Keith Curle leaving Carlisle

[cufc17]

Officially confirmed that Curle is leaving at the end of the season, having been speculated for weeks if not months.

Probably the right decision in my opinion, improved us from when he took over but stalled a bit this season, some great memories but also lots of moments to forget too.

Now we’ve gotta hope the idiots in charge appoint somebody who will spark a bit of interest amongst the fans and get us fighting for promotion next season. Neil McDonald one of those rumoured, I’d take him but a few on our forum evidently wouldn’t.

 

[darren gregory]

He was on the Channel 5 goals show the other week. Comes over okay but seems a bit eccentric to me. Can't really comment on his managerial quality i'll leave that to those who know better.

 

[hellogregory]

He’s been one of the better managers we’ve had over recent years, the away form particularly good. But the standard of football has gone downhill drastically, it’s the right time to go.

Good luck to him, he’ll get another league job no problem.

 

[Davidimp]

Back to Mansfield?
Or one the other lower league jobs that will become vacant in the next few weeks.
He wont be out of work long, never is he's like Robins always seems to get another job.

 

[AdamStag]

Back to Mansfield?
Or one the other lower league jobs that will become vacant in the next few weeks.
He wont be out of work long, never is he's like Robins always seems to get another job.

Meh.

He was responsible for losing in the playoffs when we really should have gone up (03/04) ironically the last time we were any good in this league. But was sacked by haslam in a dodgy way to say the least.

Genuinely still held in decent regards.

 

[Wooderson]

This is just like the Wenger situation.

Only shitter.

 

[AdamStag]

This is just like the Wenger situation.

Only shitter.

And shorter.

 

[shoddycollins]

Beginning of the end for us.

I know it sounds like I'm just bitter because a manager I liked has been shown the door but down here you change manager at your peril, and if you do then you'd better be sure you can bring in someone who will improve things. IMHO only worth doing if your current manager has either badly and indisputably failed; has lost the support of the players or fans; or his actions have damaged the club in some way.

I don't really buy into the received wisdom among football fans that managers have an expiry date, that after two or three seasons a point is reached where 'he's taken us as far as he can'. There are many reasons why a club may have failed to achieve their ambitions and many things a board or a manager can try and do to turn it around, but no matter what you do, there are another 23 managers trying to do the same, and sometimes, someone else just finishes above you, not your season, move on, next season might be your season. Boards' constant changing of managers as if it is the only thing they can do is like an incompetent plumber not sure which tap to turn to stop the leak, so just choosing the one which turns the easiest and turning it this way and that over and over with no idea how it is affecting the leak, if at all. Probably they just do it to deflect criticism of themselves.

Curle has been putting together a squad and style of play, he's had his setbacks, some which are through no fault of his own and some where he's had to take responsibility, he's done well on a below-average budget at a club with an obstructive and negative board. I'm sure he hasn't seen eye to eye with them a lot of the time but he's maintained a professional approach, kept the unity of the dressing room and to an extent distracted the fans from the goings on behind the scenes.

Like any manager, he's put his own stamp on the club, and this is one of the main risks with changing manager. It's not just a case of out with one set of backroom staff, in with another. A new manager will decide which players he can and can't work with and almost always one of the results is the freezing out of players who are in contract, who may have previously been seen as among the best at the club, and at great financial cost to the club. Not to mention a new manager will want to do far more in the transfer market than an incumbent manager ever would. If he can't then he'll struggle to get the best from a team that isn't his, that have learned each other's game under the guidance of the previous boss. If he can make all the changes he wants, well that's expensive, and no guarantee of success.

Though I do believe the majority of managers, even those who are maligned by fans know what they're doing, there are always those that don't, and many more that only know what they're doing once everything at the club is just how they like it, so each change carries the risk of failure, a risk only worth taking if failure is either relatively minor (Arsenal failing to qualify for the Champions League) or almost inevitable under the current management.

Can't see us bringing in Lee Clark. He's far too highly thought of, we can't afford him, he's only among the favourites because he once went to one of our games, even though he attended several other games that week.

Neil McDonald would not be the messiah some fans seem to think he is. Yes he did well for us the first time around, but that was over ten years ago, for one season, when he was a young manager with new ideas. Since then he has mostly had a string of assistant jobs and never really looked like establishing himself as a league manager, not to mention spent a lot of that time under Sam Allardyce, I shudder to think what ideas about football he's picked up from Big Sam.

Edmo would be the classic appointment from our board, nice and cheap, already under contract, probably will just give him a nominal pay-rise and tell him to have-at-it. This will last until January, at which point he will be sacked so we can try and find someone to save us from relegation. Nothing against Edmo, he's doing a good job with the academy but I can't see him making the step up in the current climate.

Then you have the usual assortment of ex-players, Jansen, Aranalde, Lumsdon, Bridges etc. None of whom are probably even remotely interested in the job but the bookies have stuck odds on anyway.

And that's probably it, apart from your usual lower-league dross, like Danny Wilson who is linked with every job and I wouldn't be surprised if the board were seriously considering. I can't think of a single manager who would come highly recommended and who would be willing to manage us and who we could afford.

We can't afford a manager who isn't either already employed by the club or left at the bottom of the barrel having been passed over by the likes of Chesterfield and Barnet, and when we do appoint whoever we will need a whole new squad, which we won't be able to afford. Our defence will quickly return to being woeful, our attack won't improve we'll start getting humped week in week out just like we did in our relegation season in League One.

Carlisle United will be relegated next season, you heard it here first.

 

[SoutheySWFC]

Hold up Danny Wilson is described as lower league dross but Lee Clark is in high regard, fucking mental.

 

[hellogregory]

I think we’ll be a relegation battle shoddy, with or without curle. I’m not quite as negative as you in saying we’ll definitely go down, but yeah definite bottom 6 scrap ahead.

I think change is needed purely to make home matches more appealing. The standard at home has been atrocious. Constant hoof ball dross. The crowds will continue to go down with another season of that and the club can’t afford fo let that happen.

Do I trust them to appoint someone better? No. But I’m hoping they accidentally stumble upon someone good and the football improves.

 

[Hooped Wizard]

Danny Wilson is a far better manager than bloody Lee Clark, though I doubt Wilson would want to come to your lot anyway

 

[hellogregory]

Why do you doubt Wilson would want to go there? Know him well do you?

Wouldn’t want either of them anyway.

 

[Hooped Wizard]

Why do you doubt Wilson would want to go there? Know him well do you?

Wouldn’t want either of them anyway.

Can’t see him wanting to go to a league 2 club who are apparently dead certs to struggle next season

 

[shoddycollins]

Danny Wilson is a far better manager than bloody Lee Clark, though I doubt Wilson would want to come to your lot anyway

I seem to have touched a nerve in South Yorkshire with my comments about Wilson. I'm really just basing it on the fact that he seems to always be out of work and applying for jobs when some manager gets sacked down here and rarely gets the job, that and what Chesterfield fans have said about him this season. I don't know much about Lee Clark's managerial style or nous, but I just think of him as that young manager at Huddersfield back in the day. Seems his career since then hasn't gone as I'd imagined. He's probably still the most highly regarded manager we're likely to even consider.

 

[hellogregory]

Can’t see him wanting to go to a league 2 club who are apparently dead certs to struggle next season

1. He managed Hartlepool
2. He hardly appears to be inundated with job offers.
3. If he did take the job, he’d probably believe in his own capabilities enough to expect to be able to stay well away from struggle.

Hopefully you’re right though and he doesn’t but want the job.

 

[hellogregory]

I seem to have touched a nerve in South Yorkshire with my comments about Wilson. I'm really just basing it on the fact that he seems to always be out of work and applying for jobs when some manager gets sacked down here and rarely gets the job, that and what Chesterfield fans have said about him this season. I don't know much about Lee Clark's managerial style or nous, but I just think of him as that young manager at Huddersfield back in the day. Seems his career since then hasn't gone as I'd imagined. He's probably still the most highly regarded manager we're likely to even consider.

That young manager at Huddersfield who had a huge budget, a squad littered with quality, plus the added bonus of a 50 goal a season striker in Rhodes, yet still failed to get them promoted.

Look at the players he had at Bury, Beckford etc and look where he got them.

Clark is shite

 

[hellogregory]

What does worry me re Clark is he’s been present at so many home game in recent months which given the dross we’ve served up can’t be for entertainment value that’s for sure. Added to that the Huddersfield connection with our chief executive.

 

[T.A]

Lee Clark is terrible. He's done nothing since Huddersfield and even then he had a shit tonne of money and most of them games in the unbeaten run were draws and hes lived off that ever since. Kilmarnock, Blackpool and us he has been fucking awful. I can't believe you'd rather have him than Danny Wilson.

 

[shoddycollins]

Lee Clark is terrible. He's done nothing since Huddersfield and even then he had a shit tonne of money and most of them games in the unbeaten run were draws and hes lived off that ever since. Kilmarnock, Blackpool and us he has been fucking awful. I can't believe you'd rather have him than Danny Wilson.

Rather have neither thank you very much. The list of possible appointments so far has been less than underwhelming and you can see just how shit things are for us at the moment that this thread has quickly turned into a discussion of the relative merits of Clark and Wilson. The only one that really piques my interest is Aranalde and even then I wouldn't bet my house on him turning out to be an inspired choice. But he's just among the odds because he's a Carlisle legend currently coaching in the league.

 

[shoddycollins]

I think we’ll be a relegation battle shoddy, with or without curle. I’m not quite as negative as you in saying we’ll definitely go down, but yeah definite bottom 6 scrap ahead.

I think change is needed purely to make home matches more appealing. The standard at home has been atrocious. Constant hoof ball dross. The crowds will continue to go down with another season of that and the club can’t afford fo let that happen.

Do I trust them to appoint someone better? No. But I’m hoping they accidentally stumble upon someone good and the football improves.

If we're in the bottom 6 then we're not going to be playing easy on the eye attractive football. We'll be doing everything we can to avoid the drop and crowds will most certainly not go up.

I disagree that long-ball has been a hallmark of Curle's tenure here. He's certainly shown he can use that tactic when he feels necessary (which isn't always when the fans feel it necessary) but we've also played plenty of really good football too and we actually have decent build-up play and a good midfield, none of which are associated with hoof-ball.

 

[cufc17]

Anyone but Clark

Think it’ll probably be McDonald, though I’d just like to see somebody fresh who’ll instill some excitement, not one of the lower-league journeymen.

 

[hellogregory]

If we're in the bottom 6 then we're not going to be playing easy on the eye attractive football. We'll be doing everything we can to avoid the drop and crowds will most certainly not go up.

I disagree that long-ball has been a hallmark of Curle's tenure here. He's certainly shown he can use that tactic when he feels necessary (which isn't always when the fans feel it necessary) but we've also played plenty of really good football too and we actually have decent build-up play and a good midfield, none of which are associated with hoof-ball.

I honestly think I’ve seen 1 or 2 (at best) good footballing performances at BP since the start of 2017. The first half of his reign was good, but since January 2017 the football at home has been poor. You can accept it more away from home.

 

[shoddycollins]

I honestly think I’ve seen 1 or 2 (at best) good footballing performances at BP since the start of 2017. The first half of his reign was good, but since January 2017 the football at home has been poor. You can accept it more away from home.

I'm never sure though whether you mean the skill on show and entertainment value has been poor, or the outcome has been poor. I'd say we've had more games than that where we've played good football but not won (usually because either no final product, or powder-puff defence but occasionally just outdone by better opponents), and then probably as a consequence have then gone into other home games and just won ugly.

 

[BigDaveCUFC]

We missed our chance a couple of seasons ago with Derek Adams before he went to Plymouth.....ideal type of manager for Carlisle is someone decent from the Scottish leagues with a good scouted network of cheap players we could tap into................we never EVER go that route its utterly bizarre.

Carlisle were never going to go up with Curle....he messes about far too much with the side, worries too much about everyone else and never has any confidence in his own formation/team and style to ooze that sheer arrogance you need to have a promotion side (I don't see many promotion sides who constantly 'worry about the opposition')

that being said we'd probably never have gone down with Curle either who seems to at least create sides able to get good points away from home and does have a strong points total the last few seasons.

very risky...........right move can see progress, wrong move could be a disaster....................if its Lee Clark the board want to resign.

 

[BigDaveCUFC]

also have to add that while the budget is being reduced next season i still think Carlisle is very attractive especially to maybe an ex player or coach wanting the first steps in management......mostly because it is one of about maybe 5-6 clubs in the entire FL who would give a manager time. We gave abbott 3-4 years, we gave Curle 3-4 years.....even Kavanagh got an extra 6 months than he should have been allowed.

If your someone who needs time to build a side Carlisle is quite a patient board to work with.

 

[hellogregory]

The football has been on the whole absolutely dire, even in games when we’ve won. Forest green at home, Crewe at home, Chesterfield at home. Wins but horrible games of football, just hit and hope to Bennett or Stockton. You might get the odd good phase of play but as I say on the whole it’s just been hoof ball.

People don’t want Neil McDonald back, but the football we played under him at home was 100x better than what we’ve served up at BP this season. A league above I know, but you can still play with a bit of variety and thought at this level.

If we get a manager that plays better football, we’ll see a better Jamie Devitt. I know he’s got goals this season but I’m talking in terms of seeing more of his technical and passing ability.

 

[Carver]

Shame to lose Keith Curle like this but it is no suprise as the football at home this season has been dross and I think it is time for a new voice. If he had had more backing from the club to spend money in January last year I think he will have got us promoted. He will go down as a good manager of the club though and that is rare for us lol.

As for the new manager I think we should try for Graham Alexander who was last at Scunthorpe. If we cant not get him then we should offer it to Clint Hill our 39 year old defender and see how he does seen as he is so adored.

 

[hellogregory]

Shame to lose Keith Curle like this but it is no suprise as the football at home this season has been dross and I think it is time for a new voice.

Finally something we agree on!

 

[shoddycollins]

If we get a manager that plays better football, we’ll see a better Jamie Devitt. I know he’s got goals this season but I’m talking in terms of seeing more of his technical and passing ability.

It's possible, but the other alternative is that Devitt ends up frozen out of the team because he just doesn't fit with the new manager's style. You see it all the time and it's probably one of the biggest financial burdens with changing managers. That you still have all the contracted players that the new manager doesn't want to use.

Quite bizarre on that note that Curle will still do our retained list at the end of the season, but 'quite bizarre' is the modus operandi of our board so nothing surprises me.

 

[LondonOrn]

If Carlisle are considering Danny Wilson, then why not Mickey Adams?

Granted his record has been very patchy of late, but he has a similar win % and he's achieved more in a shorter career, including three promotions from this division.