The Shortlist

[Gulliball]

Hibs finishing 4th isn't much of an achievement. By the time you have Rangers and Celtic 1-2 and Hamilton and St. Mirren 11-12, you've got Hearts, Hibs, Aberdeen, Dundee Utd, Kilmarnock, Motherwell, St. Johnstone and Inverness fighting out for 3rd-10th. Anything lower than 5th for Hibs is a big underperformace given their resources. The fact they finished as low as is realistically possible (10th this season), with the team Hughes formed is a big blot on his CV and his reputation in Scotland isn't very high at all. Hibs have twice the attendances of Kilmarnock (who themselves have the 7th biggest in the SPL and double the attendances of Hamilton) It's not just Rangers and Celtic who are in a league of their own in Scotland, the whole league is made up of sides who have their historic 'place' year on year.

[yellowforever]

Actually, at the time they moaned like hell, despite finishing 4th is win/loss ratio was pretty average at best, they complained about the style of football. Most importantly they played hearts 4 times that season, they drew two and lost two. If anybody knows anything about scottish football, those results tell all you need to know

Was told poor man manager, and wasn't great with signings. The Falkirk success was largely down to Owen Coyle.

[Fonda]

Do people recognise the possibility that there are other influences that affect what a club achieves rather than just the ability of the manager? The fact Hughes is looking for a job in League 2 is indication he isn't the managerial genius certain people are suggesting. It sounds clear his reputation in Scotland is not great - and he knows the game up there. If his signings in a League that he knows are poor, what on earth makes people think he'll succeed in a League completely foreign to him? When something seems too good to be true, it probably is. Forster please.

[Mav]

ask yourself this question, if he is considered a decent candidate due to taking Hibs to fourth place but then getting sacked, what on earth is he doing applying for the mangers job at Torquay Utd? he has been out of work for 9months is this because he wanted a break, or nobody wanted the guy - I would suggest the later. In the last 15 games of 2009/10 season he won 3 drew 2 and lost the rest. In 2010/11 season he continued his fine form int he first 7 games before being sacked (winning only 1 game) It dosen't strike me as the sort of guy who knows how to changes things to get out of a rut, add that to the opinion he is very stubborn. I can't see this going well for us if he is appointed.

[Jeff]

Sorry if this is a bit late, but I've been catching up having been in sunnier places all week.

Anyway, judging by the Herald article, if that is indeed the shortlist then my preferences would be as follows:

6th - Holdsworth - this appointment would smack of BSP cheapness for me. Did well at Ilkeston (although potentially ran them into the ground as they went bust last season). Got the Mansfield gig and promptly recruited all the key performers from that Ilkeston side and underwhelmed massively. By all accounts the football was poor and the results didn't come. Sure, he has a bit of experience and contacts from his playing days, but his managerial skills seem somewhat limited. Having to build a side from scratch would seem to be beyond him without all his ex-Ilkeston players to draw on. No thanks.

5th through to 3rd are pretty closely matched...........

5th - Aggy - sentiment appointment. Great footballer, done the badges, recent experience and knowledge. But for the past 10years his clubs have been us, Bristol City, Exeter and Yeovil - question mark over his contacts? Would know how to play football the right way, but could he get players to do it? Never seemed the most vocal so never had the heir of a manager to me

4th - Greavsie - as above, but for me he's likely to have a bigger contact base with the amount of clubs he's been at all over the country, which edges him ahead of Aggy. Also more of a leadership figure

3rd - Butterworth - if it is indeed him and not Baraclough, although I don't think the positioning would change even if it was. Seems to be a nomadic Number 2, which suggests that he just tips up when a job is available rather than being someones preferred hired-help. Seems to have been around a bit though which might suggest a good contact base, and Norwich were generally known for being a good footballing side. Likely to be cheap.

There also isn't much between 1st and 2nd.............

2nd - Hughes - I, like many, couldn't believe my eyes when I saw he was linked as this is a manager I'd heard of! Was aware that he'd got Falkirk promoted and moved on to Hibs, but I'll be honest and say I don't know anything about the brand of football he likes, but you can't argue with success and he did achieve that at Falkirk (maybe not so much at Hibs though). I also wouldn't be concerned about his scouting/contact base - it seems that lower SPL sides are increasingly turning to L1/L2 for players so I assume he'd know whos hot and whos not. But the big question mark here is, if this guy has managed at SPL and done a decent job north of the border, just why is he looking to us? Must be some baggage there and that is what seems to be coming out now. But that said, I wouldn't be disappointed if he was the appointment.

1st - Forster - I've said it before, but I can't think of many reasons why I wouldn't want Nicky Forster as our manager. He's proved that he can manage - not years and years of experience but I think management is one of those things you take too or you don't. Forster delivered what was expected last season, so has shown he can do it. Probably not had a real rough patch yet though, which is a downside. The fact he was managing last season and probably assumed he'd get the Brentford job probably means he did some research on potential summer targets - watched Reserve games, contacted his colleagues to see who they rate but his getting released, things like that. He probably had a list of players he'd like to sign for Brentford, some he thought "may" do a job in L1. Well these players would most likely be o.k for L2, and Forster would have already done the research. Likely to have a good contact base, and he fits the ethos of what Torquay should be looking for. Lets face it, we've always been a selling club and in terms of managers it shouldn't be so different.

Providing its not Holdsworth, I would be happy to get behind any of the appointments.

[85gull]

Hi all, new poster,
I was gonna suggest Justin Edinburgh but Shaunicus has already mentioned him. I know he's with a club, and we would be looking at people out of work rather than paying a compensation package, but Rushden are in serious financial trouble (not down to him) and have recently been demoted from the BSP.

I think he's an ambitious manager, but has turned down league clubs in the past. He's done well with Rushden until the money downfall and I bet he's got a lot of good contacts from around non-league and from his time as a prem player. There are a lot of good managers and playing talent around the non-leagues which doesn't get taken advantage of too much.

But, I'm going of point really. Out of the supposed 'shortlist', my pick would be Forster.

[adambomb]

You can add Steve Lomas to the list of persons being seriously considered...

[Fonda]

And i thought we'd be approaching a decision by now...

[taunton_gull]

Totally agree with Fonda above. Forster ticks all the right boxes in terms of what we are looking for and I will be very disappointed if he doesn't get the job. OK, he does strike me as someone who will move when a bigger opportunity comes along but that's inevitable and if it means we can benefit from his success in the meantime I'm all for it. I know Hughes looks very good on paper and although I don't know enough about him personally I just don't feel he or indeed any of the Scottish contingent would be right for our club. I would also be surprised to see Russell or Hargreaves given the nod. If you think about it CH has no more experience at coaching level than Steve Woods does, who it seems didn't make the shortlist. I would love to see any of CH, AR or SW back at the club in some capacity in the future but I certainly wouldn't hope any would be appointed as manager before gaining the relevant qualifications/experience.

I'd be interested to know if the board had any particular favourites prior to receiving applications and whether their opinions have changed during the course of the interview process. It sounds like Simon Baker had a few preferred candidates in mind who did make it to the shortlist .(assume this would be the like's of CH and NF) There is no doubting the difficulty of the season ahead - you only have to look at the teams who will be in it this year compared to last to realise it is going to be much harder and much more competitive. That is without taking into account our budget is going to be much reduced and the fact that the new stand will be taking up a great deal of the cash. I still think that with the right appointment we have every chance of making a success of it, but the wrong one could be disastrous. It's the most crucial decision the board have had no make in their time here and their doing it alone - no Colin Lee this time. There have been so many names thrown into the mix - many possibly wide of the mark and the man who ends up in the hot seat may be someone nobody has mentioned!

My plea to the board would be to hurry up and please appoint Nicky Forster!!!

[cambgull]

Unsure on Steve Lomas, he was managing my local team, St Neots and did a half decent job with a team who have a very large budget for the UCL. He brought in Sylvain Legwinski as a player coach who would be superb in a coaching role, having been a great player for Bordeaux. He would obviously be very good with contacts but I'm just not sure about his managerial ability.

Denis Greene however, the one who has now taken over would be fantastic. He's done a very good job, just taken them to the Zamaretto League and brought in players like Stefan Moore (played in the Prem at least 15 times with Villa) and Dominic Greene on loan from Peterborough who should be more than capable of playing L2. Plays good football and is very well liked, goes the ground after the games and signs autographs for the fans.

[tommyg]

So because John Hughes sounds 'too good to be true' that means we should rule him out? Or because he's applied for the Torquay job 'there must be something wrong with him'? Can people not see the clear contradiciton in comments like these to those posted on the 'Little club syndrome' thread. We want to rid ourselves of this 'little old Torquay' tagline, but when a manager with SPL experience sends in a CV in that blows his competitors into the water, we assume that there must be something not quite right, and instead we drool over a guy that has had a three-month caretaker stint at Brentford.

[Fonda]

So because he's the most high-profile, he's obviously the right choice? He wouldn't be applying for our job if anyone higher in the pyramid was interested in him. The others are applying because their inexperience means they wouldn't get a better job at this time. Hughes has some experience, so there is something else lacking which means he's inetersted in TUFC.

[AlexGulls]

Its not just that on Hughes. How much does he know about League Two or the Lower Leagues in England in general? Its a risk. Forsters showed he's a capable manager while in charge of Brentford. He knows this level well and will have some good contacts to get good players down here for us. Thats why I'd prefer Forster over Hughes.

[cambgull]

I liked Hughes when I originally heard his name touted about, lots of experience but seemingly very much disliked by the Hibs fans. Just because someone has lots of experience, it does not mean in any way that they are a good manager. I really don't think it's unambitious to want a manager who is young and ambitious. If Hughes was really THAT good, why isn't he applying for Championship teams or even lower Prem teams. Surely he must be able to do a job with someone like West Brom, Sunderland, West Ham... if he really is any good.

[jocktheknife]

Lomas is an interesting shout......

West Ham's reserve team manager and a bit of experience managing in his own right - probably be popular with Eunan and Billy too.

The longer this goes on the more names appear!