Hurst & Cowley MK2 already in Lincolnshire

I was just thinking that there is an awful lot of similarity between the football management career paths and achievements between Paul Hurst and Danny Cowley.

Both started at low non-League level and gradually learned their trade. Both enjoyed success at low level and developed their skills, gaining promotions on route. Both then took different jobs in none league and still made progress.

So I got to thinking about what other young talented up and coming managers there are out there, doing things that mirror what the Cowleys are doing. Then I realised that there is one already on our doorstep, down the road at Boston United. Craig Elliott.

Their manager who recently left, Adam Murray, took Boston United into the depths of the relegation places in National League North. They couldn’t buy a win. Boston’s Chairman sacked him and then went in search of someone in the same moulded of Hurst and Cowley. He found this at Shaw Lane in the lower reaches of none league football.

Elliott has instantly transformed Boston into a team that has won six straight games, and is now daring to think that they might even make this season’s play offs.

Every step this guy has made so far, has been successful.

This guy is one to watch and I shall be interested to see how he continues to progress

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/w.....ambitious-767066.amp

You could have said all that about Marcus Bignot to be honest.

Way too early to put that record in the same bracket as the Cowleys when Lincoln picked him up. Even too early to be compared with Hursts record.

Not saying he couldn't be a good manager though

Quoted from 120790

I was just thinking that there is an awful lot of similarity between the football management career paths and achievements between Paul Hurst and Danny Cowley.

Both started at low non-League level and gradually learned their trade. Both enjoyed success at low level and developed their skills, gaining promotions on route. Both then took different jobs in none league and still made progress.

So I got to thinking about what other young talented up and coming managers there are out there, doing things that mirror what the Cowleys are doing. Then I realised that there is one already on our doorstep, down the road at Boston United. Craig Elliott.

Their manager who recently left, Adam Murray, took Boston United into the depths of the relegation places in National League North. They couldn’t buy a win. Boston’s Chairman sacked him and then went in search of someone in the same moulded of Hurst and Cowley. He found this at Shaw Lane in the lower reaches of none league football.

Elliott has instantly transformed Boston into a team that has won six straight games, and is now daring to think that they might even make this season’s play offs.

This guy is one to watch

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/w.....ambitious-767066.amp

Not a bad spot that Ascend. He's delivered every season for the past three or four seasons. The only note of caution would be that Shaw Lane Aquaforce were extremely well funded and had by far the biggest budget in the leagues they got promoted from..

Definitely worth considering though..

I think we have to look at a similar profile to his, maybe a level or so higher in non league, or look for an ambitious assistant from a club higher up the pyramid than us. We've got to unearth something different from the well-worn merry go round managers that go from club to club in the lower leagues..

I agree that he is one to watch. His transformation of Boston has been remarkable as well as his success at Shaw Lane. He is a born winner. However, given he's only been at National League level  for a couple of months my concern would be that he's yet to be tested fully at anything approaching full time, professional football. We're also in need of an overhaul of the squad and I'd be worried that his knowledge of players may currently be too low down the pyramid for what we're needing. If he continues with his success at Boston and has a bit longer at that level, I agree he could be one for the future but I don't think he'd be what we need right now.

For what it's worth, I think Luke Garrard is doing a remarkable job at Boreham Wood. Only his second season in the job and only their third in the NL but they're 6th and only a point behind Pearson's Wrexham in 4th. They've also got a pretty good goal difference, the fourth best in the division. All this with attendances averaging 700 per game which is significantly less than Solihull are getting (the second lowest attendances). People were impressed with Bignot even though his Solihull were only 15th with a negative goal difference when he left. This chap is doing a much, much better job.

The sort of managers mentioned  this thread do prove that there  are some good young choices out there if you care to look outside the stale merry-go-round of the league.

These are the types we should  be inviting to interview when Slade is eventually gone.

Just to clarify though. I am only suggesting that he is one to keep tabs on for now. Not that he is ready now

Interesting, but there is another local ish manager who fits the bill even better. Have a look at Martin gray at York.did great things at darlo previously

Better shout than whichever cretin said dave challinor

I was hoping to wake this morning with texts and news about slade leaving. And it says so much when the majority of threads on here, and so other social media streams are littered with anti slade and anti Fenty vitriol.

The club has become poisonous and it actually makes me wonder about who would actually want to manage while Fenty sits at the helm. The club isn't an attractive proposition at the moment and any up and coming manager would, in my opinion, have to have serious balls to come here. Are we reaching desperate times where no worthwhile candidate will be appointed and  that is the only reason why slade is still dictating his style of football (sic)

Quoted from Nelly GTFC

I don't wish to go off topic here, but I find this extremely offensive.  It was me and I already deleted that very post with regret. Words like 'cretin' – a congenital disease, 'spastic', 'imbecile' are unacceptable offensive words and shouldn't be used in todays society.

You can call be 'stupid' or 'idiot' I don't mind at all as I was, but I want you to change that word and if you don't I will report you to the administrators of this forum as I find it totally distasteful and offensive.

Why is imbecile offensive and unacceptable? It literally meant a person with a below average IQ so if that's the context in which it's used then what's the harm?

Quoted from HertsGTFC

You could have said all that about Marcus Bignot to be honest.

MB was a good appointment, it didn't work out, but there was nothing wrong with the recruitment process on that occasion. New employees don't always work out as I am sure we've all experienced in our own positions, but there's only so much you can do before getting someone in the building and putting them behind a desk. Unless you are the SAS and even they probably make mistakes.

Quoted from Nelly GTFC

I don't wish to go off topic here, but I find this extremely offensive.  It was me and I already deleted that very post with regret. Words like 'cretin' – a congenital disease, 'spastic', 'imbecile' and any form of disease/mental disability-related inappropriate terms are unacceptable offensive words and shouldn't be used in todays society.

You can call me 'stupid' or 'idiot' I don't mind at all as I was, but I want you to change that word and if you don't I will report you to the administrators of this forum as I find it totally distasteful and offensive.

He did call you stupid, it's listed in the dictionary as a term for stupid person.
But don't let that stop you cherry picking the meaning that offends you most.

Quoted from Nelly GTFC

I don't wish to go off topic here, but I find this extremely offensive.  It was me and I already deleted that very post with regret. Words like 'cretin' – a congenital disease, 'spastic', 'imbecile' and any form of disease/mental disability-related inappropriate terms are unacceptable offensive words and shouldn't be used in todays society.

You can call me 'stupid' or 'idiot' I don't mind at all as I was, but I want you to change that word and if you don't I will report you to the administrators of this forum as I find it totally distasteful and offensive.

Ok mate. You are an idiot!

What a bellsniff ^^^

Quoted from Swansea_Mariner

The sort of managers mentioned  this thread do prove that there  are some good young choices out there if you care to look outside the stale merry-go-round of the league.

These are the types we should  be inviting to interview when Slade is eventually gone.

Maybe it's not the quality of the candidates but the people doing the interviewing?

Quoted from Nelly GTFC

Deleted it, I'll wind my neck back in and get my head out my bottom lol.  

Back on-topic. From certs for the National League drop last season to play-off contenders or better this season.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Flynn_(footballer)

Newport manager Mike Flynn had no real mangerial experience before being appointed there and look how he has changed everything around.

Just what we need right now. A retired US army general. Bomb the opposition back to the stone age.  

Quoted from GrimRob

MB was a good appointment, it didn't work out, but there was nothing wrong with the recruitment process on that occasion. New employees don't always work out as I am sure we've all experienced in our own positions, but there's only so much you can do before getting someone in the building and putting them behind a desk. Unless you are the SAS and even they probably make mistakes.

Was he a good appointment not sure to be honest but did we exercise proper due diligence? If you went for a job leading an organisation nowadays you’d have an interview, not sure MB did or just “talks” either way did he talk about how he intended to dismantle a lot of Hursts good work and cast aside decent pros in Gowling ahead of fat psycho’s like Gunning.

You would also need to do a competency test either via a competency based interview or actual test so if we did that we might have seen that he knew nothing about financial planning and might even leave us with too many pros.

You might also have to do some form of behaviour analysis or work style analyser like a Berkman, that might have told us he had a massive ego and was possibly self obsessed.

Bignot was a bad appointment Rob in that he was the wrong fit for the job required at GTFC that time. That’s not his fault to be fair it just once again under lines JFs lack of savvy in terms of recruiting managers

So what does the job require now? Someone who can breathe some enthusiasm and energy into the place and ultimately on match day. When they come in though they’ll need to be pretty low key dare I say Hurst like as we don’t need another “gunna”  Additionally they’ll need a good network as there is no money to spend, but in reality they could make 3 or 4 decent signings and we could really move forward.

They’ll have to be able to manage and coach as you can’t afford Big Sam staff levels. Within that they’ll have to get a set of pros who look rudder less to play simple energetic football mainly by passing the ball on the deck.

I personally would also like to see someone who could engage the whole squad to want to play for him regardless of whether your starting or not.

So step forward (drum roll) ...........? I haven’t got a clue TBH and doubt JF has either

Left early (20 mins) for the second time at consecutive home matches in 48 years, freezing cold and bored to death at those abject performances, can`t say the players are not trying, its just not working and never will under the Slade way.
There are players in that team yesterday who would struggle to hold down a place in lower leagues than Town, we all know who they are,  and they are basically stealing a living at this level.
The difference between the dour Yorkshire man, to Slade and Bignot was Hurst said it as it was whereas the other two rely on  bull shite to wriggle there way out of failure, treating the fans as mushrooms.
Its not too late to salvage something from this fiasco, there`s a bad smell omitting from BP at the moment, the patient is dying and only major surgery with deep cuts can bring recovery.

Gown on, scrub up time to operate John, before its too late

Not a bad call Ascend in the OP. Probably too soon to tell on Elliott yet but that's probably the level we should be looking at or the one above.

Alan Dowson is doing a very good job at Hampton & Richmond in the Conference South. Took them over when on the verge of relegation from the Isthmian Premier, took them up as champs the following season, play offs in the Conference south last season and currently 20 games unbeaten and 2nd in the table. No sugar daddy and modest crowds. Not so young though.

Quoted from HertsGTFC

Was he a good appointment not sure to be honest but did we exercise proper due diligence? If you went for a job leading an organisation nowadays you’d have an interview, not sure MB did or just “talks” either way did he talk about how he intended to dismantle a lot of Hursts good work and cast aside decent pros in Gowling ahead of fat psycho’s like Gunning.

You would also need to do a competency test either via a competency based interview or actual test so if we did that we might have seen that he knew nothing about financial planning and might even leave us with too many pros.

You might also have to do some form of behaviour analysis or work style analyser like a Berkman, that might have told us he had a massive ego and was possibly self obsessed.

Bignot was a bad appointment Rob in that he was the wrong fit for the job required at GTFC that time. That’s not his fault to be fair it just once again under lines JFs lack of savvy in terms of recruiting managers

So what does the job require now? Someone who can breathe some enthusiasm and energy into the place and ultimately on match day. When they come in though they’ll need to be pretty low key dare I say Hurst like as we don’t need another “gunna”  Additionally they’ll need a good network as there is no money to spend, but in reality they could make 3 or 4 decent signings and we could really move forward.

They’ll have to be able to manage and coach as you can’t afford Big Sam staff levels. Within that they’ll have to get a set of pros who look rudder less to play simple energetic football mainly by passing the ball on the deck.

I personally would also like to see someone who could engage the whole squad to want to play for him regardless of whether your starting or not.

So step forward (drum roll) ...........? I haven’t got a clue TBH and doubt JF has either

I have said this before,but of all the managers Fenty has hired I have agreed with them all, bar Woods and Rodger.

I think the main problem is AFTER we have employed them - for some reason the managers we choose don't seem to develop an affinity with us. At a guess I would say the lack of professionalism throughout the club rubs off on the manager and in next to no time he seems to suffer the same lack of drive as the players. The minute a manager has any sort of success, Hurst, Slade (first time!) they want to be off. Not to some hotbed of football glory, but Yeovil and Shrewsbury. I wonder why that is? I will leave that question hanging...

i take it all this talk of new managers is for next October/November once Slades new summer squad hasnt pulled up any trees ?  

Where do we go now though? We appointed Bignot who was up and coming and full of bright ideas about everything, it fails. We then go old and boring, he’s allegedly a safe pair of hands but his career is in freefall, his signings have been awful and he’s allowed some of our best and most creative players to leave. Do we go, young and up and coming again? Appoint Robbie Stockdale as a left field option? I don’t know, it isn’t my decision fortunately but if it were I would ask for applications, do some due diligence before inviting people for interviews and see if they are what they seem.

What worries me, is the points that I haven't seen mentioned yet.

We're 17th in the table, -11 goal difference and 5 of the teams below us have a game in hand.

Is Hope Powell available?

I have seen a few Boston games this season under all 3 managers (Hawley was caretaker for a few games) and they were very poor under Murray. Murray is very well regarded as a coach and is computer literate but managing at Conference North level is completely different.

Elliott has been a breath of fresh air and signed some ex Town players in Paul Walker and Andi Thanoj. Interestingly a few of his Shaw Lane players have made the step up. In order to attract players Boston are still part time but train in Nottingham whilst Elliott is currently a school teacher in Pontefract.

Quoted from jamesgtfc

I have seen a few Boston games this season under all 3 managers (Hawley was caretaker for a few games) and they were very poor under Murray. Murray is very well regarded as a coach and is computer literate but managing at Conference North level is completely different.

Elliott has been a breath of fresh air and signed some ex Town players in Paul Walker and Andi Thanoj. Interestingly a few of his Shaw Lane players have made the step up. In order to attract players Boston are still part time but train in Nottingham whilst Elliott is currently a school teacher in Pontefract.

Cowleys, Slade .....previously school teachers...