Should Mark Robins be sacked? (22 Viewers)

[ccfcway]

ironically, put that team up gives me even more hope MR will get it right.

He's a keeper, decent left back and decent target man away from a very good X1

---------------------Burge---------------------
Grimmer----Willis--- McDonald---Stokes
------------Doyle-------Kelly ----------------
------------------Andreu----------------------
----Jones------Beavon-----McNulty-----

 

---

[Sick Boy]

It was the one thing McGinnity got right, the need to change that. Shame that when he lucked into getting a manager who'd started to, the eejit and Robinson listened to buffoons who thought they knew better!

I've never seen a city team go 3.0 up within 15 mins in 2 consecutive games since that period.

 

[Otis]

Less cash wasted on paying off all the contracts.

Less cash wasted paying off all the players not wanted by the new manager.

Less cash wasted having to pay over the odds because players aren't secure about their long-term hopes, given they know the bloke who signs them won't be there for very long.

Less cash wasted on admin ploughing through all of the football manager applications each time there's a vacancy.

Oh and you forgot to mention the less cash we'll have as each season passes and the crowds keep on frittering away and dwindling.

 

[BackRoomRummermill]

If we fail promotion this season , I fully expect

I’ve just posted this in the other thread because I don’t understand the posters who say next season we should sign ‘experienced players’. Didn’t we do exactly that this season?

Our most selected team is:

Burge

Grimmer (signed by Robins)
Willis
McDonald (signed by Robins)
Stokes

Doyle (signed by Robins)
Kelly (signed by Robins)

Vincenti (signed by Robins)/Shipley
Jones

Biamou (signed by Robins)
McNulty (signed by Robins)

The reason why ‘kids’ like Shipley have been in the team is because Robins own signing in Vincenti hasn’t been good enough and is the preferred option. Are we saying Robins failed in his recruitment then this season?

It’s strange that people can’t see that even injury, virus and other things apart it’s mostly MR team week in and out . It’s also strange that the football tactics are Sunday league and people choose to ignore it.

The only thing I can be sure of just like what happened with Andy Thorn people will make excuses until they run out, when we don’t get promoted and lose the first 3 or 4 games next season at the start those same supporters will dissapear and forum people will be gone.

Run this poll then to see the back peddling , he has had his chance we are not going to make the playoffs , we are lucky where we are , we have the wrong manager in the wrong league.

If we get a manager now that can work in this league now we might get out of it . If not then invetable non league here we come and the damage will be permanently stained in us.

 

[SlowerThanPlatt]

I think we're far better balanced this year with experienced types in age and games terms than last year say.

Are we still short of "experience" in certain areas then I'd say yes. Max Biamou is 27 but isn't what id class as experienced for L2.

For me we've been unlucky with injuries and one or two not playing to the form they were signed on like Vincenti but scratch the surface with injuries and your down to our kids as opposed to other clubs who either have youth loans so same thing or a average squad of experienced players from L2 or conference.

Take our injuries into consideration and we're down to....

Shipley aged 20 in the squad 23 times played in 18 games

DeKE aged 21 in the squad 16 times played in 13 games

Ponticelli aged 19 in the squad 20 times played in 10 games

Haynes aged 22 in the squad 15 times played in 10 games

Bayliss aged 18 in the squad 12 times played in 9 games

Stevenson aged 20 in the squad 19 times played in 5 games

DiKE aged 21 in the squad 7 times played in 2 games

To name a few from the academy that have featured in just the league this year. Now some are a success like Bayliss who has been fathered by Doyle, Shipley, who been ok not let anyone down and then your left disappointed with Haynes, Kelly-evans twins... and Ponticelli who's not quite ready.

Are you saying if we had experienced players on the bench rather than young players we’d be higher in the league?

 

[steve82]

See, I look at those figures and think they're about right. If those players are to make a career in league football and get experience, they have to play some time!

FWIW I think we've got the balance about right this season. What we maybe don't have is too many leaders on the pitch who can bark at you, but those players can be young, old, middle-aged...

It's a case of what do you class as experienced?

Jordan Willis say is only 23 yet he's played over 150 games so I'd put him in the experienced category and Biamou 27 in the inexperienced category.

 

[SlowerThanPlatt]

If we fail promotion this season , I fully expect


It’s strange that people can’t see that even injury, virus and other things apart it’s mostly MR team week in and out . It’s also strange that the football tactics are Sunday league and people choose to ignore it.

The only thing I can be sure of just like what happened with Andy Thorn people will make excuses until they run out, when we don’t get promoted and loose the first 3 or 4 games next season at the start those same supporters will dissapear and forum people will be gone.

Run this poll then to see the back peddling , he has had his chance we are not going to make the playoffs , we are lucky where we are , we have the wrong manager in the wrong league.

If we get a manager now that can work in this league now we might get out of it . If not then invetable non league here we come and the damage will be permanently stained in us.

I wouldn’t sack him as every manager basically fails here. I just find some of the defences of him a bit odd. People saying we have too many kids in the team when our most used XI has one you would class as inexperienced

 

[steve82]

Are you saying if we had experienced players on the bench rather than young players we’d be higher in the league?

No that's not what I'm saying. I think we're not far off the right balance, it's injuries and a sicknesses that have pushed some of the kids up the selection order than what they were intended to be over the measure of a season.

 

[skybluetony176]

I'm sorry to say that I agree, Gary Mac said there was something wrong with the club when he was manager and that has never gone away. I have no idea what it is but we seem to be destined to be fail at whatever level we find ourselves at.

That’s easy. Owners, chairmen and board who’s focus is on their needs not the club. The club and clubs success has been a second thought at best, a distant thought most likely and not even in their thoughts at worst. I’m not just talking about the current owners I’m talking about the last 30 years.

Richardson with Arena 2000. Land deals etc that benefited him at the expense of the club.

McGinty. Thanks for seat order, of course we’ll leave HR for a stadium we can’t afford to buy or rent.

Robinson. I don’t care who we sell to I just want as much of my money back as possible which won’t happen in administration.

They were all in it for themselves first. Making the club successful was always a second thought and not a focus so if it was going to happen it was going to be by chance or accident.

Then SISU enters.

Which was why I quite liked what Gary Hoffman had to say when he first went public. Making a point of saying that none of the consortium members were under any illusions of making any money from owning the club and if anything being a continual cost to them personally. That’s the right foot to start of from if you’re expecting to run a successful football club (in terms of on pitch success) at any level. Running at cost neutral sounds very romantic but the reality is that it rarely to the point of never promotes success on the pitch. And in our case again this isn’t being done for the benefit or future of the club. Its a means to an end for a different purpose.

 

[Londonccfcfan]

Thanks for the stats, Steve, but unfortunately Coventry City are quite unique and you have to take into consideration the pattern of our struggling in the Premier (old first division), then going down to the Championship, before then struggling and then getting relegated, then going down to League One and struggling and getting relegated and now down to League Two.

No top 6 finish in the Championship, no top 6 finish in League One.

I think there are an awful lot of City fans who are believing that next season it may well be midtable for us and then after, struggles near the bottom.

This is Coventry City and this is a clear pattern.

Nice to see the facts and stats of the league and other teams and I'm sure a lot of them made a better first of it after going down, the second and third seasons etc.

There is absolutely nothing to suggest that next season the Sky Blues will challenge. We were expected to this season and have, but next season I do believe will be a lot tougher and we could well be swallowed up within the pack.

Wouldn't be at all surprised if in two or three years time we all look back and say that this season right now was our big chance.

New ownership might of course change this pattern, but that just hasn't looked at all likely has it.

No guarantee whatsoever that we will come back stronger next season, or the season after that.

We were third favourites to go up this season and Robins said we were the best team in the league. I'm sure next season will be tougher and the crowds will drop. Because this is Coventry City and there has been no league success of any note at all for so, so long, I think our crowds could suffer a lot worse than most other clubs down here.

We know people are peed off with the owners and we know fans are peed off with the lack of success.

It's a recipe for ever tumbling attendances.

Those stats only paint part of the picture.

I agree with you for change Otis (although not completely) as a lot of the other clubs Steve mentions have been yo-yo clubs, used to going up and used to going down. so yes agreed other clubs are different.

As with our situation its fluid. We were always going to hit rock bottom. ( I think personally we have hit it already) so the only way is up. Do I think we can go down to non league , id say not whilst there is a hard core 6k fans at the Ricoh every week. in fact the opposite.

We are completely the opposite of all the other YO - YO clubs. We only go YO - up (through the 1960s) and Yo - down through 2000s.

 

[BackRoomRummermill]

I agree with you for change Otis (although not completely) as a lot of the other clubs Steve mentions have been yo-yo clubs, used to going up and used to going down. so yes agreed other clubs are different.

As with our situation its fluid. We were always going to hit rock bottom. ( I think personally we have hit it already) so the only way is up. Do I think we can go down to non league , id say not whilst there is a hard core 6k fans at the Ricoh every week. in fact the opposite.

We are completely the opposite of all the other YO - YO clubs. We only go YO - up (through the 1960s) and Yo - down through 2000s.

We won’t go into non league ? Did you think two seasons ago that we would be only dozen places above being relegated there . I honestly give up the apathy shown in this Forum is truely unbelievable.

 

[Hobo]

Oh and you forgot to mention the less cash we'll have as each season passes and the crowds keep on frittering away and dwindling.

Not if the team improves. It is about turning the tide rather than keep replicating what has brought about our failure.

 

[Otis]

Not if the team improves. It is about turning the tide rather than keep replicating what has brought about our failure.

Agree. Personally I just can't see us building on what we have now and think we are much more likely to lose our best players in the summer.

Been lots of comments on here (whether I agree with them or not) of Jones being better than League Two and so too Willis and McNulty and it's odds on we will lose Bayliss too and I would say Davies could also play at a higher level.

Great if we can build, but if we lose all our top players (and wages will be an issue if it is higher league clubs who come a looking) it could be a rebuild, which is surely what we don't want.

 

[ccfcway]

Been lots of comments on here (whether I agree with them or not) of Jones being better than League Two and so too Willis and McNulty and it's odds on we will lose Bayliss too and I would say Davies could also play at a higher level.

Great if we can build, but if we lose all our top players (and wages will be an issue if it is higher league clubs who come a looking) it could be a rebuild, which is surely what we don't want.

Jones will have been out for 6 months, Willis and McNulty are solid, but wont get into League Two team of the year. Bayliss, yes, I can see him going.

 

[Otis]

Jones will have been out for 6 months, Willis and McNulty are solid, but wont get into League Two team of the year. Bayliss, yes, I can see him going.

Fact is though, we know higher league clubs have been interested in Willis and I would say McNulty could well play at League One level and there has been talk of him going to Scotland.

I will be very surprised if any of those three are still here next season if we don't go up.

Jones WOULD be a punt for teams for sure.

 

[ccfcway]

Fact is though, we know higher league clubs have been interested in Willis and I would say McNulty could well play at League One level and there has been talk of him going to Scotland.

I will be very surprised if any of those three are still here next season if we don't go up.

Jones WOULD be a punt for teams for sure.

you might be right. That said, people have had plenty of time to buy WIllis, its not like he's burst onto the scene this season. McNulty is joint 10th top scorer in league two. either are replaceable, but I think willis is the most capable of stepping up if we ever did so.

Also cant help thinking how this season would be if we had someone to partner McNulty who had bagged 10 goals so far as well

 

[duffer]

But then in turn, if the problem isn't the manager then what difference does it make giving the manager a few years to build something?

Surely the immoveable object that is preventing progression is still there in place.

Maybe the problem is the endless lack of stability. The owners don't help but I'd like to see someone given a few years to build something, rather than the continual managerial revolving door.

 

[Captain Dart]

Coventry City, make a choice...

 

[mark82]

Maybe the problem is the endless lack of stability. The owners don't help but I'd like to see someone given a few years to build something, rather than the continual managerial revolving door.

I'd be happy with that as long as we at least try something a bit different to what we currently are. If Robins can change things up a bit I'm all for letting him stay, but not sure he will.

 

[ccfcway]

Coventry City, make a choice...
View attachment 9076

yer, not convinced excellence is a choice for us. I'd go "mediocrity" and "poor"

 

[BackRoomRummermill]

Maybe the problem is the endless lack of stability. The owners don't help but I'd like to see someone given a few years to build something, rather than the continual managerial revolving door.

The stability notion is a myth, most clubs rinse through managers in a two year period , we just need the right manger at the right time

 

[BackRoomRummermill]

Coventry City, make a choice...
View attachment 9076

Non league - D4 ?

 

[SkyblueBazza]

What have we had to cheer about under him beating Stoke City, what else ? I think the 2 Forest Green results negates that.

A winners party day out at Wembley. A party day out at MK Dons...I'm sure there are more if you look for them. Or are you too busy looking at the low points?

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

 

[thekidfromstrettoncamp]

Not if the team improves. It is about turning the tide rather than keep replicating what has brought about our failure.

Do you honestly think if promotion dose not come this season things will in prove we will have less supporters which means less cash for Robins to spend (Waste). We will lose the better players, players who we might attract by going up will go elsewhere. If we do not go up I think next season the only way to look will be down the division

 

[Hobo]

Agree. Personally I just can't see us building on what we have now and think we are much more likely to lose our best players in the summer.

Been lots of comments on here (whether I agree with them or not) of Jones being better than League Two and so too Willis and McNulty and it's odds on we will lose Bayliss too and I would say Davies could also play at a higher level.

Great if we can build, but if we lose all our top players (and wages will be an issue if it is higher league clubs who come a looking) it could be a rebuild, which is surely what we don't want.

Yes but the last couple of January Windows we haven't lost certain players despite the speculation on here. I am sure players want stability too rather than keep moving on.

City fans seem to love hypothetical scenarios and always jumping forward about six months in their made up predictions; result they confuse made up scenarios with day to day reality.

The club should be looking at where it needs to strengthen. It will also know which players might get offers and have contingency targets. But you hang on to players by making them feel valued, they are being developed and the club has ambition (over several season not just one shit or bust season).

 

[Hobo]

Do you honestly think if promotion dose not come this season things will in prove we will have less supporters which means less cash for Robins to spend (Waste). We will lose the better players, players who we might attract by going up will go elsewhere. If we do not go up I think next season the only way to look will be down the division

God you are pessimistic! You have to stabilise and turn things around, it might take several years. No one ever said it was easy to get promoted that's why certain teams have spent their entire history in lower leagues. I don't understand why fans clamour to get managers the sack every 12 months when that is what has brought us here.

 

[Sky Blue Harry H]

Keeping the manager at the club will allow him to strengthen the weaker areas (the owners seem to have been relatively more supportive in terms of not accepting bids recently). I also think replacing the manager is more likely to create instability amongst the squad and leave us in a less positive situation going into next season. Hang in there!

 

[thekidfromstrettoncamp]

God you are pessimistic! You have to stabilise and turn things around, it might take several years. No one ever said it was easy to get promoted that's why certain teams have spent their entire history in lower leagues. I don't understand why fans clamour to get managers the sack every 12 months when that is what has brought us here.

Realist maybe I have not seen stability this season 1 of the reason we got relegated was lack of goals has it been addressed no We might score more this year but not very many on schedule for 52 I don't think the squad has improved got bigger maybe the football we are playing is terrible .I don't want the manager changed ever year , but I do want to see improvement . We are already 11 places below where we finished last season and what i've seen in this league that is a fair reflection of where we should be same stability next season edge of relegation I want improvement not stability.

 

[Hobo]

Realist maybe I have not seen stability this season 1 of the reason we got relegated was lack of goals has it been addressed no We might score more this year but not very many on schedule for 52 I don't think the squad has improved got bigger maybe the football we are playing is terrible .I don't want the manager changed ever year , but I do want to see improvement . We are already 11 places below where we finished last season and what i've seen in this league that is a fair reflection of where we should be same stability next season edge of relegation I want improvement not stability.

You don't get stability in one transfer Window (January isn't a proper one). Especially when we had to make about 12 signings...so stability hasn't been achieved yet.

 

[rupert_bear]

/QUOTE]

A winners party day out at Wembley. A party day out at MK Dons...I'm sure there are more if you look for them. Or are you too busy looking at the low points?

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

Wembley ?? He didn’t even lead us out !!

 

[thekidfromstrettoncamp]

The guy has had 2 windows all I have seen is a bigger squad from the 1 st one, January is 1 where you tweak the team for a promotion or relegation battle he brings in players who have got to get fit through lack of games . This club and manager never learns from mistakes

 

[Otis]

Yes but the last couple of January Windows we haven't lost certain players despite the speculation on here. I am sure players want stability too rather than keep moving on.

City fans seem to love hypothetical scenarios and always jumping forward about six months in their made up predictions; result they confuse made up scenarios with day to day reality.

Unfortunately though, fans have said in the past that we would go down to the Championship and struggle and we did and then they said we would struggle in League One and we did and now fans are saying we might well start to struggle in League Two.

Might have been hypothetical scenarios at the onset, but unfortunately there is a pattern and trend that is hard to deny.

A lot of the thinking is based on the reality that has actually happened.

I'm sure you would have to agree that if we found ourselves just in midtable next season it wouldn't be a big surprise to you. Don't think any of us would be surprised at all.

 

[Gazolba]

Should Mark Robins be sacked?

No. He's not the best manager, but he's far from the worst and I doubt a mid-table L2 side can attract anyone much better.
Stick with him till the end of the season and then re-assess.
He's not going to 'build' a side but then again no-one is.
At the end of the season, it will be a wholesale clear out as usual and a mostly new team next season, probably a weaker team than this season.

 

[Otis]

No. He's not the best manager, but he's far from the worst and I doubt a mid-table L2 side can attract anyone much better.
Stick with him till the end of the season and then re-assess.
He's not going to 'build' a side but then again no-one is.
At the end of the season, it will be a wholesale clear out as usual and a mostly new team next season, probably a weaker team than this season.

I do think it will be.

 

[zuni]

we pay a peppercorn rent, have limited overheads other than player wages....bigger gates than most, and we still cant field a team beating the door down for automatics? wtf is going on...SISU wont tell us where the money goes other than we need to break even, management fees with high % loan costs when they go will they just fold us to hide the evidence of what they have been doing?