Fisher speaks on Robins departure (5 Viewers)

Fisher on Robins' departure
Thu 14 Feb 2013

Author: Adam Dent

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Coventry City Chief Executive on departure of manager Mark Robins to Huddersfield
Coventry City today expressed their "frustration and disappointment" as manager Mark Robins quit the club less than five months after taking charge of first team affairs.

Robins has joined Huddersfield Town after an official approach was made to the Sky Blues by the Championship side, and will take his first team coach Steve Taylor with him.

The Sky Blues have fought to keep Robins, and Chief Executive Tim Fisher said: "To say we are disappointed is an understatement. We gave Mark a three-year contract which we saw as a long-term appointment.


“Added to this, Mark was able to bring in those members of staff that he requested, plus we gave a considerable financial commitment in terms of players brought in during the loan windows to ensure that we had a strong, competitive team on the pitch.


"Over the last few months, we have had several clubs interested in securing Mark's services and we have fought off multiple approaches. We made every effort to ensure he stayed with us.


“Once it became obvious that there was no way forward we had no choice but to eventually allow him to speak to Huddersfield.

"The club went through a very rigorous process in appointing Mark, we believed in him, his management team and felt he was ideally suited to the challenge that we face at Coventry City.

“Mark has been involved in all aspects of club development on and off the field from top to bottom.


“For example, from the initial interviews we talked to him at length about establishing a sustainable future for the club and the very necessary requirement for the club to own its own stadium, so that it can access match day revenues to ensure the building of a successful team within the confines of the Financial Fair Play rules and have a competitive salary cap. Mark was fully on board with that requirement.


"The turnaround in fortunes at the club has vindicated both the faith and trust we showed in Mark and I believe everyone - supporters and players alike - agreed that we are at the start of something very special and exciting.

"So for this departure to happen at the business end of the season and in this manner, is frustrating and disappointing in equal measure for all concerned. It is fair to say that we are all deflated by Mark’s decision to go and, equally, I am sure the supporters will feel the same frustration.

“I understand that our supporters will be angry and disappointed because they have seen a dramatic turnaround in on-pitch fortunes and performances in the short space of time that Mark has been here.

"However, we must remember that we used Mark's appointment to put long term processes and frameworks in place at Ryton to uplift and improve the whole playing side of the club. That effort involved other staff such as Steve Waggott who have played a significant part in the turnaround - so despite Mark's exit we remain in very good shape behind the scenes.

"Finally, we must now move on. The club comes first. We are acutely aware of the style of manager we want and we will start the process for appointing a replacement with immediate effect.


“Everyone has been able to see the potential we have here at Coventry City and in the last months we have taken massive strides forward. We owe it to the supporters of this great club to make sure the progress continues under our next manager.”




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Agreed with everything he said bar the third from last paragraph regarding his mate.

Fair enough. So he walked then?

Over to you Mr. Robins!

I think the emotion here is disappointment and it's obvious SISU did what they could to keep Mark Robins and unfortunately whatever reason it is that chose him to leave is at time when it feels like we are on the up...

I am not bitter but I do hope they get relegated from the championship that would be karma for me..

torchomatic said:

Fair enough. So he walked then?

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Why? Because Fisher says so?

I am waiting to hear Mark Robins' side of the story before I make any judgment. Just because Tim Fisher says MR simply walked that doesn't mean there wasn't another reason why he walked.

Let's wait to see if Mark Robins has anything to say on the matter. If he says he went because of better prospects then fair enough.

torchomatic said:

Fair enough. So he walked then?

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Think it has always been accepted he has walked. Would just be nice to hear from Robins why?

Apart from the obvious of increased wages.

torchomatic said:

Fair enough. So he walked then?

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According to Fisher it would appear that way.
Be nice to hear Robins version of events.

I am so fecking angry about this. Yet again the club is in turmoil.Whats Timmy going to do now, appoint Phil Brown or Paul Ince and it will be spot the supporter at the Ricoh on matchdays.

Push the boat out Timmy, stand by your words and get a young upcoming manager who plays attractive attacking football, and then sit back and watch the Ricoh fill up,then everyone will be pleased.
People say Adkins would'nt come here,but he's managed two clubs in this division and knows it well, he is out of work and must have bills to pay or mounting up,also he has a big point to prove after that disgusting decision by the Southampton Chairman, GO ON TIMMY GO FOR IT, its a win win situation

The Rev

"It is fair to say that we are all deflated by Mark’s decision to go"


Its fair to say Grayson or Atkins will get rid of that deflation almost immediately.

Get to work Tim, this is where you earn your money !

Robins press conference this afternoon... he wont answer any questions re CCFC only HTAFC is my bet..... he wants to' look forward now not back' etc etc..... truth is we will never officially know... but we all know.:jerkit:

Oh yes, forgot he's an honest guy, isn't he?

I look forward to his press conference where he says he was bundled into the back of a Transit during the night and made to sign for HT. I look forward to the legal proceedings he'll instigate saying it was all SISUs fault because he loves the club.

Yes, fair enough managers come and go, they move on to bigger and better things, but the bitter taste from his "loved up" comments will still rankle with some. I agree with Fisher here, their three-year contract showed faith and intent on someone who'd been out the game for a while and was unemployed.

Disappointed with his attitude. I'm not usually one for holding grudges - BR aside! - but I really hope HT struggle. Robins seems the sort of manager who can't stomach a fight.

I'll look forward now to the new man coming in.

Otis said:

Why? Because Fisher says so?

I am waiting to hear Mark Robins' side of the story before I make any judgment. Just because Tim Fisher says MR simply walked that doesn't mean there wasn't another reason why he walked.

Let's wait to see if Mark Robins has anything to say on the matter. If he says he went because of better prospects then fair enough.

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SO FED UP.

really thought things were starting to turn around for us for once and then boom he is off. So tempted to write this season off now and take a break am actually disgusted and fed up and dissapointed.

Why have at go at Fisher. They did push the boat out last time. They brought in our best manager for decades, gave him players and a three year deal. I ahve faith that they will take their time and try and do it all over again. If he was going to take the easy option and not bother as you infer then it would be Oggy and Carso for the season, for God's sake.

Our manager has just walked out, give him a break and a chance to get a decent replacement.

The Reverend Skyblue said:

I am so fecking angry about this. Yet again the club is in turmoil.Whats Timmy going to do now, appoint Phil Brown or Paul Ince and it will be spot the supporter at the Ricoh on matchdays.

Push the boat out Timmy, stand by your words and get a young upcoming manager who plays attractive attacking football, and then sit back and watch the Ricoh fill up,then everyone will be pleased.
People say Adkins would'nt come here,but he's managed two clubs in this division and knows it well, he is out of work and must have bills to pay or mounting up,also he has a big point to prove after that disgusting decision by the Southampton Chairman, GO ON TIMMY GO FOR IT, its a win win situation

The Rev

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I don't want to hear what Robins has to say, i don't want to hear or see him again.

No doubt come saturday he'll be saying to Huddersfield fans he has blue and white stripped blood.

Lets move on,just get the next appointment right Fisher, you've seen what an attacking attractive team can do,it fills up the Ricoh thats what, so don't bring in someone whose failed before and who plays boring brain numbing football, because he'll fail again playing boring brain numbing football.

Over to you Steve/Tim

The Rev

I can only presume that the higher salary helped, but I wonder what he would have done if we had beat Yeovil and Crewe.

torchomatic said:

Why have at go at Fisher. They did push the boat out last time. They brought in our best manager for decades, gave him players and a three year deal. I ahve faith that they will take their time and try and do it all over again. If he was going to take the easy option and not bother as you infer then it would be Oggy and Carso for the season, for God's sake.

Our manager has just walked out, give him a break and a chance to get a decent replacement.

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I am angry Robins treated our club so badly, I am not confident that Fisher will get the right man in.Yes he got it right before with Robins, but he got it badly wrong with Thorn,who should have gone at last season end, and then he took 2/3 weeks to appoint the next manager when he finally went, which most likely will cost us dearly. If he lets Carsley have another 3 weeks at it we could well be in the bottom 8 pretty quickly.
I am not confident he will get the next appointment right.

The Rev

I would like to thank robins for dragging us up out of the gutter and given us hope..............I hoping Huddersfield get relegated!

The same Thorn that fans were clamouring for? That Thorn?

The Reverend Skyblue said:

I am angry Robins treated our club so badly, I am not confident that fisher will get the right man in.Yes he got it right before with Robins but he got ot badly wrong with Thorn,who should have gone at last season end and then taking 2/3 weeks to appoint the next manager when he finally went, which most likely will cost us dearly. If he lets Carsley have another 3 weeks at it we could well be in the bottom 8 pretty quickly.
I am not confident he will get the next appointment right.

The Rev

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Statement is fair enough really, what you might expect.

just a couple of questions

"plus we gave a considerable financial commitment in terms of players brought in during the loan windows to ensure that we had a strong, competitive team on the pitch"

At the fans forum TF & SW stated that the player budget would be £4.2m ....... that was while AT was manager ............. so is he implying that the player budget was actually higher than that because of MR ?

"establishing a sustainable future for the club and the very necessary requirement for the club to own its own stadium, so that it can access match day revenues to ensure the building of a successful team within the confines of the Financial Fair Play rules and have a competitive salary cap"

fair enough but simplistic and I would guess ignored the cost of acquiring those things, plus I thought the only match day revenue we didnt get was the food and drinks on the concourse (the rights to which the club had previously sold to ACL to stay afloat) ? In terms of match day income owning the stadium doesnt actually change much if the club gets those incomes already other than naming rights. Still comes down to if you want it buy it back imo

" That effort involved other staff such as Steve Waggott who have played a significant part in the turnaround - so despite Mark's exit we remain in very good shape behind the scenes"

Does this mean that SW was the one bringing in the players? or is it he did the negotiations?

overall though pretty much what I would expect him to say

Otis said:

Over to you Mr. Robins!

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Quite right

torchomatic said:

Oh yes, forgot he's an honest guy, isn't he?

I look forward to his press conference where he says he was bundled into the back of a Transit during the night and made to sign for HT. I look forward to the legal proceedings he'll instigate saying it was all SISUs fault because he loves the club.

Yes, fair enough managers come and go, they move on to bigger and better things, but the bitter taste from his "loved up" comments will still rankle with some. I agree with Fisher here, their three-year contract showed faith and intent on someone who'd been out the game for a while and was unemployed.

Disappointed with his attitude. I'm not usually one for holding grudges - BR aside! - but I really hope HT struggle. Robins seems the sort of manager who can't stomach a fight.

I'll look forward now to the new man coming in.

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How long was Andy Thorn's contract?

torchomatic said:

The same Thorn that fans were clamouring for? That Thorn?

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I am speaking from my own point of view, i wanted Thorn to go at season end. Some fans did clamour for Thorn at the start, i was not one of them, so i speak for myself,if thats OK with you

The Rev

Fisher getting a taste of his own medicine. Not nice is it eh being let down.

Speaking barely an hour after Coventry’s relegation had been confirmed on Saturday, the man who was thrust into the hot seat in December stressed:

“It would be really easy to have the knee-jerk reaction – fire the manager, – but that’s not what this is about.


"The one thing we have lacked over a number of years is a little bit of stability.

The Sky Blues have worked their way through ten managers since they slipped out of the top flight 11 years ago but Fisher stressed: “This is where we need to draw a line in the sand and say enough – enough of firing managers. We need to get out of that habit and, to draw a football analogy, put our foot on the ball, give Andy a chance to reorganise the resources.

Read More http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/co...ue-one-budget-92746-30828907/2/#ixzz2Krx9TiGm


Three league games later Andy Thorn is sacked

People say things they don't mean all the time Tim

Can't complain when someone does it back to him

Otis said:

Why? Because Fisher says so?

I am waiting to hear Mark Robins' side of the story before I make any judgment. Just because Tim Fisher says MR simply walked that doesn't mean there wasn't another reason why he walked.

Let's wait to see if Mark Robins has anything to say on the matter. If he says he went because of better prospects then fair enough.

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Of course there are two sides to every story. And yes, before we go calling names we should wait to hear the other side of it. But will we ever hear that side of it? Somehow, I don't think Robins is going to be talking about why he left. It's possible that we may never get to the absolute truth in all of this.

The Reverend Skyblue said:

I don't want to hear what Robins has to say, i don't want to hear or see him again.

No doubt come saturday he'll be saying to Huddersfield fans he has blue and white stripped blood.

Lets move on,just get the next appointment right Fisher, you've seen what an attacking attractive team can do,it fills up the Ricoh thats what, so don't bring in someone whose failed before and who plays boring brain numbing football, because he'll fail again playing boring brain numbing football.

Over to you Steve/Tim

The Rev

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Robins didn't fill the Ricoh. It was 66% empty every game.

Grendel said:

Robins didn't fill the Ricoh. It was 66% empty every game.

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Andy Thorn did though.

Maybe he'll just say: "Rotherham, Barnsley, Coventry" and shrug his shoulders.

TheHellion said:

Of course there are two sides to every story. And yes, before we go calling names we should wait to hear the other side of it. But will we ever hear that side of it? Somehow, I don't think Robins is going to be talking about why he left. It's possible that we may never get to the absolute truth in all of this.

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Of course it is! I'm just saying that the majority of fans wanted Thorn to be given the job full time and he was given it. He listened to the fans, as well as keeping his eye on the budget too, no doubt, but he still did what the majority were asking for. It didn't work out and Thorn got sacked. Again, what a log were shouting for. He got a good manager with Robins who has turned us around. To be honest, I think Fisher is doing pretty well and I have confidence the trend will continue.

The Reverend Skyblue said:

I am speaking from my own point of view, i wanted Thorn to go at season end. Some fans did clamour for Thorn at the start, i was not one of them, so i speak for myself,if thats OK with you

The Rev

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I'd be surprised if Robins says much about why he left now. He's really got no reason to, he's certainly not going to pull on any heartstrings when he's walked out after five months. Best thing he can do is talk up his new team and barely acknowledge us.

torchomatic said:

Maybe he'll just say: "Rotherham, Barnsley, Coventry" and shrug his shoulders.

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Please re-read it again, I said it FILLS UP, not it will fill up, a major diference.
A JPT tie and it did FILL up, only the second time it has happened.
FILLS and FILL

The Reverend Skyblue said:

I don't want to hear what Robins has to say, i don't want to hear or see him again.

No doubt come saturday he'll be saying to Huddersfield fans he has blue and white stripped blood.

Lets move on,just get the next appointment right Fisher, you've seen what an attacking attractive team can do,it fills up the Ricoh thats what, so don't bring in someone whose failed before and who plays boring brain numbing football, because he'll fail again playing boring brain numbing football.

Over to you Steve/Tim

The Rev

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rev speaks sense

we must play attacking football, this club cannot afford a step backwards ever again

adkins might see potential in taking on a fallen giant but its a long shot

Grendel...

In fairness to the Rev, Robins DID fill the Ricoh in the piss pot trophy. He has added another 3-4k on the gate, making us one of the best HOME supported teams in L1, and without any doubt, the best away support.