Robinson - Worth a new contract?

[Deleted member 142]

For the purposes of this post I will assume that we will be a L1 club next year and that Tiger won't be dismissing KR any time soon.

Cast your minds back to the last season under Wilder. He'd just been given another year by IL but the owner wouldn't commit for a longer period. CW became unsettled and after failing in his application at Pompey, he got the NTFC job, despite OUFC being quite well placed for the play-offs. KR signed a 2.5 year deal and will, at the start of next season, be entering into the final year of his contract and could be faced with a similar situation.

The Wilder situation was a little different, but not much, so do we let his contract run down and see him distracted or should Tiger extend?

The response from many will, I'm pretty sure, be something like 'let it run down until Xmas and see how it goes'. Is that the sensible thing to do though?

Thoughts?

 

[AbbeyOx]

think you’ve answered your own question. got to let him build in the summer (baring in mind january was quite successful) and see where we are before xmas. if it’s as bad as the start of this season i would say get someone else to look at the team before january transfer window

 

[Robie]

I'll reserve judgement until we see his dealings in the summer transfer market.

 

[Deleted member 142]

think you’ve answered your own question. got to let him build in the summer (baring in mind january was quite successful) and see where we are before xmas. if it’s as bad as the start of this season i would say get someone else to look at the team before january transfer window

Sure.

Playing Devil's Advocate: Is the success of the transfer window solely down to KR, though?

 

[Pompeyyellows]

Personally, I was in the Robinson out boat. Now I think he does deserve a new contract. If he can have a 2nd full season like Mapp did, do we then call him the Messiah?

 

[Frankie]

100% yes.

 

[Sarge]

Sure.

Playing Devil's Advocate: Is the success of the transfer window solely down to KR, though?

Didnt tiger say recruitment is done by a recruitment board? So not exclusively down to KR? .... and yes, if the current form continues, as well as the transfer window is considerably better that last summer, why not keep him on

 

[Pooleox]

I would give him a new contract no problem

 

[BigAlan]

Yup, he has redeemed himself since Christmas.

Hopefully but I am not betting on it he can keep Kashi and Graham, possibly Garbutt.

 

[Paul Cannell]

I'm not sure I believe what either of them say (Tiglet or Robbo).

Robinson's contract: I don't know if it's fluke or he's planned this but his job's secure for 6 months. It makes no sense to extend his contract to me. Let's see what the summer brings....

Is there a transfer commitee? Who contributes what? Has Tiglet a veto? Has Robbo? A very good question for the management to get back to us on would be 'what has changed to make it less likely that we have a third car-crash summer in a row?'

 

[AbbeyOx]

I'm not sure I believe what either of them say (Tiglet or Robbo).

Robinson's contract: I don't know if it's fluke or he's planned this but his job's secure for 6 months. It makes no sense to extend his contract to me. Let's see what the summer brings....

Is there a transfer commitee? Who contributes what? Has Tiglet a veto? Has Robbo? A very good question for the management to get back to us on would be 'what has changed to make it less likely that we have a third car-crash summer in a row?'

don’t think it could be much worse than clotheads european collection of has beens and never will be’s

 

[Oufcrealist]

If we are doing well in Nov/Dec then yes but not before. He has done well of late but has done nothing yet in terms of achievement.
None of us wanted "Clothead" to continue but we were 10th when he was sacked, just saying!! We are 12th now, the highest we have been with KR in charge. If (hopefully)the improvements continue and we are well placed in the autumn then consider it.

 

[Upthecowboys]

No new contract.

He needs to be judged over the whole season and not just the last few weeks. If we finish 12ish then for me that is an underachievement, particularly when he had a full preseason etc. He himself has said he has had a competitive budget, definitely not a bottom half budget.

At the moment I’m still not convinced that he is the best option to take us forward.

I don’t think, even with a good start next season, that there will be clubs looking to nab him.

But credit to him for the upturn in form, and credit to him for fronting up and answering questions that others should have been there to answer. Big respect for that.

 

[RyanioBirdio]

I’m going to politely disagree with the idea.

 

[Shropshire U]

Definitely no new contract until he has:
1. maintained our present form for the rest of this season;
2. brought in a first choice striker (i.e. someone on the teamsheet before Sinclair or Mackie);
3. further strengthened the squad, particularly as regards any gaps that open up at the end of the saeson (e.g. Nelson leaving);
4. got us established in the play-off places by Xmas.

 

[Deleted member 222]

No new contract.

He needs to be judged over the whole season and not just the last few weeks. If we finish 12ish then for me that is an underachievement, particularly when he had a full preseason etc. He himself has said he has had a competitive budget, definitely not a bottom half budget.

At the moment I’m still not convinced that he is the best option to take us forward.

I don’t think, even with a good start next season, that there will be clubs looking to nab him.

But credit to him for the upturn in form, and credit to him for fronting up and answering questions that others should have been there to answer. Big respect for that.

The view of him having a full pre season is a double edged sword. Yes he was a manager for a full pre season but clubs start planning summer recruitment and player exits as early as Jan. Robinson came in late at the end of the season so didn’t get full planning time. Hence rushed signings.

As along as the same mistakes aren’t made this summer then I can see KR being successful at OUFC. It all comes down to what fans view as a success. Is it promotion? Is it a play off place? Is it a decent cup run and a JPT final and finish mid table?

 

[yellowbow]

There is still a chance that ‘Robinson’s Yellow Army’ could one day boom out from the tearraces. Who’d have thought that three months ago?!

Of course a lot depends on whether the people above him are able to support him..

 

[Marked Ox]

Definitely no new contract until he has:

2. brought in a first choice striker (i.e. someone on the teamsheet before Sinclair or Mackie);

If Sinclair carried on scoring at his current rate (started 7 games, 5 sub appearances scoring 4) playing the whole season he'd be a good 1st choice striker. According to Soccerway, he has played 666 mins so his strike rate is a goal every 166.5 minutes or pretty much a strike rate of 1 in 2. I'd happily have Sinclair back next season and his stats back that up.

 

[yellowbow]

If Sinclair carried on scoring at his current rate (started 7 games, 5 sub appearances scoring 4) playing the whole season he'd be a good 1st choice striker. According to Soccerway, he has played 666 mins so his strike rate is a goal every 166.5 minutes or pretty much a strike rate of 1 in 2. I'd happily have Sinclair back next season and his stats back that up.

I also think there will be an upward curve with his goal return. He hadn’t played much football before coming to us.

 

[Navegante]

Manager on course to deliver a mid-table finish with a top 10 budget having seen his team languishing in the nether regions of the league for vast swathes of the season - and some sections of the faithful want to reward him with a new contract! Let's set the bar slightly higher chaps...

 

[Marked Ox]

I also think there will be an upward curve with his goal return. He hadn’t played much football before coming to us.

Indeed, it took him until his 6th game to score his 1st goal. Of those 6 games, he started 4 but only really finished 1 basically when getting subbed in the 2 min of injury time.

 

[Scotchegg]

Oxford suits Robinson, he's local and knows this level. I can't imagine that he'd be looking to rush to another club, and I can't imagine he'd be massively in demand. So I don't think there is any rush to sign him up and it is worth focusing on the team until September/October.

But there can be few who wouldn't recognise the progress Robinson has made. If we put the blame at his door for signing Sam Smith and Ricky Holmes then we also need to give credit for him signing Whyte, Kashi, Sinclair, Sykes, Graham, Mackie etc. He has developed players like Baptiste and Long, introduced youth when appropriate and given more ownership to senior players. Eastwood, Mackie, Nelson, Brannaghan, Mous and Henry have all taken on leadership roles this season.

He has adapted his play to get the best from the players available, and has delivered play off form over the last 30 games and promotion form over the last 8. We've seen battling performances, freeflowing football and some rubbish, but generally we look to play football the right way.

He cares about the club and is involved in everything from top to bottom. Arguably he has become much stronger since all the off field issues have happened and has had to put up with more than most managers would ever dream of behind the scenes. He might not always come across polished in the press, but who honestly cares? If we were at the top of the table then no one would give a toss what he said after the game.

So, other contracts are more important, but we could do a hell of a lot worse than to give him an extension when the time is right.

 

[LondonRoader]

For the purposes of this post I will assume that we will be a L1 club next year and that Tiger won't be dismissing KR any time soon.

Cast your minds back to the last season under Wilder. He'd just been given another year by IL but the owner wouldn't commit for a longer period. CW became unsettled and after failing in his application at Pompey, he got the NTFC job, despite OUFC being quite well placed for the play-offs. KR signed a 2.5 year deal and will, at the start of next season, be entering into the final year of his contract and could be faced with a similar situation.

The Wilder situation was a little different, but not much, so do we let his contract run down and see him distracted or should Tiger extend?

The response from many will, I'm pretty sure, be something like 'let it run down until Xmas and see how it goes'. Is that the sensible thing to do though?

Thoughts?

Wilders situation was vastly different, it wasn't only the pompey job he chased, he looked at plenty of different jobs before moving on, he was/is ambitious and it was all about him.

As for KR, he has turned our season around, he has got a settled and more balanced team now, he has got more fit players to choose from and we are getting results, both tiger and KR have admitted their pre season failings in the transfer market hopefully they both will learn by their mistakes, if the current form continues then next season does look encouraging, ST will sell and the goodwill factor should return if the off field antics are sorted.
The way the players are putting in a shift and the way they celebrate is a testament of team moral, I think KR and the staff have this squad at it at the moment and everyone is enjoying the results, can't see him going anywhere soon..

 

[Foley]

I think that he has done very well to keep us up and get into the top half after the appalling first quarter of the season.
He kept the squad with him and has clearly improved the team throughout the season.
Having said that recruitment in the summer transfer window was poor and the start to the season was disastrous.
So I agree with a lot in here. Judge him.at Christmas next year. If we are in the Top 8 or so then offer him a new contract at that stage.

 

[Paul Cannell]

I think that he has done very well to keep us up and get into the top half after the appalling first quarter of the season.

Not on you, Foley, but I wonder how many posters will act like the start of the season was not his fault?

 

[Dubai Yellow]

Let’s look at it, for arguments sake, from anyone in any management job, who is given a year to prove himself, before getting an extended contract.

1. A person inherits the new job from the previous manager comes in doing really well and does every thing that’s asked, to a better than expected standard for 6 months and then basically it all falls apart and it all goes from bad to worse to near in disaster, and taking the company on a complete downward spiral to the find of the year.

2. A person inherits the new job from the previous manager, has a terrible start where absolutely everything that could go wrong goes wrong. He ends up at rock bottom 6 months in, already staring down the barrel of a gun only to turn it around to a point where they are now over achieving and exceeding expectation and everything seems (results wise) to be on an upward trajectory.

They both achieved the same in one year but which one do you offer a new contract?

In my line of work, 2 would get the offer and 1 would be out the door. I’m not sure when his contract is up but if he’s still got another year then yes, I also agree with the above, best to wait.

 

[greatunclekip]

Definitely not at this stage. Deserves credit for the turnaround but still in deficit for me for the horrific recruitment in the summer and some of the horror shows on the pitch, and his tactical inflexibility.

I think someone like a Tisdale would have got more out of this squad. But there are positive signs. Jan recruitment and youths coming through.

Xmas is the time to review.

 

[Peterdev]

I think fairs fair and we should seriously consider offering him a new contract. He could even finish the season with more victories than losses. A great result when you consider we were bottom of the table. He’s brought in Sinclair, Whyte, Dickie and Browne all who’ve performed well, Dickie more so recently.Now I’m looking forward to seeing the Wimbledon game on Saturday.
He’s had terrible problems with injuries.
I think Robinson is still learning and it is great to see that he is not haranguing referees and officials like he did.

 

[tonyw]

Could we do a conditional contract extension?

Hey Karl - he's a two year deal for 2020-21 and 2021-22 that activates automatically if we're in the top half of League One on January 1st 2020.

Would be the ultimate incentive!

 

[Paul Cannell]

Why are we talking about being in top half? Surely with the level of ambition at the club simply being out of the relegation places will do?*





* yes, it's sarcasm.