Do you want Brown next season

[onceknownasrab]

All goes to show despite RM's many many failures, he has gone his own way with appointing a manager, saught out club legends, got advice from people who have been in football for years, often chosen the popular choice, chosen the old hand, and the up and comer.

Not easy being in charge.

I think RM has shown he is a fan and not an experienced football man. He has made some pleasing appointments, and some bad, done his best to support the managers and kept the club going. He hasn't, as many fans haven't, made the best judgements at all times. We keep telling him he's wrong and continually are proved wrong ourselves. At the end of the day he has been let down as much, if not more, as the rest of us.

 

[blueblueblue]

In the end its all opinions, rose tinted or anti whoever blah blah blah. I am fully behind the team which is strange considering the team being served up at the moment is dross. Brown is "not my cup of tea" and like Brown I will unlikely change my mind on that.

Even in the unlikely event he got us promoted?

 

[JB Shrimper]

Even in the unlikely event he got us promoted?

I may revisit my comments if that were to happen whilst I ride my flying pig to Neverland

 

[Bromley Blue]

I may revisit my comments if that were to happen whilst I ride my flying pig to Neverland

I’m pessimistic about our chances this season as much as anyone on here. But are you just talking about this season? Coz if not you’ve given yourself a great post for people to quote if it were to happen in the next few years. Even this season the playoffs aren’t out of the question yet.

 

[JB Shrimper]

I’m pessimistic about our chances this season as much as anyone on here. But are you just talking about this season? Coz if not you’ve given yourself a great post for people to quote if it were to happen in the next few years. Even this season the playoffs aren’t out of the question yet.

I feel pretty safe either way however will gladly have this thrown in ny face if it were to happen in a few years. Unlike many I not immune to eating humble pie.

 

[in the know]

I feel the same. Just seems to be a little too public for me. Some things are best said in private, otherwise the players won't graft for you.

Well said Supa Shrimpa....I think his 'too public persona' is probably showing whats more important to him as a person. His image and being seen as a personality is probably far more important to him than gaining the trust of the players. Its about the polar opposite of MM as its possible to be. Not surprising the majority of players respected MM and how they were treated by him and would try very hard for him, in the knowledge they would get the blame only when they deserved blame and in private. Again the opposite of PB, who has buses parked up ready outside the training ground and roots hall ready for the next players to be pushed under if needed to protect his image.
We have an untrustworthy chairman that conveniently forgets promises made. A manager with similar traits but on a more day to day basis, plus under those two we have those aspiring to (if not surmounting) their levels of deviousness. Gotta feel sorry for CEO Tom and the other more honest individuals in the set up. It must be really tough trying to be sincere, genuine and honest in that environment.
Then there are the players. On the whole a good bunch with more than enough to not be thrashing around in the bottom third chasing balls into channels. MM was naive, but this year with the recruitment we had, we would be seeing good football and a team with spirit and flair that wouldnt let so many goals in. Of course they are not angels by a long shot but are already drained of inspiration and fed on the stick rather than the carrot. PB is probably the Taliban of the managerial world in the way he punishes without consideration, reflection, or thought of consequence. He openly shows favouritism on a temporary basis and divides the players which causes issues. The older ones have seen it all before and know how to deal with him, but the younger impressionable ones who havent tend to follow the strongest leaders in the dressing room for safety. And in that final 5 mins of a crucial game when PBs shouting at them all to get that last drop of sweat and bust a gut for him to equalise or win, can you imagine what is in the players minds ?.

 

[LennySUFC]

Voted no at the time and nothing has come close to changing that opinion.

 

[shrimpled]

Well said Supa Shrimpa....I think his 'too public persona' is probably showing whats more important to him as a person. His image and being seen as a personality is probably far more important to him than gaining the trust of the players. Its about the polar opposite of MM as its possible to be. Not surprising the majority of players respected MM and how they were treated by him and would try very hard for him, in the knowledge they would get the blame only when they deserved blame and in private. Again the opposite of PB, who has buses parked up ready outside the training ground and roots hall ready for the next players to be pushed under if needed to protect his image.
We have an untrustworthy chairman that conveniently forgets promises made. A manager with similar traits but on a more day to day basis, plus under those two we have those aspiring to (if not surmounting) their levels of deviousness. Gotta feel sorry for CEO Tom and the other more honest individuals in the set up. It must be really tough trying to be sincere, genuine and honest in that environment.
Then there are the players. On the whole a good bunch with more than enough to not be thrashing around in the bottom third chasing balls into channels. MM was naive, but this year with the recruitment we had, we would be seeing good football and a team with spirit and flair that wouldnt let so many goals in. Of course they are not angels by a long shot but are already drained of inspiration and fed on the stick rather than the carrot. PB is probably the Taliban of the managerial world in the way he punishes without consideration, reflection, or thought of consequence. He openly shows favouritism on a temporary basis and divides the players which causes issues. The older ones have seen it all before and know how to deal with him, but the younger impressionable ones who havent tend to follow the strongest leaders in the dressing room for safety. And in that final 5 mins of a crucial game when PBs shouting at them all to get that last drop of sweat and bust a gut for him to equalise or win, can you imagine what is in the players minds ?.

This is a very worrying post from someone who has proved time and again to be 'in the know'.

It needs to change Ron.

 

[Thunderbolt & Lightfoot]

We have an untrustworthy chairman that conveniently forgets promises made. A manager with similar traits but on a more day to day basis, plus under those two we have those aspiring to (if not surmounting) their levels of deviousness. Gotta feel sorry for CEO Tom and the other more honest individuals in the set up. It must be really tough trying to be sincere, genuine and honest in that environment.

Are you able to drop any subtle hints about who the aspiring deviants are?

 

[getintoem]

I am feeling as gutted as most on here by the start we have made and have been left wondering if PB now sees himself as more of a dog breeder than a football manager. However, in search of some positivity I thought I would look back at his last full season as our manager, 2016/17, to see how the league results went. After the first seven games we had 5pts, just like now. In the next seven we picked up 11pts and in the seven after that we were unbeaten with a tally of 15pts. In the remaining 25 games that season we gathered 41pts.

Now, I know the squad of players we currently have is very different from those we had in 2016/17, but I am hoping that perhaps it takes PB a few games to get the team able to grind out results. The record shows that we only lost 14 games in 16/17 and 6 of those were in the first 12 of the season, so it is clear he made us more difficult to beat fairly quickly.

I am now clinging to the hope he can repeat the feat of 16/17, after all, hope is all we have. If we show no improvement in the next seven games though I think we must part company, leaving him to return to his Cotswolds mansion and breed his dachshunds for the rest of his days.

 

[Barry.C]

With one win in Seven, Solihull becomes a big trial for Phil. If we end up with just one win after the recognised first 10 games, we will be in the bottom 3 and relegation Zone. After Solihull we have 2 Home games against Eastleigh, bottom half of the table and high flying Chesterfield, in 2nd place and only one defeat in 9.

Ron may be good at one thing, and that might be contracts. He certainly has had a lot of recent experience in getting rid of Managers , including Phil, who I personally didnt see as a saviour this time, but more likely a liability

So its hard to not think Ron has a very clear contract set up and that includes performance. Phil himself said he knows hes now on thin ice

3 games should make or break his staying with us.

 

[in the know]

Are you able to drop any subtle hints about who the aspiring deviants are?

No. Sorry, but Im sure youl undertsand it would be wrong. Once things are in the public domain I think its fair to discuss people. Everyone knows PB and RM are meglamaniacs so nothing new or revealed there.

 

[Callum]

For me I can’t see us getting anything out of these games Phil brown has panicked with ex Southend players training with us

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

Sounds like Ron has given PB an ultimatum.

Wonder how many points Ron has told him he needs?

 

[delr]

Never liked Brown as our manager and never will, but if he's still here next season I'll be happy (and it really pains me to say that) because that means we still have a club to support, which at the moment, is my real worry.
Phil & Ron deserve each other - the fans deserve better?

 

[KiwiRob]

Sounds like Ron has given PB an ultimatum.

Wonder how many points Ron has told him he needs?

The poor results so far by PB's team are clearly straining the Chairman's patience. But there is, I believe, possibly another factor at work here. PB's abject lack of professionalism in public slating of some players and his bizarre 'not his cup of tea' explanation for wanting to get rid of Akinola - who by many accounts is a dedicated pro - has angered and alienated a lot of supporters on the social media and on Shrimper Zone. The contrast with the dignified behaviour of PB's predecessor MM could not be greater. RM might not lose any sleep over this unprofessional behaviour if PB was delivering on the results front but in the current context it could shorten the time the Chairman is prepared to give to PB to turn things around.

 

[mattytheshrimper]

100%. Has improved us no end since coming in.

Has he?

 

[TrevorFitzpatrickHattrick]

I was disappointed when MM left and was unhappy with how it was handled. To me, it felt uncomfortable seeing the manager backed in public whilst it appeared his removal and replacement were being worked on in the background. That said, I saw Brown as a logical short-term hire and harboured the vain hope that we might experience that new manager bounce that would propel us to safety.

Post-relegation, I was apathetic to his permanent appointment. Initially, I viewed his knowledge of Ron and experience of how this basketcase of a club works as a positive. I also assumed that he would make us industrious and hard to beat - an essential trait as we ploughed these new depths for the first time. I also had/have no expectations of an immediate return to league football, feeling somewhere between 10th to 15th to be about fair value - basically a season where we broke the cycle and stopped the rot.

I know that we're only a few games in and some will accuse me of a knee-jerk reaction, but my stance has shifted and I'd be more than happy for him to walk or be pushed. The games I've seen so far have shown him to be tactically naive at best and tactically archaic at worst. His recruitment has been mediocre (exceptions for Arnold, Murphy and Dalby, but the jury's out on all of the rest in my opinion) and his network appears on the outside to be incredibly limited. I know that Southend United is a tough sell to anyone right now (even long standing supporters) and that reputationally we've been in the dirt for a very long time, but surely we can do better. We live in a wonderful catchment with a vibrant non-league scene that we're now sadly a part of. Our recruitment now feels totally unbalanced which means that ultimately we're forced to put square pegs in round holes.

Phil's managerial stock has been taking a battering for the last few years and I don't expect that trajectory to change again during the remainder of his managerial career. I felt that the appointment of MM was the right person at the wrong time. The useful traits that I saw in Brown first-time seem to have dulled, so much so that I fail to see any redeeming features for us in his current skillset.

Finally, we have his media persona. I tolerated that when we were having a modicum of success, but right now, it's just repulsive. How is it a good advertisement for the club when you see him throwing players under the bus in public? How does it motivate players to play better? How does it encourage players to join the club? It's an embarrassment. Soundbites. Brown Bingo. Boring, amateurish. Just a collection of stock phrases from a manager that's built up notoriety for using them.

So, to cut a long story short, I'd like him out. For the sake of clarity, Ron Martin needs to shoulder a significant amount of blame for the overall malaise at our football club. We're still in existence, which is something, but it feels like death by 1000 papercuts right now. As a replacement for Brown, I'd suggest Sir Mark Bentley as potential hero and saviour.

 

[Leicester Shrimper]

A 62 year old who has seen his best days in management is not the appointment we need right now. I do seriously question his drive and motivation. Some on here have already questioned his approach to games - no real clinical analysis of the opposition. Nothing yet to suggest otherwise. The approach to our signings has been comical. Yet he shields himself by harping back to how bad the situation was when he took over and now by the pain of relegation.

 

[Shrimper]

Have to get 4 points this week