TorquayFans.com | Torquay United Fans Forum

supergulls wrote:Dave me and you have had some great chats and I respect your opinion 100% but we both know he has under achieved and if we had the funds he would be out on his arse.

Agreed.

Does CH still have his sports shop to fall back on.

No. When he went to Bournemouth, the partnership that founded Sports Republic was dissolved. The shop subsequently was closed down & the premises are about to be used as the reception area for the local undertakers.

It's quite sad because I have desperately wanted Hargreaves to succeed as manager - more so than any of his predecessors because of what he did for this club as a player and because of that I have been reluctant to criticise him. He obviously genuinely cares for this club but today was as bad as it gets and it's too much now. I'm not calling for his head but I can't defend him any longer.

tommyg wrote:It's quite sad because I have desperately wanted Hargreaves to succeed as manager - more so than any of his predecessors because of what he did for this club as a player and because of that I have been reluctant to criticise him. He obviously genuinely cares for this club but today was as bad as it gets and it's too much now. I'm not calling for his head but I can't defend him any longer.

Totally agree. Couldn't bring myself to join in with the "Hargreaves Out" chants today, quite simply because I still have so much respect for what he did for us as a player. But sadly, as much as I so wanted him to succeed as a Manager with us, today (just like last weekend) was so, so poor. Thank goodness for that good early run otherwise,without question, we would be in a relegation battle(and may still be!) as the facts ... 5 wins in 23 league games speak for themselves.

Sad, sad day for TUFC today and there are plenty of people connected to the club who should hang their heads in shame tonight.

CP Gull wrote:

Sad, sad day for TUFC today and there are plenty of people connected to the club who should hang their heads in shame tonight.

Precisely this but unfortunately people are focusing purely on the manager.

He's made mistakes for sure but he's had his hands tied since day 1 and who do we think we could attract to the club who could do any better?

The last 3 managers have had their hands tied. Unfortunately where results are concerned the buck stops with whoever is picking the team and deciding the tactics. The others have paid with their jobs. I'm not sure Hargreaves deserves to be treated differently.

I've been watching this season from a distance, only being able to watch a very limited number of matches. I've been lucky enough to witness the highs and lows (so far) of the season, and I am at loss to understand how the players can be so unbelievably inconsistent!

We can beat the top sides on a good day, and on a bad day God only knows who can beat us...

The manager's remit is to get the best out of the players he has at his disposal, regardless of who has brought the players to the club. As results and performances like early season performances and Barnet away suggest, the current crop of players are able to hold their own in this league, given the right management.


The recent performances makes me wonder if there is any meaningful input from the bench at all during matches. CH looks like he has no clue how to pick a side, or change play.

We need a strong, demanding manager who can take the difficult decisions, and is able to fire up the players. CH is not that man, he's got to go.

As for the competence of the board....

With the greatest respect, the idea that Chris Hargreaves would resign his position is naive in the extreme. As I understand it, he is on a 12 month rolling contract, not the widely reported fixed contract until the summer of next year. So why would any sane individual, particularly a family man with three young kids, give up a year's salary? It just isn't going to happen!

So, we have two scenarios, the club either stand by him or sack him. As we all know, there is not exactly the money available to sack him and so there is, in reality, little option but to stand by him.

The only scenario where I could see Chris Hargreaves leaving his position is if Kelvin Thomas somehow persuades Thea Bristow ( who let's face it is the ONLY Director calling the shots these days!) that it would be in the best interests of the football club to take such an action. I certainly don't see Thea taking such an action herself as I get the impression that she is rather fond of Greavsie.

As far as I am concerned, this season has all but ended in terms of interest, the ONLY thing we need to do now is make sure we garner the half a dozen points or so needed to make sure we stay in this League and not get relegated. After today, I wouldn't put it past this lot to lose the next dozen games - they were truly that bad - which could throw us into a relegation battle. Hopefully, we already have just about enough points to survive.

There was no Kelvin Thomas watching yesterday. Hopefully on a 'find an investor' mission.

To be clear, at this moment in time I would like CH to resign however we all know this will never happen.

Therefore IF we have the funds available I think he should be paid off. We also know this is not going to happen because we are skint!

I can then only state that I have lost complete confidence in his ability to manage TUFC.
I would have more respect for him if he left out as many players as possible that will not be with us next season.

Play each player in his favoured position and not try and put a Square peg in a Round hole!
For as much as possible let us start next season right now!

CP Gull wrote: As I understand it, he is on a 12 month rolling contract, not the widely reported fixed contract until the summer of next year.

If that is true, I am absolutely astounded by the ineptitude of our board. How could they possibly enter into another expensive contract having seen, and in Thea's case felt, the financial repercussions of that type of agreement with the previous managers.

To me that is beyond stupid and borders on financial mismanagement on a colossal scale. There should be a new thread " Are the Board Fit For Purpose" - no need to comment SG!!.

Assuming that is the basis of the contract then the board should give notice immediately - that would give CH 12 months from now to prove his worth. If, and for me that would require a similar miracle as turning water to wine, Hargreaves was to prove he had a modicum of managerial ability, the Board could extend or offer a new contract at that time.

Rolling contract .......Un..bloody..believable

"As I understand it, he is on a 12 month rolling contract, not the widely reported fixed contract until the summer of next year."

Sorry I don't believe this!!! After our recent experience with these contracts I don't believe ANY Torquay board member would be so stupid to sign another one of these!! Especially to a rookie manager who was very keen on the job!

Neal wrote:"As I understand it, he is on a 12 month rolling contract, not the widely reported fixed contract until the summer of next year."

Sorry I don't believe this!!! After our recent experience with these contracts I don't believe ANY Torquay board member would be so stupid to sign another one of these!! Especially to a rookie manager who was very keen on the job!

Fair enough, to be honest I found it hard to believe as well.

All I can say is that, without naming names, I was told this by a Director of TUFC. Of course, he could be wrong but he was adamant that Greavsie was on a 12 month rolling contract and not a fixed term one.

Stating the obvious, if he is on a rolling 12 month it would be cheaper, at this point in time, to sack him than of he was on a contract until June 2016 - you know, 15 months away.

Both contracts have their pros and cons. What if a manager has a lucky season, gets a 3 year contract but we want to sack him in the first year? What if we have an ambitious manager doing really well on a fixed term contract, who refuses to sign an extension and walks away to a new club giving TUFC no compensation?

Rolling contracts are generally better for the interests of the football clubs at our level, providing you pick the right manager. I would suggest TUFC's main issue is with picking a decent manager than the contract we give them.