The Long Man

Foran, you are.. fired. Goodbye.

With all of Charlie's knowledge, passion and skills why is he not more instrumental inside the club in moving us forward? He is the only one i have heard who talks sense, has a vision and understands the game - in a way no director has ever uttered. Put him on the board, or make him director of football, or whatever title you want, but give him some clout inside the club, especially when it comes to choosing the next manager this summer, and building a new squad. otherwise we are only going one way - further down the divisions.

I believe Charlie was never convinced about Foran's credentials. Why is nobody on the board listening to a club legend who has more insight and knowledge about the game than they will ever have? Why didn't they listen to him last year?

The players have every right to be as furious and dismayed as the fans at the idiot Foran. He has the gall to blame them, after the fiasco of his management? He is certifiable.

None of it is intact. it is shot to pieces and anyone with an ounce of integrity or self-awareness would resign immediately and apologise profusely. He has ruined a decent club.

Switched it off. i am not watching this amateur embarrassment any longer. Foran, just GTF, i don't want to hear any more pathetic excuses or delusional fantasies from you ever again. We haven't a hope of coming back up with such an inept, utterly clueless manager. Cut out the rose-tinted rubbish about your past, man up and disappear. This is your doing, no-one else's.

Who knows exactly what the problems are, but I would imagine Charlie is saying that he feels he could have helped avoid some of the disastrous team selections and tactics we have witnessed this season. He does know his football. If the talent available to the club is not being deployed to maximum advantage, especially with a rookie manager out of his depth, then that is a great shame.

The opposite, actually. He had the honesty and self-awareness to realise that the pressure was too much for him and resigned. That took some guts and humility. Unlike many others.

Agree, we have nothing to lose. Desperate times require desperate measures. Bit late in the day, but it can't get much worse. The only way is up. Or down.

The tombola strategy has spread to the management!

We've seen a straw floating by and are hanging on to it for grim life. If it is a straw and not a brick. I am sure there is more to this than is being let on, but we will only find out in the summer. Three in a bed can't last, but who will be the one to leave? Could be any one of the three monkeys.

You would need some evidence to make the case for foran. Sadly, it is completely lacking at the moment. What price on him going after we have a poor start to life in div one, around November? How long do we wait?

Both going down...clutching at straws ?

Interesting that they have made a bold, or desperate, decision while we sit on our hands.

Fair enuff, IHE, but trying to disentangle who is to blame between Foran and the board is task beyond sisyphus, although that won't stop months of accusation and counter accusation here and elsewhere. That sentiment you identify is in a way the Achilles heel of the whole fiasco. Everybody wanted him to succeed because of who he is, and that probably extended his tenure beyond what it should have been. While the board have been too timid, they also supported him in January with a lot of new players on loan and gave him enough options that even then you thought might change his fortunes. But that has been the story all season, most supporters hoping beyond reason that he would eventually turn it round at the last minute and then somehow go on to glory in subsequent seasons. But football fans are romantics and sentimentalists. Who doesn't want to see one of their former players, and one of their own, take over and instil the club with that kind of loyalty and continuity? I would have loved Charlie to have succeeded, being probably the most outstanding home grown player we ever had, but at least he had the balls to recognise it was beyond him, stepping down to allow the club to carry on and eventually get it right. Sadly foran hasn't shown the same self awareness, and i think we are entitled to forget the former player and be very disillusioned with how he has performed as manager. The naivety, the lack of any coherent vision or strategy, the apparent unwillingness to listen to or seek advice. As far as i can see the board and Foran are, or were, a mutual support group, one which has encouraged each other to stay to the bitter end despite the self-harm, and that has been in many ways because of his former reputation. There is a moral in there somewhere, which I will leave others to figure out.

Personal conversation.

I think he has trashed any hope of being fondly remembered.

Don't know, but that is what he was saying at Xmas. However i will be delighted if he stays and proves his worth under a new manager.

He was looking for a way out at Xmas, having been ignored, apart from a few subs, up until then. So i don't think he will be staying around. Ridiculous waste of someone who could have played a major part this season. Foran's brilliant judgement once again.

There is a dearth of football knowledge at board level.

Do we have anybody on the board with some basic football knowledge? Why is Charlie Christie not there offering his insight?

We would need a competent manager able to organise his defence.

So Foran discovered Fisher is quite a decent striker, works hard and scores goals. Where he has been all season. Oh, that's right, in your squad, Richie, you useless dimwit. We had a comfortably mid-table side when you came in. Look at us now. No excuses. Please leave the building, and allow the players one last chance without your bizarre ramblings.

Well, in such a situation, usually the number two takes over in the interim. Now I have no idea about Rice's qualities or merits, and I wouldn't take the gossip and rumour here seriously, but ask yourself this: can he do any worse? Maybe, in fact, a change, whoever the stand-in, would boost our chances. It is not uncommon for teams to suddenly play better when a non-achieving manager leaves. Although totally agree, this should have been the discussion in Jan/Feb when we had a realistic chance of turning things around.

He sounded like that to me after the County game at New Year. He just sounded lost. That is when i thought we should be looking at replacing him, especially with the winter break approaching. We could have given him a deadline to show improvement, for example.