...has just been announced as Aston Villa's womens team manager

Good move for him

I'm glad we got rid of him and then also Michael Jolley. The mid-table security they achieved on a urine poor budget was far less interesting than a relegation battle.

At the VP

isnt his Mrs an ex or current England International?

One of the goalies I think, good move for him, more money now in top end of womens game than Lg 1 downwards

Quoted from MeanwoodMariner

I'm glad we got rid of him and then also Michael Jolley. The mid-table security they achieved on a urine poor budget was far less interesting than a relegation battle.

Did Bignot ‘achieve’ mid table security? He took over a team in the play offs with the league’s top goal scorer and dropped them down the table. He also spent a small fortune in his transfer window. A quick look at how his career has gone since then would suggest he’s not all that, in fact far from it. Obviously Slade and Holloway were terrible appointments but that doesn’t mean Bignot going was a mistake.

He may have achieved very little in reality but he was definately cut short in what he was trying to do.
His major mistake was writing the season off too early, that game against Donny just lost any of the support he had.

Omar seemed to respond well to him, he got players performing for us which subsequent managers didnt and his policy was to set up an academy for second chances, those players who get rejected at 18-20 from the Prem set ups.

Never got the chance to run with it as he committed the no.1 crime of not watching the pennies.....tut tut.

Think he had some good man management skills but maybe lacked in other areas.

Mind them buses

Bignot was a clown, perhaps he had a good eye but the man was full of excrement, just like Holloway.

He had a habit of throwing folk under the bus, including himself in the end...

Bignot was too metropolitan and abstract for us.

Another who applied for Lampards job

I liked Bignot personally. Fenty labelled him as mad, when what he meant was that he got Fenty mad for spending too much money. Slades first job was to slash and burn the squad to get the wage bill down to an acceptable level for the "best run club in the country".

Quoted from Nutsy

...has just been announced as Aston Villa's womens team manager

Good move for him

Yes genuinely liked him. Had character .Good luck to him.

Quoted from Boris Johnson

isnt his Mrs an ex or current England International?

Ireland

He was in the women’s game previously in the women’s game, doing very well at Birmingham City.

There’s some top people in ladies footie. I know he messed up massively but Sampson did great with England. Neville did okay too. It seems to be getting better and better and attracting names.

Some brilliant women coaches too, and I think it will only be a matter of time until we see a woman managing a men’s pro team. Emma Hayes at Chelsea his often been mentioned as the one that might make the break through. It’s only a matter of time until it happens. There will be a woman that makes it in the men’s game. I know there will be some amongst us that will dread the thought of it, but I think it’s inevitable

I wonder if you asked women players if they would prefer a male or female manager, if they would be as fussed compared to what men would?

Nice enough fella Bignot was when he was here, but I always got the impression he was a bit out of his depth and tried to mask that with his nice sense of humour

Bignot always maintained he was given a remit to build something from the bottom up and that he had time to do so.

Regardless of results, he was here for just over 5 months.  

Mad as a bag of frogs, full of sound bites, never knew his best side, probably focused too much on building something rather than balancing it out with actually competing in a league campaign...but I still believe him when he says he was told he had time.

Kinda smacks of the club when we bring someone in, give them an expectation to meet but don't back them up with the resource.  Then blame them for not achieving it and kick the can down the road.

Bignot had made a huge step up in coming here.   If he was here for the long-term the club should have supported him by putting an experienced head in with him, someone to just guide him through that first couple of years.  Instead they just presumed that what works with part-timers in the Conference North can be adopted in League Two.

i mostly enjoyed watching Town under Bignott. He had some interesting players and never a dull moment.

Quoted from londonmariner2

i mostly enjoyed watching Town under Bignott. He had some interesting players and never a dull moment.

He was Gavin's female dog, the questionnaire with the kids was the most toe curling embarrassing thing I've ever seen

Quoted from moosey_club

He may have achieved very little in reality but he was definately cut short in what he was trying to do.
His major mistake was writing the season off too early, that game against Donny just lost any of the support he had.

Omar seemed to respond well to him, he got players performing for us which subsequent managers didnt and his policy was to set up an academy for second chances, those players who get rejected at 18-20 from the Prem set ups.

Never got the chance to run with it as he committed the no.1 crime of not watching the pennies.....tut tut.

Think he had some good man management skills but maybe lacked in other areas.

I've never understood this about the Bignot reign

The "club" made a fortune from the sale of Bogle ( well when I say club you get my drift ) so why shouldn't he spend the money received to achieve his long term aims?

Maybe just me being a bit dim but I never thought on the trip back from Blackpool that he'd be out of the door and Slade in place less than 48 hours later

Quoted from FishOutOfWater

I've never understood this about the Bignot reign

The "club" made a fortune from the sale of Bogle ( well when I say club you get my drift ) so why shouldn't he spend the money received to achieve his long term aims?

Maybe just me being a bit dim but I never thought on the trip back from Blackpool that he'd be out of the door and Slade in place less than 48 hours later

I agree, after all the games, that’s not the one you’d expect him to have been given the boot...that said, I guess he became a victim of the never ending nonsense that is the overall leadership of GTFC.

I didn’t rate Bignot or his football but he did have an eye for a player and perhaps he was sold a dud, not the first and won’t be the last.

Will probably be forever remembered purely because of that Blackpool win and the short spell in charge...

Quoted from aldi_01

I agree, after all the games, that’s not the one you’d expect him to have been given the boot...that said, I guess he became a victim of the never ending nonsense that is the overall leadership of GTFC.

I didn’t rate Bignot or his football but he did have an eye for a player and perhaps he was sold a dud, not the first and won’t be the last.

Will probably be forever remembered purely because of that Blackpool win and the short spell in charge...

I've heard his fate was sealed when we were drubbed by Doncaster

That was a bitter pill to swallow admittedly but bouncing back in style at Blackpool the following week ( who actually got promoted the next month via the play-offs ) I thought we had the basis of a good team

Shows that I just don't have what it takes to be the non-chairman of a lower league football club....  ;)

Certainly had a good eye for a player. Realised after 5 games that Berrett was fucking shit!

Prior to Holloway arriving I thought we’d dodged a bullet with Bignot but on reflection he probably had something and given time who knows maybe he could have replicated something like he did at Solihull.

One think that I often think about is if he’d have stayed would Osborne have stayed? That lad has talent. Would Sam Jones have progressed into the player many thought he would be etc.. etc..

He did some mad stuff like playing an experimental side against a free scoring Doncaster side and then there was the bus incident with Henderson.

Like a say putting Bignot’s time here versus Holloway’s apart from the QPR links there where parallels but on reflection I’d have been surprised if he stayed that Bignot would have left us in the mess Holloway has.

Quoted from aldi_01

I agree, after all the games, that’s not the one you’d expect him to have been given the boot...that said, I guess he became a victim of the never ending nonsense that is the overall leadership of GTFC.

I didn’t rate Bignot or his football but he did have an eye for a player and perhaps he was sold a dud, not the first and won’t be the last.

Will probably be forever remembered purely because of that Blackpool win and the short spell in charge...

Seem to recall a 3-0 win at Plymouth and a 3-1 away win at Carlisle on New Years Day when they were top of the league. He was certainly different & definitely brought in too many players that January and like all managers some were crap others excellent, Osbourne and Jones (while it lasted) and I was sorry he got the boot but accept his career has not taken off since his time with us.

Good luck to him.

It’s probably not helped Bignot that he was sacked by us, a 4th division club. But I’ve always maintained he should have been given more time. like every manager at Town under Fenty, including Slade II, he was copulated over.

I'm struggling to remember (probably a good thing), but who were the good and bad players he signed?

Not after an exhaustive list, but just some of the names

Signings under Marcus Bignot
Permanent transfers;

Gavin Gunning
Joined from: Greenock Morton
Current club: Free agent

Jamey Osborne
Joined from: Solihull Moors
Current club: Solihull Moors

Chris Clements
Joined from: Mansfield Town
Current club: Cheltenham

Sam Jones
Joined from: Gateshead
Current club: Shrewsbury

Adi Yussuf
Joined from: Mansfield Town
Current club: Blackpool

Akwasi Asante
Joined from: Solihull Moors
Current club: Chester

Loan deals;

Luke Maxwell
Joined from: Birmingham City
Current club: Solihull Moors

Brandon Comley
Joined from: QPR
Current club: Colchester United

Calum Dyson
Joined from: Everton
Current club: Plymouth Argyle

Taken from this old Telegraph article so the current clubs bit is out of date for many of them now.

https://www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/grimsby-town-football-league-signings-2939338

Asante plays for Chesterfield, not Chester. Signed for them in October and has scored 6 in 7 games. Another decent looking signing that floundered when here.

I think Sam Jones is now back at Gateshead, Yussuf at Wrexham & Asante is knocking them  in at Chesterfield.

I think Sam Jones is now back at Gateshead, Yussuf at Wrexham & Asante is knocking them  in at Chesterfield.

Callum Dyson has retired due to injury I believe

Quoted from aldi_01

Bignot was a clown, perhaps he had a good eye but the man was full of excrement, just like Holloway.

He had a habit of throwing folk under the bus, including himself in the end...

Another statement I don't understand is that Bignot had a good eye for a player. He took over a team on the verge of the playoffs and decided virtually the whole squad needed replacing with more technically able players. Who that he signed has actually gone on to do anything?

Gavin Gunning - Free agent
Jamey Osborne - Solihull Moors
Chris Clements - Cheltenham
Sam Jones - Kettering
Adi Yussuf - Wrexham
Akwasi Asante - Chesterfield

He managed to spend a lot of money, whilst upsetting a solid squad and replacing them with "more technical" players that had attitude problems instead of technical limitations.

The players had complained about him several times before he finally got the boot

Quoted from pen penfras

Another statement I don't understand is that Bignot had a good eye for a player. He took over a team on the verge of the playoffs and decided virtually the whole squad needed replacing with more technically able players. Who that he signed has actually gone on to do anything?

Gavin Gunning - Free agent
Jamey Osborne - Solihull Moors
Chris Clements - Cheltenham
Sam Jones - Kettering
Adi Yussuf - Wrexham
Akwasi Asante - Chesterfield

He managed to spend a lot of money, whilst upsetting a solid squad and replacing them with "more technical" players that had attitude problems instead of technical limitations.

The players had complained about him several times before he finally got the boot

So how much more did he spend than the club received for selling Bogle  ( which I assume wasn't his decision )...

As for upsetting a solid squad, in Bignot's last game ( at Blackpool ) of the starting 11 plus the 3 subs that featured that afternoon, 9 were Hurst signings

Of the Bignot signings on display that day I had no complaints seeing Clements & Osborne in there over Berrett & Summerfield

Likewise as much as I took to Sam Jones, he more than likely wouldn't have been with us had Bogle not been sold during the last few minutes of the January transfer window

All in all I'm of the opinion that Bignot's brief reign wasn't anywhere near as momentous as some would have it

Quoted from FishOutOfWater

So how much more did he spend than the club received for selling Bogle  ( which I assume wasn't his decision )...

As for upsetting a solid squad, in Bignot's last game ( at Blackpool ) of the starting 11 plus the 3 subs that featured that afternoon, 9 were Hurst signings

Of the Bignot signings on display that day I had no complaints seeing Clements & Osborne in there over Berrett & Summerfield

Likewise as much as I took to Sam Jones, he more than likely wouldn't have been with us had Bogle not been sold during the last few minutes of the January transfer window

All in all I'm of the opinion that Bignot's brief reign wasn't anywhere near as momentous as some would have it

It's not about how much more he spent than we received, it's about the money that he spent was wasted. He spent more money than Hurst and got less out of that money.

Upsetting the squad doesn't mean not playing them, it means we had a good team spirit and he destroyed it. The players were literally asking for him to be sacked.

If he'd have stayed, it'd have been as calamitous as Holloway has left us

Quoted from pen penfras

It's not about how much more he spent than we received, it's about the money that he spent was wasted. He spent more money than Hurst and got less out of that money.

Upsetting the squad doesn't mean not playing them, it means we had a good team spirit and he destroyed it. The players were literally asking for him to be sacked.

If he'd have stayed, it'd have been as calamitous as Holloway has left us

Agreed. He was completely bonkers.

Quoted from pen penfras

It's not about how much more he spent than we received, it's about the money that he spent was wasted. He spent more money than Hurst and got less out of that money.

Upsetting the squad doesn't mean not playing them, it means we had a good team spirit and he destroyed it. The players were literally asking for him to be sacked.

If he'd have stayed, it'd have been as calamitous as Holloway has left us

You know that is purely conjecture

There is no way you can prove it (and likewise nor can I disprove it)

In my opinion he was moved out prematurely... probably because our board wanted someone else to come in and take on the opportunity / risk of us falling out of the league.   Again.   It almost worked too!  ;)

Quoted from pen penfras

It's not about how much more he spent than we received, it's about the money that he spent was wasted. He spent more money than Hurst and got less out of that money.

Upsetting the squad doesn't mean not playing them, it means we had a good team spirit and he destroyed it. The players were literally asking for him to be sacked.

If he'd have stayed, it'd have been as calamitous as Holloway has left us

The same players that achieved naff all after Bignot was sacked. Bad policy to start bowing to pressure from the players. He should have been given time to work through his plan. Not just one mid-season transfer window.

If he was that bad it shows poor recruitment.

Then the berk was appointed that nearly took us out of the League.

That, my friend was calamitous.

Didn't he have the best % win rate since we came back into the league except possibly Hurst :-/

Quoted from Heswall Mariner

I think Sam Jones is now back at Gateshead, Yussuf at Wrexham & Asante is knocking them  in at Chesterfield.

Kettering and not playing as he’s injured. (Sam Jones)

Shows how crap we are when people are claiming Bignopt was good purely because we actually won a couple of games when he was in charge.

On the whole it was crap and it's been well documented that the players didn't like him. His selections were baffling most of the time (hence Bignot Bingo)...distinctively remember a terrible game away at Stevenage when we ended up with about 5 strikers on the pitch.

He signed some good players, but theres more to a player than just ability. There was seemingly no background or character checks, he just chucked money at players who didn't really wanna be here/didn't wanna travel/didn't wanna relocate.

The travel thing was something the board backed him on and then hung him out to dry on it.

Again, it's that transition from being at Solihull to here, different standards and expectations.  Whole different playing field.  What did the board do to support Bignot in going form managing a part-time side on the outskirts of the second largest city in the country to a full-time outfit that is a good hour of a commute from a larger metropolitan area.  Travelling in will have worked when players train twice a week and can juggle it about, less so at our level.

He was a bit of a basket case but the club didn't help him or, by all accounts, those players he brought in from afar.

Regardless of what people thought of him, his sacking & the subsequent appointment of Slade was another disgusting & snide episode in the club’s history.

The away end at Blackpool was awash with rumours that Bignot was going to be sacked & Slade appointed. I couldn’t believe it but lo & behold, that’s exactly how it played out.

We were then treated to a week of bullshít from the usual suspects about how Slade had been first contacted the day after Bignot was relieved of his duties (he was up a mountain somewhere?) and then the deal sealed over fish & chips (heard that before) the next day.

I didn’t mind the bloke, he’s no more mental than some of the other oddballs we’ve had at various positions of power within the club.

Quoted from sam gy

Shows how crap we are when people are claiming Bignopt was good purely because we actually won a couple of games when he was in charge.

On the whole it was crap and it's been well documented that the players didn't like him. His selections were baffling most of the time (hence Bignot Bingo)...distinctively remember a terrible game away at Stevenage when we ended up with about 5 strikers on the pitch.

He signed some good players, but theres more to a player than just ability. There was seemingly no background or character checks, he just chucked money at players who didn't really wanna be here/didn't wanna travel/didn't wanna relocate.

Yep, with no gameplan as to how we were going to get the ball to them or in to dangerous areas. Resulted in our best striker and the league's top scorer coming in to his own half to try and get the ball and ulimately leaving us frustrated at the end of the match. He signed some players with talent (Osborne, Jones, Clements) but he was absolutely clueless tactically.

There were some at the time who were trying to suggest that his playing Gunning in centre mid against a free scoring Donny was some sort of master plan to work out how flexible the players were or to stretch them a bit during a season which didn't have much left to play for. Absolute bollocks.If you need a drubbing at home to local rivals to work out that Gavin Gunning hasn't got a single attribute that makes him capable of playing in centre mid then you're not cut out for football management.

Didn't he play Dan Jones (forgotten CB that Hurst signed and never played) in CM too, just to try him out?

[/b]

Quoted from mariner91

Yep, with no gameplan as to how we were going to get the ball to them or in to dangerous areas.[b] Resulted in our best striker and the league's top scorer coming in to his own half to try and get the ball and ulimately leaving us frustrated. He signed some players with talent (Osborne, Jones, Clements) but he was absolutely clueless tactically.

There were some at the time who were trying to suggest that his playing Gunning in centre mid against a free scoring Donny was some sort of master plan to work out how flexible the players were or to stretch them a bit during a season which didn't have much left to play for. Absolute bollocks.If you need a drubbing at home to local rivals to work out that Gavin Gunning hasn't got a single attribute that makes him capable of playing in centre mid then you're not cut out for football management.

Do you really think Bogle left due to tactics or Bignot. He left because someone dangled thousands of pounds a week in front of him and opportunity to play at a higher level. I

Quoted from Madeleymariner

One of the goalies I think, good move for him, more money now in top end of womens game than Lg 1 downwards

Not sure why there would be more money in it. The standard is so poor hardly anyone seems interested in watching it, so it's puzzling as to where exactly the money is coming from.

Quoted from A Brace Of Tees

Not sure why there would be more money in it. The standard is so poor hardly anyone seems interested in watching it, so it's puzzling as to where exactly the money is coming from.

The money is coming from the top European mens teams. European clubs are paying tranfer fees to get players now. The WSL is dominated by 4 of the big 6 and smaller teams can no longer compete. Look at how Man City created a womens team (inc internationals), and without kicking a ball replaced Doncaster. Money now talks.

Quoted from moosey_club

he got players performing for us which subsequent managers didnt

No - he didn't get players performing at all. His bizarre tactics, including at one stage getting all the players congregating in one quarter of the pitch was mind-boggling. And the away performance at Stevenage during his tenure was one of the worst live matches I've ever witnessed - which ended up with 4 strikers on the pitch including Bogle trying to play in midfield! The kind of strategy a six year old might have come up with.

As other posters have said, his career since then has hardly sky-rocketed. I think he's probably at about the right level - managing in the women's game which as we all know is of a very poor standard. .

Quoted from Madeleymariner

[b][/b]

Do you really think Bogle left due to tactics or Bignot. He left because someone dangled thousands of pounds a week in front of him and opportunity to play at a higher level. I

No I don't think that although I admit it reads that way. I should have said left us frustrated in that match.

Quoted from HertsGTFC

Like a say putting Bignot’s time here versus Holloway’s apart from the QPR links there where parallels but on reflection I’d have been surprised if he stayed that Bignot would have left us in the mess Holloway has.

We weren't left in the same mess because we had better players at the time, but if he'd hung around I suspect we'd have ended up in sh!t street.