Ling Sacked

[lucy6lucy]

Maybe theo wanted him out and others didn't, could be reason she was made chairman considering she has the money. Good to see some ruthlessness from our new chairman.

[Robiberto22]

was he spose to be doing the contracts? if not who is? ...

[CP Gull]

I am just relieved that the club have acted positively and decisively on this occasion and well done to Thea Bristow for making that call which can't of been easy to say the least.

I always thought that this could happen as the risks associated with the return of Martin Ling were too great to risk the future of the club on. Who knows how the playing squad would have reacted to his return .... would they have been treading on eggshells in their relations with him? Also, quite clearly, his reappointment would not have gone down well with a fairly large (I would guess) portion of the fan base and it is never wise in any business to alienate your paying customers!

As for the way it was done, I don't think the club had much of an alternative if I am honest. I don't think they could have done it any earlier as it was important that Lingy returned to full health BEFORE letting him know of the Board's decision as any earlier could (and may still I suppose) setback his recovery. Not only that but who really knows whether the decision might have been a different one of we had of been relegated? In that scenario, we may quite literally have not been able to afford to let him go.

It is a sad end to this particular chapter in our history, given what Martin Ling achieved last season, but I do think he had begun to lose his way with the team and it had become far too predictable in our style of play and team selection this season. Ultimately, we were short of quality in one or two key areas and a large part of that problem must be put down to Lingy and his recruitment policy. That said, I do feel sorry for him that the club didn't back him in January with funds to strengthen the team but I can also understand that without the monies from an FA Cup run there was literally nothing in the pot.

It will be I there's ting to see whether this means that Knill/Brass are appointed as a matter of course or whether the position is advertised and they would have to apply. There are some pretty strong candidates out there at this time, with the likes of Paul Sturrock out of work and how about Neil Warnock in a DOF role (which he is after) with someone like his buddy Keith Curle (also out of work) in a Head Coach role, now that would be interesting!

Having said all that I would be delighted with the Knill/Brass combo and loved the passion they showed over the last few weeks. My only reservation with them is that their recruitment policy seemed a little flawed when we needed to add to the squad a while back, although the ones they e did bring in (Labadie and Chappell) did make a difference.

It could be an interesting summer .....

Finally, wish Martin Ling all the best, I am sure that he won't be out of work for too long. Unfortunately my biggest problem with him was that I think that to have done the job properly he needed to move his family down here (seemingly not an issue with Knill who sounds like he loves it down here). Ultimately, the Manager was never in a position to get the players in on a Sunday after a bad performance because head to dash home to Hertfordshire and his scouting only ever seemed to involve covering matches close to home in the SE. whereas Knill seemed to be here there and everywhere taking in games in his brief stay and Simon Baker confirmed in an interview with the BBC that he had worked incredibly hard during his time here, which spoke volumes to me.

[Scott Brehaut]

was he spose to be doing the contracts? if not who is? ...

I'm guessing the new manager....

[Robiberto22]

manse found out thru skysports news - again class

[Scott Brehaut]

why did they tell Ling he was coming back then? If they had no intention of bringing him back why tell him anything at all..

it is the right decision but just don't like the way it's been done myself. Onwards and upwards though, Knill's a certainty isn't he? Warnock?

I have no inside knowledge, and have been somewhat amazed at some of the things I have seen and heard the Board say and do, but does anything really think they didn't seek proper legal advice before acting?

They may make silly mistakes at times (talk about plastic pitches etc), but the majority of them are businessmen and, I'm sure, have dealt with making people redundant etc before.

[SuperNickyWroe]

manse found out thru skysports news - again class

well, what a plonker!

he should have looked on here first.

[royalgull]

i presume they must do, I didn't know what sort of contract Ling was on and from what ModGull has posted it seems they are well within their rights to part company now.

Again I have absolutely no issue with the decision, I think it's the right one for the club and a mixture of CP Gull and brucie's posts sum up my feelings perfectly, i don't see how Ling could have returned, what if he got 'ill' again?

Not going to keep on repeating myself but I just don't think we've hand'ed it brilliantly. The quote directly from Ling is that he has been told he was returning as manager, to then sack him having told him that is poor regardless if it's the right or wrong decision. No idea why they would have said he's coming back in all honesty, should have just waited till now and seen what happened and how he was and what direction they wanted to go.

From a sheer footballing view I think we've done the right thing so lets move forward now.

[MidDevon]

I don't think the players should necessarily find out before a press release. They are employees of the club and each and everyone of them is partly responsible for the shit we got in this season. About time they spent the summer concentrating on trying to get as fit as the players at Gillingham and as hungry for it as the players at Burton Albion and leave the running of the club to the board.

Anyway, the good thing about the whole senario is Torquay had quite a unique chance to give a mangement team a trial before signing them on full time!

[Robiberto22]

well, what a plonker!

he should have looked on here first.[/quote]

lets hope the new guy (knill) is installed asap onwards and upwards

[chunkygull]

oooooh a bit of ruthlessness from the board. i like it.

has thea become our very own iron lady.

[chunkygull]

Robiberto22 » manse found out thru skysports news - again class

well, what a plonker!

he should have looked on here first.

[cambgull]

I genuinely believe that Alan Knill would be a great manager for us. Much was made of his contacts and the lack of loan signings that were brought in. Considering the circumstances and the timing of him trying to find players, it must have been a gargantuan task to try and relocate players from up north some two months after the transfer window had closed in a team threatened with relegation and totally bereft of confidence. The two that he did manage to bring in made a massive difference to us and eventually played a big part in keeping us up.

This summer, if he is to be made the new Manager, would be a different story entirely. The moves would be permanent ones or long term loans with a team on a fresh start and on a bit of a high from the end of this season. I am genuinely quite excited about who he could bring in during the off-season and the type of football he would want to play. He would certainly have the crowd behind him from the outset too.

[Scott Brehaut]

Torquay skipper Lee Mansell was taken aback, having expected to be working again with Ling next season.

"I'm speechless," he said.

"The club has obviously seen fit for some reason to part the ways with him, and I'm a little bit devastated, to be honest with you.

"Working for him was brilliant, we got on really well.

"For me he's up there with one of the best man-managers I've had during my career, and for me he's been absolutely different class."

From: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/22340986

[royalgull]

Very pleased to hear this news, as I was shocked when everyone started saying Ling was returning recently.

The board had to make this decision, simple as that. I agree with Brucie, his position was untenable. The decline in performances was already evident towards the end of our promotion chasing season, and the team were struggling to produce the goods a long long time before his illness came to light. This season was almost an absolute disaster.

I'm already looking forward to a change in direction at the club, and hopefully (if we can sign them up) a positive new era under Alan Knill and Chris Brass. I was previously hoping Sturrock may be an option for us, however I've been so impressed with Alan Knill's efforts and the way he has gone about his job, that this is no longer the case for me. He's a younger manager who has had a rough time of things aside from his Bury days, and I think he would relish the opportunity to show what he can do here. Give him a clean slate and a summer to go about his work, and who knows what we could achieve next season. That Bury side by all accounts was something special.

Warnock wants a director of football role, and although he loves the West Country clubs, surely he's way out of our price-range? He could still get a championship job if he wanted one. If he wanted a lower profile role as he's getting older, he could take his pick across the whole country at this level. Can't see it myself.

I think Warnock has made his money and it wouldn't be a motivation, he wants a DOF job and lives in this part of the world and the lack of immediate expectation from us and to a lesser extent Argyle could be a big draw for him. It would seem ideal but I would be amazed if we went in any other direction than Knill and Brass. Expect Warnock to end up at argyle with John Sheridan, looks a good combination there.