Anyone else hear?

[CP Gull]

Radio Devon presenter say that "we understand that Chris Hargreaves is in line to replace Alan Knill at Plainmoor" just before the end of the show tonight?

If it is Greavsie, then good luck to him and for obvious reasons you have to hope it works out for him as he has a very decent, pretty secure job at a very good club and part of me thinks he must be mad to even consider it! I just hope that he is able to be strong enough in the dressing room to make the difficult calls particularly when, not so long ago, quite a few of the current squad were his teammates and some are very good friends!

Personally, I would still prefer an older head to help him! but whether we can afford that remains to be seen.

Well though we played today, I feel that today was a must win game and with all the results of the games played today going against us it does feel more like a defeat (who does that remind me of?).

Our biggest problem, as far as I am concerned is that we just don't have enough goals in the team. When your biggest threat in front of goal, and most regular goal scorer is your centre half it tells you something and unfortunately (with the possible exception of Labadie) I just cannot see any of our our strikers or any of our midfield being capable of scoring enough goals to save us. The fact that they never even seem to shoot and work the opposition keeper (same again today) and when they do it is either too weak or too wayward is the root of our problem. We are desperately in need of a couple of additions (Labadie may well prove to be one of them) of guys who can SCORE goals.

Thirteen home games and only two wins tells it's own story and our failure to score more than 1 goal at home in twelve of those tells you all you need to know. We, quite simply are too poor in front of goal, throughout the team to turn things around with this squad. We need to bring in players who can score goals, but doesn't everybody! Unfortunately, that will be easier said than done as joining a team that is struggling at the bottom like us is not an attractive proposition.

Good luck Greavsie, if it is to be you .... you will certainly need plenty of it, to keep this lot up!!!!

[ferrarilover]

Goals issue being fixed and fixed well. We'll be fine. Give Harrop the job and save paying £100,000 (at very least) to AFCB before we even start.

Matt.

[miltonkeynesgull]

Bournemouth Echo saying that Greavsie is "understood to be pondering manager's job offers from both Northampton and Torquay".

No question as to where he'd have more resources etc, but might choose us with the location. If it's going to be a rookie, it may as well be Jesus!

[Gullscorer]

Goals issue being fixed and fixed well. We'll be fine. Give Harrop the job and save paying £100,000 (at very least) to AFCB before we even start.
Matt.

Matt is right. With Alan Knill gone, there is no longer any reason to be pessimistic. Whoever comes in as boss will not do any worse than him. And anyone who saw today's game will know that we have the players and that the team spirit has returned. The goals will come, the team will get better and better and there's no way we're going to be relegated.

[Colorado Gull]

I've heard Chris Hargreaves As Manager and Paul Sturrock as his Mentor. Or Neil Warnock till end of season. Please don't give it to Harrop great at youth level, not at league level.

How can you say that? Has he proved not able to manage at league level? No, quite the opposite after todays game.

[TeenageGull]

I've heard Chris Hargreaves As Manager and Paul Sturrock as his Mentor. Or Neil Warnock till end of season. Please don't give it to Harrop great at youth level, not at league level.

You dont know that though, the performance today was excellent. I would be more than happy with Harrop as manager

[hector]

As I was leaving the ground I heard a couple of regulars saying quite matter-of-factly that Hargeaves was to be appointed with Sturrock as number 2. Then I heard radio devon say two or three times that CH was set to be appointed next week but no mention of Sturrock. A CH/Sturrock pairing would be a dream and banish the remnants of negativity that the disastrous reign of Alan Knill generated so much of.

[taunton_gull]

I'm starting to wonder if regardless of who comes in the club has simply left it too late. I can understand the board wanted to give Knill the best chance to turn things around but looking back at our results since August the season simply never got going. Even though there was apparently a completely different feel around the place today once again the same problem has cost us priceless points. Geoff Harrop is clearly a top bloke and it is great to have someone like him around the club, however I wouldn't want him to be placed in sole charge of what in reality may be the last ever chance to salvage league football at Plainmoor. I also have reservations about Hargreaves coming into this scenario - when you consider the type of points return we need between now and the end of the season, there are only a few names who fit the bill for me. Regardless of who gets the job we might still go down, however if you take it as a given that Allen won't go for it the only other one who I think could save us is Sturrock. As has been pointed out the other major factor which will determine our fate is whether any further players can be secured who will find the net - this seems especially unlikely given the club's perilous position.

I was reminded that it's pretty much 12 months since everything went pear shaped. What an awful year it's been to be a gulls fan, if by some miracle we do escape from this I hope there might be better things to look forward to. As it stands I fear the worst and can't help but feel soon it might be a case of damage limitation to ensure we aren't the next Stockport. There are numerous clubs in the Skrill with a much bigger infrastructure than ours, it's looking ahead but if relegation was confirmed I'm pretty sure we'd have a battle on our hands to be a top half side. That debate is for later, for now, I am still cursing today's dropped points and I hope the new man can somehow change our fortunes.

[Oil Beef Hooked]

I'd be very happy with Hargreaves as manager, but be ecstatic if someone like Warnock/ Sturrock was working behind the scenes to aid him through his first few months in post.

Just a thought, (presuming the rumours are true), with Knill being sacked on Thursday and the game today, the board must of acted quickly to collate CV's, make a shortlist and interview them within 2 days. :~D

[Sunnysideup]

To be honest, whoever comes in will at least have the fact that we're not cast adrift. 21 games to go guys...

[Colorado Gull]

We've been here before Paul Compton fantastic at youth level yet the step up too great. We need someone in the know. Harrop did a afternoon s work how the hell does that warrant to be given the managers job. We didn't have any other option. No Colin Lee to fall back on. I certainly wouldn't want Harrop to take the flank if we got relegated.

It doesn't warrant him to be given the managers job at all, but in your post before you said that he wouldn't be able to make the step up to manage at league level, that is a statement that cannot be backed up by fact. I'm not sure if I would like Harrop to be named manager, but certainly involved at matchday.

[westbaygull]

I'm not sure we've left it too late, Taunton. The bottom half of the table is still fairly tight points-wise, my concern is that we've played more games than most of the six above us and our goal difference makes me squeak. However, we are not adrift by a huge amount of points. the teams above us still have to get something from their games in hand, so don't despair just yet... =Z

Those who know me know that if Martin Allen came here, it would be more excitement than I could cope with - what he acheived at Brentford by pulling off the 'Great Escape' in possibly more testing and financial difficulties than we currently have here has promoted him to Deity status in my book. However if, as it seems, he is not being considered, and Greavsie does get the job, all's well too. I did have reservations initially when his name was being mentioned, but he's done his badges, worked his way up through the youth stuff and strikes me as being very ambitious. I don't hold with the impression that the 'good mates' syndrome would be an issue - as captain, he was always professional and respected. He knows the game inside out and is familiar with our club - okay, has no experience but is committed and has to prove himself. If, as it seems, he is appointed, he will have my full backing and confidence.

[Dave]

Walking around the ground, what didn't I hear. Anyone confirm that Paul Sturrock was there, that's what I heard a few saying.

[portugull]

I heard today that Paul Sturrock may have health issues.

After the Martin Ling debacle the Board would surely not want another Manager with health problems.

May not be true I accept.

[CP Gull]

It's a funny old game isn't it!

To my mind at least, Geoff Harrop was more like a "fan" today. He picked the team (or at least very close to it) that many of us have been crying out for for ages. He also went with a more attacking formation (4-3-3) and went for it .... and why wouldn't he as it will more than likely be his one and only shot at picking a Football League team (no disrespect intended but this is a likely scenario). There was no "rocket science" just a change of direction in team selection that many have felt was necessary, apart from Alan Knill that is!

He also spent a large part of the game trying to rouse support from the fans ... again the sort of thing that any fan who won a competition to be "Manager for a day" would do, but realistically, given our situation, is he likely to the answer, probably not. His focus should be on producing more talent from the Youth team who are going to make an impact on the first team and hopefully finding some gems who will make TUFC a lot of money.

I am not at all confident that we can get out of this mess, regardless of who we bring in, as I am finding it extremely difficult to think of two teams in this League who might finish below us, but either way, I don't think that giving Geoff Harrop the permanent job would be the answer, despite how well he handled everything today.