Worst Manager in Recent Times

Bit of fun for a Monday

Mike Newell, without a shadow of a doubt.

Bignot was a chancer,  who was out of his depth, who can forget his lop sided formation? But he signed some decent players and talked a good game. Michael Jolley cut his own throat by boring everyone to death, going man for man on the opposition when we HAD the ball meaning we couldn't ever score a goal, he was a fraud IMO full of his own self importance, dislked by the office staff and I hear the players who had no respect for him.

Paul Hurst was pragmatic rather than exciting but got the lads organised and was well thought of at the club. Alan Buckley is a God as far as I am concerned and isn't in this conversation. Slade was well meaning, I'm sure he worked hard and did his best, but he is a footballing dinosaur who brought a style of football suited to the 80's and would certainly have taken us out of the league again if the board hadn't internened. Jolley had some success when Slade was sacked simply because he wasn't Slade IMO.

Woodsy ultimately took us out of the football league, but the damage was done and the players were all scumbags. I'll have to go for Mike Newell who signed a bunch of arseholes who didn't care about consigning this great club to oblivion as long as they were drinking on the way to training. Absolutely scandalous and I'd hang them all. Newell would be the first to wear my noose.

An honourable mention for Rob Scott  

Woods was onto nothing inheriting that bunch of losers as his first job. I don't think anyone would have got them performing. Newell signed them, put together that team and created the terrible culture so it's a no brainer.

Jolley left under a cloud but he kept us up against the odds. You could argue that we were lucky but he still kept us up. Let's not forget that he gave our most saleable asset his debut in Mattie Pollock too. In fact, I can't remember young players getting a fair crack of the whip for a number of years.

Slade II was always going to be a risk and it was a disaster. Had we gone down, he would no doubt have ran Newell very close in this poll.

Hurst and Buckley shouldn't be anywhere near this poll.

Bignot was like a kid in a sweet shop and he signed the only Head of Recruitment I've seen in football that watched his employer every Saturday and put the cones out. He's been at Guiseley for a while but I don't think he's cut out for full-time football. He seemed to chat nonsense and the line ups and formations were baffling.

I went for Newell.

Looking back, Bignot's a really interesting one. The results for the most part weren't actually that bad, in fact he had some decent ones including:

3-0 Plymouth (away)
3-1 Carlisle (away)
1-0 Hartlepool (away)
3-0 Mansfield (home)
3-0 Leyton Orient (away)
3-1 Blackpool (away)

Incidentally, here's how his record compares to Holloway's thus far:

Bignot - P27 W9 D7 L11 (Win % - 33.3%)
Holloway - P28 W9 D8 L11 (Win % - 32.1%)

I think in the end it was more the madness that ensued around him that got him the sack, rather than the results per se. Still, I think I was as relieved as I've ever been when he got the boot. In spite of the results you could see he was a disaster waiting to happen.

Leaving Sir Buckley out of it, I think a more pertinent question is why these managers turned out so badly, or the only one who had a modicum of success wanted to leave.

We should never have chosen Woods, and at the time there was a lot of speculation as to whether Slade was coming back. If he came back at all that was the time to do it, but we took the wrong option. We all love Woods, but to give him the job after all those games as a caretaker without a win, and expecting a novice manager to turn that lot round was an unforgivable decision by the board.

I think most of us wanted Newell at the time, but we expected the board to do the necessary background checks, so again the blame lies with the board.

We were at an incredibly low ebb when Hurst first arrived with Scott, but having got us back in the league we should have done more to keep him. Another board blunder.

Slade, Bignot and Jolley seemed to fall out of love with the club very quickly after talking a good game, and the feeling persists with me that they felt the club would never really progress whilst the current board was in place and got dispirited.  

It must be terribly difficult to get the right manager in, but when we do get a reasonable candidate it seems to go sour too quickly.

I was chuffed to bits when Holloway saw it as a long term project, and that he could change a lot over time, and I still hope he can once we get past this season.

Newell was somebody who came with a bad reputation and lived up to it I guess. Just genuinely didn't give a excrement and signed a bunch of people who wanted to be paid to drink and have a bit of a laugh. Made a couple of signings that generated some excitement but the majority were uninterested in getting back to their best as it was an easy job for them. Woods wanted to change all that and faced a rebellion from men, not boys who he wasn't used to coaching and didn't have the respect for him that those he had coached from a young age had.

Slade, old fashioned and wanted to sign his own players that were long past their best but did dig out Dembele to get us a bit of an investment. Jolly was a smarmy git who loved the smell of his own farts. Didn't seem very popular with people who work at the club, think he rubbed people the wrong way and it showed with the way he got fired why.

Bignot's results not bad and he signed some decent people along with some not so decent but was a nutcase. Suppose some on here would have been pleased if he successfully chased Macca out the club. The problem was he also chased Dean Henderson out the club too which they probably didn't want.

Hurst, not the most charismatic or exciting manager we've ever had but he achieved what he said he would. Bit odd in the way he left and think that could have been handled a bit better but whatever. Seemed to get on well with the board and people at the club, had the respect of the squad too which helped greatly. It helped him last long enough to finally achieve the goal of promotion.

Newell presided over the rot setting in. Thoroughly unprofessional.

Woods inherited Newell’s dross and I think wasn’t given enough time in the Conference. A victim of unrealistic expectations of rapid promotion I think, whatever you think of his time in the relegation season.

Hurst was probably the best of the lot, though that might be a bit harsh on Sir Alan. Given what subsequently happened and penny pinching at the club, Buckley might well have been given a pig in a poke to work with. Based on his previous record I’d give him the benefit of the doubt.

Bignot wasn’t given enough time in my opinion. I’m always wary of so-called player unrest. They hardly covered themselves in glory when Bignot went and tore up no trees. Recuited some good players, made some baffling formation selections. Hampered by the loss of Bogle. Didn’t have time to see if it would work.

I’d put Slade almost down there with Newell.

Jolley’s time was frustrating in the end but undoubtedly saved us from a second relegation out of the League. I think that could well have saved the club from disappearing completely given what has happened this year. Would have got longer but got his rant.

Quoted from Poojah

Looking back, Bignot's a really interesting one. The results for the most part weren't actually that bad, in fact he had some decent ones including:

3-0 Plymouth (away)
3-1 Carlisle (away)
1-0 Hartlepool (away)
3-0 Mansfield (home)
3-0 Leyton Orient (away)
3-1 Blackpool (away)


I think in the end it was more the madness that ensued around him that got him the sack, rather than the results per se. Still, I think I was as relieved as I've ever been when he got the boot. In spite of the results you could see he was a disaster waiting to happen.

We scored a few goals tho'

Newell no contest. Bignot was clueless, slade a decent bloke but so out of touch with the game. Jolley outthought everything. Hurst i liked a lot.  But the man who signed a bunch of self centred selfish pissheads who didnt give a intercourse about our club should be our worst manager of all time

I have loads of respect for Neil Woods and agree he was on a loser with the team he inherited from Newell. But his recruitment in the conference was awful and pretty much scuppered any chances we had to come back quickly.

Kempston, Watt, Ridley, Leary, Eagle, Makofo, Duffy, Cummins, Samuels. Cold sweat stuff that list.

Newell the worst though obviously.

Quoted from KingstonMariner

Newell presided over the rot setting in. Thoroughly unprofessional.

Woods inherited Newell’s dross and I think wasn’t given enough time in the Conference. A victim of unrealistic expectations of rapid promotion I think, whatever you think of his time in the relegation season.

Hurst was probably the best of the lot, though that might be a bit harsh on Sir Alan. Given what subsequently happened and penny pinching at the club, Buckley might well have been given a pig in a poke to work with. Based on his previous record I’d give him the benefit of the doubt.

Bignot wasn’t given enough time in my opinion. I’m always wary of so-called player unrest. They hardly covered themselves in glory when Bignot went and tore up no trees. Recuited some good players, made some baffling formation selections. Hampered by the loss of Bogle. Didn’t have time to see if it would work.

I’d put Slade almost down there with Newell.

Jolley’s time was frustrating in the end but undoubtedly saved us from a second relegation out of the League. I think that could well have saved the club from disappearing completely given what has happened this year. Would have got longer but got his rant.

Given far too long in the League, shouldn't have been given any time in the Conference and he signed Lee flipping Ridley. Anybody who signed that useless twit shouldn't have been in charge of a cup of tea.

Quoted from Rodley Mariner

I have loads of respect for Neil Woods and agree he was on a loser with the team he inherited from Newell. But his recruitment in the conference was awful and pretty much scuppered any chances we had to come back quickly.

Kempston, Watt, Ridley, Leary, Eagle, Makofo, Duffy, Cummins, Samuels. Cold sweat stuff that list.

Newell the worst though obviously.

To be fair to Woods, Newell signed Leary. Woods signed Lewis bloody Gobern though!  

Quoted from Abdul19

To be fair to Woods, Newell signed Leary. Woods signed Lewis bloody Gobern though!  

Didn't Gobern bring a knife to Cheapside or have I imagined that?

Quoted from jamesgtfc

Didn't Gobern bring a knife to Cheapside or have I imagined that?

Thought it was a butter knife from Cheapside canteen that he wielded.

Proppa gangsta.

Newell by a mile

Quoted from jamesgtfc

Didn't Gobern bring a knife to Cheapside or have I imagined that?

I think this one’s filed away neatly behind ‘Bignot pushes Henderson under the wheels of team coach’.

It’s 10 years ago so I forget the specific details, but I think he merely got filled in by Lee Ridley of all people, presumably deservedly given it was Gobern who was released from his contract.

He was subsequently forced to retire due to a ruptured ego.

What is it 84 votes so far and Hurst hasn’t had one yet ....

Quoted from fishboyUTM

Bignot ,Paul Hurst  ,Alan Buckley Woodsy , Mike Newell .

I would of liked Dave Moore to have been given a shot at the reigns. Strikes me as old school and a man with decent values. Iam sure he would have commanded the respect of the players. Saying that I know he didnt want the job but its a shame as I feel for one has the innate character to do really well in the management game.

Quoted from Abdul19

To be fair to Woods, Newell signed Leary. Woods signed Lewis bloody Gobern though!  

flipping hell did he play in the football league for us?! That is scary.

Quoted from HertsGTFC

What is it 84 votes so far and Hurst hasn’t had one yet ....

Because it’s ridiculous he’s on that list at all, along with Buckley.

Quoted from Sandford1981

Because it’s ridiculous he’s on that list at all, along with Buckley.

I feel for Hurst a bit though as well being on that list. Was under pressure to deliver here .Yes he was a bit dry in his persona but respect for getting Grimsby out of the non league.

Quoted from Rick12

I feel for Hurst a bit though as well being on that list. Was under pressure to deliver here .Yes he was a bit dry in his persona but respect for getting Grimsby out of the non league.

Always a team throwing money at it and with only 1 automatic promotion, the play-offs are a lottery. Look at some of the teams still down there or even lower. Stockport, York, Wrexham, Notts County, Chesterfield.

Quoted from jamesgtfc

Always a team throwing money at it and with only 1 automatic promotion, the play-offs are a lottery. Look at some of the teams still down there or even lower. Stockport, York, Wrexham, Notts County, Chesterfield.

Yes your right. Some teams paying decent money now in league 2.

Quoted from Rodley Mariner

flipping hell did he play in the football league for us?! That is scary.

Shared central midfield duties with Boshell, Hudson, Sweeney, Mendy and others. Incredible that we went down really.

Quoted from Abdul19

Shared central midfield duties with Boshell, Hudson, Sweeney, Mendy and others. Incredible that we went down really.

I seem to remember Leary was a tryer though and you have to respect that.

Sweeney was a player of note as had quality but a bit lazy. Played in the FA Cup final against Man Utd.

Quoted from Rick12

I seem to remember Leary was a tryer though and you have to respect that.

Sweeney was a player of note as had quality but a bit lazy. Played in the FA Cup final against Man Utd.

Sweeney and Conlon were both excellent performers during their loan spell and I remember being elated when they signed permanently that following summer. Sometimes we fans are so bloody stupid !!

Quoted from Lincoln Mariner 56

Sweeney and Conlon were both excellent performers during their loan spell and I remember being elated when they signed permanently that following summer. Sometimes we fans are so bloody stupid !!

Big Barry Conlon. I remember being impressed on occasion when I saw him. Sadly I think as others have alluded to liked the drink to much which let him down.

Quoted from Rick12

Yes your right. Some teams paying decent money now in league 2.

Difference being you can finish 3rd and still get promoted without the play-offs.

Quoted from Abdul19

Shared central midfield duties with Boshell, Hudson, Sweeney, Mendy and others. Incredible that we went down really.

Sums it up, really.

Not sure Hurst or Buckley should be anywhere near this list.

People might try he’d not to like Hurst but aside from Buckley, in the last 30 years he’s managed to do something nobody else has. I’d also argue he’s probably the last manager that built a truly galvanised side where everyone played for him and for each other. Also the last side as a fan most of us felt connected too.

Newell has to top that list, an absolute disgrace of a manager that assembled a disgrace of a side. Naturally Woods will forever be the man that took us down but he had his arm twisted and was left with nothing but a bunch of unprofessional male masturbators. It’s hard to find anything positive to say about that side.

Bignot comes a close second, too much bullshit and an absolute charlatan, albeit with the odd good result/away day.

Slade, who knows, it wasn’t too bad until the public meltdown and then it just fell apart. Jolley is similar for me, could pick a player but in truth knee very little. He did his job that one season but we never kicked on.

I appreciate that some of the shortcomings don’t have to be solely the fault of the manager, the players brought in, the board, off field stuff and so forth all form part of it but quite frankly, the squad assembled by Newell and he himself should never step foot in town again...

Hurst shouldn't be on the list. I would have him back at the club. The togetherness and team spirt he brought to the club was fantastic. In my opinion he brought in alot better callabour of players in compared to what we have seen in the last few years in league 2.

Quoted from lew chaterleys lover

I was chuffed to bits when Holloway saw it as a long term project, and that he could change a lot over time, and I still hope he can once we get past this season.

After I grew up watching Town from around 1986, after a couple of relegations and the appointment of Lord Alan Buckley we generally fought above our natural level in the second tier. Nowadays, we are at such a low ebb, six years out of the football league, I believe we haven't finished above mid table in division 4 / League 2 for 15 years, we have a decaying ground, basic training facilitles and a sparse backroom staff. What I am getting at is we are a good sized club at this level, those six years hurt us off the pitch as well as off it though and we are behind similar sized clubs. But the baseline is so low, Ollie must know that and he has so much to improve on. We need to get the infrastructure right, to enable us to improve as a football club and that doesn't mean another portacabin. Ollie will get things right I am certain, good times are coming.

Quoted from aldi_01

Not sure Hurst or Buckley should be anywhere near this list.

People might try he’d not to like Hurst but aside from Buckley, in the last 30 years he’s managed to do something nobody else has. I’d also argue he’s probably the last manager that built a truly galvanised side where everyone played for him and for each other. Also the last side as a fan most of us felt connected too.

Newell has to top that list, an absolute disgrace of a manager that assembled a disgrace of a side. Naturally Woods will forever be the man that took us down but he had his arm twisted and was left with nothing but a bunch of unprofessional male masturbators. It’s hard to find anything positive to say about that side.

Bignot comes a close second, too much bullshit and an absolute charlatan, albeit with the odd good result/away day.

Slade, who knows, it wasn’t too bad until the public meltdown and then it just fell apart. Jolley is similar for me, could pick a player but in truth knee very little. He did his job that one season but we never kicked on.

I appreciate that some of the shortcomings don’t have to be solely the fault of the manager, the players brought in, the board, off field stuff and so forth all form part of it but quite frankly, the squad assembled by Newell and he himself should never step foot in town again...

Hurst didn't take any prisoners. Any bad eggs were soon kicked out of the club. Your hands are a bit more tied in the league with a stricter transfer window. At Ipswich he couldn't get away with loaning a bad egg to the Conference who can sign players on loan outside of the window whereas you can still do that in League 2.

He played the percentage game but we were solid, worked hard and a lot of players moved local. A sign of a good man manager is when players follow them to their next club or stick around for a few years.

Ipswich was a step too far and I think he was the fall guy for things out of his control.

Only Buckley II and Slade I had a team spirit close to one Hurst built in my memory.

Of that list it's only really Newell who can top it in my eyes.

For the unprofessional side of it you don't need to go any further than the Paul Linwood podcast to understand what went wrong.   On the pitch, it was always summed up for me by the decision to play Ryan Bennett in central midfield before he was sacked.  

Early on I was really hopeful about Newell.  He came in and straight away identified the problem areas.  Arguably because of a lack of a budget or a lack of contacts/falling out of date with the game, Buckley's squad was pretty poor.  It lacked pace, creativity, any physical presence or cutting edge up top.  Newell straight away brought Jean-Paul Kalala back to add some of that to midfield and then added the likes of Dean Sinclair and Stuart Elliott.  Up top Jean-Louis Akpa-Akpro and Adam Proudlock came in.  Later on it was the likes of Joe Widdowson and then of course the initially excellent Barry Conlon and Peter Sweeney.  The signing of Wayne Henderson was a master stroke and I've always felt it was the single most effective transfer Newell made.  Conlon and Sweeney got the headlines but it was bringing Henderson in that steered us to safety that year.  

All in, he had to do what many managers had to do after him.  He had to rebuild mid-season.  Once it all started to settle towards the end of that season, it was easy to have hope for the following season.  Just thinking about Fenty getting carried around the Dean Court pitch on the penultimate day of the season still makes me shudder.

After that summer, it could have all gone so much better.  The problem was that Henderson was never going to stay so we ended with a well past his best Nick Colgan.  Conlon and Sweeney, two of the stars of the previous season, were clearly only interested when the dangle of a contract was there.  He also started bringing his drinking buddies in (Brian Stein anyone?) as his backroom staff.  

Needless to say that start to the season was one of the worst I've ever seen as a Town fan.  We were shambolic.

Woods inherited a squad that lacked discipline above all else but was completely unprofessional and for any faults he may have, was on an absolute hiding to nothing in taking that task on.  I don't blame him one bit for our relegation.  An experienced manager would have struggled with that dressing room, never mind one cutting his teeth.  Slade should have been given the card as it was what we needed.  Someone with experience and a hard edge.  

The Conference season under Woods was poor, but he still performed about the same in that first season (well, just under) than Scott and Hurst did for their first full season.  Hurst then got another 4 full seasons (I think 3 completely on his own) at getting the club promoted.  I do wonder how Woods would have performed with that length of time to build something.  

Hurst bored me but he should never be on any worst managers list.  He did the job eventually and was a proper Steady Eddie type.  Would never bust the budget.  Never got the club into trouble and never risked a major failure.  Much was made about the budget he had but I think it was always there or thereabouts of where we finished.  Top 5 but not quite the level of the big spenders in the league at the time.

Bignot - hmm.  There's an argument that he came in here with the remit to build something for the future and he had time to do it.  He certainly was trying to do it and you can't fault him for looking at investing in a bright future with the players he brought in.  It was exciting for a bit and probably what we needed, especially after a few years of Hurst's dour approach.  Those early games especially were very exciting.  But just chaos overall.  Recipe for disaster and Fenty was right to get rid as soon as possible.  From the outside looking in it was bizarre but after his final game (3-1 win away at Blackpool) I remember talking to a Town fan on the Blackpool Pier, he only loosely followed us and went to the game as he was in the area.  He asked what I thought about Bignot and I told him it was carnage, he couldn't believe it and thought I had unrealistic expectations especially after beating a side (that ultimately went up that year) at home.  The week before we played Donny at home and got thrashed, with little to play it and our local derby game that season, Bignot opted to try out Dan Jones in midfield.  It summed him up, he didn't really get it.

Slade Mk II - Ugh.  I think it's probably only the fact that Newell was so bad and that Jolley saved us that Slade isn't top actually.  Had we gone down that season Slade would have been fully responsible.  The football was awful, truly awful.  He got rid of Shaun Pearson for Nathan Clarke and of course there was that rant at Matt Dean and trying to show a PowerPoint presentation over the radio.  His saving grace is that the squad he built was ultimately good enough to stay up, Newell's wasn't.  

Buckley Mk III - Started well and he did try to bring in young and exciting talent.  Danny North, Andy Taylor, Ryan Bennett, Nick Hegarty...they all got their first real run in the team under Buckley and he also brought in the likes of Rob Atkinson and Peter Till.  But the last six months were so dull.  The end of the 07/08 season wascompletely masked by the Wembley appearance.  He probably should have gone that summer and his recruitment was terrible (Matt Heywood, Richard Hope, Chris Llewellyn....).  That spell tainted his legacy a bit but I think it's largely just forgotten about now.

Jolley - Not a chance.  Turned out to be out of his depth and it seems not a particularly nice person either.  But I'm still in awe that he kept that side up that season.  Real fleeting moments of something special being built but it never materialised into anything concrete.  Regardless of how it ended, he kept us out the Conference that spring and probably saved the club in the process.  We shouldn't forget that.

Wait....Nick Colgan had a best!? I guess that one season at Barnsley was his best but made a career of being a bench warmer. 22 years in the game and less than 300 appearances in league competitions says it all.

Quoted from Kris2

Wait....Nick Colgan had a best!? I guess that one season at Barnsley was his best but made a career of being a bench warmer. 22 years in the game and less than 300 appearances in league competitions says it all.

A former colleague was a scout for Liverpool, had the pleasure of attending many a game with him.

Saw Huddersfield once when Colgan was GK coach, sat in the fancy seats, he comes out the tunnel and dropped everything...I let him know I was town fan. Steward threatened my removal, was worth it.

The man never had a best, professional bench warmer. Never forget his howler against Bournemouth at BP...

Colgan proved right that old saying about never going back!

Quoted from aldi_01

A former colleague was a scout for Liverpool, had the pleasure of attending many a game with him.

Saw Huddersfield once when Colgan was GK coach, sat in the fancy seats, he comes out the tunnel and dropped everything...I let him know I was town fan. Steward threatened my removal, was worth it.

The man never had a best, professional bench warmer. Never forget his howler against Bournemouth at BP...

Him walking out the tunnel and dropping everything is somehow the perfect description of what it's like having Nick Colgan as your keeper during his playing career. I'm all for giving new signings a chance without judging them by their past career but it was apparent right away he wasn't good enough to be a first choice keeper. Looked completely lost between the sticks falling over his own feet like Bambi on ice.