Manager/Coach KREXIT: The 'Robbo Out' thread.

[frenchconnection]

A striker was referred to but reason being because of their injury record (yes seriously)

you couldnt make it up

 

[Swaby39]

Something said at the Forum by KR that seems to have gone unnoticed. When questioned about the transfer window he mentioned that one player had been identified and was a done deal in all but contract. But, that player had then decided to go elsewhere after being advised/spoken to by another player. I have a notion that this player was Nicky Cadden and the other player was his brother, Chris Cadden. It wasn't picked up at the time by anyone in the room and I'm kicking myself for not having done so at the time.

I’m OK with rejection if there’s a clear plan of attack. There isn’t a club in the land who gets their first choice every time but you MUST have a cut-off point in time along with a plan B and land it. The lack of definitive strategy is what bothers me.

For years we’ve had no choice but to be overly precise with our recruitment because the mass market of players don’t want to come. We’re not strong enough to move on from a target because we don’t have a plethora of options. For example, 99% of teams don’t wait for Stuart Findlay. I’m glad we did, in the end. But that was a huge gamble and there’s an argument to say we had no choice because who else were we going to get? He was a rare case of someone of a very good standard wanting to join Karl Robsinon at Oxford - in other words, Hen’s teeth. I’m convinced that had he not joined, we’d have been in for Jordan Thorniley for example… An unwanted ex-player available quickly.

If there’s one thing I’d like the board to put right in January it would be to somehow start to open up our player pool and put us on the radar of players who are not desperate. Let’s make ourselves a popular choice again and break out of this horrible narrow circle we’re operating in. Whether that’s new agents, new scouts, new budgets… don’t care. I just don’t want to see another player come here and in their first interview tell us how they want to get their career back on track.

 

[TailsWeWin]

I’m OK with rejection if there’s a clear plan of attack. There isn’t a club in the land who gets their first choice every time but you MUST have a cut-off point in time along with a plan B and land it. The lack of definitive strategy is what bothers me.

For years we’ve had no choice but to be overly precise with our recruitment because the mass market of players don’t want to come. We’re not strong enough to move on from a target because we don’t have a plethora of options. For example, 99% of teams don’t wait for Stuart Findlay. I’m glad we did, in the end. But that was a huge gamble and there’s an argument to say we had no choice because who else were we going to get? He was a rare case of someone of a very good standard wanting to join Karl Robsinon at Oxford - in other words, Hen’s teeth. I’m convinced that had he not joined, we’d have been in for Jordan Thorniley for example… An unwanted ex-player available quickly.

If there’s one thing I’d like the board to put right in January it would be to somehow start to open up our player pool and put us on the radar of players who are not desperate. Let’s make ourselves a popular choice again and break out of this horrible narrow circle we’re operating in. Whether that’s new agents, new scouts, new budgets… don’t care. I just don’t want to see another player come here and in their first interview tell us how they want to get their career back on track.

….. and they think Robinson is the man to achieve that?!

 

[YellowSubmarine]

I’m OK with rejection if there’s a clear plan of attack. There isn’t a club in the land who gets their first choice every time but you MUST have a cut-off point in time along with a plan B and land it. The lack of definitive strategy is what bothers me.

For years we’ve had no choice but to be overly precise with our recruitment because the mass market of players don’t want to come. We’re not strong enough to move on from a target because we don’t have a plethora of options. For example, 99% of teams don’t wait for Stuart Findlay. I’m glad we did, in the end. But that was a huge gamble and there’s an argument to say we had no choice because who else were we going to get? He was a rare case of someone of a very good standard wanting to join Karl Robsinon at Oxford - in other words, Hen’s teeth. I’m convinced that had he not joined, we’d have been in for Jordan Thorniley for example… An unwanted ex-player available quickly.

If there’s one thing I’d like the board to put right in January it would be to somehow start to open up our player pool and put us on the radar of players who are not desperate. Let’s make ourselves a popular choice again and break out of this horrible narrow circle we’re operating in. Whether that’s new agents, new scouts, new budgets… don’t care. I just don’t want to see another player come here and in their first interview tell us how they want to get their career back on track.

I bloody wish we signed Thorniley.

Superb player.

Massively underrated I think.

 

[Swaby39]

I bloody wish we signed Thorniley.

Superb player.

Massively underrated I think.

I wasn’t a big fan, personally. But saying that, had he not played for us before he would fit the bill for the type of ‘boring’ signing I think we need more of. So I’m being a bit contradictory in that sense, thinking about it. Main point was just to see us try and overcome this issue we have recruiting in such a niche space. Karl has boxed us in.

We could do with some fresh faces who are playing regularly at a high standard to improve us now. Circling back through the old tried and tested isn’t the answer.

 

[YellowSubmarine]

I wasn’t a big fan, personally. But saying that, had he not played for us before he would fit the bill for the type of ‘boring’ signing I think we need more of. So I’m being a bit contradictory in that sense, thinking about it. Main point was just to see us try and overcome this issue we have recruiting in such a niche space. Karl has boxed us in.

We could do with some fresh faces who are playing regularly at a high standard to improve us now. Circling back through the old tried and tested isn’t the answer.

I agree. Won’t change without a manager change. That’s the way KR has always recruited.

I was just saying. Thorniley > Findlay.

 

[Swaby39]

….. and they think Robinson is the man to achieve that?!

I don’t think they do which is why he’s had all autonomy over transfers taken off him.

My assumption is that the board don’t see many advantages to sacking him now and/or don’t fancy any of the coaches available - or their first choice wants to take over in the summer. There may be a better choice in summer as lots of coaches don’t like to take jobs on mid season. Karl will also be 6 months cheaper to remove (or will have left!) and we are less rushed to replace him.

Keeping a Karl Robsinon stripped of all his authority may be the lesser of 2 evils particularly as we have undeniably improved over the last 6 weeks. He will do enough to keep us up which is probably what the board have resigned themselves to now. In the mean time they have full control of things and can spend 6 months putting the foundations in place for a manager they can trust.

 

[Swaby39]

I agree. Won’t change without a manager change. That’s the way KR has always recruited.

I was just saying. Thorniley > Findlay.

I think Findlay is a far better player but will only excel under new management with proper structure to the team. We have the most exposed centre backs in the football league. Moore is just that bit more used to it!

 

[TailsWeWin]

I think Findlay is a far better player but will only excel under new management with proper structure to the team. We have the most exposed centre backs in the football league. Moore is just that bit more used to it!

Exactly. Findlay must be so frustrated with the shambles around him sometimes.

 

[MJB]

I think Findlay is a far better player but will only excel under new management with proper structure to the team. We have the most exposed centre backs in the football league. Moore is just that bit more used to it!

I’d take Thornily over Findlay every day of the week.

 

[tonyw]

Thornily has played fifteen games in the Championship for Blackpool this season, and started as recently as November 5th. So I think it's a bit of a hypothetical argument, as I wouldn't have thought he was available!

 

[Swaby39]

I’d take Thornily over Findlay every day of the week.

I know lots of people are still unconvinced by Findlay and that’s fair. It still irks me a bit when I see people pine after McNally as though he would fix a load of our problems. He had endless potential but riddled with naivety and costly mistakes. The player we could’ve had in 12 months time was infinitely more appealing than the player we sold. The fact Burnley score so many goals and still won’t chance him is symbolic of how far short he is of that level.

I think when you’re performing poorly as a team the grass is always greener somewhere. But I think Findlay gets in more teams at the top of our division than Thorniley and he has played his part in an overall improvement at the back. He is a step in the right direction IMO.

 

[MJB]

I know lots of people are still unconvinced by Findlay and that’s fair. It still irks me a bit when I see people pine after McNally as though he would fix a load of our problems. He had endless potential but riddled with naivety and costly mistakes. The player we could’ve had in 12 months time was infinitely more appealing than the player we sold. The fact Burnley score so many goals and still won’t chance him is symbolic of how far short he is of that level.

I think when you’re performing poorly as a team the grass is always greener somewhere. But I think Findlay gets in more teams at the top of our division than Thorniley and he has played his part in an overall improvement at the back. He is a step in the right direction IMO.

Fair enough, but I’d politely disagree.

To me Findlay is a strong, no nonsense centre back but I’d prefer a more mobile, ball-playing centre back like Thornily alongside Moore.

That’s not to say I don’t rate Findlay, but I don’t necessarily see him as one of the best in the league. His lack of pace and ability to bring the ball out confidently and effectively mark him down for that.

He certainly wins a lot in the air however and I like that he has a bit of grit given that we’re often too nice as a team.

 

[Mad Dog]

I've been reading /listening to some of KR recent interviews/comments, and I've come to the conclusion that KR is a f*****g maniac.

The amount of shite he spouts in order to justify his mistakes and incompetence is astounding. The way he constantly contradicts himself, in order to justify his bullshit narratives is mind blowing.

He has "admitted" that Baldock and Murphy were high risk signings, but then whinged about bad luck when they got injured.
But how can it be bad luck, if they were apparently such high risk signings in the first place, as he is now claiming?

He also played Wildschut in preseason, less than 24 hours after he arrived at the club, when he was nowhere near fit enough, then whinged about bad luck when he got injured.

There was obvious risk attached to certain signings, but they were nowhere near as high risk a signing as Jones, who by KR own admission, had not played for 4-5 seasons when we signed him, but KR makes no mention of that as a high risk signing. If that's not a high risk signing, I don't know what is.

Even more astounding though, Jones has been fit all season, but KR has chosen to completely freeze him out, spouting a multitude of bullshit reasons for doing so.

He then recently said he has no regrets about signing Baldock, an ageing crock with an awful injury record, who got injured within a few games, then missed the rest of the season, so KR signed him on a TWO YEAR deal, while he was STILL INJURED, then as he was recovering, he got injured AGAIN, and hasn't even been close to featuring this entire season. But even though he was a high risk signing that has turned out to be a waste of time nightmare signing, KR has no regrets in signing him.

He also brings in Smyth, then totally freezes him out, without ever giving him a chance, saying he's going out on loan, then pulling the plug on that loan, now he again says he's going out on loan.

Honestly, working with KR must be like working with a madman.

Time will tell of course, but I'm starting to seriously question the entire boards competence, if they're trusting him with another transfer window budget.

We can only hope they've learned from previous windows, when it was as if careless parents had just handed their credit card to their child, and sent him to the supermarket, only for him to come back with a load of expensive tacky sweets and rotten veg.

Hopefully they will have a tighter grip on him this time around...

 

[Yellow There!]

I've been reading /listening to some of KR recent interviews/comments, and I've come to the conclusion that KR is a f*****g maniac.

The amount of shite he spouts in order to justify his mistakes and incompetence is astounding. The way he constantly contradicts himself, in order to justify his bullshit narratives is mind blowing.

He has "admitted" that Wildschut and Murphy were high risk signings, but he played them when they were nowhere near match fit, then whinged about bad luck when they got injured.
But how can it be bad luck, if they were apparently such high risk signings in the first place, as he is now claiming?

There was obvious risk attached to those two signings, but they were nowhere near as high risk a signing as Jones, who by KR own admission, had not played for 4-5 seasons when we signed him, but KR makes no mention of that as a high risk signing. If that's not a high risk signing, I don't know what is.

Even more astounding though, Jones has been fit all season, but KR has chosen to completely freeze him out, spouting a multitude of bullshit reasons for doing so.

He then recently said he has no regrets about signing Baldock, an ageing crock with an awful injury record, who got injured within a few games, then missed the rest of the season, so KR signed him on a TWO YEAR deal, while he was STILL INJURED, then as he was recovering, he got injured AGAIN, and hasn't even been close to featuring this entire season. But for some reason, this is not considered a high risk signing, and KR has no regrets in signing him.

He also brings in Smyth, then totally freezes him out, without ever giving him a chance, saying he's going out on loan, then pulling the plug on that loan, now he again says he's going out on loan.

Honestly, working with KR must be like working with a madman.

Time will tell of course, but I'm starting to seriously question the entire boards competence, if they're trusting him with another transfer window budget.

We can only hope they've learned from previous windows, when it was as if careless parents had just handed their credit card to their child, and sent him to the supermarket, only for him to come back with a load of expensive tacky sweets and rotten veg.

Hopefully they will have a tighter grip on him this time around...

From this I’m still not sure of your position, could you clarify?

 

[Mad Dog]

From this I’m still not sure of your position, could you clarify?

I'm on the fence...

 

[Steve Gilbert]

I've been reading /listening to some of KR recent interviews/comments, and I've come to the conclusion that KR is a f*****g maniac.

The amount of shite he spouts in order to justify his mistakes and incompetence is astounding. The way he constantly contradicts himself, in order to justify his bullshit narratives is mind blowing.

He has "admitted" that Wildschut and Murphy were high risk signings, but he played them when they were nowhere near match fit, then whinged about bad luck when they got injured.
But how can it be bad luck, if they were apparently such high risk signings in the first place, as he is now claiming?

There was obvious risk attached to those two signings, but they were nowhere near as high risk a signing as Jones, who by KR own admission, had not played for 4-5 seasons when we signed him, but KR makes no mention of that as a high risk signing. If that's not a high risk signing, I don't know what is.

Even more astounding though, Jones has been fit all season, but KR has chosen to completely freeze him out, spouting a multitude of bullshit reasons for doing so.

He then recently said he has no regrets about signing Baldock, an ageing crock with an awful injury record, who got injured within a few games, then missed the rest of the season, so KR signed him on a TWO YEAR deal, while he was STILL INJURED, then as he was recovering, he got injured AGAIN, and hasn't even been close to featuring this entire season. But for some reason, this is not considered a high risk signing, and KR has no regrets in signing him.

He also brings in Smyth, then totally freezes him out, without ever giving him a chance, saying he's going out on loan, then pulling the plug on that loan, now he again says he's going out on loan.

Honestly, working with KR must be like working with a madman.

Time will tell of course, but I'm starting to seriously question the entire boards competence, if they're trusting him with another transfer window budget.

We can only hope they've learned from previous windows, when it was as if careless parents had just handed their credit card to their child, and sent him to the supermarket, only for him to come back with a load of expensive tacky sweets and rotten veg.

Hopefully they will have a tighter grip on him this time around...

He did say Baldock was a high risk signing?
He didn’t say Wildschut was, in fact Wildschut had some of the best medical results the team has ever seen.
Baldock contract isn’t straight forward either and reflects his age and injury record.

 

[Mad Dog]

Baldock contract isn’t straight forward either and reflects his age and injury record.

I could think of a much more straight forward contract, that reflected his age and injury record......

NO CONTRACT AT ALL!!!!

 

[Swaby39]

Fair enough, but I’d politely disagree.

To me Findlay is a strong, no nonsense centre back but I’d prefer a more mobile, ball-playing centre back like Thornily alongside Moore.

That’s not to say I don’t rate Findlay, but I don’t necessarily see him as one of the best in the league. His lack of pace and ability to bring the ball out confidently and effectively mark him down for that.

He certainly wins a lot in the air however and I like that he has a bit of grit given that we’re often too nice as a team.

I can’t disagree with the fact he isn’t much of a ‘baller’ but my personal view is that this was a very necessary transition for us to make because we’ve traditionally had ball players and a regular frustration has been the lack of somebody there who is strictly a defender above all else. Most managers at this level want people who defend first, kick the ball about nicely later. We have a nice balance of the two.

I think Findlay and Moore have proven themselves to be one of our more compatible partnerships over the years and should be built around, not replaced. The issue is a lack of presence in front of them, behind them and until recently, to the right of them .

I think those two have had a remarkable season considering the lack of support around them and only McGuane and Brown stand out to me as better performers this season. I think we’ll only appreciate him once surrounded by a more well-rounded team.

 

[Mad Dog]

He did say Baldock was a high risk signing?

Fair enough, my mistake, got my names mixed up!