Hartlepool's new manager | Vital Football

Hartlepool's new manager

The Electric Banana

The Electric Banana

Vital Football Hero
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/40063109

Thats got to be a huge gamble. I have seen a couple of Welsh Premier League games up close and dirty and occasionally watch the televised fixtures on S4C. The standard is about Evo Stick North level. It smacks of what York did with Jackie McManara last season.

I hope it works for them.
 
The welsh Premier League was formed with the sole reason that Wales could retain thier national team. Yet none of the players who play in the WPL have a hope in Hades of playing in the Wales national team. The format is distinctly odd too, the League splits in half mid season. Gates are routinely a couple hundred spectators at every match and clubs don't play anywhere near the number of matches that NL clubs do.

Its a huge leap of faith!
 
Mr Banana is exactly right about McNamara at York. What the hell does Craig Harrison know about the National League, its managers, its players, its tactics, its venues and its idiosyncrasies? They might just as well have appointed George Harrison.

We showed in the 2016 close season that there is a profile applying to the successful Conference manager, which consists of at least one previous promotion lower down the non-league pyramid PLUS EITHER previous promotion to the Football League OR experience of the Conference play-offs. From memory, it was applicable to the last 14 managers to have won promotion to the Football League, and look at last season - both Danny Cowley and Mark Cooper (incredibly) conformed to the profile too. That makes the last 16 managers over the last 8 years. If that isn't compelling, I don't know what is.

In next season's National League, only John Still, Micky Mellon, Gary Waddock, Neil Aspin, Chris Kinnear and Paul Cox conform to the successful profile, so my money would be on two from those six.

EDIT: Oh, and look at the three managers beaten in the National League play-offs - Micky Mellon, John Still and Gary Waddock...I rest my case.
 
Cracking little league this . Teams playing in their highest league against those in the lowest . Some large grounds , some small grounds.

What non league is all about . and as Bromley exile I'll be watching this league closely.
 
Scotimp - 27/5/2017 20:40

GoBC - 27/5/2017 20:36

Scotimp - 27/5/2017 17:40
They might just as well have appointed George Harrison.
Click to expand...

To be fair, he does have one advantage over Beatle George.
Click to expand...

I'll have to give you that one.
Click to expand...

Besides the very reasoned points about his managerial experience, and his undoubted existence as a living entity notwithstanding, I am going to dock him a point for his haircut though. Someone should tell him it's not 1994 anymore!
 
A little tangential: Cardiff contemplated joining the WPL a decade or so back, on the basis they would be in Champions League every season and that was a bigger earner than the FL. They wisely choose not to follow it through. Newport when they rose from the ashes had to play outside Wales to get themselves established in the FL pyramid, despite pressure from WFA to join the WPL.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.