Echo News Former Colchester United boss John McGreal is keen on Southend United job

[Barling Magna]

McGreal would be a sound appointment but I'd rather Craig Fagan was the one.

 

[Chairman Trigg]

Having listened to his post match comments for the last few seasons ....would be the very bottom of the barrel in what is becoming a very poor list .

 

[Clinton Baptiste]

No thanks, would be under immense pressure as soon as we go on a bad run (which is likely to be very soon after the season starts!).
Fagan makes so much sense, he knows the club and the players better than anyone.

 

[Rob1920]

Since when has someone having a close ties and a love for a club been a vital ingredient for success? I wonder how many managers there are currently in the top 4 (or 5) divisions who have a close association & affection for the club they currently manage? I'm sure there'll be one or two, but not many I'm sure.

 

[THE SEVENTIES NORTH BANK]

You dont have to have An association with the club to come in and love the club, i took it to mean whoever comes in must live the club 24/7 and do the job like that too. There is a lot of criteria and not all will be met but if you get 90% of that then take the guy and the rest will follow

It's pretty obvious that a potential manager could have no affiliation with a club, but then manage it, and fall in love with it. As that goes without saying, and because Ron has mentioned it, it's a big clue as to the type that's top of his list. The other big clue was not a manager just looking for a job. McGreal falls under that as well, as he's just been dumped, and already applied for two managers jobs this week.

 

[Colchester and proud!]

John McG, is a decent steady character who would not be that adventurous in his style of play but would certainly steady a disjointed dressing room. Players like playing for him ,but he is no soft touch, having been a player himself for many years at Championship and Premier league level for more than 400 games as a central defender. He fancied the Tranmere job because he was a former player there in their 1st division years (Championship) and was born in Liverpool. He has lived in Woodbridge for many years now, and travelled to Colchester from there, although Southend would be further to travel I suspect he wouldn't move home meaning his family life wouldn't be interrupted too much. He had been at Colchester for 11 years coming through the academy as a coach with decent success, before taking on the 1st team managers job just over 4 years ago. I could see John being manager with Craig his assistant as a great option for you guys, with Craig getting the chance to learn from a more experienced manager. Obviously in these Covid tainted times cost will be the main factor, so most lower league clubs will not be employing the big names and going for possibly cheaper internal appointments or taking a punt on managers seeking smaller salaries. We shall see!