Should Tony Cousins be retained as manager next season?

[Dodge]

As requested by WoodquayBoy here (http://foot.ie/showthread.php?t=73678)

[WoodquayBoy]

Thanks Dodge, just to gauge the opinion and all that

[Claret Murph]

It looks like I may be all alone as I have voted for TC to stay as long as we stay up .

[JC_GUFC]

So did I and it says I'm the only one too!

It's a fix! :)

Edit: I've just seen it's updated. Should be interesting this.

[Mr A]

Not a GU fan obviously but I do keep a fairly close eye on things and I voted no. I think with the support he received in the transfer window last year he should have done better than 3rd, and with the backing he has got this year should have GU far higher up the table than he has. Some of his selections seem pretty bonkers, a few of the signings were awful, and only for Longford's points deduction GU would be in real trouble.

There has been decent signings and performances at times, but it always seems to be a case of 'jam tomorrow', i.e. things will get much better once X happens. But there's always another X.

[MyTown]

I'd say Nick (Leeson) is 100% behind Tony. When Stephen Lally resigned in Athlone, Nick invested a huge amount of time in trying to get him to change his mind. Most Galwegians accepted that Lal did the right thing. He was a brilliant servant as a player, but plainly didn't have the confidence of the players as a manager. Nick seemed to want continuity. I'm sure he had his reasons. He has been brilliant for us since he became our General Manager / CEO. So I'll back him and his manager.

I'd love to know who the 5 people (so far) who have voted for Tony to go see as replacing him and what level of improvement they see their new dream candidate (s) bringing to our club?

How many people with UEFA Premium coaching qualifications will relish the prospect of coming to Galway?

30 years of senior soccer in Galway should show us that a manager has a relatively short shelf life anyway for any number of reasons. But show me the evidence that changing the manager has brought ANY improvement on the park before you queue up to sign the manager's P45.

The bald facts are that we have won one FAI Cup under a manager who had a very short stay and whose team broke up in disarray shortly afterwards. That's the only honour worth mentioning. We have had some very honourable managers who hadn't the resources / players / personality to bring us consistent success. Please give me the names of those who will.

Anybody???????????????

[JC_GUFC]

That's one of the main reasons of not getting rid of Tony in my view. That and the fact that I don't think he's done particularly badly in his first full season as a manager.

If we get rid of him we have to find someone to replace him who will do a better job.

The only person who is available in my view is Pat Dolan. Alan Matthews was talked of before as a potential manager but he is unwilling to give up his job in Dublin so is only working as a part-time manager.

[Patrick Dunne]

Supporters are entitled to post their opinions, but I think that
putting up a poll asking whether we should we fire our manager
before the season is over is over the top.

Mid-November would be more appropriate.

[gufct]

my feelings exactly Pa but the post slating him and the players have also gone totally over the top as well.Its very interesting to see the amount of posts after a bad result as opposed to a good one. My Town has hit the nail on the head about sacking a manager without having a plan B.

We have 4 games left and having polls on our manager on both forums is crazy. We should all be working together and trying to get as many fans as possible to travel to the last 2 away games which if we win both could see us finish well up the table.

[gilberto_eire]

I'd say Nick (Leeson) is 100% behind Tony. When Stephen Lally resigned in Athlone, Nick invested a huge amount of time in trying to get him to change his mind. Most Galwegians accepted that Lal did the right thing. He was a brilliant servant as a player, but plainly didn't have the confidence of the players as a manager. Nick seemed to want continuity. I'm sure he had his reasons. He has been brilliant for us since he became our General Manager / CEO. So I'll back him and his manager.

I'd love to know who the 5 people (so far) who have voted for Tony to go see as replacing him and what level of improvement they see their new dream candidate (s) bringing to our club?

How many people with UEFA Premium coaching qualifications will relish the prospect of coming to Galway?

30 years of senior soccer in Galway should show us that a manager has a relatively short shelf life anyway for any number of reasons. But show me the evidence that changing the manager has brought ANY improvement on the park before you queue up to sign the manager's P45.

The bald facts are that we have won one FAI Cup under a manager who had a very short stay and whose team broke up in disarray shortly afterwards. That's the only honour worth mentioning. We have had some very honourable managers who hadn't the resources / players / personality to bring us consistent success. Please give me the names of those who will.

Anybody???????????????

would be hard to give you names of every manager from england,ireland,scotland,wales and bits and bobs from europe now wouldnt it!. Cook has turned out to be good for sligo which is a much more un-attractive place to live and are no means a big club.

it doesnt matter about what happened 10/15/20 yrs ago, that was a differant galway united playing in a much differant Terryland park

we are now a full-time club with one of the best stadiums in the country, we have what can only be described as the best financial position to be promoted divisions with....

but we have an inept manager who has played a full-season without a left-back and right-winger but has bought 6+ center midfielders!

it seems to me that all the YES voters are the older fans, they dont see as clearly as the younger crowd(they seem to look at the past more to judge us as a whole) the progress and ambition the club has made off the field and think we should be happy with 2nd best standards(1 FAI cup which longford might even just win this year alone). i would accept us with teams gone by had the club stayed the same off-the-field but the strides made have been massive and we are pulling in 3,000 for bottom of the table clashes,

Tony has only set under Doolin and from scouring the boards even Drogs fans dont rate him too highly(regardless of their position)

IMO we're now a big club with a low-end manager, who even set low standards for the year.


can any of the older fans really see TC taking us to the top??...... when he sends him team out to hit long-balls for small strikers to challenge for??.....thats what you do when you have NO other option ''hit it long'' not when you have space to run into etc....


ask yourselves this..... ''could it be any more worse under a new manager??'' IMO it couldnt get any worse, theres only the possibility of improvement!

[Patrick Dunne]

You don't throw the captain of the liner overboard with an iceberg on the
horizon.

[gilberto_eire]

not able to speak for the rest of the lads, so dont know there views, but in no way at all am i saying he should go with 4 games left, novemeber is now the earliest time IMO

i was just offering my opinions on the matter now since everyone else is.

[Terry]

Well said Pa, this poll should have never been put up at this stage of the season !!!!!!

[Conor H]

Can see why people feel it's inapporopriate to put up a poll at this stage.

However i'll be voting the same way regardless of our final position.

[WoodquayBoy]

Mea Culpa Pa, I asked for the poll as I wanted to see the feeling out there, and it looks as close to 50/50 as not to matter.
I agree with some points made by both sides of the argument, but let me say this. You ask why throw the captain overboard with an iceberg approaching? The answer is so the new captain will ensure we don't hit the bloody thing!

[Mr A]

Indeed, and if the captain was appointed to oversee a Caribbean Cruise, there is every reason to throw him overboard at the fist sight of an Iceberg.

[Tir Oilean]

The only person who is available in my view is Pat Dolan.

Glad your voting to keep TC so, if P Dolan is the only possible replacement:D
He wouldnt give up his tv gig anyway JC!

[JC_GUFC]

Yeah and he'd want to sort out his hair before I'd back him for the job anyway!

[WoodquayBoy]

Another thing this poll, poorly timed or otherwise, proves is this:
A: The suggestion that a majority of fans want Cousins out is wrong.
B: The suggestion that only a tiny minority want him out is wrong.
It refutes claims by both 'sides' of the argument, but can I say this - it is a debate, a debate by fans who feel passionately about their club, and debate is healthy.
By asking for the poll I was not trying to undermine the manager - heaven knows he and his players need total backing this Friday, as I feel defeat will see us end up in the playoff, and don't fancy our chances against Harps, Cobh or the Tree Burners.
It also defines the glass half full and glass half empty people - some happy with priority, which was to stay up (if we do); others disappointed at the manner in which it was achieved (again, if we do).
As for available managers, wasn't Liam Buckley one of the names touted for the job last year? And the claim that Alan Matthews wouldn't suit as he has a job in Dublin is a bit rich considering the current address of Tony.
As someone else suggested, why just go for a LOI name - John Robertson has lead Derry to the League Cup, Paul Cook has done wonders with Sligo considering they lost their best players (Mansaram and Turner) and the Judas who brought them to fourth last season.

[Terry]

By asking for the poll I was not trying to undermine the manager - heaven knows he and his players need total backing this Friday

the thing here though is as you can see now, the thread has shown that no matter what they do between now and the end of the season they havent got that from our main core of supporters !



Can see why people feel it's inapporopriate to put up a poll at this stage.

However i'll be voting the same way regardless of our final position.

[geezer]

is a bad time for them type of questions, I think we have an absolute ****e team to watch and TC is completely bereft of what to do but whats the use in sacking hime with 2 home games to go? I was giving out a good number of weeks ago but at this crucial time we have no choice but to hold the nerves. A serious review during seasons close is required and not just of TC but a lot of the awful average players that have been assembled at terryland.
I will abstain from this poll. My goal was to avoid the play offs and thats still attainable

[SligoBrewer]

, Paul Cook has done wonders with Sligo considering they lost their best players (Mansaram and Turner) and the Judas who brought them to fourth last season.
he brought us to fifth.. which was extremely good considering the league contained shels at the time. good luck to ye if ye want him though!:p

[galwayhoop]

I'd say Nick (Leeson) is 100% behind Tony. When Stephen Lally resigned in Athlone, Nick invested a huge amount of time in trying to get him to change his mind. Most Galwegians accepted that Lal did the right thing. He was a brilliant servant as a player, but plainly didn't have the confidence of the players as a manager. Nick seemed to want continuity. I'm sure he had his reasons. .
OK so Leeson tried to get Lal to stay even though it was the correct decision for Stephen to stand down.


He has been brilliant for us since he became our General Manager / CEO. So I'll back him and his manager.
but you are just after saying that Leeson tried to get Lal to stay even when it was right for him to go!!! The fact Leeson is backing TC, your assumption, is hardly a ringing endorsement for him to remain in charge, especially using the example you pointed out about Stephen Lally.

Don't get me wrong, Leeson has been great for the club but if he is backing TC 100% then personally I'll disagree with him on this one.

[galwayhoop]

Some people on here think that if you believe we need a better manager to progress then you are not supporting the team. Not true. Some of ye have just been too easily pleased.

The fact we may/should avoid relegation is an absolute minimun requirement. Relegation would be a stone wall disaster. Staying up does NOT mean the season has been successiful. Regardless of what spin is put on it by TC or the club. If you think about the 2 teams below us - one was deducted 6 points and the other were relegated last season but stayed up due to Shels going down. And then thers is us, full time progressive club with of the tightest run ships there is off the field!

By going Full-Time and with all the players brought in we should have easily attained mid-table as a bare minimum. And believe me this was the private goal, avoiding relegation was the public one.

FFS it's probably only 2 weeks since some of ye have stopped saying -'We'll see the full benefits of going full-time soon, and the new players need time to gel.'

The bottom line is TC should be given his P45 the day after our final league match, regardless whether we get relegated or stay up. A new manager should be appointed early so he can stamp his authority on the squad from pre-season and also allow him to recruit players straight away and banish the dead wood.

We have not progressed at all this season and we are 29 games in. There is no margin for error next season, cheers Tony but time to go.

[galwayhoop]

People opinions will be softened or hardened after the next 4 games and only then will a true reflection of the supporters views be gleaned.

thats why now is why the question should be asked as the opinions are not clouded.

for example,

if we get relegated then everyone and his mother will call for TC's head

if we stay up, then people will say, sure all we wanted to do this season was avoid relegation

whereas by having the debate now people can make an informed opinion without survival/relegation influencing their decision.

[corbyeire]

goodpoints hoop - think its so true about the "wait and see the benefits of full time" this has not happened

tc has had 2 transfer windows to stamp his authority on the team and it still has not happened

stay up or go down, im sorry good luck tony

with those players and all the facilities the club has provided to you off the field you should have done much better - particularly at home

i dread to think what the situation would be if we didnt have some away form

that new stand and all the off the pitch work should have been a serious help and motivational force for the players - and they are still strolling round hands on hips etc.

that has to be the managements fault

[Conor H]

Made the exact same points myself hoop over on the GUST forum.

Stay up or not we should thank Tony for his efforts and part ways in November.
The novelty of premier league football will have worn off next season and unless the team is performing crowds will not come out in high numbers for games against Bray/UCD/Waterford/Harps etc...

It will have to be a good product next year....not the stuff we've had to endure this season.

[WoodquayBoy]

tc has had 2 transfer windows to stamp his authority on the team and it still has not happened
Has he not had 3? The window midway through last season, the start of this seaosn, and again in July?

[MyTown]

OK so Leeson tried to get Lal to stay even though it was the correct decision for Stephen to stand down.


but you are just after saying that Leeson tried to get Lal to stay even when it was right for him to go!!! The fact Leeson is backing TC, your assumption, is hardly a ringing endorsement for him to remain in charge, especially using the example you pointed out about Stephen Lally.

Don't get me wrong, Leeson has been great for the club but if he is backing TC 100% then personally I'll disagree with him on this one.

All fair points Hoop & well made. But again, nobody has come up with a viable alternative for me (Liam Buckley is a laughable suggestion IMO).

For the record since TCs detractors feel its fair to say he made poor choices in the transfer windows, it should be pointed out that his first window came within a week of his appoinment and the 3 lads he brought in then, especially, Conor Gethins were excellent. (He wasn't responsible for the fact the Gethins went back to Harps). He then led the club on its longest winning sequence EVER. Fair enough it was the First Division, and it wasn't enough to win promotion on the field. But I hope I live to see a manager arrive who beats it, in whatever League we end up in.

Finally, who here is up to speed on TCs contractual situation with the club? Will all those who want him out be prepared to pay up his contract, seeing the results of the poll to date suggest its in the clubs best interests? He has a family and entitlements under contract law, so maybe those who are voting him out, will produce their chequebooks?

[gufct]

Not one my town.Its great to have people telling the club how to do their business but no one on here is privy to the actual cost of running the club and rely on hearsay to form an opinion.

Some people seem to think that Tony only comes to Galway at weekends of matches and supervisers everything from Dublin which is far from the truth.

[ShamTalk]

Well, at least this debate makes for more interesting forums than if we were in "mid-table obscurity"

[Olander]

(Liam Buckley is a laughable suggestion IMO).its not laughable IMO He has abit of a CV and has won things.. a league, what has Cousins achieved or shown this season? not much :confused:

[Conor H]

All fair points Hoop & well made. But again, nobody has come up with a viable alternative for me (Liam Buckley is a laughable suggestion IMO).

For the record since TCs detractors feel its fair to say he made poor choices in the transfer windows, it should be pointed out that his first window came within a week of his appoinment and the 3 lads he brought in then, especially, Conor Gethins were excellent. (He wasn't responsible for the fact the Gethins went back to Harps). He then led the club on its longest winning sequence EVER. Fair enough it was the First Division, and it wasn't enough to win promotion on the field. But I hope I live to see a manager arrive who beats it, in whatever League we end up in.

Finally, who here is up to speed on TCs contractual situation with the club? Will all those who want him out be prepared to pay up his contract, seeing the results of the poll to date suggest its in the clubs best interests? He has a family and entitlements under contract law, so maybe those who are voting him out, will produce their chequebooks?

Fair enough MyTown.
But a Cost/Benefit Analysis might outweigh the initial forecast of us making a slight loss/expense on paying TC off.
Should we keep him on.....He will get more money in the winter to buy more players.
Now lets say we get off to an abysmal start again next season then we're faced with dwindling crowds and no option but to get rid of him.
We now are more than likely down on the projected revenue from gate receipts,aswell as having to pay off a lump sum to TC himself.
A new manager comes in....will look for money to buy his own players and may see little use in some of the players Couisns got,leading to lot of deadweight-still costing us money.
Also i was under the impression UTD only gave out 1 year Contracts?That may not be the case for the manager though.
Point i'm making is in the short term a minor expense might not be to bad compared to the expenses incurred should he go after a few weeks into the next season.

[eamo1]

Its bad form to be having this debate now.Things on this forum have a way of "getting out" to the players,managers etc.If an army was in the thick of a (relagation) battle would that be the best time to be debating whether or not to sack the General?????
I can fully understand peoples frustations but maybe leave them till the end of the season when the dust settles.

[Mr A]

(He wasn't responsible for the fact the Gethins went back to Harps)

If he had used the money wasted on payoffs for other strikers that only played a few games for the club he probably could have got him. Galway United never made a serious offer for Conor Gethins. Thank fook for that!

[Ceirtlis]

Paul Cook has done wonders with Sligo considering they lost their best players (Mansaram and Turner) and the Judas who brought them to fourth last season.


Paul Cook may have done well at Sligo, but if Galway United sack Tony Cousins and bring in some fella who has no experience of the league and his only previous management experience is lasting 2 months with some conference team, I will be seriously worried.

[gufct]

We dont buy players and its Nick who sorts out the financial side of the players contracts and who makes sure we stay within budget.

Our Playing/managment budget this season was €670,000 which includes some players who will be paid in the off season.That is nothing compared to what it cost Drogheda to win the league this season a cost thst will se them with a debt of close on €3.5 million.

[MyTown]

(He wasn't responsible for the fact the Gethins went back to Harps)

If he had used the money wasted on payoffs for other strikers that only played a few games for the club he probably could have got him. Galway United never made a serious offer for Conor Gethins. Thank fook for that!

So now he's being saddled with the injuries to Chris Armstrong & Michael Yeboah Mensah!:confused:

Probably is the key word Mr. A. Probably if we hadn't brought forward the kick off in the cup tie against you, probably you wouldn't have thrown all the toys out of the pram that day and probably we'd be in the semi-final now. :p

[Mr A]

Probably the match would have been abandoned due to darkness in that case of course. Probably wouldn't have made any difference to the fact that a part time side were the fitter in extra time either. :)

[GuisaSaigon]

Yeah and he'd (Pat Dolan) want to sort out his hair before I'd back him for the job anyway!
Myself and mate were watching Setanta last week when Pat Dolan was on and the subject of his hair inevitably came up. Our conclusion was that himself and Stephen Ireland got a two for one deal on hair extensions.
Can we get a poll on whether Pat Dolan should retain his new fringe next season? :rolleyes:
As for this poll, stupid timing. What is it going to acheive with 4 games left?:mad:

[galwayhoop]

Its bad form to be having this debate now.Things on this forum have a way of "getting out" to the players,managers etc.If an army was in the thick of a (relagation) battle would that be the best time to be debating whether or not to sack the General?????

well if the General was ploughing his troops into oncoming fire without a defined stragedy. If he was making his best artillery men fly the jets while the pilots were told to sail the ships. If he kept replenishing his already plentiful supply of helicopters while he really needed a jeep. If he had a large army who had been in full time training for a year but was unable to win battles against spear carrying aborginals who invaded his country then they probably would not just sack him but probably court marshal him!!!! so YES i suppose it is the time to have the debate!! :p:D:D

[WoodquayBoy]

well if the General was ploughing his troops into oncoming fire without a defined stragedy. If he was making his best artillery men fly the jets while the pilots were told to sail the ships. If he kept replenishing his already plentiful supply of helicopters while he really needed a jeep. If he had a large army who had been in full time training for a year but was unable to win battles against spear carrying aborginals who invaded his country then they probably would not just sack him but probably court marshal him!!!! so YES i suppose it is the time to have the debate!! :p:D:D

Quality!!!!

[galwaygooner]

Not one my town.Its great to have people telling the club how to do their business but no one on here is privy to the actual cost of running the club and rely on hearsay to form an opinion.



Some people seem to think that Tony only comes to Galway at weekends of matches and supervisers everything from Dublin which is far from the truth.
Gufct can you confirm what hours tc acually spends in Galway, i think i know but maybe you have different info to others

[inthestand99]

:ball:If you think you know gooner please share it with all the other geniuses. I know exactly how much time Tony puts in. I tried to refrain from getting in on this post because it sucks to be quite honest. The reality is ... people really do not have a clue the amount of people and the work they do to run this team, not the club ,just the team !. The club is another days work so to speak. Put away the hangmans nooses for the time being at least lads. We should be building a positive vibe about the weeks ahead.
How do people think Tony feels reading this bs.

[Conor H]

Will agree there inthestand.
Although i'm not a fan of TC we are entering 4 of the biggest weeks for UTD in a long time.

A win Friday and Waterford failing to get any points would mean we would effectively need only a draw against Derry/Waterford/UCD.

We need a huge effort from the players though.They owe Tony alot aswell.

[WoodquayBoy]

How do people think Tony feels reading this bs.
Probably very low. And he should. Bottom line is either he goes, or he guts the team for next season. Just lost the guts of 2 hours of my life watching that sh*te from Croke Park tonight and it is much the same, a man with no managerial experience put in charge of a team that is not playing to potential. The FAI either gets rid of Staunton, or sticks with him and he cuts the deadwood from the team. Same applies here.
You say no one knows how much time is put in to running the team - judging by performances against Waterford and BRay at home, as well as the first half, the answer is either (a) not half enough or (b) lots, but in the wrong areas.
SOmeone has to cop it for this season, if the board are going to back their man for next year, then a huge jump in player budget needs to be found as there are a lot of players who need to be cut. If not, go back to part-time - look how close we finished to Shams last season, and then look at the progress of both clubs, one part-time, one full-time.
The insinuation is that, from your previous posts, you appear to have the manager's ear. For the love of God, and the club, bend it a little, or we can dust of the AA Roadwatch book from the past 5 years for directions to Lissywollen, Buckley Park and Station Road

[gilberto_eire]

Finally, who here is up to speed on TCs contractual situation with the club? Will all those who want him out be prepared to pay up his contract, seeing the results of the poll to date suggest its in the clubs best interests? He has a family and entitlements under contract law, so maybe those who are voting him out, will produce their chequebooks?

well thats part and parcel of the game as we all know, sure do ya think dimitri,armstrong and mensah walked for free??...... TC's contract wouldnt dwarf them all by any means!!

[WoodquayBoy]

My last contribution on this, and apologies if I have polarised the suppotters.
I haven't called for Cousins head, I called for a poll to see what people thought.
If I was to call for his head, it certainly wouldn't be with 4 games left.
And as for beating his objectives, we can't - he wanted an extended cup run, so unless he meant a 140 mile trip to Harps and 150 to Derry, he hasn't got it.
As for tomorrow night, in the words of the great PD, c'mon United

[GuisaSaigon]

Disagree totally - to compare Staunton and Cousins is rubbish - one got the top job in Irish football with no managerial experience and one started off at the bottom rung( effectively where we are if you exclude Junior coccer) with no managerial experience.

Where do you expect Cousins to start?? He starts at the bottom and Staunton starts at the top - completely different!

For all we know Cousins could be Irish manager in 15 years time - unlikely but could happen.

He is learning his trade and can only get better imo. Staunton is driving the train to Cork and Cousins is an apprentice driver.

I don't know if he will be continuing his trade at GUFC but the one thing I will compare about Cousins and Staunton is this - the booing at Croker is akin to the poll just carried out on this forum.

You could plainly see Staunton was stung and hurt by last nights booing and if Cousins read this and other threads today I'm sure he would be similiarly affected.

I have criticised him myself this season but never called for his head - I think he should be left alone for the last 4 ganes - we may even beat his objectives for the season - low I know but at least he didn't spout bullsh!t and say we'd finish top 4 or something ludicrous.

Good Post Baileban, Stupid thread, should be locked.

[gufct]

Feel that way too Saigon but unfortunately its too late now as ii shouldnt have been even opened in the first place.