Post by Deleted on Sept 21, 2009 6:00:39 GMT
And now it’s over to you to decide which other managers should be featured. All I ask is that you start threads, with a suitable introduction, in the History Room. Obviously I’ve left you with plenty of choice. After starting with managers from the 1990s I’ve concentrated on the pre-Webb era because I felt those managers might not be known to all supporters. It was also done in the hope of drawing out plenty of memories and insights from members of this board. My thanks to all who have contributed.
So who is left?
Well, I started by deciding not to feature Frank O’Farrell or Leroy Rosenior simply because we’ve discussed them on many occasions. That, of course, is because of their significance rather than insignificance. Both, remember, led Torquay United to automatic promotion.
Similarly, I believe we’ve talked about Dave Webb and Roy McFarland in some detail. McFarland’s name often crops up in conjunction with his relative contribution to the 2004 promotion team. Personally I believe it’s important not to forget his influence but, at the same time, it’s easy to overstate. I wonder, if that debate is left aside, how we remember the actual events of the one season he spent at Plainmoor?
Cyril Knowles also makes fairly regular appearances on his site. I welcome any discussion of Cyril because that 1987/88 side really did restore pride and interest after such a dreadful period in our history. It’s terrible to note Cyril has now been dead for eighteen years.
And what of Wes Saunders, a fine United player who had a lengthy stint as caretaker manager in 1991/92 as well as returning to the club between 1998 and 2001. His name doesn’t come up much these days. Perhaps we should revisit his contribution to our club.
Jon spoke recently of the Big Centre Halves Union which would aso include John Impey and Paul Compton. On the surface two of a kind but, dig deeper, and their stories are rather different. It’s a quirk of our history that John Impey, one of our shortest serving managers, is one of the few who’ve taken us to promotion. Compo, on the other hand, was associated with our club for 25 years on and off. That must be worth a retrospective.
And, if you’re talking centre-halves, what about Stuart Morgan who picked up the pieces from Webb and led us to the Great Escape 1? There’s a “what if?” for you...what if he’d stayed in 1987 and Cyril hadn’t come to the club? Morgan seemed a loss at the time but he never again managed a Football League team.
Another Great Escape artist was Ian Atkins who gave us plenty to shout about in the spring of 2006. What if he’d come to Plainmoor sooner? What if he’d stayed longer? What if, what if?
You’d need to put Dave Smith in his own category. Poet, character and serial promotion-winner with Mansfield, Southend (twice) and Argyle. There has to be a story to be told about the man who was manager when Mike Bateson arrived and who left weeks before we went on to win promotion. What was that all about?
There might not be too many paragraphs about the short reigns of John Sims and John Cornforth. They did manage Torquay United, didn’t they? I, for one, know nothing of the John Sims Month and would love to learn more.
You can bracket together Neil Warnock and Colin Lee as “consultants”; Ivan Golac and Lubos Kubik as an unlikely pair. Two fine European footballers, one of whom had a greater awareness of British football. The other played in Serie A begging the question as to who else in our history had an association with top-flight Italian football?
And lastly, the odd tale of Keith Curle who passed briefly through our club on two occasions twenty-plus years apart: once as a player; once as...well, what was he?
With the exception of the current manager, I hope I haven’t missed anybody. Over to you.....
So who is left?
Well, I started by deciding not to feature Frank O’Farrell or Leroy Rosenior simply because we’ve discussed them on many occasions. That, of course, is because of their significance rather than insignificance. Both, remember, led Torquay United to automatic promotion.
Similarly, I believe we’ve talked about Dave Webb and Roy McFarland in some detail. McFarland’s name often crops up in conjunction with his relative contribution to the 2004 promotion team. Personally I believe it’s important not to forget his influence but, at the same time, it’s easy to overstate. I wonder, if that debate is left aside, how we remember the actual events of the one season he spent at Plainmoor?
Cyril Knowles also makes fairly regular appearances on his site. I welcome any discussion of Cyril because that 1987/88 side really did restore pride and interest after such a dreadful period in our history. It’s terrible to note Cyril has now been dead for eighteen years.
And what of Wes Saunders, a fine United player who had a lengthy stint as caretaker manager in 1991/92 as well as returning to the club between 1998 and 2001. His name doesn’t come up much these days. Perhaps we should revisit his contribution to our club.
Jon spoke recently of the Big Centre Halves Union which would aso include John Impey and Paul Compton. On the surface two of a kind but, dig deeper, and their stories are rather different. It’s a quirk of our history that John Impey, one of our shortest serving managers, is one of the few who’ve taken us to promotion. Compo, on the other hand, was associated with our club for 25 years on and off. That must be worth a retrospective.
And, if you’re talking centre-halves, what about Stuart Morgan who picked up the pieces from Webb and led us to the Great Escape 1? There’s a “what if?” for you...what if he’d stayed in 1987 and Cyril hadn’t come to the club? Morgan seemed a loss at the time but he never again managed a Football League team.
Another Great Escape artist was Ian Atkins who gave us plenty to shout about in the spring of 2006. What if he’d come to Plainmoor sooner? What if he’d stayed longer? What if, what if?
You’d need to put Dave Smith in his own category. Poet, character and serial promotion-winner with Mansfield, Southend (twice) and Argyle. There has to be a story to be told about the man who was manager when Mike Bateson arrived and who left weeks before we went on to win promotion. What was that all about?
There might not be too many paragraphs about the short reigns of John Sims and John Cornforth. They did manage Torquay United, didn’t they? I, for one, know nothing of the John Sims Month and would love to learn more.
You can bracket together Neil Warnock and Colin Lee as “consultants”; Ivan Golac and Lubos Kubik as an unlikely pair. Two fine European footballers, one of whom had a greater awareness of British football. The other played in Serie A begging the question as to who else in our history had an association with top-flight Italian football?
And lastly, the odd tale of Keith Curle who passed briefly through our club on two occasions twenty-plus years apart: once as a player; once as...well, what was he?
With the exception of the current manager, I hope I haven’t missed anybody. Over to you.....
