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Powell's management record isn't the greatest but if named will at least have the older supporters behind him .Has he the contacts needed as even PB showed how hard it was to get players to come here.With Fossetts at such a critical stage Rons choice will be the most important in his time as chairman
 
Powell's management record isn't the greatest but if named will at least have the older supporters behind him .Has he the contacts needed as even PB showed how hard it was to get players to come here.With Fossetts at such a critical stage Rons choice will be the most important in his time as chairman

Powell has a better win % than Brown. He has managed fewer games but in comparison for their first 221 games Powell has more wins than Brown. I think he would be a good appointment but I'm not writing it as a given yet.

Powell, Trollope or Warburton will do.
 
it’s fun with no malice, please relax

Its not 'fun', its argumentative and point scoring and just leads to the thread being hijacked.

As already said above, now is not the time for told you so posts or "I was right, you were wrong", theres plenty of stuff to talk about thats far more interesting...
 
Its not 'fun', its argumentative and point scoring and just leads to the thread being hijacked.

As already said above, now is not the time for told you so posts or "I was right, you were wrong", theres plenty of stuff to talk about thats far more interesting...

Perhaps if PB had done more points scoring this season we wouldn't be in the position we are now..
 
I've wasted half an hour trying to work this out ! I need to get some work done. You seem happy tho' so I assume its not someone with a CV with decades of lower league mediocrity.

I'm clearly older than you at 37 then....that comment will have gone over the youngsters heads! :smile:
 
Wanted him to go but feel very mixed now it’s actually happened. No doubt the timing was right, but I never disliked him and always thought he did his best for this club. As OBL said, the changes he’s made at the club have really improved us and will undoubtably continue in his absence. He’s given us all some of our greatest memories whilst supporting the club and although it didn’t work out in the end, I can’t celebrate him losing his job.

Shouldn’t have trouble finding himself another decent enough club. Thanks for the memories Phil.

Hopefully the start of another exciting era awaits.
 
I have never been a fan of the ruthless way that football managers are sacked, so it isn't nice that anyone has lost their jobs - yet in this case, unfortunately, this has been brewing for a while. I very much got the feeling that PB has been wanting out for a while, and just maybe his strange tactics and decisions over the last few months have been designed to get this very outcome. Got to be honest, I have had mixed feelings right through his reign, he has got some things right and has got us promotion for which I am grateful, but there was too much brand Brown going on, too much blaming everyone else without taking responsibility for his own decisions and I think ultimately the players lost respect for him. At this point, there is no way back - this was Rons only option. By doing this now means we have a half chance of mobilising the team and restarting the season.

The person I really feel for in this situation is Graham Coughlan, who from what I can see has done a superb job, is well liked, he has been loyal to Southend and has been fantastically professional as a player, coach and assistant manager. I genuinely wish him well, and hope he finds another job soon. I wouldn't have been adverse to him staying on as assistant to Chris Powell (according to the Sun as at 7pm) but his association with Phil Brown and the outgoing regime probably means Ron decided there was no choice but to let him go as well. Shame, I think he is one of the good guys.

Like OBL, I think that although we need some more players in, despite recent showings we do have a decent squad who are far more capable and able to win games. I have thought for months that this isn't a capability issue, it has been a leadership problem. In my own experience recently, I was working for a manager who had a huge controlling streak and who reduced a talented group of people to a bunch of people with no confidence and no desire to remain in their jobs. Fast forward a couple of months, and we are all in different jobs, with more positive management structures, and everyone is brimming with confidence and things are getting done. Our players are only human, and I very much suspect the kind of same thing has been going on behind the scenes so a new set of faces to lead the charge is probably all that is needed. I am delighted that Ron is apparently appointing Chrissy Powell - that will be the lift everyone needs, and I suspect that a different approach and change of mindset will make a massive difference! Roll on Saturday...
 
There's so many comments to read through... But, I'm so happy Ron hasn't waited until it's too late, genuinely, thank you Ron!

Onwards and upwards, hopefully! COYB!
 
Maybe the Leonard sale has given Ron the funds he needs to afford the sackings. Just hope there is a few bob left for new players.
 
I've just nicked this off CP's Twitter page. I think it's a good article and well balanced.

WHEN it comes to judging Phil Brown’s spell in charge of Southend United, it would be unfair to focus on the final few weeks. Yes, recent results and performances have been nowhere near good enough but before that plenty of progress had been achieved – along with promotion. Brown’s high point during his five years in the Roots Hall hotseat came when his Shrimpers side secured a dramatic play-off final success against Wycombe Wanderers at Wembley. And up until this season every campaign had been an improvement on the last. With that in mind, a promotion push seemed realistic this term after Blues missed out on the play-offs by just a single point last season. Expectation levels increased in the summer when chairman Ron Martin allowed Brown to invest heavily in the squad. But just when big things were expected at Roots Hall, everything began to unravel and relegation suddenly became a real concern. The run of poor results are there for all to see and so are the lengthy list of damning statistics to underline the seriousness of the struggles. Quite where it all went wrong for Brown is open for debate, but poor recruitment must be one of the main reasons. The five summer recruits signed by the Shrimpers average just 6.8 League starts between them so far this season. And from being a side ready to snap and snarl, Blues suddenly looked a team short of mobility with too many players past their peak.

Brown was perhaps also guilty of being too loyal to certain members of his team and matches became difficult viewing. The football was no longer fun to watch and as the poor run of results continued the team looked visibly short of spirit and togetherness. That was particularly apparent during the last few fixtures as the Shrimpers’ frustrating frailties in both penalty areas continued. The departure of Ryan Leonard also did not help the cause and Brown could arguably have gone even sooner than this.

However, to his credit, Martin is a chairman who likes to gives his managers time to turn things around. Sadly, that did not look like it would happen and a change was needed to stop the rot. The announcement has been greeted positively by fans, some of whom never warmed to Brown, and 87 per cent of supporters on an online Echosport poll felt the right decision has been made. Leaving alongside him will be Graham Coughlan, who perhaps never got the credit he deserved during his lengthy stint with the Shrimpers. The Irishman was a popular figure at the club and did a lot of very good work behind the scenes in a variety of roles. But he has now moved on to make way for a new management team who will be looking to breathe life back into Blues at an important time in the club’s future.

However, Brown’s part in the Shrimpers’ history should never be forgotten. And, despite the disappointing way things have come to an end, he deserves to leave Roots Hall with respect, not ridicule.
 
OK, new chapter - hoping for a new man at the helm, and personally the thought of Chrissy Powell in charge is an exciting prospect. Hopeful Ron can sort it quickly.

A word about our departed manager...

I personally liked Phil, as a person he was extremely personable and especially good with the younger fans, yeah he had character flaws, but who of us hasn’t. As a manager I saw a man who had a passion for football, wanted to succeed at Southend, albeit sometimes distracted but can you really blame the man for having ambitions. As a manager I’d like to thank him for that Wembley final, the semi win v Stevenage the game before, and for some of the great performances last season; Sheff U away, Peterborough away, Bradford at home, the away support at Charlton, being 5 mins away from the playoffs last game - I could go on, sadly you’re only as good as your last **** up and things started to unravel so it was time for him to go. At least it was entertaining, never a dull moment. Would still have preferred him over the last 5 years than most of the dullard managers around.

Good luck in whatever you do Phil, thanks for some great memories.
 
New manager in by Saturday then?

Well I would imagine so, if CP will announce it in the Echo tomorrow. What part whomever that is will play come 3pm Saturday. Your guess is as good as mine.

I'm guessing he will meet with the players in the morning and observe training etc, then do the press stuff in the afternoon.

That basically gives him around 48 hours to pick he's best 11 and formation against Rochdale, is that enough time?? or do you think he will sit it out and watch from the stands, whilst Maher & Duncan run the show for a match.
In which case, a debut appearance at home to high flying Scunthorpe might not be the best start to his Southend Utd managerial career.

.
 
RM : Chris? .. Ron, here. Are you OK to take over for Saturday?
CP : Should be, Ron. Where's the first game?
RM : Rochdale, away.
CP : Is it OK if I start on Monday?
 
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Come to think of it, wasn't Brown's first league game away at Rochdale?
 
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