Old Git wrote: ↑Mon Jan 24, 2022 4:19 pmThink this idea of changing the No2 is simply ridiculous. Surely Armstrong and Holloway come as a pair and you keep them both or release them both. Can you imagine DJ telling AA he can stay on as manager but his mate has to go and be replaced by someone else as he needs help. Nobody with an ounce of self respect would tolerate that and I can’t see Armstrong staying under those circumstances.Spyman wrote: ↑Mon Jan 24, 2022 4:00 pmThis is a decent shout if you ask me - I like Armstrong and think there's more to managing a non-league club in our situation than just results on the pitch. You need someone who buys in to the fan-owned element and can engage with the community. These things are arguably as important to a proper community club as just chasing promotion after promotion.Loopingheader wrote: ↑Mon Jan 24, 2022 9:49 amWell over 36 hours after that shambles and I've let the emotion subside. For my two-penneth I would definitely stick with Alun - he clearly gets the club and the caution required with funds and the need to develop and sell on in a way many other managers might not. He's also shown he can get his teams playing good football and going on long unbeaten runs which in these league might be all it takes to get into the playoffs. In terms of players he can certainly claim to develop the attackers into better players (Sousa, Charman, Donowa, Lambert) BUT....
I do think a change is required and whilst its nothing personal I'd question DH as his right hand man - For me the assistant needs to complement the manager and cover his deficiencies and I'm not sure we are getting this here - for all the development of attackers you can't say the same for defenders with most standing still and not developing or even worse arguably going backwards; equally the defensive setup even with experienced heads coming in is sorely lacking. Equally the wider tactical nous of the team is often lacking - yes players on the pitch need to be picking this up and leading (and not getting so many red cards!!) but the guidance to adjust things mid match from the side lines often appears lacking, having stood behind the dugouts away at Spenny there was nothing more than fairly basic instructions such as "launch it"!
I wonder if a more experienced assistant could be of real benefit in bringing some new ideas to the club as well as hopefully increasing the hit rate of recruits which at the moment is patchy at best (Breedon, Taylor, Saltmer to name but 3) - I appreciate Alan and Darren clearly know each other well and get on but a different perspective and healthy challenge might be the change we can all see is needed
Maybe the coaching set-up is worth looking at. Our squad clearly has some talent and experience. Maybe Armstrong just needs a bit of help in coaxing the best out of it on a consistent basis.
I agree they are friends but do work partnerships need to be friends and if it can work for top managers who have changed their tried and tested number 2 (I think Sir Alex did this on 3 or 4 occassions for example to freshen up his own thinking) then isnt it worth considering??