Theodopolous Posted October 9, 2018 Share Posted October 9, 2018 I know... the vast majority despise him for what he did but from a purely football point of view and the wish for our club to be successful I would personally phone him up and plead for him to return... with him in charge of the players we have now promotion would be a certainty..... certainly no one better at organising a team which seems to be a major problem at the moment even considering our good position which far outweighs our performances..... I trust I am probably alone on this one.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raingod Posted October 9, 2018 Share Posted October 9, 2018 I disagree on this Theo. Firstly, do Towner fans really despise Brad? I am an Out of Towner so wouldn't say I know the inside track on such things, but I would be surprised if this was the case. I was gutted when he left, and not happy about the way the team followed, yet I sent Brad a message on twitter thanking him. He replied it was a tough tough decision, and I do think anyone apart from Braintree, where he played his whole career, and he would have stayed. As to where we are now, well I think we have a great squad at our disposal now, built by Andy, sitting in the play offs while we are not yet firing on all cylinders. Andy absolutely deserves the chance to make this work this season and we all need to get behind him. Yes, Saturday was not great, but 2 x 6-1s away and generally performances good.this season. Let's remember Brad's seasons in charge always started slowly. Would the team stay together if Andy left anyway? If we were managerless I would be happy to have Brad back, but I am confident we will AT LEAST reach the play offs with Andy in charge and the squad he has assembled! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyetfc Posted October 9, 2018 Share Posted October 9, 2018 No thank you. Chairman of the anti boomerang club. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Crowing Cockerel Posted October 9, 2018 Share Posted October 9, 2018 Certainly don't despise Brad. He took the opportunity to manage at a higher level. I don't believe he would've had the opportunity to manage in the National League with ETFC as quickly as he did with Braintree. Andy has put together a squad which is better than anything we've had before. He certainly deserves a fair crack at the job. I reckon we might see Brad again at some point in the future though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJFootie Posted October 9, 2018 Share Posted October 9, 2018 Wow, bit of a harsh post Theo, in my opinion. You are obviously entitled to yours and that should be respected. I know it's still early in the season but Andy has got this team into a decent position so far, he's assembled a good squad and got a young management team in place. They haven't lost in the league yet and it's definitely an improvement on last season, which is what we all wanted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theodopolous Posted October 9, 2018 Author Share Posted October 9, 2018 Looks like I may have misread the supporters feeling towards Brad which I'm pleased with.... whilst it might seem a bit harsh considering our league position I really don't think we have gelled at all yet and our performances have 'apart from hammering two poor teams ' have been pretty average... hopefully I have read it wrong and the team comes together but up till now I've seen eighteen months of mediocrity..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
behind-the-goal Posted October 10, 2018 Share Posted October 10, 2018 Theo, I think you may well have misread others' feelings towards Brad and well done to you for admitting that. Personally, I was very upset with what happened after Brad left, but I certainly wouldn't say that I detest him. I can understand what he did and why he did it. (What the players did can't be blamed on Brad: they had freedom of choice). I take no pleasure at all in seeing that he has lost his job. But...having said that I wouldn't want him back (and certainly not at the expense of Andy). I have to hold my hands up and say that I got caught up in the, dare I say 'hysterical', call for Andy to be sacked last year. I was wrong. I just took a look at how the two managers started their first two full seasons in charge in terms of their first 9 games: Brad: 2015-16) W1 D2 L6 F3 A13 Agg-10 Pts5 Position 21st 2016-17 W2 D3 L4 F13 A 10 Agg+3 Pts9 Position 18th Andy: 2017-18) W3 D3 L3 F15 A14 Agg+1 Pts12 Position 15th 2018-19 W4 D5 L0 F23 A11 Agg+12 Pts 17 Position 4th In summary, Andy has started the first nine games of his two seasons in charge MASSIVELY better than Brad's first two seasons in charge. This is despite the fact that Andy was starting from scratch in 2017-18 and also despite the fact that Brad had all bar the first six games of the 2014-15 season (when George was manager) to get ready for the 2015-16 season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barney Posted October 11, 2018 Share Posted October 11, 2018 Just to chime in with what others have said - I've got no issue at all with Brad. Bottom line, the club that he played near enough all his career with, and who were in a higher league came in for him. He admitted himself that it was a difficult decision to leave Town. I don't think we should begrudge him that move, in the same way that some time in the distant future, we might be in a situation where we'd want a former Town legend doing well in management at a lower level to move to us. Brad was nothing but 100% committed during his time here as a player and a manager, played some excellent attacking football and built an exciting squad, taking us from relegation battle to the play offs. Obviously losing the bulk of the squad to Braintree was quite galling, and consigned Andy to a season of rebuilding, but that's non league football - no different to when Newing and Deanus moved to Town and brought the best part of a squad with them. Regarding Andy, I'm pleased with what I've seen so far - better football than last season, much better players and an improved league position so far. Again this is clearly a work in progress and I don't think we've seen the best from this group of players yet. Our best starting 11 is still quite different to the players we ended last season with, and I'd like to think that given a bit more time to gel and in the case of Bricknell gain more match sharpness and we'll be able to consolidate this league position and hopefully put pressure on the sides above us. I say well done to Andy and the management team for this, and well done to the board for backing them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Crowing Cockerel Posted October 11, 2018 Share Posted October 11, 2018 3 hours ago, Barney said: ...we might be in a situation where we'd want a former Town legend doing well in management at a lower level to move to us... I note Billy 'The Cat' Cove cutting his managerial teeth at both Ilford and currently with Epping in the Essex Olympian League. I'll call it now: one day he'll come back to the Town. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theodopolous Posted October 11, 2018 Author Share Posted October 11, 2018 Some very good comments and valid points ... I was taking my thoughts of Brad from a close relative who did despise him for the way he broke up the club but as BTG said the players had a choice and who can blame them for earning extra money.... I do feel in a weaker league this year this is our big chance... we have to get to full speed now or else this chance will pass us by... at the moment our league position is far superior to our performances...Greene has to play further up the pitch we can't have him doubling up with our left back defending.... we have the players they just need organising....I hope everybody's confidence is justified..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
townerboy Posted October 12, 2018 Share Posted October 12, 2018 managers taking whole teams with them is very common in non league Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steph Posted October 13, 2018 Share Posted October 13, 2018 To add my bit. I dont think that the leage this season can be compared with the league last year nor when Brad was here so that is a false comparison. I think that many of the players are better than when Brad was manager. My problem is that the manager does not convince tactically. He leaves substitutions far too late and seems indecisive as to how to use them. He does not change tactics when the opposition change theirs and, far worse, IMO is the team are not as fit as when Brad was here. Brad is a far superior tactician, works the players harder and knows his football. I am not convinced that, though Andy knows more players and can recognise skill when it is presented, but he does not seem to organise the players to their strengths and change when the situation demands. The substitutions last week, for example, were far too late. It was clear at half time that we were not making inroads into their defence as Merstham reorganised themselves after the first 10-15 minutes and there was no response from the bench. Too often we have seen the lone striker without support. We will see in the next couple of weeks with a difficult game today and Tonbridge on the 23rd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovely stuff Posted October 13, 2018 Share Posted October 13, 2018 On 10/10/2018 at 21:19, behind-the-goal said: Theo, I think you may well have misread others' feelings towards Brad and well done to you for admitting that. Personally, I was very upset with what happened after Brad left, but I certainly wouldn't say that I detest him. I can understand what he did and why he did it. (What the players did can't be blamed on Brad: they had freedom of choice). I take no pleasure at all in seeing that he has lost his job. But...having said that I wouldn't want him back (and certainly not at the expense of Andy). I have to hold my hands up and say that I got caught up in the, dare I say 'hysterical', call for Andy to be sacked last year. I was wrong. I just took a look at how the two managers started their first two full seasons in charge in terms of their first 9 games: Brad: 2015-16) W1 D2 L6 F3 A13 Agg-10 Pts5 Position 21st 2016-17 W2 D3 L4 F13 A 10 Agg+3 Pts9 Position 18th Andy: 2017-18) W3 D3 L3 F15 A14 Agg+1 Pts12 Position 15th 2018-19 W4 D5 L0 F23 A11 Agg+12 Pts 17 Position 4th In summary, Andy has started the first nine games of his two seasons in charge MASSIVELY better than Brad's first two seasons in charge. This is despite the fact that Andy was starting from scratch in 2017-18 and also despite the fact that Brad had all bar the first six games of the 2014-15 season (when George was manager) to get ready for the 2015-16 season. But Brads record during the season after the first 9 games was far superior to Andys. 'Facts are stubborn things, but statistics are pliable' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Crowing Cockerel Posted October 13, 2018 Share Posted October 13, 2018 4 hours ago, Steph said: To add my bit. I dont think that the leage this season can be compared with the league last year nor when Brad was here so that is a false comparison. I think that many of the players are better than when Brad was manager. My problem is that the manager does not convince tactically. He leaves substitutions far too late and seems indecisive as to how to use them. He does not change tactics when the opposition change theirs and, far worse, IMO is the team are not as fit as when Brad was here. Brad is a far superior tactician, works the players harder and knows his football. I am not convinced that, though Andy knows more players and can recognise skill when it is presented, but he does not seem to organise the players to their strengths and change when the situation demands. The substitutions last week, for example, were far too late. It was clear at half time that we were not making inroads into their defence as Merstham reorganised themselves after the first 10-15 minutes and there was no response from the bench. Too often we have seen the lone striker without support. We will see in the next couple of weeks with a difficult game today and Tonbridge on the 23rd. Agreed. I seem to remember Chesham fans making similar observations about AL's tactics when he joined us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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