merse
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Post by merse on Jul 13, 2009 16:44:17 GMT
Gary Brabin has "been relieved of his duties with immediate effect" by that buffoon George Rolls, his Chairman at Cambridge United. The club statement quotes "a number of issues that make it untenable for the board and manager to work together". In fact the Conference seems to be in a state of self inflicted disarray at the moment what with the expulsions of Northwich and Farsley being overturned by the FA and the senile old Chairman Brian Lee being told in no uncertain terms by Soho Square that if they carried out their barmy policy of excluding clubs who go into administration during the close season they risked the hard won "two up" to the Football League concession being withdrawn should they extend their vendetta against struggling clubs to newly relegated Chester City. In fact with a rumoured half a dozen Conference clubs facing going into administration following the loss of the Setanta money including Salisbury who have yet again defaulted on their players' salaries; it's looking pretty bleak and a blessing that we got out when we did. Ebbsfleet too have parted company with Chief Executive John Moules who displayed advanced signs of delusional sickness (or plain lying) when he told me "all the seats were sold" when I requested one as a visiting supporter last season; and I'll laugh my tits off when that particular odious little club goes out of business! All of a sudden sharing the same stage with unambitious, going nowhere little clubs like Macclesfield and Accrington won't seem such a bore any more!
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Post by Deleted on Jul 13, 2009 20:32:31 GMT
I would imagine one of those issues was turning up at Wembley to manage a team in a Play Off final without wearing a tie. There's a time and a place for an open necked shirt & thankfully Buckle knew that it isn't when you're representing your Club on the Wembley touchline.
Contrasted to Bucks sartorial elegance the bloke looked a scruff who I assumed had overslept, & thrown some clothes on in haste so he wouldn't miss kick off.
I'm not entirely sorry to hear he's been shown the door.
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merse
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Post by merse on Jul 14, 2009 2:44:38 GMT
I would imagine one of those issues was turning up at Wembley to manage a team in a Play Off final without wearing a tie. There's a time and a place for an open necked shirt & thankfully Buckle knew that it isn't when you're representing your Club on the Wembley touchline. Contrasted to Bucks sartorial elegance the bloke looked a scruff who I assumed had overslept, & thrown some clothes on in haste so he wouldn't miss kick off. I'm not entirely sorry to hear he's been shown the door. By your "standards" then Brian Clough would never have got a job and heaven help Paul "Worzel Gummidge" Sturrock! I take it your joking reference to Brabin conveniently ignores the FACT that Cambridge celebrated just getting to Wembley as if they'd already achieved their mission and as for wearing those "special Wembley Kits".......................don't even get me started. At least it's not as bad as turning up looking like some spare willy at a wedding wearing a button hole like some "sartorially elegant" manager I could name...................Paul Buckle could wear Gilbert's suit for all I care as long as he does the job required. Seriously though, to put George Rolls in his correct context; the Cambridge Chairman is an egotistical, back stabbing so snd so. That's two succesive summers that managers (Jimmy Quinn and Gary Brabin) who led his club to within a cat's whisker of regaining their Football League status have been dismissed. Such appalling conduct doesn't go unnoticed amongst the better managers looking for places to work and I think that will be reflected in the identities of those who choose NOT to apply for this vacancy, and what does that do to Cambridge's playing prospects doing that sort of rubbish AFTER pre-season has begun; I ask you?
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Post by littgull on Jul 14, 2009 6:48:05 GMT
Perhaps wearing a tie at the Play Off Final appeared trivial to a (still young) manager who had valiantly fought cancer and won.
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merse
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Post by merse on Jul 14, 2009 14:25:46 GMT
As a point of accuracy, Gary Brabin has overcome a heart condition; not cancer. Having said that The Chairman is saying today that the two of them "haven't spoken directly for three months ~ apart from disagreements" which culminated in the manager walking out of a meeting six days ago and from there on failing to return any calls from the Chairman. This is the same chairman who personally re-signed fat boy Lee McHeavily last season AFTER he had been dispensed with by former manager Jimmy Quinn who categorically didn't want the guy anywhere near the club after his loan spell there and then had to pay him off well before the season ended.He is now claiming that the reduced playing budget for this season is still "fantastic" and possibly only bettered by Oxford and Wrexham. When will these buffoons realise that is not chucking money at an ever changing management and playing side of a club that brings success, but STABILITY. If George Rolls doubts that he wants to take note that the past four champions of the BSP have been nowhere near the biggest spenders...............Dagenham, Accrington, Aldershot and Burton had stable boardrooms, allowed their managers to manage and reaped the rewards. Add to that list clubs such as ourselves and Morecombe and you begin to realise that not ONE of these half dozen enjoyed anything like the crowds and thus turnstile income that Cambridge do and you have to ask yourself if a Chairman who has seen off TWO managers in twelve months who each achieved runners up spot in the league is not the problem. The same George Rolls who's disreputable conduct so alienated other directors that they have left and invested in other nearby football clubs ~ investment that has been sorely missed by Cambridge United. There are two local businessmen who have only this week invested one hundred thousand pounds between them in city rivals Histon where (quite frankly) there is little kudos to be had and little prospect of any return on their generosity, but again the question needs to be asked why they prefer to get involved there instead of at the city's premier football club . Histon's chairman Gareth Baldwin, by the way; is another former commercial Director of Cambridge United who preferred to get out and start afresh elsewhere.....................things certainly seem bad at the Shabbey!
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Post by littgull on Jul 14, 2009 16:57:20 GMT
Thanks for correction Merse, I remember reading that Gary Brabin had a life threatening condition which he overcame courageously.
Your points about how badly Cambridge and certain other clubs are run underline how important it is for bright young managers to have the support and stability of a progressive and sensible management board.
That's not taking anything at all away from our own Paul Buckle who has done a superb job in my opinion.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 14, 2009 17:40:12 GMT
Merse I can't fathom that one out at all. Clough was the epitome of the well dressed clean cut young manager, and I don't have the slightest doubt that he turned up for his interview at Hartlepool appropriately dressed. My light hearted point was obviously referring particularly to Wembley & more often than not I'm sure Brian opted for collar & tie, even if he was leading out a bunch of thugs (below) here he is at Wembley exchanging fashion tips with Di Brian's standards slipped in a number of ways in the latter stages of his career, physically assulting fans on the pitch & his alleged liking for the bottle & well stuffed brown envelopes are a few examples that come to mind, but starting out he was a young Manager with a sharp suit & a sharp mind and eminently employable. We should remember that although Derby County's success of the early 1970's undoubtedly owes a certain amount to Clough's managerial talent the main factor was the continuing influence of Sydney Bradley over the Club. Here is Sydney checking that young John O'Hare's shirt has been ironed correctly. Cloughie knew the importance of insuring that both he & his team were smartly turned out in case Sydney was watching. Brian Clough with (from left), Sam Longson (chairman), Ernie Hutchinson, Peter Daniel, Phil Waller, Mick Hopkinson, Ron Webster, Gordon Hughes, Bobby Saxton, Mick Jones, Billy Hodgson, Ron Metcalfe and Nigel Cleevely. Below we see Sam Longson congratulating young Roy MacFarland on spending his first weeks wages at Sydney's outfitters. and below we see the affable Syd (matching tie & hankerchief) finally handing over to Sam Longson with the words " keep Cloughie and the lads smartly dressed and success will shortly be ours" ..what good advice..& how right he was proved to be ;D ------------------------------------- Don't get me started on Sturrock, but all I will say is that I was present at the play off final at the Millennium between Wednesday & Scunthorpe a few years back (sat quite near David Blunkett & Steve Bruce if anyone's interested.......ok you're not) & I do recall Wurzel Sturrock making a special effort for the occasion. and finally to anyone thinking I could have made the same point a lot quicker without all the photos, and wondering whether the pictures might be there as I possibly get a perverse pleasure in slowing down a particular computer in north London...I'd just like to say nothing could have been further from my mind
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Post by aussie on Jul 14, 2009 17:55:58 GMT
Go on mate thats quality, do one about Sturrock, I`d like to read it. This stuff fascinates me as I wasn`t in this country when alot of it happened and it`s filling gaps in my knowledge of football history in the country it originated in, proper history if you like!
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merse
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Post by merse on Jul 14, 2009 18:57:22 GMT
......................and finally to anyone thinking I could have made the same point a lot quicker without all the photos, and wondering whether the pictures might be there as I possibly get a perverse pleasure in slowing down a particular computer in north London...I'd just like to say nothing could have been further from my mind It hasn't slowed down my PC....................I think it's the plethora of full coloured ones that do that. What a brilliant post and it reminds me of the story I was told about how Queens Park FC used to impose really strict dress codes on their players even though they were amateurs. Apparently they used to employ a valet who would iron and press their white shirts and flannel trousers whilst they were training so that they looked even more immaculate going home on the tram than they did when they arrived. Match day dress codes stayed in place for training and that was white shirt, club tie, blazer and grey flannels. It was the same at Rangers FC where manager Scot Symon even had his office window enlarged just so that he could stand and watch over his players reporting to the ground for training and ensure their dress code was strictly observed. Once sartorially correct Arsenal, now have totally ,different and more "Continental" rules....................For a Saturday game the players are required to report to the Emirates at Friday tea time where they park their cars and change into club "travelling" tracksuits. They then file into the press briefing theatre for a talk from Arsene Wenger before boarding the club coach to their overnight hotel well away from the stadium before returning prior to the match the next day having enjoyed a lay in if they want one, a pre match meal of the club's approval and drive to the stadium.....................again in those club travel suits. A far cry from turning up individually on the Tube as they did in the old days!
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Post by Deleted on Jul 14, 2009 19:43:10 GMT
Seriously though, to put George Rolls in his correct context; the Cambridge Chairman is an egotistical, back stabbing so snd so. That's two succesive summers that managers (Jimmy Quinn and Gary Brabin) who led his club to within a cat's whisker of regaining their Football League status have been dismissed. Cambridge United really do seem to be approaching the nightmare benchmark for any relegated club. So near, yet so far...so rip it up and start again. And to think some of our supporters would have voted to routinely "chop" any manager who failed to win promotion from the Conference at the very first attempt. But did anybody notice Gary Brabin's comments about League 2 in this week's Non League Paper? I'm not sure if it was due to the NLP buying him lunch - or him trying to cope with not winning promotion - but here's what he said: “League Two seems a waste of time....About eight clubs in League Two have got ambition. The worst thing that happened last season was seeing clubs on minus 30 and minus 17 from the start. Everyone else shut up shop as they knew they weren’t going to get relegated. I would not want to watch a game in that league.
It’s so hard getting out of this league [the Conference] and it’s getting more and more competitive, whereas in the Second Division there are a lot of cheats, just saying ‘We’re all right, we won’t go down, we’re never going to compete, we’ll just survive’.
...There are too many dead teams in League Two – the Accringtons, the Macclesfields, the Barnets. They’re not going anywhere. Fans are thinking ‘Bloody hell, here we go again’....Gangrene has set in half of the Second Division.” I guess he's right in a way and, yes, much of what Merse has said on the matter strikes a chord with me. But, naturally enough, nearly two months after the Great Day, I remain extremely pleased - in an almost childlike way at times - that we're back in League Two. Extremely excited? Well, not quite. As for Mr Brabin - who I imagine has a decent future ahead of him as a manager - does this mean he wouldn't care to manage in League Two? Hmm...
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Post by chrish on Jul 14, 2009 20:13:19 GMT
......................and finally to anyone thinking I could have made the same point a lot quicker without all the photos, and wondering whether the pictures might be there as I possibly get a perverse pleasure in slowing down a particular computer in north London...I'd just like to say nothing could have been further from my mind A far cry from turning up individually on the Tube as they did in the old days! Or Stan Bowles in his full QPR strip and boots in the bookies 10 minutes before kick off. ;D
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Post by Deleted on Jul 14, 2009 20:53:00 GMT
Here is Sydney checking that young John O'Hare's shirt has been ironed correctly. Brilliant! John O'Hare, a subject of one of those "he's here, he's there, he's every ******* where!" ditties which, in his case, scanned rather better than it described his style of play. Ah, those old club chairman: how they looked and how they were named. I'm currently reading a book about Revie's Leeds The Unforgiven - it's not brilliant to be honest - and I've come across two of the Old Brigade: Sam Bolton and Manny Cussins. Here's Manny with Cloughie: And the Leeds board of 1964. Where's there's muck, there's brass...and a formica table.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 14, 2009 21:30:06 GMT
Sydney Bradley (looking more like Arthur Lowe each time) gets the signing underway, with Brian Clough & Peter Taylor either side of him. The other Derby County directors look on.
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Post by ohtobeatplainmoor on Jul 14, 2009 23:06:03 GMT
Didn't Clough start wearing the famous green jumper because it was Don Revie's "unlucky colour", or is that apocryphal
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merse
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Post by merse on Jul 15, 2009 3:17:18 GMT
“League Two seems a waste of time....About eight clubs in League Two have got ambition. .........................There are too many dead teams in League Two – the Accringtons, the Macclesfields, the Barnets. They’re not going anywhere. Fans are thinking ‘Bloody hell, here we go again’....Gangrene has set in half of the Second Division.” I couldn't agree with him more and have said on more than one occasion that the BSP is a more vibrant league than League 2. The only regrettable aspect of Conference football for me was the appalling mis-administration of it, yet even then they managed to achieve TV and media coverage far in excess than that of League 2............or even League 1 for that matter. Now they have lost the TV coverage, clubs like Luton and Chester will not enjoy anywhere near the profile WE did, but I still reckon that on the field the followers of BSP clubs will see a lot more competitive and frankly more interesting season's football than we will. "Accrington, Barnet and Macclesfield"...................ironic really when one considers how hard and for how long these clubs fought just to get in the Football League and that had we been back in the days of re-election instead of promotion they would have been extolling their own virtues of ambition over the "dead in the water" clubs who populate the rather poor League 2.
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