Oh Dear Oh Dear Oh Dear

[monkeyg]

That was 20+ years ago and he was already earning £8k a week + bonuses and hefty sponsorship deals at the time. Put into perspective he was already earning circa £500k - £750k per year when the top earners were earning in the £1m- £1.5m a year bracket. Big difference from £140k to £750k.

He turned down Hoddle at Chelsea earlier in his career but Chelsea were not the title winning/challenging side at the time. He accepted the transfer to Tottenham later under Venables and changed his mind (allegedly his wife wanted to stay closer to Guernsey) when he went to sign.

So at the time he was already earning a very nice wage and in terms of the clubs trying to get him (league position) it was a sideways move. Southampton, Chelsea and Tottenham at the time were all mid table sides. Liverpool were interested at one point too. Dalglish was a big fan. There was a suggestion at the time that when Dalglish signed Alan Shearer for Blackbunr he had gone in for Le Tissier as his main target and Shearer secondly (wanted both of them.)

Incidentally both managers he turned down (Hoddle and Venables) went on to become England managers and despite them both wanting to sign him when club managers were very critical of him as a player as England managers. That is most likely why he did not get the caps that he most definitely should have had.

At our level we are talking a move of Cowleys going to say, Rotherham on a £300k contract. I suspect they may have turned that one down.

Steve Bull maybe? He spent more or less his whole career in the old second division and would have had offers from top clubs I'm sure. I can't think of any obvious examples from lower levels though.

 

[clanfordimp]

All appointments are a gamble and they always have been. Nobody knew that 28 year old Taylor was going to be a massive success or that Sutton was going to be an abject failure. Nobody really knew if Murphy could really manage or not.

At a much higher level, does anyone seriously believe that Barcelona knew Guardiola would revolutionise the game when they moved him up from the B-team, or that Real Madrid expected Zidane to win 3 consecutive CLs when they did the same from theirs? Zidane was an emergency appointment following the failure of Benitez who hadn't lasted six months.

Lincoln City is lucky it has a good board of directors. But in appointing the Cowleys Lincoln City's board got lucky.

Whether the Cowleys will succeed in their current job, or their next one will have to be seen because nobody knows.

Agree that all appointments are a gamble but having said that boards of Directors are much more savvy these days in the appointment of new managers. They do much more than just check the applicants previous playing or managerial career as I'm sure our own Chairman would confirm with the appointment of firstly Danny and Nicky and now with the appointment of MApp.
It's a lot more calculated these days, doesn't guarantee anything but will be designed to minimise something we all probably agree is a huge risk.

 

[sedgleyimp]

Agree that all appointments are a gamble but having said that boards of Directors are much more savvy these days in the appointment of new managers. They do much more than just check the applicants previous playing or managerial career as I'm sure our own Chairman would confirm with the appointment of firstly Danny and Nicky and now with the appointment of MApp.
It's a lot more calculated these days, doesn't guarantee anything but will be designed to minimise something we all probably agree is a huge risk.

A policy the Man Utd board should have considered methinks

 

[elkimp]

I would suggest Danny and Nicky Cowley did. I know we don’t know for sure but if for example they were prepared to consider a head coach role rather than manager they probably could have gone in the Summer - if it was all about the money.

I don't understand this line of not taking a Head Coach role. The higher up the pyramid they go (if they do) the less football management control they will have. That line is a papering over excuse, because they went for the money. Do they think West Ham United will handover complete control?

 

[Sincilbanks]

I don't understand this line of not taking a Head Coach role. The higher up the pyramid they go (if they do) the less football management control they will have. That line is a papering over excuse, because they went for the money. Do they think West Ham United will handover complete control?

Remember, you only have someone's claim on the internet that that is what happened...

 

[Skip155]

Remember, you only have someone's claim on the internet that that is what happened...

Although isn’t it reasonably official that they declined Huddersfield multiple times until the job role changed? I think their Chairman might have said something?

 

[Luke Imp]

DC also said as much, too.

 

[Luke Imp]

All appointments are a gamble and they always have been. Nobody knew that 28 year old Taylor was going to be a massive success or that Sutton was going to be an abject failure. Nobody really knew if Murphy could really manage or not.

At a much higher level, does anyone seriously believe that Barcelona knew Guardiola would revolutionise the game when they moved him up from the B-team, or that Real Madrid expected Zidane to win 3 consecutive CLs when they did the same from theirs? Zidane was an emergency appointment following the failure of Benitez who hadn't lasted six months.

Lincoln City is lucky it has a good board of directors. But in appointing the Cowleys Lincoln City's board got lucky.

Whether the Cowleys will succeed in their current job, or their next one will have to be seen because nobody knows.

I think passing it off as lucky is probably too simplistic. I understand what you're saying about managerial appointments going one way or the other, but if there's some sort of logic behind an appointment, which there was with DC/NC, then 'lucky' is probably unfair. We appointed them because of their track record

It perhaps went better than expected, but it wasn't a lucky appointment per se.

 

[NottyImp]

I certainly think it's the case that if DC/NC want to manage any higher they will have to relinquish the level of control they have been used to. But fair play to them for holding out for that control at Huddersfield and eventually getting it. I doubt it will work with many other Championship (and no Premiership) teams.

 

[Sincilbanks]

I certainly think it's the case that if DC/NC want to manage any higher they will have to relinquish the level of control they have been used to. But fair play to them for holding out for that control at Huddersfield and eventually getting it. I doubt it will work with many other Championship (and no Premiership) teams.

So if that's the case, then maybe it does represent "the perfect opportunity" for them.

 

[clanfordimp]

I certainly think it's the case that if DC/NC want to manage any higher they will have to relinquish the level of control they have been used to. But fair play to them for holding out for that control at Huddersfield and eventually getting it. I doubt it will work with many other Championship (and no Premiership) teams.

I agree they definitely wont get full control the higher they go, if that's what happens, but any manager at whatever level has to have an input into the players they want to bring in. It would be crazy to have a Sporting Director or whatever they are called, who identifies players, signs them, then just hands them over to the manager and says see what you can do with him. I would say at the top level the manager/head coach identifies players he would like to sign and then it's up to the Sporting Director to negotiate with the players club / agent regarding the possible transfer.

 

[Brendan Bradley]

I think passing it off as lucky is probably too simplistic. I understand what you're saying about managerial appointments going one way or the other, but if there's some sort of logic behind an appointment, which there was with DC/NC, then 'lucky' is probably unfair. We appointed them because of their track record

It perhaps went better than expected, but it wasn't a lucky appointment per se.

And I understand the point you're making too, Luke, but that track record was as part time managers of part time clubs which is very different.

Lincoln City managers of the past selected because of their track records include: Willie Bell, Allan Clarke, Sam Ellis, John Beck, Alan Buckley, Peter Jackson and Steve Tilson.

Lincoln City managers with no previous track record include Graham Taylor, Colin Murphy, Keith Alexander, Peter Daniel, John Pickering, Shane Westley, Phil Stant, Chris Sutton.

You might as well have closed your eyes and stuck a pin in a board.

 

[sedgleyimp]

So if that's the case, then maybe it does represent "the perfect opportunity" for them.

That's how I've always thought of it to be honest. If WBA had offered them the same role in the Summer rather than a head coach position they could easily have ended up there. Not necessarily a question of Huddersfield being the perfect opportunity but a Championship club giving them the roles they wanted plus a wage rise. That's why they turned it down in the first instance

 

[NottyImp]

So if that's the case, then maybe it does represent "the perfect opportunity" for them.

I think that's definitely part of it at this point in their careers. It clearly mattered a lot to them to have that level of control. It may be the last job they have where they do, if their career continues the upward trajectory.

 

[Mr Chad]

I respect what your saying Strangely but I'm still picking up a whiff of lets not give them to much credit as it was all down to our board giving them the job in the first place.
Look let's be straight at the time we were no forward thinking club saying what we'll do is appoint a manager, we'll give them the total run of the club, they'll bring in good players, we'll go on great cup runs and promotions will come one after the other.
When we appointed Danny and Nicky the club was totally on its backside, going nowhere but backwards, had huge debts, the fanbase had all but given up, and in a lot of people's minds there was no future, we were hoping for some kind of miracle.
If Danny and Nicky would of sat there on that very first press conference and said that in the next 3 seasons they were going to get us promoted twice as champions, get us in the league 2 semi final playoffs, play at Wembley in a Cup Final and take us to the quarter finals of the FA Cup as a non league team along the way beating a league 1 team, a championship team, a team at the time top of the championship and a Premier League team on their own ground every single person in that press conference bar none would of fell off their chairs laughing.
The board are to be congratulated in identifying them and appointing them and they may have had control of certain situations and areas that they may not have at another club but for us that was nothing but a positive thing.
It was nothing but the skill, drive, passion, enthusiasm and determination of Danny and Nicky that turned this club round and without them and not forgetting Clive and the board this club most probably would have been confined to the doldrums non league football for a very long time.

Dont forget that it was the present chairman who went to DC/NC to recruit them and I would suggest to you that they were lucky to meet Clive and be given the opportunity to achieve what they did backed by a agreeable board and a different mix of potential support which they were quick to recognise.
I would not wish to diminish their achievements but suggest that the level of support they were given was unusual, and sufficient to have been given more recognitioin by them rather then leaving on a Sunday evening after lighting up time .

 

[Cricklewoodimp]

Dont forget that it was the present chairman who went to DC/NC to recruit them and I would suggest to you that they were lucky to meet Clive and be given the opportunity to achieve what they did backed by a agreeable board and a different mix of potential support which they were quick to recognise.
I would not wish to diminish their achievements but suggest that the level of support they were given was unusual, and sufficient to have been given more recognitioin by them rather then leaving on a Sunday evening after lighting up time .

According to Clive, Danny applied for the Lincoln job.

 

[clanfordimp]

Dont forget that it was the present chairman who went to DC/NC to recruit them and I would suggest to you that they were lucky to meet Clive and be given the opportunity to achieve what they did backed by a agreeable board and a different mix of potential support which they were quick to recognise.
I would not wish to diminish their achievements but suggest that the level of support they were given was unusual, and sufficient to have been given more recognitioin by them rather then leaving on a Sunday evening after lighting up time .

What does any of that matter. The Cowley's owe Lincoln City nothing. They were always going to move on and to some it wouldn't of mattered how and when they did it they would still have had to show bitterness towards them even though they have just delivered some of the greatest seasons in the clubs history.

 

[NorthNottsImp]

I recall Clive saying on record that he hoped a particular person would apply for the job at the time.

 

[Huntsward]

Excellent interview - never read that one before.

It mentions £250,000 for Akinde. Has this been published previously? There were a few figures bandied around but I've missed it if it has.

It could be speculative but they've got a figure from somewhere and given such an in depth interview with Clive, maybe it holds some weight.

 

[baggie192]

That was 20+ years ago and he was already earning £8k a week + bonuses and hefty sponsorship deals at the time. Put into perspective he was already earning circa £500k - £750k per year when the top earners were earning in the £1m- £1.5m a year bracket. Big difference from £140k to £750k.

He turned down Hoddle at Chelsea earlier in his career but Chelsea were not the title winning/challenging side at the time. He accepted the transfer to Tottenham later under Venables and changed his mind (allegedly his wife wanted to stay closer to Guernsey) when he went to sign.

So at the time he was already earning a very nice wage and in terms of the clubs trying to get him (league position) it was a sideways move. Southampton, Chelsea and Tottenham at the time were all mid table sides. Liverpool were interested at one point too. Dalglish was a big fan. There was a suggestion at the time that when Dalglish signed Alan Shearer for Blackbunr he had gone in for Le Tissier as his main target and Shearer secondly (wanted both of them.)

Incidentally both managers he turned down (Hoddle and Venables) went on to become England managers and despite them both wanting to sign him when club managers were very critical of him as a player as England managers. That is most likely why he did not get the caps that he most definitely should have had.

At our level we are talking a move of Cowleys going to say, Rotherham on a £300k contract. I suspect they may have turned that one down.

La Tissier was the only one who came to mind. I say this last thing about the Cowleys. As I don't want to be thought as a troll. I'm more invested Michael Appleton anyway who I've met a couple of times years ago. I'll pop back to wish you a merry Christmas and if he loans our players talk about them.
Why I didn't want the Cowleys at West Brom, It going to sound super weird. They only knew success. You benefitted from it and more power to you. But you only really learn from loss. By that I mean relegation. They never had to deal with it. You are a soaring success. I think you'll stay in league 1 for a couple of seasons, but, Appleton will get up as the club changes to his style. Appleton, Tony Mowbray and countless. others bought into our DoF at the time Dan Ashworth's plan. Gary Megson got us back to back promotion to the prem. Thing was the team just could not compete. This was the era of Man Utd at their height and Arsenal's Invincibles. Plan worked like this. use the money to improve the squad with really good Championship players. Then pick 1 area of the club to improve. Then go for promotion again, rinse and repeat. With Megson's it took us 4 promotions to become a sustainable Prem club. We had 8 seasons, some were more comfortale than others. All stuck to the system. Then came Pulis seen by our last owner as a safe pair of hands, while our sale went through Should have been at the club six months. He was sadly there way longer. He destroyed everything, Scouting, the academy. He had a budget close to £75m much much bigger than any other Head coach or manager. and he squandered on rubbish or they'd fall out of favour and we'd never see them again. He sold Kemar Roofe to Appleton at Oxford for a £1. Luckily our lawyers put in a 60% sell-on clause. He loaned Serge Gnabry and never played him because "He didn't have a football brain", Please step forward Serge Gnabry Beyern's current player of the year. When Pulis came he had one demand "total Control" he was given it by an owner with a foot out the door. It was rare that our DoF would vito a player anyway. That's what the Cowleys wanted from us "Total Control". I don't know your Infrastructure Do you have an international scout? I'm thinking not. The Sad truth is the higher you get the more expensive Home-Grown Talent is. Talent from aboard can be good value. They can't however be scouted by dvd. I doubt we were serious after we heard that demand. It is almost impossible to everything at this level, They've bought their own hype. The right back could have stopped us on the bench, but, he didn't impress during training so stayed there. Afterwards DC threw shade at some of his players. Unlike Lincoln's squad they weren't there for the ride. they will have to buy in. Slagging them off when your tactic is to defend a 2-1 lead which the higher you get gets nearly impossible isn't the best way I can think of. Anyway this is turning into a magnum opus and picking at open wounds that should be healing its exciting times ahead. Hope you loan Tulloch he needs the game time and should bang a couple in