RS Post Match Interview

As many have said, he looked a beaten man. He seemed down, at least that shows he cares. I like Russ, think he’s as honest as he can be in the role, I don’t hold his departure a decade against against him. We don’t know what went on. I found the comment about switching to a diamond in the second half curious, that may have been his intention, but the players certainly didn’t implement it. We got some joy when we got the ball out wide and ran at them. Definitely not a diamond.

Anyway, to sum it up, the end is nigh, I think he knows it as well. The board must act. If only the board would follow him.

Quoted from arryarryarry

I was talking to an ex Town player who was at that time involved with a club in the NL shortly after Bignot was appointed and when I mentioned his appointment he shook his head and without saying too much clearly wasn't impressed and suggested his success at Solihull wasn't all it was cracked up to be.

This is where due diligence should come in, the board should try to speak to as many contacts in the game as possible when deciding on an appointment and listen to what people have to say.

I've pointed this out on here before only to get told I was wrong. He did nothing in his first four seasons (finishing 19th, 9th, 8th then 12th) so the theory that he was building something here for this current season was a stretch. Some claimed that he'd done the same thing at Solihull, i.e gone in and tried different formations and players out of position before completing a huge turnaround to get them promoted which would only hold true if he'd been messing around for four seasons.  

The season he got them up he basically signed an entire squad from both Kidderminster and Nuneaton who were both local and had financial issues meaning they had to release all their best players. It wasn't some long term masterplan that had finally come to glorious fruition. It was right time and right place. Which is not how I'd want any manager I might potentially employ to have got their success.

Getting an up and coming manager is still a good idea potentially but it requires due diligence. It's plainly obvious that the board didn't bother looking into it very deeply or speak to many people before appointing Bignot and given their track record of appointments I'd say it's highly likely that they won't this time (should the bald one go).

We'll never know how things would have turned out with Bignot in charge but if you told me last April after beating (soon to be promoted) Blackpool away from home in front of over 1000 town fans that we'd be in this mess I wouldn't have believed you.

I think you're attaching emotions that you feel onto his body language. He was clearly disheartened, which is understandable after being beaten comfortably by two poor teams in succession.

I got the feeling as the interview progressed that he genuinely thinks he's going to turn it around. And I think he feels that we've played well in the second half of the last 2 games because we've had a lot of the ball in harmless areas where a team has sat back and defended what they've got.

I feel a bit for him, because he inherited a very large squad full of players that weren't good enough to meet expectations and had to deal with the fall out of the previous manager who turned out to be a clown and had already spent this season's budget. My expectation was that this season we'd have to tread water whilst the players already contracted had time left on their contract.

The worst part is, this has happened at a terrible time. We basically have three options as far as I see it:
- Sack Slade and bring in somebody new, but this will take a few weeks, then the transfer window is closed and he has to make do with what we have.
- Invest in more players. It's not going to be enough players to change the style of football and I doubt it would bring disenchanted fans back to the stadium. Without offloading some, the large squad is likely to bring even more disruption because players don't like not playing.
- Stick with what we've got and re-evaluate at the end of the season.

He signed not inherited a very large squad. He's dished out 19 contracts since he has been here, in less than one season!!!

Quoted from pen penfras

[b]I feel a bit for him, because he inherited a very large squad full of players that weren't good enough to meet expectations and had to deal with the fall out of the previous manager who turned out to be a clown and had already spent this season's budget[/b[. My expectation was that this season we'd have to tread water whilst the players already contracted had time left on their contract.

I agree to a certain extent that it wasn't an easy job inheriting a large squad consisting of players wanted by two different managers. But that being the case, why on earth did he then sign 13 players, the vast majority of which are not fit for purpose. Quite a few of them are on two year contracts as well. Talk about inheriting a mess and making it ten times worse.

He'd have been better off getting three or four quality players in where we needed them and ensuring we had a strong spine.

He'd have been better off getting three or four quality players in where we needed them and ensuring we had a strong spine.

Unfortunately they wouldn’t come.

Changing the manager at this stage is no good, I think, sadly we have to sit it out to the end of the season, or until we’re safe (hopefully) and then see what we do.

I know most aren’t going to agree with me, but that’s my view.

Quoted from NorthseaMariner

He'd have been better off getting three or four quality players in where we needed them and ensuring we had a strong spine.

Unfortunately they wouldn’t come.

Changing the manager at this stage is no good, I think, sadly we have to sit it out to the end of the season, or until we’re safe (hopefully) and then see what we do.

I know most aren’t going to agree with me, but that’s my view.

Yep, the sensible choice, but for me it goes beyond competency. Even if we were moderately successful, the football is appalling.

I wasn't defending the choices that have been made since he came. They are poor. The football is dire, he signed too many players, he signed too little quality. I just don't think this season was ever likely to be a roaring success after the instability that had come before.

I think a season to stabilise before making a big push for promotion was required. I'm not sure how many fans would have bought into this approach given that finishing mid table made so many unhappy last season.

It also speaks volumes that several of the players he has signed are not preferred to those already on the books.

Dixon is the only left back we have and he can't now displace Davies playing out of position.

Hooper and Cardwell can't displace Jones playing out of position.

Kelly can't even make the squad, not even sporadically.

Rees-Hall loaned out as soon as signed even though he has a 1 year deal.

Killip given a go and quickly droped for a loan keeper because he's not ready for the first team.

Evan Matt and Rose have spent long periods out of the team with Vernon and Berrett preferred.

How can he have so little trust in the players he has signed is beyond me. Shambles is the word that springs to mind.