Rage Online

recordmeister wrote: ↑Wed Feb 28, 2018 8:12 am Brian mcDermott now being touted as next up.

Although - as with the previous links - that seems more due to the self-fulfilling prophecy of the betting market than anything else; odds shorten, more people lump in, repeat ad infinitum. Some people piled on because McDermott managed Reading during Mr Thanakarnjanasuth's time there - but they forget that he was also sacked in that period, so I'm not convinced he'd be top of the list.

I guess we'll find out soon enough. Maybe that Radio Oxford phone-in caller had it right and it'll actually be the Brackley Town manager after all.

Bellamy ruling himself out fits in with the delayed press conference and empty chairs.

So, Mr Thanakarnjanasuth has said it'll be next week before we appoint a new manager. Fair enough, in some respects - he'll still be making an appointment within a fortnight of the takeover, and is entitled to want his own man at the helm. The real indecision was by Eales going weeks without making an appointment (or making a statement that Fazakerley and Allen would be in charge until the end of the season).

Meanwhile, Craig Bellamy has said the deal for him to take charge was done, but then undone by the takeover - and although he didn't say as much explicitly, it sounds as though he didn't feel he'd be as good a fit for the new regime. Again, fair enough - if I'd been through a recruitment process for a job and then found out there'd be a different line manager to the one who'd appointed me and expectations / resources might be different, I'd think twice too.

But what IS now critical is making the right appointment. There can be no excuses once the candidate is unveiled - they'll have the backing of the new owner, presumably some resources to spend in the summer, and they'll be inheriting a competent side in lower mid-table with good players coming back from injury.

I agree totally with KE. A few more days, to get it right in the eyes of the new owner, is understandable - and the importance of this decision cannot be overstated. I was also very impressed with Bellamy's comments. Very sensible and reflective outlook.

Kairdiff Exile wrote: ↑Thu Mar 01, 2018 1:11 pm So, Mr Thanakarnjanasuth has said it'll be next week before we appoint a new manager. Fair enough, in some respects - he'll still be making an appointment within a fortnight of the takeover, and is entitled to want his own man at the helm. The real indecision was by Eales going weeks without making an appointment (or making a statement that Fazakerley and Allen would be in charge until the end of the season).

Not sure I buy the idea that the delay is all Eales' fault rather than Tiger's. If our new owner was getting involved with player recruitment during the transfer window, then I don't see why he couldn't be involved with the managerial situation as well. Tiger seems to have 'rushed' through the purchase to make himself involved, so he is very much responsible. Moreover, he said he expected to have a manager within a couple of days (which hasn't happened), at a time when he was supposed to be outlining his vision for the club (he didn't), and I believe he is now out of the country again. He doesn't even live in the UK - he just flies in for games.

Also, Bellamy's decision to pull out might reflect well on him, but I don't see how it can be seen as a positive for Tiger. Bellamy said “Darryl has done a brilliant job and he seemed like the perfect owner – the owner you’d want to work for." The new guy not so much evidently...

It is weird that Mr Thanakarnjanasuth was funding player acquisitions but wasn't involved in the new manager recruitment - but, to play devil's advocate, if the deal wasn't done then Eales was within his rights to want to control the process. But given what we now know, it's peculiar that Eales didn't just make a decision, put Faz & Allen in charge sine die, and focus all his attention on getting the deal over the line so that the new regime could start with a clean slate.

As for Bellamy, I stand by what I wrote above. Perfectly understandable for either party to walk away from a deal once the takeover was confirmed, as it fundamentally changed the situation at the club. There's no need to apportion any blame for that. In a normal line of work, a whole range of factors might get in the way of an appointment being made to a role; this one just wasn't meant to be.

KY is right that it was poor communication to promise an appointment within 48hrs and then renege on it. But with the snow break, it's probably no longer the cause for outrage that it might have been. A new man (or woman!) is still likely to be in place before Oxford United FC kick a ball again competitively.

Steve McClaren now heavily linked.

Would not be my first choice but would it show that there is some substance behind the takeover?

Before anyone rolls out the "wally with the brolly" criticism, I am sure he regrets doing that but I don't think it is that relevant.

He has had success as a coach over the years and he is probably keen to prove himself again in England.

Uh oh! Steve Cotterill has just become available!

Hog wrote: ↑Sat Mar 03, 2018 9:32 pm Uh oh! Steve Cotterill has just become available!

Remember when he would have been a lot of people's first choice...? How times and fortunes change

It was back in November 2001 that we were once linked with Cotterill.

Firoz Kassam had ruthlessly dispensed with the services of Mark Wright
but the then Cheltenham Town gaffer Cotterill was not interested
in working for Kassam.

I’d take Cotterill but I would think he will not do anything until
he has had his settlement completely sorted out by Birmingham.

Can we please just appoint someone and end this nonsense:
https://www.101greatgoals.com/news/tran ... rd-united/

Dr Bob wrote: ↑Tue Mar 06, 2018 2:32 pm Can we please just appoint someone and end this nonsense:
https://www.101greatgoals.com/news/tran ... rd-united/

Ye Gods, if that's the choice, I'm getting concerned.......

If it really is between one ex national manager and one ex assistant national manager who helped take a team to third place in the World Cup, then that is amazing!

Of the two, I would go for the latter, more for having taken a reserve/youth team to a title (at Twente) and in his youth scored a Champions League winner which means he should be able to show strikers at the club where the onion bag is!

Cue an announcement it is someone else entirely in the next few days...

Is it too much to ask to have someone who has an understanding of what it takes to manage in this league?

Because at the moment, I reckon we're heading for a relegation.

Yes a safe pair of hands please, even if only till the end of the season!