £25m
• Two comfortable mid-table finishes building a platform for the club to progress
• Once coaching team departed, we left the club in 11th place in the EFL Championship, on course to finish on 64 points for the 2023/24 season, showing further improvement on previous campaigns
• Reached the landmark of 600 games as a manager
If he’d come here I’d definitely have him right near the top of my wishlist, whether it’s 6 months or 18. Think he could give the squad the kick up the arse it needs before a younger bloke comes in.
Duffy sounds fine with me too...🙄
I would settle for Warnock on a 5 month contract with a bonus to avoid relegation - and take our time getting the right longer-term manager in.
Then we can get someone in next season with a fresh clean slate. I would really like that.
Jones would still be my ideal choice and then Rowett, as both will keep us up and then we can build for next season.
But I would take Warnock over every other name mentioned tbf
Only if in role already perhaps ? But then and are we really going to be such an attractive option for them to jump ship?