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Hak Sacked

I'm very sad that it has come to this, as was a big fan of Hak and thought he had the tools to turn it around, but Saturdays game was the latest unacceptable performance, and we're regressing on the pitch not progressing. I wish him and his team the best and I'd like for us to be talking about playoffs as a realistic proposition, not one based on blind hope, although it's next year now.

Tough call by Ben and the Board, but the right one in my view.

Collectively we have a tough year ahead and I hope as and where help is needed the Board reach out (and its given), so collectively we come back stronger as players with results on the pitch, as a management and ownership team, and as supporters.
 
I haven't been in ages - personal circunstamces and a 3 hour round trip to get to DHFC now they've fucked with the trains - but it's sad to watch all this from afar.

Hak had to go. Whitehawk was bad enough, but Bognor is terrible result. I'm the first to admit I was very excited about Hak coming in, all for it, in fact. I thought surely the bloke that's won the conference south must be a decent manager, but it's been a fucking disaster. I can forgive him for the relegation season - he came in too late, I think - but everything since is very much down to him.

The recruitment was horrific. Many of the players I saw last season were nowhere near good enough for a promotion push, and yet he was standing on the pitch after the Chippenham game promising us a side that would kick arse, that he would get decent players etc. But halfway through last season he was shrugging his shoulders and saying 'you're gonna get some duds when you get an entirely new squad.' I'm only going off highlights and from what others have told me, but we look like we've got some more very average and past-it players this season.

We train three times a week: we should have just be fitter and more organised than most teams at this level. Absolute mess.

For me, the standout candidate is Alan Dowson, particularly given that he's out of a job at the moment. Didn't end well at Dartford, obviously, but what he did at Kingstonian and Hampton was remarkable. Pretty sure he had a decent innings at Woking, too. I assume he's got a wealth of connections for attracting good players. I would imagine he would have the know-how to set up a reserve and youth setup too, which we are absolutely crying out for. Can't say we're a community club and then have nothing running at grassroots level. He's who'd I'd plump for.

Not sold on McKimm at all. What he's doing at Cray Valley is brilliant, without question, but every time I saw his Tonbridge side they were very, very long ball. Didn't go well at Carshalton, either. Sometimes a club and a manager just click, and that seems to be what's happened with him at Cray Valley, but I wouldn't want to bank on him replicating that elsewhere (because he hasn't.)

Tony Russell is a definite no for me. It's all false 9s and death by 1,000 passes which we had more than enough of in the dying days of Gavin. It's not expansive, it's tedious. His Lewes side last year had some brilliant players in it (Sablier and Whelpdale, for e.g.), but the fact he couldn't get them in the play offs says everything to me.

Think the trouble with pursuing an expansive style of play is that there are so many charlatans out there who say all the right buzzwords and parrot the latest Guardiola interview, but actually know nothing. Everyone wants sexy football, but it is very hard to achieve. If it wasn't, everyone would do it. The last person I saw pulling total football off was Harry Hudson at Whyteleafe. He's just left Brentford to become Wycombe's U18 coach. The people who can do total football do not stick around long at this level.

Steve King can fuck off, too.
 
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Steve McKimm is an obvious candidate...Whether he could be persuaded to leave the CVPM project is another matter . Imagine he is good wages
Is a manager position at this level a full- time salaried role?

Gavin had the Aspire Academy running alongside and iirc Barnes worked at a University in Greenwich?
 
On twitter Tony Russell has come up more than a few times.

One other new name suggested was Ajay Ashanike, current manager of Fisher FC.

There are going to be all sorts of names suggested, most of whom will probably be discounted pretty quickly, for one reason or another.

First and foremost, whoever we pick needs to be able to come in and work with Hak's squad for the next 4 months to ensure we're still a Premier Division club next season before he can think about building a squad in his own image. With 17 games to go, I reckon we need approximately 17 more points to feel secure. (I'd like to think we can get that with at least half a dozen games to spare without taking it down to the wire, then we can start looking at the teams above us.)

Hak was appointed within about 48 hours of Paul Barnes being dismissed, so that was fairly decisive and it's hard to believe more than one or two others were seriously considered. That happened 8 weeks later in the season when there was a greater sense of urgency to get someone in. Maybe there's a little more time to weigh up the options this time.

Is a manager position at this level a full- time salaried role?

Gavin had the Aspire Academy running alongside and iirc Barnes worked at a University in Greenwich?

I believe Steve McKimm and Gary McCann are both black cab drivers, which is basically self employed with flexible hours. I've no idea whether Hak has any other employment, I think he once said his background was as some kind of youth support worker. Full time football coach including academy or college teams (like Rose and Barnes) is not uncommon, and I think that's what Alan Dowson does too.
 
On the bright side, we might be playing them both next season in the Isthmian South East unless we can find a new manager to turn things around...

Or we might be playing both in the Isthmian Premier next season.

Who was the geezer who played his last match with us, ending his career in May?
I thought he was seen as a future manager.

Mark Ricketts, who returned to Borehamwood as assistant manager, but I think is based at Sidcup. That's not a bad shout, as he's obviously well acquainted with our club and a core of our current squad, and clearly has coaching and management aspirations.
 
Presumably someone took training yesterday evening .. I'd say there will probably be an announcement tomorrow on who will take the team on Saturday, unless they are talking to available candidates who could start immediately.

Thinking back, Barnes was initially appointed on an interim basis iirc, so it could be an outsider.

If it's internal I guess the shortlist is a) Mills and/or JB b) Dumaka or c) Ryan Dempsey.
 
Presumably someone took training yesterday evening .. I'd say there will probably be an announcement tomorrow on who will take the team on Saturday, unless they are talking to available candidates who could start immediately.

Thinking back, Barnes was initially appointed on an interim basis iirc, so it could be an outsider.

If it's internal I guess the shortlist is a) Mills and/or JB b) Dumaka or c) Ryan Dempsey.
I think JBW is a massive part of the problem. He produces occasional matchwinning moments and is brilliant to watch when his flamboyant attacking play comes off, but he's supposed to be a defender. He wanders upfield, gets caught hopelessly out of position, can't challenge opponents unless he's able to hold them off with his sheer bulk, then collects yellow cards for fouling them. For the Bognor winner on Saturday, he actually reached Barnes' poor clearance and trapped it, then had his pocket picked. He always plays 90 minutes when available, but looked knackered after 60 in that game. I said at the time we should have replaced him with Hudson at 3-1. He's a "luxury player", which is absurd for a defender. He's also unable to cover for Chambers, who I think would look much more secure with (for example) German and Hudson either side, and often leaves him vulnerable.
 
I think JBW is a massive part of the problem. He produces occasional matchwinning moments and is brilliant to watch when his flamboyant attacking play comes off, but he's supposed to be a defender. He wanders upfield, gets caught hopelessly out of position, can't challenge opponents unless he's able to hold them off with his sheer bulk, then collects yellow cards for fouling them. For the Bognor winner on Saturday, he actually reached Barnes' poor clearance and trapped it, then had his pocket picked. He always plays 90 minutes when available, but looked knackered after 60 in that game. I said at the time we should have replaced him with Hudson at 3-1. He's a "luxury player", which is absurd for a defender. He's also unable to cover for Chambers, who I think would look much more secure with (for example) German and Hudson either side, and often leaves him vulnerable.
Totally agree
 
I think JBW is a massive part of the problem. He produces occasional matchwinning moments and is brilliant to watch when his flamboyant attacking play comes off, but he's supposed to be a defender. He wanders upfield, gets caught hopelessly out of position, can't challenge opponents unless he's able to hold them off with his sheer bulk, then collects yellow cards for fouling them. For the Bognor winner on Saturday, he actually reached Barnes' poor clearance and trapped it, then had his pocket picked. He always plays 90 minutes when available, but looked knackered after 60 in that game. I said at the time we should have replaced him with Hudson at 3-1. He's a "luxury player", which is absurd for a defender. He's also unable to cover for Chambers, who I think would look much more secure with (for example) German and Hudson either side, and often leaves him vulnerable.
Completely agree - his quality and ability are unquestionable, but he’s pretty dramatically out of shape and gets exposed for it regularly.

If he could lose that bulk he could probably play in midfield and run games in a Carew type role.
 
I think JBW is a massive part of the problem. He produces occasional matchwinning moments and is brilliant to watch when his flamboyant attacking play comes off, but he's supposed to be a defender. He wanders upfield, gets caught hopelessly out of position, can't challenge opponents unless he's able to hold them off with his sheer bulk, then collects yellow cards for fouling them. For the Bognor winner on Saturday, he actually reached Barnes' poor clearance and trapped it, then had his pocket picked. He always plays 90 minutes when available, but looked knackered after 60 in that game. I said at the time we should have replaced him with Hudson at 3-1. He's a "luxury player", which is absurd for a defender. He's also unable to cover for Chambers, who I think would look much more secure with (for example) German and Hudson either side, and often leaves him vulnerable.
In that case the dugout is the best place for him!
 
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