Manager/Coach Robinson. Stay or go?

[Golden Dr Otto]

We were promised a WOW appointment.

Every week I see the result, look at the league table, and listen to the post match interview.

I admit to being in a complete state of WOW.

 

[Shaun Rice]

We are in a right state. All the talk about off the field development and long term plan is great. But at the end of the day we want to watch some good football.
KR had plenty of time to put a good squad together and he has failed. 10 games in and we have 5 points from a possible 30! 5 FFS!
You can rattle on about effort, endeavour and possession all you want but if ultimately that results in dull, half chance boring football you have to admit you’re wrong. KR put this team together and quite frankly it stinks!
A football team isn’t about just picking the best players it’s about picking players that work in the system you want to play. Then having the flexibility in the squad to adapt that team to counter systems that are exposing any weaknesses. Systems can win you games or at least help you be more competitive.
If anyone believes Obika or Smith can play as a lone front man you’re having a laugh. So why has KR left us with only this option? Don’t even get me started with Mackie!!!!!!

 

[Paul Jones]

What a mess we are on and off the pitch. Robbo doesn't seem to have a clue how to fix this sadly he's got to go.

We have no idea who owns what of our club or what the plan Is months after Tiger took over. Now we learn we are paying over £1m per year to play at the Kassam and the club and Kassam are arguing in press saying the relationship is worse it's been.

Does seem like start of all of this rest withs Darryl. Sold off our best players, didn't back Appleton, picks a terrible manager, starts having a pop at oxvox, starts a legal dispute with kassam and we now owe hundreds of thousands potentially, leaves us with a winding up order and dismisses idea of a new ground yet new ownership now thinks opposite view. Oh and we have a big charge over us from Darryl too. Pretty dire situation.

What's the oxvox view as they seem quite quiet. They've backed Tiger strongly and been very vocal on staying at Kassam how do they feel now?

 

[Thehorse777]

With regards to the new owners having an opposite view about a new ground.... how much of this is realistic talk or how much of it is saying the right things without actually being able to back it up?

In my opinion, the chances of getting a new ground whilst the Kassam Stadium remains in place is minimal. It’s easy for an ownership to come in and say all the right things to get supporters onside despite knowing there’s no chance of it actually happening but then blaming it on the council.

It would be the trademark of this regime.. and I include Robinson in this... where they say a lot of things about exciting times etc without it every being backed up with action.

 

[yellowbow]

With regards to the new owners having an opposite view about a new ground.... how much of this is realistic talk or how much of it is saying the right things without actually being able to back it up?

In my opinion, the chances of getting a new ground whilst the Kassam Stadium remains in place is minimal. It’s easy for an ownership to come in and say all the right things to get supporters onside despite knowing there’s no chance of it actually happening but then blaming it on the council.

It would be the trademark of this regime.. and I include Robinson in this... where they say a lot of things about exciting times etc without it every being backed up with action.

This raises an interesting point. My personal view is that KR has a heck of a lot more influence on Tiger than we think. He’s a big extrovert character where as Tiger is not so he probably dominates the conversations between them. If Robinson is calling a lot of the strategic shots, then the FF makes more sense. I hope I’m wrong but there appeared to have been a lot of ‘shooting from the lip’ with little thought of the consequences, under lined with Robinson’s criticism of both the stadium and FK himself.

 

[Oufcluke34]

The sooner this poor inept manager goes the better, can take derry with him aswell!! typical scouser everyone' s fault apart from his own! Charlton fans did warn us,Not sure we believed them till a few weeks ago. same old interviews week in week out,it's actually worse than clotet which I thought could never happen!! Robinson Out

 

[Oxfordpete]

But I worry he’s too stubborn to change the system, and long came in on Tuesday after a long time out.....then he plays him Saturday

 

[radicalox]

Stick. Mostly because although we arnt in a great position now, it'll be worse being managerless and the disruption that causes.
KR has been a good manager in the past, we need to stick to our guns and hope that comes to fruition again.

 

[ZeroTheHero]

Stick. Mostly because although we arnt in a great position now, it'll be worse being managerless and the disruption that causes.
KR has been a good manager in the past, we need to stick to our guns and hope that comes to fruition again.

Surely whether we are managerless depends on who is available and interested? Would you change your view if a half-decent manager replaced Robinson within a few weeks? Or how about Derry (?) or Allen taking over if it is continuity we need? My worry about Robinson is that he is seemingly becoming a less effective manager as his career goes on (as pointed out in an excellent post on here) , and at the moment he seems out of his depth and idea-less. I'm not entirely sure how much worse it could get with another person at the helm. I do understand the point about sticking with a manager - but presumably there would come a point in the season where you'd say it was unrealistic to do nothing if things don't improve?

 

[yellowbow]

Surely whether we are managerless depends on who is available and interested? Would you change your view if a half-decent manager replaced Robinson within a few weeks? Or how about Derry (?) or Allen taking over if it is continuity we need? My worry about Robinson is that he is seemingly becoming a less effective manager as his career goes on (as pointed out in an excellent post on here) , and at the moment he seems out of his depth and idea-less. I'm not entirely sure how much worse it could get with another person at the helm. I do understand the point about sticking with a manager - but presumably there would come a point in the season where you'd say it was unrealistic to do nothing if things don't improve?

I agree with most of this but please not Derry. I’d rather give Dan Harris a chance

 

[yellowbow]

So as things stand we’ve had 171 votes, which is a lot for this forum, and 65% have had enough. I wonder if that reflects the feelings of all OUFC fans?

 

[radicalox]

Surely whether we are managerless depends on who is available and interested? Would you change your view if a half-decent manager replaced Robinson within a few weeks? Or how about Derry (?) or Allen taking over if it is continuity we need? My worry about Robinson is that he is seemingly becoming a less effective manager as his career goes on (as pointed out in an excellent post on here) , and at the moment he seems out of his depth and idea-less. I'm not entirely sure how much worse it could get with another person at the helm. I do understand the point about sticking with a manager - but presumably there would come a point in the season where you'd say it was unrealistic to do nothing if things don't improve?

Yes, absolutely if we had a strong candidate lined up and ready to come in that is a different story. I think my point was simply sacking KR without a clear plan how to replace him would be very damaging. It is easy to say "sack him" as a fan, but before that decision is made consequences need to be strongly considered. I have read a few interesting analysis about struggling teams and sacking managers and it actually usually does damage ( the "new manager" effect is a bit of myth).

To answer your other question, come the end of the year. I.e approaching Jan transfer window, if the situation is just as dire as now, that is when the balance may be such that the risk is greater to hold onto KR than go into the manager search blind. In this scenario at least the new man will have a transfer window to start in.

 

[yellowbow]

Yes, absolutely if we had a strong candidate lined up and ready to come in that is a different story. I think my point was simply sacking KR without a clear plan how to replace him would be very damaging. It is easy to say "sack him" as a fan, but before that decision is made consequences need to be strongly considered. I have read a few interesting analysis about struggling teams and sacking managers and it actually usually does damage ( the "new manager" effect is a bit of myth).

To answer your other question, come the end of the year. I.e approaching Jan transfer window, if the situation is just as dire as now, that is when the balance may be such that the risk is greater to hold onto KR than go into the manager search blind. In this scenario at least the new man will have a transfer window to start in.

You need to change your name to moderateox.. ?

 

[makv]

I agree with most of this but please not Derry. I’d rather give Dan Harris a chance

Or even Nick Harris

 

[ZeroTheHero]

To answer your other question, come the end of the year. I.e approaching Jan transfer window, if the situation is just as dire as now, that is when the balance may be such that the risk is greater to hold onto KR than go into the manager search blind. In this scenario at least the new man will have a transfer window to start in.

My problem with that is that there are 15 more league games before the January window opens. If we carry on getting points at the same rate as presently, we will have 12/13 points after 25 games. Which leaves 21 games to accrue another 37/38 points to get to the nominal 50 point safety mark. Which is getting up towards an average of 2 points per game. That's a steep ask - especially when you factor in the time it takes in January to get any decent players in (incidentally, I think you have to be either very lucky or very rich to get a decent striker in January!) and for them to settle doen in a new system under a new manager. Personally I think Robinson (I won't stoop to calling him 'Gobbo' just yet!) has got to improve results rapidly and a lot to even consider letting him stay until anywhere near the end of the year or he might leave us in such a deep hole that there won't be a ladder long enough to get us out!
I hope Tiger (or his representatives) are discreetly and informally putting out feelers to potential replacements.

 

[battman]

For balance, should we also look at what division Patto, Waddock and Clotet are managing in? Gobbo OUT!

Does that make Derry Sly then?

 

[mooro]

If we were a club in a normalish state - ie. with owners who have been in place for some time who have an idea of where they are/want to be taking the club, then I would imagine a decision re: KR would be taken pretty imminently, and probably the one that most supporters in the poll appear to be calling for.
However, we clearly are not, and therefore other factors will come into play which may have as big an influence on the decision as what happens on the field on a Saturday afternoon. A lot may be explained by this upcoming change to the backroom setup:

If KR has been the driving force behind the changes - either wanting more of 'his' people, and/or getting dissenting voices within the backroom staff pushed out or choosing to leave because of KR - then this indicates the strength of his hand in the relationship with Tiger. In these circumstances, then KR is going nowhere, particularly while Tiger has at least one eye on the political/financial dealings of the business.

However, if this is a structure being put into place from above - be that Tiger himself, or a plan being implemented for/by other investors - then that is a different story. If it is KR people that are going, or others being brought in by the board to change the setup, then that severely weakens KRs position and could well mean that he is very vulnerable if the owners are looking at taking the setup in a different direction and have in mind an alternative man that could better fit that model.

It could of course be that one or more individuals have chosen to leave for other unconnected reasons - personal, career progression etc - in which case the changes have been forced on both KR and the board, but it will still be interesting to see who gets the main say on the people brought in.

If I was to take a stab in the dark, I would guess that the original driver for these changes will have been KR, maybe using his upper-hand in the 1-to-1 relationship with Tiger, and perhaps with dissenters choosing/encouraged to move on than stay under his regime, but with the increase in number and involvement of figures/Tiger's Allies into and within the boardroom (including some with major football backgrounds) then KR might find that his position starts to become a lot weaker very quickly over the coming months/weeks as they look to implement their own structure, particularly while performances fail to offer any argument for his retention.

It may be difficult to pick up amidst the shroud of excuses and finger-pointing that KR employs, but I think we will see a shift from the more bullish approach (in every sense of the word) of the summer to a more desperate, defensive individual over time, as he sees his position undermined from all sides. I just hope the whole scenario doesn't take too long to play out and our league status is not the price to be paid

 

[Berliner]

Or even Nick Harris

Or Rolf Harris:
"4-2-2, can you tell what it is yet?"

 

[Peterdev]

It will be costly to get rid.
A loss at home to Luton would surely be the writing on the wall though.
He seems devoid of ideas and I think the club want him to walk.
He’s already gone on record as saying he doesn’t know why we keep losing.
A fixed way of playing might be the reason.
Injuries...,he’s been unlucky with that. And as yet no replacement for Rob Hall.
A last throw of the dice would be to be bring in a striker that can provide goals from a decent midfield.
We need to be better at set pieces. All these corners and no end product.
I just hope support doesn’t ebb away before we act as a club with some urgency to address important issues

 

[yellowbow]

Out of the 59 people who voted for him to stay, I wonder how many are genuine Oxford fans and how many are trolls from other clubs enjoying our current predicament