Has this done us a favour?

[Resurrection Ox]

All this 'Smith Out' stuff is knee jerk.

Well, not really. There have plenty of people who have been saying for a long time that they don't think he should be doing the job.

Who?

You misunderstand in any event. 4 wins in a row and his farts are perfumed. 2 home defeats and he's a piece of offal. Changing the manager at this stage will not get us up.

[Frank]

All this 'Smith Out' stuff is knee jerk.

Well, not really. There have plenty of people who have been saying for a long time that they don't think he should be doing the job.

Who?

You misunderstand in any event. 4 wins in a row and his farts are perfumed. 2 home defeats and he's a piece of offal. Changing the manager at this stage will not get us up.

Read my previous posts since last April for a start!

From day one, I was happy he came back to the club, but NOT as manager. Another discussion - but some blame is due to him for us being in the conference to start with!

Experience only counts if you can use it good effect. We were lucky in our early season unbeaten run, then teams stopped respecting us and worked us out. Smithy then digs his heels in and played anything other than 4-4-2.

Poor player buys. Poor team selection. Poor tactics. No plan B in a game. Hardly any use of youth players. I'd rather Beechers than Anthrobus II to have played with Duffy.

Poor man management - the Duffy substitution against FGR was desperation stuff as was the idea of doing 3 subs at a time. Sunday league under 8 stuff!

Smithy and Awford spend most of their time - arms folded - looking at the game, but doing nothing. In contrast, FGR manager and staff were constantly geeing up their players, clapping them etc, even when things didn't go right for them.

Boris may be right in his - &quotlets not get promotion to reduce the stadium price&quot theory (stranger things have happened), but I cannot believe that there can be anything other than promotion this season. If we are not promoted, it is Smiths fault - fair and square.

Hacked off Frank

[Resurrection Ox]

Well, not really. There have plenty of people who have been saying for a long time that they don't think he should be doing the job.

Who?

You misunderstand in any event. 4 wins in a row and his farts are perfumed. 2 home defeats and he's a piece of offal. Changing the manager at this stage will not get us up.

Read my previous posts since last April for a start!

From day one, I was happy he came back to the club, but NOT as manager. Another discussion - but some blame is due to him for us being in the conference to start with!

Experience only counts if you can use it good effect. We were lucky in our early season unbeaten run, then teams stopped respecting us and worked us out. Smithy then digs his heels in and played anything other than 4-4-2.

Poor player buys. Poor team selection. Poor tactics. No plan B in a game. Hardly any use of youth players. I'd rather Beechers than Anthrobus II to have played with Duffy.

Poor man management - the Duffy substitution against FGR was desperation stuff as was the idea of doing 3 subs at a time. Sunday league under 8 stuff!

Smithy and Awford spend most of their time - arms folded - looking at the game, but doing nothing. In contrast, FGR manager and staff were constantly geeing up their players, clapping them etc, even when things didn't go right for them.

Boris may be right in his - &quotlets not get promotion to reduce the stadium price&quot theory (stranger things have happened), but I cannot believe that there can be anything other than promotion this season. If we are not promoted, it is Smiths fault - fair and square.

Hacked off Frank

Back to my point. Changing the manager now will not get us promoted. We're still second and people seem to be giving up.

Amazing.

[Fat Andy]

Back to my point. Changing the manager now will not get us promoted. We're still second and people seem to be giving up.

Amazing.

If we change nothing then we're pretty unlikely to get promoted either.

[Isaac]

I don't think the club could have functioned with Smith coming in initially as a director of football, or even just on the board. Everytime there was a bad result there'd be calls from the supporters for him to take over from the manager. A bit like the perplexing obsession with our youth team coach currently, only much more regular and much more vociferous. It would have been very unsettling, even for Oxford.

It might be different now of course, but I still think Smith has done reasonably well over the whole season so far. We're still well placed for the playoffs and I reckon just about every Oxford fan would have accepted a playoff place before the season started. If we don't go up though and the team has a poor start to next season I can see it becoming a problem.

How do you replace a manager who is also a board member? I remember Denis NEM Smith leaving when for West Brom when he was on the board, but I remember a certain Mr Horton in Rage On saying directors as managers is a problem that should generally be avoided.

[ty cobb]

The reason we're in this position is because we keep changing manager.

There are aspects of Smith's management that frustrate me but we're second in the league with a few games left. A possible Wembley final beckons and although I'll be gutted if we don't go up lets start worrying about it then, this is the time to pull together and go for one last push.

Getting rid of Smith and booing the players off at the end of defeats is not the way forward, get behind the lads.

[Resurrection Ox]

I don't think the club could have functioned with Smith coming in initially as a director of football, or even just on the board. Everytime there was a bad result there'd be calls from the supporters for him to take over from the manager. A bit like the perplexing obsession with our youth team coach currently, only much more regular and much more vociferous. It would have been very unsettling, even for Oxford.

It might be different now of course, but I still think Smith has done reasonably well over the whole season so far. We're still well placed for the playoffs and I reckon just about every Oxford fan would have accepted a playoff place before the season started. If we don't go up though and the team has a poor start to next season I can see it becoming a problem.

How do you replace a manager who is also a board member? I remember Denis NEM Smith leaving when for West Brom when he was on the board, but I remember a certain Mr Horton in Rage On saying directors as managers is a problem that should generally be avoided.

I agee. Smith has done reasonably well. To get rid of him now would be madness.

[GodalmingYellow]

The reason we're in this position is because we keep changing manager.

There are aspects of Smith's management that frustrate me but we're second in the league with a few games left. A possible Wembley final beckons and although I'll be gutted if we don't go up lets start worrying about it then, this is the time to pull together and go for one last push.

Getting rid of Smith and booing the players off at the end of defeats is not the way forward, get behind the lads.

I agree completely Ty.

[Frank]

Who?

You misunderstand in any event. 4 wins in a row and his farts are perfumed. 2 home defeats and he's a piece of offal. Changing the manager at this stage will not get us up.

Read my previous posts since last April for a start!

From day one, I was happy he came back to the club, but NOT as manager. Another discussion - but some blame is due to him for us being in the conference to start with!

Experience only counts if you can use it good effect. We were lucky in our early season unbeaten run, then teams stopped respecting us and worked us out. Smithy then digs his heels in and played anything other than 4-4-2.

Poor player buys. Poor team selection. Poor tactics. No plan B in a game. Hardly any use of youth players. I'd rather Beechers than Anthrobus II to have played with Duffy.

Poor man management - the Duffy substitution against FGR was desperation stuff as was the idea of doing 3 subs at a time. Sunday league under 8 stuff!

Smithy and Awford spend most of their time - arms folded - looking at the game, but doing nothing. In contrast, FGR manager and staff were constantly geeing up their players, clapping them etc, even when things didn't go right for them.

Boris may be right in his - &quotlets not get promotion to reduce the stadium price&quot theory (stranger things have happened), but I cannot believe that there can be anything other than promotion this season. If we are not promoted, it is Smiths fault - fair and square.

Hacked off Frank

Back to my point. Changing the manager now will not get us promoted. We're still second and people seem to be giving up.

Amazing.

Please be futher Amazed then and understand I am not saying we should change the manager now!

I know as well as everyone how many managers we have had etc, my post stated that I didn't want him back as a manager. My post then states whereever we find ourself at the end of the season is down to the manager.

Lets assume we don't go up for a second - will that be down to Smith? Yes, in my opinion.

My support will be there until the last minute of the last game of the season - I don't leave games early or boo the players off!

[Pe├▒a Oxford United]

I wouldn't change the manager now - of course not. But at the end of the season Smith should move upstairs.

[GodalmingYellow]

2. Even if we do get in the play-offs I can't see us beating anybody over two legs, let alone against a team that has already played us twice and knows our plan A and also knows that we don't have a plan B.

.

Christ! You mean there IS a plan A?

Yes, plan A = capitulation

[ty cobb]

I wouldn't change the manager now - of course not. But at the end of the season Smith should move upstairs.

Even if we go up? With all the player changes I think this will be a excellent achievement and he will be able to attract better players in the league.

Who would attract players to the club Jim Smith or Patto?

GY - it's nice to agree on something

[Pe├▒a Oxford United]

Who would attract players to the club Jim Smith or Patto?

I don't see that there would be a great deal of difference.

[recordmeister]

[quote=&quotty cobb&quot]The reason we're in this position is because we keep changing manager.[/quote]

it's not the changing of the managers that is the issue, it is the quality (or lack of) in the first place. We wouldn't need to keep changing managers if the right person was installed. Sadly, under Kassam the football club was being run by someone who didn't have any understanding of football but had a ruthless business streak and no quarms about making changes. I fear that in Merry we may have a fan of the club and someone who loves and understands the game i only hope he can be ruthless when it is needed (IMHO at the end of the season) but I think he may have too much respect for Smith and generally be &quottoo much of a nice guy&quot....

[SmileyMan]

Since we're the biggest club in the Conference, we're going to attract exactly the same players no matter who's the manager. League players won't want to come down except on loan to get match fitness. Non-league players will want to come for the wages and the promotion chance. The difference Smith makes is his little black book of phone numbers which means that the first category of players are of significantly better pedigree than we might otherwise expect.

I'm not saying &quotSmith Out Right Now&quot either, but I think Patto's shown an awful lot of loyalty to the club after his &quotdemotion&quot, and he's shown he can do the business with the youth team. What would be the harm in having a well-known succession plan, where Patto will come in as Jim's assistant, with a clear deadline for a full takeover, say, before the Jan transfer window, when JS moves upstairs to keep his connections working for the club? And in the event that it looks like Patto can't cut the mustard in the seniors, well, replacing an assistant is less disruptive than replacing the manager.