Nicholson's Achievement

davidcaldwell123 · Post by **davidcaldwell123** » 12 Apr 2016, 23:39

I for one said at times I wondered where it was all going, I will be the first to say although I fully supported Kevin on his journey there were times where I thought his lack of experience may be his Achilles heal. His achievement should not be under estimated in any circumstances, he has taken a team from the depths to what I now think is survival, he should be commended and the experience will help him further his career in management.

Massive achievement that should not be underestimated in any way, also a shout out to the support of Robbie Herrera who has been by Kevin's side through the good and bad times on the journey.

Gullscorer · Post by **Gullscorer** » 12 Apr 2016, 23:49

Absolutely agree.

royalgull · Post by **royalgull** » 13 Apr 2016, 10:32

He won't but he should win manager of the year in the league, what he's done on limited resources is truly unbelievable.

DJ Gull · Post by **DJ Gull** » 13 Apr 2016, 13:29

Manager of the year without a doubt, like Royalgull says, he won't win it, But absolutly should!

tomogull · Post by **tomogull** » 13 Apr 2016, 14:45

Davy is absolutely right. We're not quite safe yet, but what KN has achieved cannot be under estimated. He took over with the club in a desperate situation. Many were highly critical of his appointment. I myself was lukewarm about his return to Plainmoor. I always liked Nicho as a player and he has always seemed a good guy, but with memories of the ex-player appointment (Hargreaves) and also Kev's inexperience, I wasn't convinced he was the right one for the almost impossible job of keeping TUFC in the National League. He came in, identified where the weaknesses were (midfield being an obvious one), gradually shipped out players who didn't want to be at the club and those who were just coasting along. I suspect Benitez is experiencing the same problems at Newcastle but he has got almost no time to turn things around. We hit rock bottom of the league and the critics became more vocal but things had to get worse before they got better, and on a budget of virtually nil, he brought in players playing for lower league clubs - Tamworth (Racchi), Nuneaton (Rees), Worcester (Harrad), Kidderminster (Verma) plus Berry, Blissett, Allen and Ajala (not making an impact at Dover). Slowly match by match, things have turned around. He has overcome big setbacks - bringing in a very good 'keeper when Lavercombe was injured and slotting Verma effectively in the right back position after Berry's dreadful injury.

He comes across as fair and level headed and talks sense in his post-match interviews, unlike the cr*p we regularly heard from Hargreaves. I'm sure that chairman, Dave Richards, will have impressed on the prospective new owners what Nicho has achieved and I hope they will give him the chance next season to build on what he has started.

tomogull · Post by **tomogull** » 13 Apr 2016, 15:12

Also, credit to the Board for having confidence in Nicho's abilities when most of us doubted and as Davy posted, let's not forget Robbie Herrara who has been at Nicho's side during this roller-coaster ride.

lucy6lucy · Post by **lucy6lucy** » 13 Apr 2016, 20:37

tomogull wrote:Davy is absolutely right. We're not quite safe yet, but what KN has achieved cannot be under estimated. He took over with the club in a desperate situation. Many were highly critical of his appointment. I myself was lukewarm about his return to Plainmoor. I always liked Nicho as a player and he has always seemed a good guy, but with memories of the ex-player appointment (Hargreaves) and also Kev's inexperience, I wasn't convinced he was the right one for the almost impossible job of keeping TUFC in the National League. He came in, identified where the weaknesses were (midfield being an obvious one), gradually shipped out players who didn't want to be at the club and those who were just coasting along. I suspect Benitez is experiencing the same problems at Newcastle but he has got almost no time to turn things around. We hit rock bottom of the league and the critics became more vocal but things had to get worse before they got better, and on a budget of virtually nil, he brought in players playing for lower league clubs - Tamworth (Racchi), Nuneaton (Rees), Worcester (Harrad), Kidderminster (Verma) plus Berry, Blissett, Allen and Ajala (not making an impact at Dover). Slowly match by match, things have turned around. He has overcome big setbacks - bringing in a very good 'keeper when Lavercombe was injured and slotting Verma effectively in the right back position after Berry's dreadful injury.

He comes across as fair and level headed and talks sense in his post-match interviews, unlike the cr*p we regularly heard from Hargreaves. I'm sure that chairman, Dave Richards, will have impressed on the prospective new owners what Nicho has achieved and I hope they will give him the chance next season to build on what he has started.

chairman is Dave Phillips though

Gulls2ndsince80s · Post by **Gulls2ndsince80s** » 13 Apr 2016, 23:18

It would be crazy if the new owners replaced Nicho after all this. He did get a lukewarm welcome at the start upon his return but he has more than proved himself once he managed to get his own men in. The battle's not won yet but it's almost done.

Jack · Post by **Jack** » 14 Apr 2016, 08:24

davidcaldwell123 wrote:I for one said at times I wondered where it was all going, I will be the first to say although I fully supported Kevin on his journey there were times where I thought his lack of experience may be his Achilles heal. His achievement should not be under estimated in any circumstances, he has taken a team from the depths to what I now think is survival, he should be commended and the experience will help him further his career in management.

Massive achievement that should not be underestimated in any way, also a shout out to the support of Robbie Herrera who has been by Kevin's side through the good and bad times on the journey.

Like David, l always thought that Nicho had the right approach and temperament to do the job but at the end of January after the defeats by Gateshead and Tranmere I wasn't convinced that he would have the time to turn things around. Fortunately everything then came together and we are nearly safe.
Nicho and Robbie Herrera seem to have the ability to bring out the best in individual players which in turn strengthens the whole team. I thought Aman Verma had a fabulous game on Tuesday at right back, Angus McDonald is at last showing a maturity beyond his years and Iffy Allen is just perpetual motion. For such a speedy guy he is also a skilful player and looked more effective than Ginnelly, number 15 for Alty, who is a Burnley loanee. I can't understand why both Barnet and Yeovil let him go but at the moment their loss looks like our gain.
There are other examples of players who are improving under our coaching and I imagine the parent clubs of Smith, Rees and Wright will be pleased with their progress.
I remember some posters saying that we should have gone for Dino Maamria when Southport went on a good run. He has since left citing travelling problems from his home in Hertfordshire - sounds familiar? At least Nicho is locally based.
It was also evident on Tuesday that the culture within the club has changed. There were genuine team celebrations when we scored and none of the stupid individual celebrations that we see week in, week out from other teams. At the end when the players and staff came over to the Popside the togetherness of the squad was self evident as was the friendship between individuals.
Well done Kev and Co for what you have achieved and it was a pleasure to say a brief hello to you in Sainsburys last week. In six months you have probably gained about the equivalent of five years managerial experience elsewhere that you would have got elsewhere with all the issues that have been going on around you.
Some posters are suggesting that we should be holding onto Nicho for next year but I am sure that his achievements to date won't have gone unnoticed by some football league clubs who will be able to offer him a decent salary. The challenge might be to hold on to him.

tomogull · Post by **tomogull** » 14 Apr 2016, 11:43

Good post, Jack, and I'm sure you're right. His achievements over a short time will not have gone unnoticed by clubs further up the football pyramid which could afford to offer a more lucrative contract than we will be able to.

torq2u · Post by **torq2u** » 14 Apr 2016, 19:08

Nicho is an intelligent, reflective thinker. He has recruited some excellent players on zero budget and has turned them into a team that work and fight for each other.

He is a strategist who has stuck to his guns from day 1, irrespective of negative comments and (sometimes) appalling results, because he believed in his long-term plan. He has not tried to please people gratuitously (which I fear Greavsie did, and that was his undoing). And Nicho has got others believing too.

It is thanks to his integrity and perseverance that we are where we are today, and not languishing at the foot of the table.

A huge thank you to the man - I think he is rather special, and will go on to achieve special things. Hopefully with the club that he loves.

(And I hope there is a £bonus clause built into his contract as a reward for survival)

PaulBreen · Post by **PaulBreen** » 14 Apr 2016, 23:14

I know it's not over yet but I wrote this article as a tribute to Kevin's achievements - https://footballpink.net/2016/04/14/ran ... st-escape/

Post by **Southampton Gull** » 14 Apr 2016, 23:48

I enjoyed that, very good read.

Lloyder5 · Post by **Lloyder5** » 15 Apr 2016, 07:55

I really enjoyed it, nicely written and well done for spotting a great football story.

DJ Gull · Post by **DJ Gull** » 15 Apr 2016, 08:18

Very good read, thank you paul

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