Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[distancetraveller]

I'm afraid I can't take the mild mannered view of the posts above.

Last night was an absolute disgrace.

As I predicted in the meeting, fair play to John Laidlar for making a non sensational report out of the train crash that was last night.

There is no way he can be be in charge in Saturday after when he said last night. Surely he doesn't want to be in charge from what was said last night anyway.

He may as well have stood there and said

"Everythings absolutley sh*t, apart from 5-6 decent players and a 1000 kids at Hale Barns United, and its going to get no better at all.  I ain't going to resign because then I'll get no money at all.  So come on then board members...what are you going to do about it?"

Everything he said last night was building up to a resignation that never came.

I don't know where to start with it..

Another complete and utter PR disaster.

How on earth can he continue after what was said last night?

I think that statement is a tad extreme Mark .. I am hoping that the players respond with a "Ill Show him how fkn good I am" attitude rather than a "Sod it" attitude"..

As I said last night I am the eternal optimist when it comes to Alty..


I guess by ten to five tomorrow afternoon we will know one way or another...

[CB]

I'm afraid I can't take the mild mannered view of the posts above.

Last night was an absolute disgrace.

As I predicted in the meeting, fair play to John Laidlar for making a non sensational report out of the train crash that was last night.

There is no way he can be be in charge in Saturday after when he said last night. Surely he doesn't want to be in charge from what was said last night anyway.

He may as well have stood there and said

"Everythings absolutley sh*t, apart from 5-6 decent players and a 1000 kids at Hale Barns United, and its going to get no better at all.  I ain't going to resign because then I'll get no money at all.  So come on then board members...what are you going to do about it?"

Everything he said last night was building up to a resignation that never came.

I don't know where to start with it..

Another complete and utter PR disaster.

How on earth can he continue after what was said last night?

Wow, was it really that bad? The report on the website didn't imply it was that serious!

[PukkaPieman]

I was stuck in Scotland last night, but seeing this thread doesnt surprise me at all. A better performance and a win would change everything, GH has always been brutally honest and straight as a die, this is really all about the players now, I admit sometimes the way things are handled PR wise make me squirm, but rather this than the lies and b..sh.t you get from other BSP managers that we all know!

The club remains in a very healthy state, well run, great fans, so let's not go overboard yet, remember Lewes!

Come on Alty!

[GolfRoader]

It was always going to be a struggle this season and i don't think Graham leaving will be the answer to our problems. Yes it was very depressing last night but remember we are only 6 games into a 46 game campaign. I know Graham has already concluded that we are not good enough in certain areas but if we find that someone just to take the goalscoring burden and get some of our injured players back, we can turn this around easily with the 40 matches we have to go. This isn't all the doom and gloom being suggested, one win and spirits will rise, that's all we need. You never know we may just click on Saturday and play flowing, attacking football and win 3-0 with Mccarthy scoring 2. It is by no means over for us and we have to do our bit this weekend to help that. Graham should stay and achieve the aim for the season which is to stay up which i am confident we will. For the good of the players, fans and manager, the game on Saturday has to be a win, not because if we lose we are definitely going down but for confidence, motivation and spirit.

[PukkaPieman]

It was always going to be a struggle this season and i don't think Graham leaving will be the answer to our problems. Yes it was very depressing last night but remember we are only 6 games into a 46 game campaign. I know Graham has already concluded that we are not good enough in certain areas but if we find that someone just to take the goalscoring burden and get some of our injured players back, we can turn this around easily with the 40 matches we have to go. This isn't all the doom and gloom being suggested, one win and spirits will rise, that's all we need. You never know we may just click on Saturday and play flowing, attacking football and win 3-0 with Mccarthy scoring 2. It is by no means over for us and we have to do our bit this weekend to help that. Graham should stay and achieve the aim for the season which is to stay up which i am confident we will. For the good of the players, fans and manager, the game on Saturday has to be a win, not because if we lose we are definitely going down but for confidence, motivation and spirit.

Well said

[stubmanred]

Sadly I couldn't be at last night's meeting because of work commitments, having read the comments on the forum this morning and pondered the various thoughts, I would comment as follow;

i) GH is clearly not in a good place at present because of things that have happened both on and off the pitch
ii) GH comes out with comments about losing passion for the game and considering his position because he knows that at no point in the next Millenium will the board sack him or accept his resignation! He's threatened this before and GG would not entertain it, thereby GH knows (to a point) he's infallible.
iii) The only way GH will leave this club is if he walks and doesn't listen to the board. I would suggest this will never happen, because who realistically wants to give up their income in the current economic climate?
iv) If GH did go, we have a ready made replacement standing next to him. KM is the only one who has showed and real passion so far this season and has done it in a professional and dignified way

v) The players we have at this club are largely good enough - the players brought in over the close season have league experience and are clearly not rubbish. They may just need coercing, coaching and and arm around their shoulder. The difference between this league and L2 is minimal and most of the players we have brought in have played at that level

vi) Despite a tough start I am still optimistic that we can get out of this mess, play some decent football (We've done it in patches already) and start scoring goals - it only takes one and the flood gates will open (my glass is half full today  )

[hsmith1]

S(ALTY)YOU COULD WELL BE CORRECT over GH and the death in his family,i still have trouble when i think of my father and he died  a couple of months back now.

[markecky]

Ray,

I too am the eternal optimist and I will back the team 100% on Saturday.

My interpretation of the meeting last night was that Graham has done all he can and has no interest in doing this any more.  

I am happy to be wrong and this is just my opinion.

This is far far deeper than who we have played so far and if we win Saturday.

Someone tell me anything that was said that offered one bit of hope last night in terms of the team and his future?

[joe]

Stubman has it right for me here. Graham has spoken before about leaving but knows he has the safest job in football. I think the board need to grow some bollocks this time and do what is right for the club.

[chesteralty]

I take it you mean sack GH??

I really couldn't think of anything worse at the moment.

[AltyTunnelSteward]

I have to say that Ecky is one of the most committed Alty fans I've come across and is generally 1,000% supportive

However, circumstances are different at present and, despite not having been there last night I have to share Ecky's concerns and also commend him for his honesty.It is very easy not to post things like Ecky has and leave yourself open to criticism from your peers but he did post and i applaud him for that.

Burying our collective heads in the sand isn't going to resolve anything.

I lost my Mum best part of two years ago and I'm still affected by it to this day. I have a fairly mundane 9-5 job which has been impacted on, so to have such huge upheaval in your personal life whilst trying to manage a team which, if we are honest has overachieved for years on the budget and support throughthe gates must be nigh on impossible.

Maybe Graham just needs a bit of time out? I would not be so impudent as to suggest anything either way. If he did take some time off he might fall back in love with the challenge, that's for him to decide and nobody (other than his family) has the right to try to influence him either way.

Whatever happens managerially we are in something of a mess on the field and sadly singing louder and getting behind the team more (were that possible) wont score any goals or keep any clean sheets. Realism is I am afraid needed and it may be that substantial change is also required.

Our major enemy is complacency....There will come a point where things no longer 'work out alright' and we have to be prepared for that and accept it if and when it happens

[jimmyhank]

Sadly I couldn't be at last night's meeting because of work commitments, having read the comments on the forum this morning and pondered the various thoughts, I would comment as follow;

i) GH is clearly not in a good place at present because of things that have happened both on and off the pitch
ii) GH comes out with comments about losing passion for the game and considering his position because he knows that at no point in the next Millenium will the board sack him or accept his resignation! He's threatened this before and GG would not entertain it, thereby GH knows (to a point) he's infallible.iii) The only way GH will leave this club is if he walks and doesn't listen to the board. I would suggest this will never happen, because who realistically wants to give up their income in the current economic climate?
iv) If GH did go, we have a ready made replacement standing next to him. KM is the only one who has showed and real passion so far this season and has done it in a professional and dignified way

v) The players we have at this club are largely good enough - the players brought in over the close season have league experience and are clearly not rubbish. They may just need coercing, coaching and and arm around their shoulder. The difference between this league and L2 is minimal and most of the players we have brought in have played at that level

vi) Despite a tough start I am still optimistic that we can get out of this mess, play some decent football (We've done it in patches already) and start scoring goals - it only takes one and the flood gates will open (my glass is half full today  )

I sincerely hope that is not the case. I am a huge fan of GH but if change is required then so be it. No individual is bigger than Altrincham FC.

[fuertes]

Maybe Graham just needs a bit of time out? I would not be so impudent as to suggest anything either way. If he did take some time off he might fall back in love with the challenge, that's for him to decide and nobody (other than his family) has the right to try to influence him either way.

Whatever happens managerially we are in something of a mess on the field and sadly singing louder and getting behind the team more (were that possible) wont score any goals or keep any clean sheets. Realism is I am afraid needed and it may be that substantial change is also required.

Our major enemy is complacency....There will come a point where things no longer 'work out alright' and we have to be prepared for that and accept it if and when it happens

I agree with that first point. He's been in this job a long time - longest serving manger out of the 25 (since Barrow are greedy and have two) in the division isn't he? It has to be draining, especially if unexpected departures and injuries leave you going backwards a little. Perhaps a fortnight, a month, or even a season out would give him time to relax, reassess, then go again. I don't know, but it seems plausible.

I can't stress enough how much better we'll feel after a win. Let's look at our squad objectively - players like James Smith, Chris Denham, Nicky Clee, Shaun Densmore - they're more than good enough for this league. We need to give the new guys a chance to prove themselves. Clee himself, as well as Rob Williams, started poorly but improved immensely with time. A real big effort to support the lads on Saturday, hopefully with a swelled "Non-league day" gate, could give each player that little bit more adrenaline needed for victory. We've then got some winnable games this month, Eastbourne, Gateshead, teams like that. Let's stay positive.

I still fully exoect us to stay up, but in relation to that final point, isn't it wonderful knowing we don't owe a penny and that if we go down, the club's future isn't in danger?

[markecky]

I take it you mean sack GH??

I really couldn't think of anything worse at the moment.

Its so much deeper than just getting a first win though isn't it?

I don't want to see GH get sacked and I certainly don't want all the hard work he has done to end like this.

However the GH we saw last night was not the GH we had seen in previous meetings.  There was no fight, there was just a lot of facts that we weren't good enough, we need more money, he wasnt enjoying, he wanted to win some football matches.

Graham certainly didnt see my point when I made it to him last night and maybe some people on here don't either.  My point was that at times you can't always say what is in your head.

Last night there were some home truths about where we are at and honesty.  We got that..no one in the room was shocked with what was said...most agreed.

However that meeting had to end with Graham saying "These are the players we have, its my job to get them up for it, we'll do our utmost to get three points..we need the fans behind us.  Season starts Saturday".  Even if he believes we will get battered tomorrow thats what he has to say.

That was my point last night and that remains my point this morning.

Can you imagine if a first time fan was at that meeting last night?

[joe]

I didn't say i wanted him sacked. I said the board need to make a big decision whether that be a temporary or permanent change is their call.