Are you happy with your manager?

[Dodge]

Drogs. Have to happy with Doolin. Brought them their first league title and various cups. So what if his budget is massive and he's had a few years to build up to it?

Pats. Johnny Mac has come in for massive criticism from large sections of the Pats support but who can honestly say we should've finished better than 2nd? Needs to address his midseason form though, if he remains in the job.

Cork. Despite giving Cork their first title in over a decade, Rico has come under huge pressure this year and it seems like a lot of fans want him out. Will winning the cup and finishing 3rd change their mind?

Bohs. Sean Connor aimed for top 4 and he got it. His football is atrocious and again there seems to be a lot of negative feeling within the Bohs crowd.

Rovers. Scully got Rovers off to a flyer but a serious of fall outs with players, followed by a severe drop in form has some asking questions. I think most Rovers fans would've settled for top 6 pre season though

Sligo. Cook came in at short notice after the debacle of last pre-season. has he given a good account of himself? Is he interested in keeping the job?

Derry. Similar to Cook, Robertson has had to work within the confines of a squad he didn't choose. His pedigree is a cut above most other British managers though

Galway. Staying up was Tony Cousins primary aim, and he's done it for with a week to go. Full time football players probably aim for higher though. The fact he's not based in galway main be a sticking point for some.

UCD. Pretty disappointing season for Pete mahon and UCD even if they stay up. Most agree that Mahon is a good coach but does he have ambitions elsewhere?

Bray. Eddie Gormley is a footballing god. Looks like he has trouble conveying his ideas to his players though. If I was a Bray fan I'd be disappointed in the season, even if a number of young players show promise.

Waterford. Cronin was facing a steep task coming into the season having prepared for first division football. Would be relegated if it wasn't for Longford's points deduction but would another manager have done any better?

Longford. Matthews brand of football may not be pleasing to the ye but he certainly knows how to motivate a limited bunch of players. His cup record is ridiculous but maybe its time for a change at Flancare.

---

Feel free to talk about your own manager, and answer anything above

[Sam_Heggy]

We are delighted with Higsy, doing a superb job, has (had) us playing superb attacking football, brought in some great players and wears his heart on his sleeve.

[micls]

Cork. Despite giving Cork their first title in over a decade, Rico has come under huge pressure this year and it seems like a lot of fans want him out. Will winning the cup and finishing 3rd change their mind?


The people who want him out wont have their minds changed by a cup win and a poor league performance, but apparently there is a contract on the table(though thats been said for a while now). What Im wondering is if the contracts stipulates he will be manager

[d rovers]

[QUOTE=Dodge;809809]
Sligo. Cook came in at short notice after the debacle of last pre-season. has he given a good account of himself? Is he interested in keeping the job?

Cook has done a great job on limited resources, has got us playing a decent brand of football. hopefully he stays but i'm guessing if he gets a decent offer from england he will be gone.

[noby]

What Im wondering is if the contracts stipulates he will be manager

Are you saying he might be offered a role 'upstairs'?

For us, the criticism of Cronin is the first division squad thing was only an acceptable excuse at the start of the year. He has brought in a few players over the summer. We are starting to grind out a few results now, but the type of football being played leaves a lot to be desired.
My feeling is that he should be given another crack, at whichever division we're playing in, but this being WUFC, he'll probably be gone by Christmas.

[adamcarr]

I would love to see Rico go, the guy really makes some attrocious decisions. I do have a great respect for the man but he is clueless both tactically and in the transfer market.

[Macy]

Longford. Matthews brand of football may not be pleasing to the ye but he certainly knows how to motivate a limited bunch of players. His cup record is ridiculous but maybe its time for a change at Flancare.
Always struggled with elements of the support simply because he wasn't Stephen Kenny. Football hasn't always been the best (but not always as bad as some would suggest either), but his record speaks for itself. We would've easily stayed up if it wasn't for the 6 points, and not just because of the 6 points either, the aftermath of the deduction cost us points too.

Having seemingly won over most of the crowd and given the ongoing financial situation, wouldn't be surprised to see him walk - doubt he'd be pushed

[Dodge]

I do have a great respect for the man but he is clueless both tactically and in the transfer market.

So waht do you respect then?

[Ceirtlis]

Galway. Staying up was Tony Cousins primary aim, and he's done it for with a week to go. Full time football players probably aim for higher though. The fact he's not based in galway main be a sticking point for some.


The style of football is also a bone of contention as it didnt seem to change all season. Still we survived but a big improvement is needed to do so again next season.

[SunderlandBohs]

Thought Connor was a bad appointing. No way was he our first choice! Negative approach & to many falling outs with key players. Only sign work horses & players who argee with everything he says or does.

[Rocky77]

wouldn't be surprised to see him walk - doubt he'd be pushed

Agreed, most other managers would have reached breaking point with the points deduction. He had to watch six players leave at the end of least season cos he club couldn't afford to offer them new contracts, then having to watch Paiso **** off the week the season started. All that after having see the team he built - Barry, Garto, Dillon - disintegrate. You might bet that of the players weren't getting paid, neither was he.

He showed some balls to stay and win or lose, I suspect he'll go with his head held high and the respect of every Town fan.

My money would be on Vinny Perth to replace him.

[dcfc_1928]

I'd say the jury is still out regarding Robertson.

It is difficult to judge him on this season's performances, he arrived at the club at a very bad time. He had to get rid of a lot of the Fenlon signings from the club and had very little time (because of the transfer window) to add to the squad.

Apart from the improvement in performances immediately after his arrival, we haven't been playing much better under Robbo than under Fenlon. He has had to cope with a horrendous injury list which obviously hasn't helped, but his tactics and substitutions have had supporters scratching their heads at times.

He will have to do a lot over the close season to win over some of the City support and he will have little room for error next season before people start calling for his sacking.




Derry. Similar to Cook, Robertson has had to work within the confines of a squad he didn't choose. His pedigree is a cut above most other British managers though

[Sonic]

My money would be on Vinny Perth to replace him.


Or Trevor Croly. Why fix something that isnt broken. I have to say I am matthews greatest critic and was mainly due to the style of play we have deployed over his tenure at the club. However I did say that after Paisley leaving during the start of the season that it wouldnt matter who the manager would be we would be in a tough battle to stay up. With the whole points deduction thing one thing matthews will leave with is respect. Loyalty is a big thing in football these days and he stayed loyal. That has to be respected!

[Schumi]

We've had a disappointing season overall but had we got the win we deserved against Longford in the cup, it'd be a good season. Pete Mahon has brought in some brilliant young players and for that alone, he should be kept on. I've not been convinced by some of his tactical changes during games but had we not had half our team injured in the second half of the season, it wouldn't have mattered.


So waht do you respect then?His anti-Dublin tirades, obviously.

[OneRedArmy]

I've seen nothing YET in Robertson to convince me he's the answer.

However, he deserves to have a chance at shaping the squad his way and in having a full pre-season to prepare the team.

All that said, our expectations going forward are unlikely to be met. Money-wise were not in the top 3 and therefore logic says we shouldn't really be competing for the title.

Unfortunately with the ground issue no closer to being solved, we are running to standstill.

[superfrank]

Bray. Eddie Gormley is a footballing god. Looks like he has trouble conveying his ideas to his players though. If I was a Bray fan I'd be disappointed in the season, even if a number of young players show promise.
I think we could have saved ourselves a lot earlier and even now with a game to go we're not safe. We've shown glimpses of what we are capable of. Consistency is the problem. I don't know if the players are to blame or if Eddie is. On one hand, you wonder how can the players play so well one week and seem so bad the next. But then is that down to Eddie as a lot of the players are still very young.

[Sunny Jim]

Yep. Mick's the man.

[dcfcsteve]

I've seen nothing YET in Robertson to convince me he's the answer.

However, he deserves to have a chance at shaping the squad his way and in having a full pre-season to prepare the team.

All that said, our expectations going forward are unlikely to be met. Money-wise were not in the top 3 and therefore logic says we shouldn't really be competing for the title.

Unfortunately with the ground issue no closer to being solved, we are running to standstill.

Very true.

It's hard to get players to move to Derry - so whilst we're not Top 3 on money, we're even further down the pecking order for plyers when you bear that problem in-mind. We'd have to offer any particular player a good bit more than they'd get from a Dublin club just to encourage them to re-locate to the North-West. As starnge as it may seem - it would be in City's benefit to have a much stronger Finn Harps, Institute, Limavady United and Coleraine, as they would all pull new players into the area that we could then look to pick-up the best from.

With a good manager we might be able to get the best out of a solid but unspectacular team and finish in the Top 3, but I haven't seen anything from Robertson yet that suggests he's a man who can do that. The closed-season will be absolutely key for us and his future - he'll have to work some magic in the transfer market.

[Comic Book Guy]

Stephen Henderson, delighted with him; understatement of the season.

[micls]

So waht do you respect then?

By tactically Id guess he means substitutions and sometimes choice of players(defence for example) however the style of football Rico plays is what we all want to see at City. The style of football we won the league with has been carried over to this year and last despite having a much poorer starting 11. Main problem this season being inconsistency and at times his motivational abilities.

Also not many have faith in his transfer market credentials and with new owners who will hopefully make money available we want to see quality brought i8n. The jurys out as to whether Rico can deliver this time

[Rams-07]

What Stephen Henderson has done in Cobh is nothing short of a miracle..with his budget slashed at the beginnig of the season nobody could have predicted what lay ahead..losing the first 2 games and then going on a 27 game unbeaten run,playing nice attacking football with alot of young players will probably be a record for years to come.Its managers like him who deserve awards not managers who have huge budgets to spend..well done Hendo and thanks for a great season.

[Tir Oilean]

Tony has done what he set out to do. However, many believe that we could have done better in that we spent quite a few games hoofing up to a short lad (Derek Glynn) who was playing junior football last year. We threw away a lot of leads in the last few minutes of games ( lack of concentration). He did lose two new signings to injury and he has a fair few players in the squad more suited to first division out fits so overall he has done a good job. But as always there is plenty of room for improvement and he's the first to admit that.

[Danny]

very poor standard of league this season, a top class manager would have won the league for us this season imo

played some great football at the start and at the end but with the slump in the middle and all the "rumours" of arguments with players i think it mite be time for johnny to move on. Just think he's brought us as far as he can.

[ramblersnb1]

wouldn't swap hendo for anyone ............


who needs mourinhio when weve got hendo ...
who needs mourinhio when weve got hendo ...:D

[sadloserkid]

From a footballing sense our manger is average at best.

From a personality perspective he's nothing short of an embarrassment (or 'passionate' to trot out the apologists' line).

[galwayhoop]

NO

i wasn't convinced that we should go full time at the start of the season and am less convinced now. a lot of his signings have been mediocre to say the least, including those he kept on at the start of this season and those who were released. we are a full time team yet play football in an up and under fashion. 3 home wins all season says a lot.

as a manager he seems to have very little confidence in his players and is inclined to sit back far too deep when leading a game, playing into the corners with 20 mins to go v longford who were down to 10 men and there for a real hiding - 5 5 0 v derry:rolleyes:.

it is my firm belief that TC would have got the boot midway through the season if he were a local.

from what i have heard the budget for next season is to be increased by about 25%. a lot of hard earned money is put into the club from a variety of sources and from where i stand i can't see the end product on the pitch justifing most of it.

attendances were consistantly high this year but a lot of that was novelty factor (new stand, first year back in prem) if we keep on as we have been this year the crowds will naturally fall away and then the budget would be hard to meet.

[gufct]

Yes.The main argument against him has been that he doesnt live 100% of the time in Galway but id counter that with the number of excellent signings on the lowest full time budget in the league Reggi, Lester, Fitzy, Rogers, Glynn, Robson, O'Halloran and O'Flynn who was really missed when he was injured this year and both of his replacements upfront were ruled out for the season with long term Injuries.

If we beat the students tomorrow it will be our highest finish since 1994/1995 and I would have taken that last march.If we can attract 5/6 quality players we should be even stronger next season.

[pineapple stu]

UCD. Pretty disappointing season for Pete mahon and UCD even if they stay up. Most agree that Mahon is a good coach but does he have ambitions elsewhere?
Don't agree with that analysis, assuming things work out tomorrow. We've gotten to two Cup semi finals, which is a pretty good season by anyone's standards. The league position is undermined by the fact that the players switched off weeks ago - stupid thing to do, but for once, our league position isn't really reflective of how well we've done at times. If we stay up, expect us to do much better next year as, with there going down, we won't be in a position to go to sleep so early.

As far as I know, Pete is going full time with us next season as the head of the academy, so seems to be committed to the cause. Granted, the Shelbourne incident at the start of the season made us think twice about that!

Around the league in general, I'd agree with this -


very poor standard of league this season, a top class manager would have won the league for us this season imo

I think it's bizarre that the clubs with by far the highest budgets the league has ever seen (Shels, Pat's and Drogs - going purely on the basis of their losses, which are double the smaller clubs' income) have gotten lumped with those I'd rate as the poorest managers in the league (Fenlon, McDonnell and - to I'm sure much rabid ranting from Drogs fans - Doolin). Fenlon's been found out since, obviously, Doolin flopped at UCD without the cash, and I never really rated McDonnell to be honest. Could possible add Seán Connor to that list - jury's still out on him. Have to wonder how much more they could have done with a better manager.

[jebus]

From a footballing sense our manger is average at best.

From a personality perspective he's nothing short of an embarrassment (or 'passionate' to trot out the apologists' line).

Pretty much the consensus I feel

[pineapple stu]

Shock horror as I comment on a manager in a trhead about the various managers. :rolleyes:

Not even as if I singled him out either.

[Dodge]

Shock horror as I comment on a manager in a trhead about the various managers. :rolleyes:

Not even as if I singled him out either.

Shock horror, you managed to bring up clubs losses when the thread didn't really need it...

[BohsPartisan]

For a guy with a UEFA pro badge, Connor seems tactically inept. Gets the gameplan wrong for the big games every time.

[Raheny Red]

Meh. It was either Keely or Collins - beggars and choosers and all that!

[dortie]

I've seen nothing YET in Robertson to convince me he's the answer.

However, he deserves to have a chance at shaping the squad his way and in having a full pre-season to prepare the team.

All that said, our expectations going forward are unlikely to be met. Money-wise were not in the top 3 and therefore logic says we shouldn't really be competing for the title.

Unfortunately with the ground issue no closer to being solved, we are running to standstill.

Im of the same opinion, not convinced but at the same time want to see what he can put together next season. We definately need a 'clear out', too many familiar names in the squad simply not performing.
The bandwagon season ticket holders will definately be gone next season.

[pineapple stu]

Shock horror, you managed to bring up clubs losses when the thread didn't really need it...
See, now that's a fair whinge.

Just wanted to head off any arguments about "our budget's not that big" or that sort.

[The Rebel Ram]

Henderson! OUT OUT OUT!!!!!
What has he done for us?????
He's Fecking usless!!!!!!!:rolleyes:


He'll be up there with Roy, in my estimations if we pull it off on Saturdey night!!!!!!
What a man.........superb season,
For such a limited budget he has been brill,
Loads of novel ideas in training etc to keep the team spirit above all others.
He's a great man for the interviews too..........

[Lim till i die]

No.

I hope we are rid of him within the next few weeks

Disgrace so he is

[lofty9]

Im of the same opinion, not convinced but at the same time want to see what he can put together next season. We definately need a 'clear out', too many familiar names in the squad simply not performing.
The bandwagon season ticket holders will definately be gone next season.

He was doing ok until Morrow got injured. Derry's only bit of form this season coincided with Morrow playing. I'll give him credit for getting rid of all of Fenlons signings. It's been muck since. He has to get things right at Derry or he has no escape route back to Scotland, none of the Scots clubs will look at him then.

Bandwagon season ticket holders:D - the many I have met in the last few weeks has been a shock to me - one guy hasn't been to a game since the Setanta Cup Linfield match:eek:, another since the drubbing by Cork, and his mate hasn't been since the European match. Best thing about it, three guys who could barely afford a season ticket too.

[dcfcsteve]

Bandwagon season ticket holders:D - the many I have met in the last few weeks has been a shock to me - one guy hasn't been to a game since the Setanta Cup Linfield match:eek:, another since the drubbing by Cork, and his mate hasn't been since the European match. Best thing about it, three guys who could barely afford a season ticket too.

Don't look on them as Season Ticket holders, or even bandwagon jumpers - just arcmchair English/Scottish supporters who we fleeced money from for a whole year.... :D

[dortie]

Bandwagon season ticket holders:D - the many I have met in the last few weeks has been a shock to me - one guy hasn't been to a game since the Setanta Cup Linfield match:eek:, another since the drubbing by Cork, and his mate hasn't been since the European match. Best thing about it, three guys who could barely afford a season ticket too.

Thats only 3, i bet they all had Jester hats on and are featured on the European DVD - Diehards for a year and a half.
I think Robbo will actually get rid of quite a few heads, he has to or he will lose his job.

[Dr.Nightdub]

Also not many have faith in his transfer market credentials and with new owners who will hopefully make money available we want to see quality brought i8n. The jurys out as to whether Rico can deliver this time

Think youse have the same problem Steve described re Derry - location i.e. not that many players want to go to Cork. In the long term, that could be good in a perverse kinda way though, cos it'd put more emphasis on development of young players coming through the ranks.

[pineapple stu]

Cork seem to be turning that to their advantage in a way by signing decent Corkonians back from England like Healy, McSweeney, O'Flynn, Kearney and Gamble.

[sligoman]

Couldn't be happier with Cook personally. Most honest manager ever. Just hope he gets the funding he needs to stay on for next season.

[Bald Student]

It's wrong to only judge Pete Mahon on the basis of the first team's performance. He's rebuilt the club's youth structures since he-who-cannot-be-named left and that's a lot more important to us in the long run than where the first team finishes.

[Risteard]

Rico certainly has his failures but City are great entertainment and the Connor/Doolin style of play would really test my patience.
Contrary to most I think he's done great when given a free hand in the transfer market ie this year.
Long term thinking sometimes infuriates me.
The attitude to our pre-season and initial few games this year was disgraceful.
Of the eL usuals, I'd only swap him for Scully.

[Paddyfield]

Cousins seems to have the respect of the players which is unusual for a Galway United manager. Most of the players he brought in this season are damn good and only make a lot of the players that he inherited look inadequate. Hopefully, Cousins has learned a lot from his first full season in charge and will up the ante in 2008.

His job spec for 2007 was to implement a full-time set up, avoid relegation, and have a good run in the cups.

Two out of three 'aint bad.

On the downside, Cousins loses points (literally) for the following two reasons:
1, he commutes from Dublin on a daily basis whereas all of the players reside in Galway
2, the quality of the football is sometimes just muck

[galwayhoop]

Yes.The main argument against him has been that he doesnt live 100% of the time in Galway

nothing to do with the quality of football (or extreme lack of it) or the fact he sh1ts himself if we take a lead and pulls everyone back into the area and plays to the corners even if there is a half an hour left!!!!!

[LeixlipRed]

I think promotion next season for us or Keely's doubters will regroup and get at him again. Can;t fault him on much this season. Needs to give a few players a kick up the arse (Chambers, Leech, Flood et al) but whether we'll actually have any of those players at our disposal next year, who knows? The 1st division is so fluid in terms of transfers that i'd be suprised if ten players from this year's squad remain for 2008

[Poor Student]

Pete Mahon is invaluable to UCD but I'm not sure if it suits the club to have him as first team manager. As Bald Student pointed out, his contribution to the club in terms of restructuring (or is that rebuilding?) the club's developmental and scouting setup is immense. I feel he's not getting the best out of those players he's so good at bringing into the club though. I think the way forward for the club is to have him as a director of football overseeing the whole operation with someone younger to coach the players and select the team. Some of the descriptions of what's going on with the club suggest something like that but I don't know if that still includes Pete as manager. I'm not desperate for him to be kicked out the door or anything but I feel we're not doing as well as we can.

[rebs23]

Rico has done a good job at a difficult time for us but I get the feeling, he'll bow out after the Cup Final, hopefully on a high.