D
Deleted member 5849
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Based on a little snippet on the John Poynton thread...
Sillett was successful, and history judges him well, but there was a downward spiral starting towards the end that, because of the success we'd begun to take for granted, meant whisperings against him were heard. People pointed to failings, and the fact we didn't kick on as maybe was expected after a cup win. Had his successor managed a top 6 finish, and not been Terry Butcher, would history judge Sillett as well?
As for Jimmy Hill, did he get out of Coventry for the right time, for his reputation here?
Hill got out before the downward spiral could happen. He stayed, after all, until a new manager was appointed, and results weren't stunning. Who's to say that first season in the top flight would have gone any better under Hill and, maybe, it might have been worse?
More, by the time he became chairman his 'visionary' nature saw us build a leisure centre nobody wanted, lose money in a US franchise, and try and rebrand the club Coventry talbot while making our ground all-seater and slashing the fanbase at a stroke.
It's often a fine line between success and failure, no denying his successes with the team as manager and, more to the point, profile. But he was backed by a supportive chairman too.
So, was it a hammer blow for him to leave when he did, or did it make his status as legend guaranteed forever?
Sillett was successful, and history judges him well, but there was a downward spiral starting towards the end that, because of the success we'd begun to take for granted, meant whisperings against him were heard. People pointed to failings, and the fact we didn't kick on as maybe was expected after a cup win. Had his successor managed a top 6 finish, and not been Terry Butcher, would history judge Sillett as well?
As for Jimmy Hill, did he get out of Coventry for the right time, for his reputation here?
Hill got out before the downward spiral could happen. He stayed, after all, until a new manager was appointed, and results weren't stunning. Who's to say that first season in the top flight would have gone any better under Hill and, maybe, it might have been worse?
More, by the time he became chairman his 'visionary' nature saw us build a leisure centre nobody wanted, lose money in a US franchise, and try and rebrand the club Coventry talbot while making our ground all-seater and slashing the fanbase at a stroke.
It's often a fine line between success and failure, no denying his successes with the team as manager and, more to the point, profile. But he was backed by a supportive chairman too.
So, was it a hammer blow for him to leave when he did, or did it make his status as legend guaranteed forever?