Awford Gone

[WAP]

Not overly impressed by Worthington when the likes of Holloway and Brown are linked.

I'm 90% sure the board won't be stupid enough to appoint someone with no experience again no matter how good their interview is.

When you look at our last 4 managers I don't think you can really be surprised at how gash we've been.

Appleton
Whittingham
Barker
Awford. Although Awford did keep us up last season and I'm very thankful for that.

 

[Grecian O'Grecian]

Mr Tisdale at 8/1...

 

[WAP]

Mr Tisdale at 8/1...

We've been linked with him for the last 2 appointments I believe including an interview. I'd prefer Holloway As I see Tisdale as more of a long term gain appointment. Whereas Holloway would probably get us promoted and then leave if a better job turned up.

 

[Shrimpurh]

Brown signing a new 3 year deal this week so you can rule him out.

 

[Don Tonberry]

Paul Cook currently the favourite now but I still think Martin Allen will get the job in the end.

 

[AdamStag]

Paul Cox is available

 

[WAP]

Paul Cox is available

The amount of times I've got confused between Cook and Cox.

 

[EricSabin]

You don't seem like a person likely to get confused around Cox

 

[WAP]

You don't seem like a person likely to get confused around Cox

Aha.

Teddy Sheringham the latest to declare interest in the job. No thanks.

 

[LordJord]

Aha.

Teddy Sheringham the latest to declare interest in the job. No thanks.

Surely you have already been down the previous player route with no experience. Clearly didnt work.

 

[WAP]

Surely you have already been down the previous player route with no experience. Clearly didnt work.

Exactly. Chesterfield willing to fight us for Cook is the latest story in our local snooze. Personally I think we should wait until after the playoffs before unsettling Cook.

 

[LordJord]

Exactly. Chesterfield willing to fight us for Cook is the latest story in our local snooze. Personally I think we should wait until after the playoffs before unsettling Cook.

Cook would seem like a decent appointment. Only thing is at this level is that you want to be in early on the out of contract players when the best are available. Some try and hold out but leave it to long and a player can be scrounging for a club. I know Wilder has already put some feelers out regarding out of contract players.

We suffered a few years back from this when Boothroyd thought he would get the Wolves job after we lost the Playoff final, he didnt and missed out on all his targets and left us with utter dross.

 

[EricSabin]

Surely Cook would be looking higher than Pompey? No offence to Pompey but with the job he's done at Chesterfield other teams higher up the ladder would be after him surely

 

[WAP]

Agree with both posts ^

We really need 3/4 good players this summer so ideally we need an appointment asap but our ceo has said it could be as late as the end of May.

And yes you got to think why he would even want to come down here, don't think he's ever managed down South before so would be a big change and commitment to come.

 

[SpireiteDan]

Personally I think we should wait until after the playoffs before unsettling Cook.

That would be very considerate of you.

 

[WAP]

That would be very considerate of you.

Sadly I'm not on our board. There's a vote on our forum and Cook has 55% of the vote of who we should hire.

 

[SpireiteDan]

Sadly I'm not on our board. There's a vote on our forum and Cook has 55% of the vote of who we should hire.

One or two things have come out recently that would suggest Cook is frustrated with the budget he was given this season and the fact that it's going to be the same sort of figure next season (assuming the miracle of us going up doesn't happen) and there's a fear (from my point of view at least) that maybe, just maybe he's considering his future here.

It doesn't help that our CEO seems to enjoy coming out in the media basically trying to create interest in our best assets, he's done it with players and now it seems even the manager isn't immune from it, i wish he'd just shut the fuck up. We have debts to reduce (and the rumours are we're not doing a particularly good job of that, but's that a whole other story) so any offer that comes has to be weighed up with that in mind.

The Portsmouth job will interest a lot of managers but with Cook', i'd struggle to understand why he'd drop at least 1 league at a time where he's building a good reputation for himself and if he carries on will surely get an opportunity further up the footballing ladder soon enough.

 

[Don Tonberry]

The only way I could see Cook coming here is if Chesterfield fail to win promotion and he is a long-term thinker and thinks that he'd do better at a bigger club with bigger potential despite being a division lower. Nigel Adkins did the same thing leaving Scunthorpe for Scummers and it worked wonders for them.

My money is still on Ian Holloway or Martin Allen.

 

[LadyWomble]

The only way I could see Cook coming here is if Chesterfield fail to win promotion and he is a long-term thinker and thinks that he'd do better at a bigger club with bigger potential despite being a division lower. Nigel Adkins did the same thing leaving Scunthorpe for Scummers and it worked wonders for them.
My money is still on Ian Holloway or Martin Allen.

Err. isn't that a bit of an oxymoron? Someone taking a 'long term' view isn't something I associate with the noises coming out of your club. With the competitive (for which I read chuck as much cash at it as takes, whether or not we can really afford it) budget, the target and expectation will be promotion or play-offs at the very least. If/when you lose a couple of games next season - as every team does - your fans get on the manager's back and he's sacked by Christmas/Easter, the cycle continues.

I liked what I saw of Paul Cook. His PR is superb - always gracious in defeat, magnanimous in victory and respectful towards the oppo before and after, regardless of whatever happened on the pitch. (Chesterfield fans may disagree with that, of course!) But if he's really a planner/long-term-thinker/ambitious/destined for higher things, etc., then surely taking on Portsmouth would be a huge gamble?

Portsmouth, obviously, can generate a decent budget by virtue of having a comparatively large number of fans coming through the turnstiles. On the minus side, I imagine your ground absorbs a fair wedge on maintenance costs. But big-club/budget equals success doesn't necessarily work. Bradford were down here for a few years, wallowing in the bottom third for much of it. Luton and Oxford were big teams with corresponding budgets in the Conference but took a while to escape. Attitude and acceptance of where you are now, from both fans and the top brass, plus stability and a long term plan are what you need IMO if you're looking for a realistically achieveable and sustainable route back up the leagues.

 

[WAP]

Paul Cook now favourite on Skybet.

 

[LuSiVe]

Hey you bunch of twats ... how about holding off the approaching until our season's over too.

 

[SpireiteDan]

Absolute fucking shitcakes.

 

[PositiveOmen]

Fuck off Pompey, you overspending fruitcakes. We've got some playoffs to do!

 

[Richard Cranium]

I know Portsmouth are a big club, Bigger than probably all of those in L1 and L2 anyway, But you are still in League 2 whilst Cook has a chance to take Chesterfield into the Championship? Surely he would be mad to be considering this at the moment, Unless he's spoke to Pompey and being promised a massive budget and all that so he can get Pompey out of L2 and then L1..

I've read a few reports that he's not happy at Chesterfield due to the budget or something though so who knows. Can't be good for prep for the play offs all this speculation though!

 

[T.A]

Poor form from Pompey. Surely Cook won't even think about leaving until after the P/O. All this is doing is unsettling manager and club. Surprised Mark Catlin would be involved, he's normally a good guy.

 

[Don Tonberry]

With all due respect, we aren't likely to give a shit about Chesterfield's position if we can think we can nab a decent manager without having to wait longer for him. If unsettling him means that the Spireites crash out in the semis rather than get promoted, that increases our chances of convincing him to come to us if he really is our top priority, which judging by today's actions, seems like he is.

Re: LadyWomble: Long-term is probably the wrong phrase to use, but the prospects here would be better than the prospects at Chesterfield if he failed to get them promoted. Like you said though, our trigger-happy chairman isn't one for long-term thinking but part of that is due to our fans' frustration with the shit football and results in League Two. Patience is wearing thin already and if things don't go well next season then there is a real danger of apathy setting in at Fratton Park and the club stagnating in League Two which will see the attendances dwindle.

 

[SpireiteDan]

With all due respect, our chairman should just tell your lot to fuck off after this stunt.

 

[WAP]

It looks like it'll happen.

 

[Don Tonberry]

With all due respect, our chairman should just tell your lot to fuck off after this stunt.

He won't be able to if we meet the alleged buy out clause in Cook's contract or/and he wants to speak to us.

 

[Gashead]

Looks like Pompey will go for it next season then if they're paying compensation and going for managers of a decent calibre?

Agree with both Don Ton and Rich above, but I think there's a fine line between 'taking on a challenge' and 'not knowing what you've got' in the case of Cook. He could go to Pompey and get them up to the Championship and be a hero, or just as easily balls it up whilst Chesterfield do well. Look at the likes of Paulo Sousa when he went to Leicester from Swansea for example.