League One - Who manages us?

[Raj]

How about Scotty Parker?

 

Show him around the gorgeous sites of our city and how could he refuse!

[Iwebema]

I would probably take Scott Parker, its uninspiring but hed likely take us up and stabilise us a bit. Of the names being batted around I would be ok with

 

Parker

Gerrard

Challinor

Robins

 

Less so Martin, Ferguson or Rowett

 

On the fence about Fuchs or Neil Lennon.

 

I am not sure there is much else out there unless mccarron is given more power and we get a left field candidate 

[ClaphamFox]

6 hours ago, fox_favourite said:

Was it since his assistant left?

Yes. Robins' record before he worked with Adi Viveash was ok but nothing special (he did well in first spell at Coventry but didn't do much at all at Barnsley, Huddersfield or S****horpe). His best years came when he went back to Coventry and had Viveash alongside him (two promotions, EFL Trophy win, FA Cup semi-final, etc). After Viveash left in the summer of 2024, Robins seemed to revert to being a mediocre manager, getting sacked at Coventry and then struggling at Stoke. 

[ClaphamFox]

Just now, Iwebema said:

I would probably take Scott Parker, its uninspiring but hed likely take us up and stabilise us a bit. Of the names being batted around I would be ok with

 

Parker

Gerrard

Challinor

Robins

 

Less so Martin, Ferguson or Rowett

 

On the fence about Fuchs or Neil Lennon.

 

I am not sure there is much else out there unless mccarron is given more power and we get a left field candidate 

Why would you be ok with Gerrard? He was beyond horrendous at Villa despite being well supported by their board. Emery walked in and transformed them instantly with the same squad.

[teblin]

2 minutes ago, Iwebema said:

I would probably take Scott Parker, its uninspiring but hed likely take us up and stabilise us a bit. Of the names being batted around I would be ok with

 

Parker

Gerrard

Challinor

Robins

 

Less so Martin, Ferguson or Rowett

 

On the fence about Fuchs or Neil Lennon.

 

I am not sure there is much else out there unless mccarron is given more power and we get a left field candidate 

I wonder if the left field appointment could be Johnson or Neilson From Lommel.

[Iwebema]

1 minute ago, ClaphamFox said:

Why would you be ok with Gerrard? He was beyond horrendous at Villa despite being well supported by their board. Emery walked in and transformed them instantly with the same squad.

Thats fair, he also worked well at Rangers, perhaps my brain is linking him to Lampard too much as he was a bit of a laughing stock before Coventry, I wouldn't fully write him off though.

 

All of the above said I am not overly inspired by any of the names there, so I do hope it is a left field appointment.

[indierich06]

Sorry but Scott Parker isn't dropping down to League 1.

[ClaphamFox]

19 minutes ago, Iwebema said:

Thats fair, he also worked well at Rangers, perhaps my brain is linking him to Lampard too much as he was a bit of a laughing stock before Coventry, I wouldn't fully write him off though.

 

All of the above said I am not overly inspired by any of the names there, so I do hope it is a left field appointment.

You'd be surprised at how often people seem to upgrade Gerrard's potential because of some vague sense that he might be able to replicate Lampard's achievements, despite there being no connection between them other than being England midfielders around the same time. I'm biased against him because I'm acquainted with two longstanding Villa fans who both describe him as the worst manager they've ever had.

 

Of the names mentioned, the only one I'd be ok with is Challinor—and as far as I'm aware we haven't even been linked with him. An inspired left field appointment seems our best hope.

[Iwebema]

34 minutes ago, ClaphamFox said:

You'd be surprised at how often people seem to upgrade Gerrard's potential because of some vague sense that he might be able to replicate Lampard's achievements, despite there being no connection between them other than being England midfielders around the same time. I'm biased against him because I'm acquainted with two longstanding Villa fans who both describe him as the worst manager they've ever had.

 

Of the names mentioned, the only one I'd be ok with is Challinor—and as far as I'm aware we haven't even been linked with him. An inspired left field appointment seems our best hope.

Im likely the other side of the biases, I have friends who are Rangers fans who think he is the best manager ever haha.

 

But totally appreciate there are alot of red flags. I guess the fact hes been out of work for a bit despite many jobs being open is a red flag.

 

Agree on Chalinor, I worry the job might be "too big for him" in terms of managing the mess, the egos and turning the culture around, but I would be happy to see him given a shot.

[les-tah]

49 minutes ago, indierich06 said:

Sorry but Scott Parker isn't dropping down to League 1.

Come on now lets be realistic.

 

toxic ownership aside we are a huge club and hes hardly a world class manager.  We would still be the biggest and most successful club hes ever managed in modern times and next year we will likely be in the championship again.

[Steve Earle]

50 minutes ago, ClaphamFox said:

You'd be surprised at how often people seem to upgrade Gerrard's potential because of some vague sense that he might be able to replicate Lampard's achievements, despite there being no connection between them other than being England midfielders around the same time. I'm biased against him because I'm acquainted with two longstanding Villa fans who both describe him as the worst manager they've ever had.

 

Of the names mentioned, the only one I'd be ok with is Challinor—and as far as I'm aware we haven't even been linked with him. An inspired left field appointment seems our best hope.

But that’s where we are, isn’t it? Hoping for an ‘inspired’ appointment. They are bound to get one right eventually.

 

This is what I think Henry Winter meant when he described us as a ‘manager club’. In other words, absent anything resembling a club strategy, the buffoons in charge keep rolling the dice hoping to drop on the next Enzo or Nige.

 

But every passing year’s financial missteps make it less and less likely that any manager could succeed here. 

Edited Tuesday at 09:54 by Steve Earle

[AjcW]

1 hour ago, teblin said:

I wonder if the left field appointment could be Johnson or Neilson From Lommel.

I imagine this was meant to be the plan, we "thought we had our man" was quoted in the press the other week. But now they've been promoted and LJ stock is growing again, within the City group. He might be shuffled around to another well paid gig there. 

[Stavros81]

Liverpool already having talks with Iraola days after slot went. Our owners are playing with each others balls until the beginning of August. What a shit mess our club is in!

Edited Tuesday at 10:00 by Stavros81

[ClaphamFox]

12 minutes ago, Steve Earle said:

But that’s where we are, isn’t it? Hoping for an ‘inspired’ appointment. They are bound to get one right eventually.

 

This is what I think Henry Winter meant when he described us as a ‘manager club’. In other words, absent anything resembling a club strategy, the buffoons in charge keep rolling the dice hoping to drop on the next Enzo or Nige.

 

But every passing year’s financial missteps make it less and less likely that any manager could succeed here. 

Well, yes—hard to disagree with any of that. We can only hope that McCarron's appointment signals a shift away from being a manager club and towards being a club with a long-term strategy. I guess we won't know until the managerial appointment is made.

[teblin]

17 minutes ago, Stavros81 said:

Liverpool already having talks with Iraola days after slot went. Our owners are playing with each others balls until the beginning of August. What a shit mess our club is in!

Its easier to attract a manager to Liverpool than our sorry state. But I agree with your point it all takes too long.

[ClaphamFox]

11 minutes ago, teblin said:

Its easier to attract a manager to Liverpool than our sorry state. But I agree with your point it all takes too long.

I'm trying to comfort myself with the thought that the longer it drags on, the less likely it is to be one of the free agents we've been linked with, such as Martin. I realise my logic is not flawless. 

[teblin]

2 minutes ago, ClaphamFox said:

I'm trying to comfort myself with the thought that the longer it drags on, the less likely it is to be one of the free agents we've been linked with, such as Martin. I realise my logic is not flawless. 

More I think, I worry more that bigger things are a foot within the club, which might be negative for the next season or so, then maybe better. Might be wrong. 

 

[Samilktray]

5 minutes ago, ClaphamFox said:

I'm trying to comfort myself with the thought that the longer it drags on, the less likely it is to be one of the free agents we've been linked with, such as Martin. I realise my logic is not flawless. 

Took us a while to employ our previous, previously unemployed manager 

[Jattdogg]

47 minutes ago, Stavros81 said:

Liverpool already having talks with Iraola days after slot went. Our owners are playing with each others balls until the beginning of August. What a shit mess our club is in!

They haven't got any.

[Stavros81]

4 minutes ago, Jattdogg said:

They haven't got any.

Fair Point 

[ClaphamFox]

8 minutes ago, Samilktray said:

Took us a while to employ our previous, previously unemployed manager 

I know—hence my comment that my logic is not flawless. It could go that way again, or it could be that McCarron is working hard to bring somebody decent in. At this precise moment, we have no way of knowing which.

[Steve Earle]

43 minutes ago, ClaphamFox said:

Well, yes—hard to disagree with any of that. We can only hope that McCarron's appointment signals a shift away from being a manager club and towards being a club with a long-term strategy. I guess we won't know until the managerial appointment is made.

And of course we won’t necessarily know then either.

[Craig]

The longer they haven't announced Rowett will be leaving/has left the club, the more I worry that they are genuinely considering keeping him. 

[Dan]

22 hours ago, Lcfcwigstonblue said:

 

Wasn’t aware of how he played.

 

Dave Challinor’s style of play is characterized by a dynamic blend of high-intensity pressing, tactical flexibility, and an expansive, possession-based approach in the final third. A former centre-back himself, his teams are built on solid defensive foundations, aggressive closing down, and disciplined, hard-working midfields. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

 

Key Tactical Pillars

• High Aggression & Pressing: Challinor demands that his teams hunt for the ball. His players—especially midfielders and wing-backs—aggressively jump off their lines every few seconds to prevent opponents from building from the back. [1, 2]
• Expansive Wing-Backs: Whether deploying a back three or a back four, he utilizes overlapping and high-pressing wing-backs. This allows his sides to crowd the pitch, stretch the opposition defense, and dominate the wide areas. [1, 2]
• Tactical Adaptability: He is not dogmatic about formations and prefers to pick shapes that maximize his squad's strengths. While he has favored 3-5-2, 3-4-2-1, and 4-3-3 structures, the underlying attacking and pressing principles remain the same. [1, 2, 3, 4]
• No-Nonsense Accountability: Beyond the tactics, his management style is demanding. He holds players strictly accountable, emphasizing hard work, high standards, and squeezing every ounce of potential out of his squads

These are all massive plus points - all four of them not welcomed at Aiyawatt's Leicester, however.

[filbertway]

8 minutes ago, Craig said:

The longer they haven't announced Rowett will be leaving/has left the club, the more I worry that they are genuinely considering keeping him. 

Yeah, an announcement that he was leaving at the end of his deal would have been made the week after the final game if he wasn't up for consideration.

 

The fact they haven't decided that nearly a month later is par for the course though. It's almost a carbon copy of RVN last summer.