To sack Clarke or not

If Clarke had owt about him Hourihane's decision to retire wouldn't have happened when it did. Regardless of the situation it showed weakness.

 

I’d get rid now. It often takes us ages to appoint someone anyway, so do it now, assess the squad, actually back the new coach with what he needs and have a go at next season.

Obviously there are plenty of other issues, but Clarke is contributing to the mess. Players are getting worse not better and structure and discipline are a rarity.

We can throw as many new players at it as you like, they are doomed to get worse under this clueless, irritating coach.

 

Spot on.

 

I was hoping he could take advantage, of what for him is a massive personal opportunity but it’s clearer day by day that he isn’t up to it. Sometimes things just don’t work out and this appointment hasn’t. No joy in this but for me he just isn’t improving players or providing a tempo driven team playing to its capabilities. We have some very good midfield players all capable of playing at a higher level but who look lost.

We don’t move fast off the pitch and we need someone in place for next season so on that basis I would act now.

 

Get rid now.

 

If Clarke is sacked, who will scout, interview and employ the next head coach?

Sack Sormaz now.

Once we've done that we can talk about who the next head coach might be, or even if that needs to change, but at the moment it's irrelevant.

 

1. I really like DC, in a way I know is very irrational for the outcomes he's delivered/not delivered. He sees games like I do, and isn't afraid to say so. I like the way he speaks to the media, as much as it rubs others up the wrong way.
2. We all acknowledge he's been dealt a **** hand, with the squad he's been given and the work of the recruitment team,/DoF
3. I think the problems go much higher than him.
4. We *desperately* need to stick with a manager for longer than 12 months if we want to have any success.

All that said, I've just voted 'yes' on the poll. Football is a silly, emotional sport, and maybe I've been drawn into voting like a wally with no brain. But I don't see anything getting better now with DC, even though I don't think much is down to him. I don't think the players are working for him, and I don't get much of an impression the board/hierarchy much like him either.

I'm with @Jay - please let Sormaz go first. But I suspect DC has to go too, if only to give the players a new lease of life.

Shame that Collins fella is busy...

 

keep banging the drum.

 

At first, my reply would have been ‘don’t care, just let the season end, hopefully a disaster will be a wake up call for the owners’.

Having slept on it, I say replace him as soon as possible. Willingly letting the season slide when 7 points off the play offs with 15 games still to play is no good for anyone.

Allowing the players to plod on in the same manner for the final third of the season isn’t the best way to lift the mood and sell tickets for next season.

 

5 defeats and 1 draw in last 6 games isn't good enough. Lose against Rotherham and surely he's gone...
Hourihane will be the next manager that's why he's no2...There's no point thinking about another manager. No other manager would work in these conditions unless their desperate

 

Sacking Clarke now means Sormaz is recruiting his replacement. We all know that we don't recruit quickly and we're not statistically safe from relegation yet. Barring an internal appointment it could come back and bite us on the bum. Happy for a twin sacking of Sormaz and Clarke.

 

What’s the point of sacking him now? We’re not going up or down, give him time to sort it out and review in the summer.

 

A new manager now isn't going to get us into the playoffs so I see no reason to sack him now. I think we all know he won't be here next season, better to wait and see who is available and would be interested in taking the job on.

Mind you, we're not actually safe from relegation yet.....

 

You would like to think the bottom 3 isn’t a possibility, but if we continue to lose, and be so soft, who knows?

Any team in the mid 30s has a decent chance of overtaking us based on our current form.

 

The thought of watching this dross and the stupid substitutions and decisions he makes until the end of the season is unbearable, that’s why I want him sacked. I want to see us trying to win not competing for half a match. I feel disconnected from this manager and his approach; he’s not a winner and he doesn’t have a winning mentality.

 

Let’s sack Clarke because it’s worked so so well up to now in the past

 

There are quite a few posts suggesting other positions should go first, or that we would stick rather than twist because we've sacked so many managers previously. I can understand those viewpoints, but it doesn't logically follow that Clarke becomes a better coach from being given more time and/or a new boss.

He's had 8 months. Not a huge amount of time to get to the finished article, no.

But the questions I'm answering are, would you expect a head coach to have got a solid structure in that time? Has the team shown signs of cohesion? Do the players look motivated and are they giving full effort? Are we looking better than we did in his first 5-10 games?

You would expect progression and improvement, though not always linear. But it seems we're not developing. The formations aren't working. The intensity isn't great, and certainly not for long spells. We have issues in every area of the pitch and all too often, you see a player not giving their all. Discipline isn't great. The things I'd expect a coach to influence despite of personnel, isn't happening.

League 1 isn't a great league. You can get promoted through workmanlike organised football. Yet the team isn't organised. He's either poor at getting his message across, or his coaches are, or the players are totally incapable of hearing it.

Of course, if we part company now, there's no guarantee we'll get a coach that fits, or our execs will make better decisions. But neither are they a good enough reason to persist with someone who is failing so badly while undermining his players in the process.

 

On Saturday we desperately needed a midfielder or two who could put in a tackle. Clarke didn't have one available because, despite having umpteen midfield players on the books, there's only Connell who can do that and he was out injured.

It's been the same situation all season. When we're put under any sort of pressure we only have one player who can protect the defence. That's why we concede so many goals in the second half. Every team will have periods in the game when they're on top, even the teams towards the foot of the table when they're playing the better teams. If you've been attacking for much of the game, your front players tire and the opposition get a few chances to go forward. Good teams have players to deal with that. We've got Connell and that's it. Inevitably we concede.

Sacking the manager will not change that. The new manager will still not have a balanced squad to select from.

The lack of balance in the squad is a result of poor recruitment and that's headed up by the Sporting director. It's that position that needs to change.

If the new sporting director does not feel the first team coach is up to it then change that too. But I want him to decide. I don't want the current sporting director recruiting a new head coach.

 

I understand that, but if after 8 months you haven't understood what your weaknesses are and how to mitigate against it more, you're not very bright.

We often play a high line with no pace. We over commit wingbacks, sometimes on both sides at the same time. We gift the ball so easily. And we empty midfield far too easily.

I completely agree we've a disastrously imbalanced squad and our last few windows have been shambolic. But we have a woeful head coach who is making our players worse and not giving us a chance to compete.

I could be wrong, that if he got different players then suddenly an incredible team materialises. But that seems contrary to the evidence of regression from a low starting point.