if we survive should we keep thorn??? (1 Viewer)

if we survive should we keep thorn???


  • Total voters
    123

ccfc2011

New Member
if we survive should we keep thorn???
 

Otis

Well-Known Member
Well think that obviously will happen anyway to be honest. Only way that will change is if new owners come in.

Really think a much better question to pose should be "If new owners take over the club and we survive, should they keep Thorn?"

For that reason I have chosen not to vote. We stay up and Thorn will be the manager next season unless changes happen at boardroom level.
 

rob9872

Well-Known Member
If he keeps us up then he deserves his chance to prove his worth. Not out of sentiment either, he will have earned the right to continue imo.
 

SuperFred

Well-Known Member
he's improved a lot throughout the season with his decision making, learnt from his mistakes. i would stick with him even if we go down, he'll be a better manager next season
 

dongonzalos

Well-Known Member
Well think that obviously will happen anyway to be honest. Only way that will change is if new owners come in.

Really think a much better question to pose should be "If new owners take over the club and we survive, should they keep Thorn?"

For that reason I have chosen not to vote. We stay up and Thorn will be the manager next season unless changes happen at boardroom level.

Or a six month contract was a mistake and he gets poached by a club that promises to only sell the players he thinks he could do without.
 

ccfc_Tom

Well-Known Member
Said before on a similar thread, if he keeps us up with the squad he had and the circumstances going on around the club (and the negativity that has come with it) he deffinately deserves another year in charge.
 

Sharpie83

New Member
I'd keep him we have spent the last few years throwing managers away dread to think how many managers we are still paying off. He isn't completely to blame sisu have a large part to play with it give him some money to build his own team not rift raft that no other teams want
 

Paxman II

Well-Known Member
If we stay up and we still have little money and same owners then yes without doubt.

If we change owners and have money backing serious ambition then a change would be sensible...during the off season.

If the so called takeover is still in the balance then I see AT continuing till Xmas.

If we continue the form we have now and improve on it remaining unbeaten to the end - then an argument could be made for him having another chance to start the next season. I would back that argument.

If I was a cold hearted businessman making the right decisions the he would go regardless.

Is there room for sentiment in football? Bates at Leeds will say not, QPR will say not, Sheffield Wed would say not, Abramovic at Chelsea would say not...but has it made any of them any better? There is something to be said for consistency through hard times not just the easy times.

I think the jury is out on AT at the moment. Lets see what he achieves between now and season's end because a lot depends if he can keep the spirit, the players behind him and show what can come. He can improve more himself and he has already shown great composure under duress and still kept his players with him. That's a serious asset for him.

Personal feelings are if he pulls clear then he deserves a crack at it next season from the start but with the caveat that he must hit the ground running or be replaced before Xmas not when it's too late.
 
Well think that obviously will happen anyway to be honest. Only way that will change is if new owners come in.

Really think a much better question to pose should be "If new owners take over the club and we survive, should they keep Thorn?"

For that reason I have chosen not to vote. We stay up and Thorn will be the manager next season unless changes happen at boardroom level.

If Hoffman's ongoing talks come to fruition I think he'd almost definitely keep his job. For the time being at least.

http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/co...ventry-city-says-gary-hoffman-92746-29036508/

Personally, I'd love to see what AT could do given some serious funds in the transfer market. Part of me thinks it's shame that when he does go we will likely lose a very good scout too.
 

stupot07

Well-Known Member
Regardless of what league we're in next season, I'd keep AT - he has shown us that he has learnt from previous mistakes and a improving all the time.
 

Tankie

New Member
From a personal view point, I sit in my seat in block 18 and enthuse at the improved spectacle in front of me, which is far and away, the best Football i've seen since we were relegated.
Technically we are a match for any side in the division, our current form is as good as any ones, we are not conceding at any great rate,and its clear that this set of players will run through a wall to achieve a result for Andy Thorn.
But unbelievably, amidst the best run for a long time, people are coming on this Board, and debating that Thorn should get the sack, It is my opinion, that no other manager could surpass what Andy Thorn is achieving with a limited squad and a dried up bank account, but it looks like a few are still missing the "Hard On" that long Ball ball Football gave them, Ale House Foot ball, for ale House mentality. Andy Thorn deserves to succede for his unbending stance on how the Game is played, it is still, despite what others may think, part of the entertainment industry.
TankTop....
 

torchomatic

Well-Known Member
Amen, Tankie.
 

Sky Blue Sheepy

New Member
In my opinion he should be judged on end of season form - as that's when he's gained more experiance with his own team. On those grounds it's a yes from me. We're on play-off form at the moment and that can't be ignored.
 

1nilandwe...

Well-Known Member
In all probability, he's not a great football manager. He's had one season of experience with a struggling team. However, as Tankie aluded to, the team has played some good stuff from his first match, and the desire and willing to play for him is clear to see. Even during the depths of Winter this season when we were all moaning about Sideways Sammy et al, surely that was testament to how the team were trying to play the game?

In an ideal world we'd get somebody with more experience in, but in an ideal world AT would never have had the job in the first place and we'd still have an excellent chief scout in place. I think his efforts should be rewarded with a new contract, surely.
 

oldskyblue58

CCFC Finance Director
I dont think he is a great manager as it stands but his performance in the job is much better than it used to be. I dont think if we stay up or go down he will be changed, unless there are very significant funds made available to the manager by new owners (do i see that happening .... no)

He has learnt on the job and fair play to him he has got the team playing decently - plus getting some luck. He has learnt how to play the tactics he wanted to. Take the diamond formation for instance ..... against Ipswich away it was an extended shape that left a huge whole in the middle of the pitch, we sat back and got caught out. Now there isnt such a gap between base and tip, there is no large hole in the center, we play on the front foot and get some results. He has also started to be more proactive in the changes (player or formation) - possibly because he understands the job better. Is now doing what I would expect from a manager. Over a season as with much of football, things balance out and i would say thats the same for AT - poor first half much better second half

I am not wholly convinced by him (just my opinion) but I dont think there is any real threat of AT changing his job or being sacked as it stands. If we stay up then he has to be congratulated and rightly so but he wont have done it by himself. He will also have contributed to both the good and bad of our season just like everyone else involved.

For now just keep it going AT
 
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@richh87

Member
Top bloke, playing the right way and miraculously keeping us up with ridiculous circumstances to deal with. As Tankie said these kids would run through a brick wall for Andy Thorn.

If he were to go it would be worse than when Eric Black went.
 
Some people on here are very short sighted.

Was chatting to some non-cov fans the other day and they think it's a miracle we are even in with a shout at this point.
Seriously, we have to stand back and look at what we have - barely anything.

If Thorn keeps us up this season then he's done an incredible job. We seem to lose sight of the reality of our situation. No money and very few experienced professionals.
Compare our squad to that of Nottingham Forest - a club that is only a few of places above us in the league.
Lee Camp, George Boateng, Matt Derbyshire, Ishmael Miller, Lewis McGugan, Jonathan Greening, Marlon Harewood, Guy Moussi, Marcus Tudgay, Dexter Blackstock, Radoslaw Majewski .
Compare that to: Joe Murphy, Sammy Clingan, Clive Platt, Cody McDonald, Cyrus Christie, Gael Bigirimana, Connor Thomas.

We have no experience in comparison and players with less ability. Fans of every championship team will know NFFC players. we have joe murphy and sammy clingan.
Compare our squad to other teams' and then tell me we should sack thorn.

Think some people need to realise that being named 'Coventry City' doesn't give us the right to be automatically in the championship. Other managers would have lost the dressing room at this point, but AT hasn't. Credit to him for that and the players are playing for him and the club. He made mistakes early on and will continue to make mistakes, but calling for his head is quite frankly ridiculous... who do you expect to replace him that could do better in this situation?
 

Kneeza

Well-Known Member
YES.

Emphatically!

Andy's a little belter and deserves all the credit he gets from the fair-minded folk hereon......
 

ajsccfc

Well-Known Member
Stability helps. He made a good start at the tail end of last season which went to pot at the start of this campaign. Depending on how you view Thorn it could be that he lost vital players who weren't replaced, it could be that he was just enjoying 'new manager syndrome' in those few games. If the recent form is indicative of his work and we stay up to boot, absolutely he should continue. The big question is whether we've just got a repeat of this season to come.
 

Paxman II

Well-Known Member
I think it's wrong to keep barking on about comparisons to other teams.

Yes we have a smaller squad but overall what we have maintained is a decent squad. That's certainly proven by the results of late. That can't be argued. If they are over achieving now then you can say they were under achieving earlier.
This out pouring of working with a decimated squad etc is a little over the top.

No one can deny AT could have done much better with his teams throughout the season as he is doing now.
A combination of inexperience (even the milkman could see his mistakes on and off the field) and unable to get the most from what he had put us where we are.
Now he seems to have learnt from those mistakes and bettered his tactical awareness too and by still having the players support he has turned results around - finally.

So he is somewhat responsible for our plight and atrocious run of results that put us in such danger.
You can't just use every excuse available to deny that and then call him a genius for keeping us up?

I think we are very lucky that a good man with plenty of football knowledge, love of the game and a nice bloke to boot has now got a healthier grip on proceedings at the death.....I only hope it's not to late.

If he keeps us up then well done. But I maintain that we are and never were the worst squad in this league and even weak would have expected to be above the relegation fight....if not by much.

It's been a gamble to appoint Thorn and I hope it ends well.
It certainly feels like we have achieved a miracle but that's a slight exaggeration when examined closely. We are not even safe yet...
To have just been picking up an odd point here and there during the first 25 games and we would be know here needing a 'miracle'?
Everything has a perspective.

There's one thing inside me though that says Thorn has now gained himself from this whole experience massively and has grown as a manager ten fold. If this is to be the case and to back him for the position next year then this last month of results must not end as a blip of form, we must continue from this platform to answer all the doubters (like me if you like) that he indeed could become a very good manager for a club like us because I like his football, I like his approach to the game and if he combines that with some success he has my vote of confidence.

As always time will be the judge...
 

oldskyblue58

CCFC Finance Director
If it was all about money and the "better" players that brings then Blackpool would never have been promoted to the premiership, we would never have won the FA Cup...... etc etc. There is more to it than who on paper has the more valuable squad and because it is more valuable the better squad. Clearly having all those players hasnt made the likes of NFFC more than relegation strugglers just like us.

Yes I know all the arguements that you have to spend to be successful. The more I look at it, the more i see bad over spending on under performing over paid players at nearly all teams. If we stay up it will be vindication of AT to some degree, but it will also tell me that you do not have to spend the money some think to do it.

Not setting up a pro SISU argument here so lets be clear on that. However not having the money has meant using other skills, other player sources, being cleverer in putting the pieces together, playing to our strengths not trying to gain someone elses by buying it in. Credit has to go to AT in that respect - our strength is the togetherness of the squad, Individually on paper the players might be worse off but we dont play on paper and the sum of the whole exceeds the sum of the parts.

Someone mentioned that SISU gambled this season on appointing AT, that they may have got away with it (well not yet they havent). But previous boards have gambled with the club as a whole, saddling it with massive debts, putting the very future of the club in doubt, by spending massively on overpriced players who gained us nothing. Which is the less risky gamble in reality? which gamble puts the club at greater risk ? Yet still you hear fans calling for significant money to be spent, still you hear "ah but this is football it is different" (it isnt in my mind in terms of a business it is in terms of the social/community aspect but thats not worth a jot if it is not sustainable financially).

If AT gets appointed next season I do not want to see millions throw his way to spend (dont think it will happen). I want to see him given a modest amount to work with and to really target his spending. The way SISU have approached things has been poor in terms of connecting with the fans, in terms of sustaining the team. However come next season or the next we could find ourselves in the best financial state going forward we have had in years and better off than many other teams - IF WE STAY UP.

Next season AT has less excuses to hide behind (not sure he made excuses but his supporters did) - will be interesting to see if he prospers or not. I hope he does, I really want him to convince me he is the real deal.

just my opinion
 
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dongonzalos

Well-Known Member
(Paxman firstly good post brings up some interesting points.

Personally I am well entrenched in the Thorn is a good manager camp. I have posted pobably the longest post of my life on the "Thorn Debate post" On this topic so will try not to repeat myself too much.
)

I think it's wrong to keep barking on about comparisons to other teams.
Yes we have a smaller squad but overall what we have maintained is a decent squad.
That's certainly proven by the results of late. That can't be argued. If they are over achieving now then you can say they were under achieving earlier.
This out pouring of working with a decimated squad etc is a little over the top.

(I agree we do have a smaller squad than others, I agree we do have a decent 15 players. However the point is the depth of the squad was not good enough in terms of quality.
At the start of the season we lost 6 senior experienced pros they were replaced with 2 players. Before this happened our squad was deemed smaller than others. You lose 6 senior pros replace them with 2 your squad is weaker. Especially when 2 of them the season before were your 2 best players.).
The squad is different now to before January as Thorn was allowed to show one of his talents and sign 2 loanees who have had a big impact. Also Cody has returned from injury and to fitness. Clingan recovered from injury. Cameron recovered from injury. Clarke recovered from injury

Hence add these players to the earlier part of the season and you suddenly have your good 15 players. There is definatley a different team from what we were using earlier. Like when we lost to Palace in the dramatic final minutes with Thomas, Ruffles, Bigi and Chrisite in the team. Now only one of them will usually feature. They are getting bedded in as oppose to been depended on.


So it is a different team in the second half of the season to that of the first half of the season.


I dont recall anyone giving us a hammering or spanking so all the team needed was a couple more players so we had options could make substitutions and use youngsters more sparingly.)




No one can deny AT could have done much better with his teams throughout the season as he is doing now.
A combination of inexperience (even the milkman could see his mistakes on and off the field) and unable to get the most from what he had put us where we are.
Now he seems to have learnt from those mistakes and bettered his tactical awareness too and by still having the players support he has turned results around - finally.

So he is somewhat responsible for our plight and atrocious run of results that put us in such danger.
You can't just use every excuse available to deny that and then call him a genius for keeping us up?

(What are these obvious mistakes that everyone keeps talking about. I so far have been told about one. I keep asking. I keep expecting people to list off reems and reems of mistakes. Maybe it was that, that particualr 11 players in the first half of the season were doing the best they could but without Cameron, Clarke, Norwood, Nimely, Cody and for a while Clingan. That, that particular team was only as good as the results they were getting. What is Thorn doing so differently that he was not doing before Christmas. He seems to me to be doing the same but with more options and better personel)

I think we are very lucky that a good man with plenty of football knowledge, love of the game and a nice bloke to boot has now got a healthier grip on proceedings at the death.....I only hope it's not to late.

(How did he have the same grip at the end of last season when again he had better players at his disposal)

If he keeps us up then well done. But I maintain that we are and never were the worst squad in this league and even weak would have expected to be above the relegation fight....if not by much.

(agree but with a bit more depth we were too threadbare and when the injuries hit to senior pros we were screwed)

It's been a gamble to appoint Thorn and I hope it ends well.
It certainly feels like we have achieved a miracle but that's a slight exaggeration when examined closely. We are not even safe yet...
To have just been picking up an odd point here and there during the first 25 games and we would be know here needing a 'miracle'?
Everything has a perspective.

There's one thing inside me though that says Thorn has now gained himself from this whole experience massively and has grown as a manager ten fold. If this is to be the case and to back him for the position next year then this last month of results must not end as a blip of form, we must continue from this platform to answer all the doubters (like me if you like) that he indeed could become a very good manager for a club like us because I like his football, I like his approach to the game and if he combines that with some success he has my vote of confidence.

As always time will be the judge...[/QUOTE]
 
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sw88

Chief Commentator!
Very tricky question, but I've gone with my heart and said yes, on the condition we stay up (as per the question).

I would prefer him to get a 6 month contract, but these are not given to football managers to my knowledge.

Reason my head says no is because I cannot go another season like this one. However if we stay up, it'd be difficult to justify him not getting one.

Either way, whoever is at the helm needs some assistance In the market, as has been proven by AT being able to bring in the two loans. They have made a hell of a difference IMO!

I'm still of the opinion that AT is a better scout than manager, however over time WITH board support and investment, who knows what him and his team will be able to do
 

Blinxs

New Member
I have seen a couple of comments saying if we got some investment that Thorn should automatically go. I can't see why if we actually invested in some great players why Thorn could not carry on? We all saw how he did at the end of last season with King etc.. and now he has players back from injury and two good loan players we are 6 games unbeaten. He is learning all the time, he plays good football sometimes with some only decent league 1 players so i think he would be a force in the Championship if he had some financial backing. He hasnt been perfect this season but i do think that as long as nothing disastrous happens we should keep him and see if he can take us to the promised land (challenging for the playoffs would be a start but we might need a season or two before we can hope for that depending on money)
 

brinner

New Member
proof in the pudding is with the die hard support that travel to every away game so can judge the performance over the whole season without getting clouded judgement listening to the radio, ive never once heard an anti thorn chant, only good things. :)

Thorn is gonna come out of this season a far better manager and i want us to wreap the rewards of that, not some other team.

Sisu should be begging the fat sweaty messiah to sign a 4 year deal right now!!
 

ExmouthNeil

Well-Known Member
I've voted YES.... Purely because we've had SO many managers that have proved themselves at this level AND have had money to spent and have given us yet another year in the Championship (with a struggle/disappointment at the end of the season) Why not try the unknown manager stick by him and give him a chance to mature as a manager..... Just think where we may have been if we had stuck with Eric Black????

He's got us this far with bugger all money to play with and we let inexperienced players mature so why not a manager????

Anyway if we do get rid of him for whatever reason he'll always be a guy I keep my eye on(like Eric Black) and wish him success(hopefully with US!!!)

Rant over PUSB!!!!!!
 

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