Chris Hargreaves services?

IanGull01 · Post by **IanGull01** » 27 Apr 2015, 21:52

I bet he wishes he was at Bournemouth tonight.
Could of been a Premier League coach at grounds like Old Trafford, Emirates etc.

I'm sure he will look forward to a cold and rainy Tueaday night at Dover though!!

kevgull · Post by **kevgull** » 27 Apr 2015, 22:13

If we could afford it, I would let CH go as we now have the perfect opportunity to bring in an experienced manager who will have a near blank canvas to work with.

I have no confidence that CH will be able to encourage/ entice a player on less than a 2 year deal to Torquay. If he gets it wrong were are fecked once again. Let's face it, we thought we had Sturrock in to do the managers job!

Please read between the lines when I write that it's nice to see Bournemouth gain their highest ever finish (promotion) whilst we finish in our lowest position ever!

diamondgirl · Post by **diamondgirl** » 28 Apr 2015, 13:44

I think it all depends on the new owner/s. If they say they want a more experianced manager, then obviously CH will be gone, whatever the cost. Until we know the identity of the owners its all speculation, I guess.

Wish things would hurry up. I hate this being in "limbo". Just want to have something positive to cling onto.

IanGull01 · Post by **IanGull01** » 28 Apr 2015, 13:55

No news is good news

supergulls · Post by **supergulls** » 28 Apr 2015, 15:57

Rich I can't wait until next season until the messiah with his own team fails miserably and then churns out excuse after excuse and blames everything apart from himself. He's a very poor manager who loves himself more than anybody else ever will. I can't believe you have vein taken in by his media spin. Only time will tell but I'm sure this time next year I will be saying I told you so.

Post by **Scott Brehaut** » 28 Apr 2015, 16:38

supergulls wrote:Rich I can't wait until next season until the messiah with his own team fails miserably and then churns out excuse after excuse and blames everything apart from himself. He's a very poor manager who loves himself more than anybody else ever will. I can't believe you have vein taken in by his media spin. Only time will tell but I'm sure this time next year I will be saying I told you so.

I hope you'll be man enough to come on here and say you were wrong if he does do the business with his own team.

tomogull · Post by **tomogull** » 28 Apr 2015, 16:42

yellowsmiffy wrote: We all know that it's extremely unlikely we could get promotion next season with our budget. I'd be happy with anything above 10th, and anything above that would be a bonus really. I'm more than willing to give Hargreaves a chance to redeem himself after a very poor season, and to oversee a transition and rebuilding season before his contract comes to an end.

Yes - that's a fair assessment. To finish above 10th this season, we would have required an extra 9 points. Considering the silly games we lost and the number of points we dropped in the last 10 minutes of matches, an extra 9 points is not an over ambitious target. We'd all like promotion next season of course but I think you're right - it will be a re-building season and then hopefully push for the play offs the season after.

cambgull · Post by **cambgull** » 28 Apr 2015, 17:07

This is my worry though, I thought this season was meant to be the rebuilding season. It'll also be next season, and the season after, and the season after...

arcadia · Post by **arcadia** » 28 Apr 2015, 17:08

kevgull wrote:If we could afford it, I would let CH go as we now have the perfect opportunity to bring in an experienced manager who will have a near blank canvas to work with.

I have no confidence that CH will be able to encourage/ entice a player on less than a 2 year deal to Torquay. If he gets it wrong were are fecked once again. Let's face it, we thought we had Sturrock in to do the managers job!

Please read between the lines when I write that it's nice to see Bournemouth gain their highest ever finish (promotion) whilst we finish in our lowest position ever!

I think that's what's taking the time they want Bristow to pay him off!

tommyg · Post by **tommyg** » 28 Apr 2015, 17:12

supergulls wrote:Rich I can't wait until next season until the messiah with his own team fails miserably and then churns out excuse after excuse and blames everything apart from himself. He's a very poor manager who loves himself more than anybody else ever will. I can't believe you have vein taken in by his media spin. Only time will tell but I'm sure this time next year I will be saying I told you so.

Why can't you wait for Hargreaves to fail miserably? That means the club will suffer further and none of us want that to happen. I think he's underachieved and wouldn't be upset if the new owners replace him but if he's still in charge in August then I will support him and hope other fans do the same.

On a separate note, while I have your attention, you seem to watch the academy teams a lot so what do you make of Lavercombe's progress? Was he this impressive when playing for the youth team?

stefano · Post by **stefano** » 28 Apr 2015, 17:36

Scott Brehaut wrote: I hope you'll be man enough to come on here and say you were wrong if he does do the business with his own team.

More chance of hell freezing over!

He has had his own team since he has been here. He knew what players were at the club when he applied for the job. No manager in the World - and that includes clubs like Inter, Real Madrid, Barcelona etc - is able to clear everybody out and get a new squad in. It just doesn't happen. As soon as he became manager they became his team. Ok give him time that is fair enough. But just how long? Perhaps a bit longer if the signs were there that there is progress or likely to be. But there isn't is there?

Not having his own team just adds to the list:- Having to travel on the day, Having no budget. It's a long way up North. Training facilities are crap. The new diet isn't working. All of my team are on less than £200 a week (he even trotted that out after we won a game - but prepared before the game and he was so shocked he didn't have a victory speech to hand!).

Still this poll isn't relevant anyway as the club would (rightly) not take any notice of it and as we cannot afford to pay him off in any case we will all be able to enjoy seeing who is right and who is wrong at the end of next season. Doesn't really matter. Nobody died (oh that was another of his wasn't it after we certainly did die on the pitch in another big home defeat 0-3 to make it 1-5 on aggregate? - although that wasn't bad over two games, as part-timers who travelled on the day managed 1-5 at Plainmoor in only one game)

Still, shouldn't moan really. It's something to look forward to every week after another shocking display. What will the manager find as an excuse this week? Will we even be honoured with his presence in front of the reporters? Will the tactics board still be in one piece?

Tune in for another exciting episode in August .....

arcadia · Post by **arcadia** » 28 Apr 2015, 18:24

I agree with Tommyg I hope the club can somehow get a settlement with Hargreaves, as it just has not worked and I wanted it to work. He was good player good coach bad manager! But if he has got to stay I will support him against my better wishes as I want the club to do well.

supergulls · Post by **supergulls** » 29 Apr 2015, 09:26

Scott Brehaut wrote: I hope you'll be man enough to come on here and say you were wrong if he does do the business with his own team.

I wouldn't have it any other way Scott, but I will be surprised if that's the case. Although none of us have a crystal ball we will just have to wait and see although his record so far has been nothing short of appalling.

nickbrod · Post by **nickbrod** » 29 Apr 2015, 09:56

CH off to do his UEFA Pro Licence next month. Should return with some new training routines! (That will start a new debate no doubt!)

Yorkieandy · Post by **Yorkieandy** » 29 Apr 2015, 10:26

CH has achieved a league position that would have been reasonably acceptable to any sensible fan at the start of the season, especially given the turmoil of the relegation season. This could be up for debate however given that half the league consisted of some very very poor teams. I don't know whether it is true or not that he said if he couldn't keep Torquay up then he would get them up at the next time of asking. I think if he DID say this then again, any sensible fan would have seen this as a media soundbite and that it wasn't really achievable even if Mourinho was in charge. I do think that avoiding relegation was achievable given the amount of time CH had to turn things around at the time but in terms of getting Torquay up this time around that certainly wasn't going to be possible, even allowing for the paucity of decent sides in there. Anyone could see that.

It's just the manner and approach to management that CH has taken this season that has caused great concern and bewilderment at times even given the difficult circumstances resulting in him emerging with little credit. The cup run was against lower league part timers who proved that the gulf in class is not really there with North Ferriby's final win over Wrexham.

I feel that the club needs a real tough old head who knows the nuances of football at this level and who basically can show that he knows what he is doing. CH is not this person and whilst i'm sure he is eager to learn and this experience will serve him greatly in the future, for the present he is a million miles away from the person who fits the right criteria to get Torquay seriously competitive on a budget.

Stick with him and next season more of the same. Those who like to see the bigger picture and bemoan the trigger happy culture of firing managers are not wrong, there is something to be said for sticking with a manager through the tough times and building and nurturing a side but it's a fine line. Ling is the manager many state could have taken us further given time but IMO we were heading down under Ling , the freefall under him would have been impossible to stop if he stayed whilst battling his illness. That said I do think that Ling had the makings of someone who knew what they were doing at this level despite dull football and maybe with most of the old players gone now, Torquay should try and get the man back now he is better and do some grovelling. Knill had fans appealing for time and clemency and it was clear he would have taken Torquay down which was blatantly obvious around October. Hargreaves pitched up and a few weeks in the writing was on the wall. Fans again called for patience but the evidence was out there on the pitch and on the league table. Now Hargreaves STILL has supporters despite last season which is quite frankly bizarre.

By all means stick with CH and be loyal but you ain't going anywhere in the meantime.

One thing about the conference is that to be in with a chance of automatic you have to be ultra consistent. Three of four teams will be and amass a serious points haul. That leaves a load of clubs scrapping for one, maybe two play off places. Torquay only have hope of getting one of these under CH. It's tenuous. It's precarious and it's about blind faith.

What you all need to do now is look back on the archives of this forum the past 3 years from the fans that ignored the obvious and tangible on the basis of blind faith and look at where TUFC are now.

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