Caldwell out?

[tavyred]

The one thing I will never be is someone who fawns over a cult of personality; whether that be in the dugout or in the boardroom.

I think in every fanbase there are a section of fans who see loyalty to club as something that should be applied to people, even if that staff member has no credit in the bank.

My loyalty is with the club itself and I understand that everyone is merely passing through.

Do you not think there’s another phenomenon in football fanbases where sometimes an individual, be it a player or manager doesn’t seem to ever get accepted?
The visceral and OTT reaction to the Torquay PSF defeat in the summer was an indicator to me at least that GC might be a victim of that mentality and fall into that category of someone who whatever he does it won’t ever be enough.
As a manager there’s no getting away from poor performances obviously, but a lot our of number seemed very eager to jump
on GC as our manager and leave all logic behind when the dark days of this season were at their darkest..

 

[fred binneys head]

#StillFuming.

Disgraceful behaviour by Tis that evening for all the reasons mentioned above. If anyone thought a team containing Clinton Morrison, Danny Butterfield, etc could hold a Liverpool to a draw for 60 minutes, they’re a £ucking idiot.

And this isn’t hindsight. I and 6,000 others said it as soon as the teams were announced. It was a stupid team selection, a huge metaphorical pin thrust into our Cup-run balloon.

Tosser.

 

[edwin_price]

The visceral and OTT reaction to the Torquay PSF defeat in the summer was an indicator to me at least that GC might be a victim of that mentality and fall into that category of someone who whatever he does it won’t ever be enough.

I don't think so. That PSF came on the back of what people judged to be a worrying window and an end to the season where it looked like we wrapped up playing competitive football two months before the seasons end. People got on GCs back this season only after a pretty extraordinarily bleak run of form, both statistically and subjectively.

Well done to all those who dug in and kept faith in the resurrection,- you obviously saw something I couldn't, but I don't think theres any magical barrier to the fans loving GC... It's about the football and results. You could argue that GC took us on at a difficult time and fans are less interested in the context. But never accepted? Don't think that's right.

 

[Grecian Max]

Do you not think there’s another phenomenon in football fanbases where sometimes an individual, be it a player or manager doesn’t seem to ever get accepted?
The visceral and OTT reaction to the Torquay PSF defeat in the summer was an indicator to me at least that GC might be a victim of that mentality and fall into that category of someone who whatever he does it won’t ever be enough.
As a manager there’s no getting away from poor performances obviously, but a lot our of number seemed very eager to jump
on GC as our manager and leave all logic behind when the dark days of this season were at their darkest..

The bloke had multiple Super Gary Caldwell flags made up for him this season, I don’t remember MT getting such treatment that early on

It took months and months for a very patient fanbase to turn

 

[crocks]

#StillFuming.

Disgraceful behaviour by Tis that evening for all the reasons mentioned above. If anyone thought a team containing Clinton Morrison, Danny Butterfield, etc could hold a Liverpool to a draw for 60 minutes, they’re a £ucking idiot.

And this isn’t hindsight. I and 6,000 others said it as soon as the teams were announced. It was a stupid team selection, a huge metaphorical pin thrust into our Cup-run balloon.

Tosser.

Yes, you could hear the collective groan as the team was announced

 

[STURTZ]

#StillFuming.

Disgraceful behaviour by Tis that evening for all the reasons mentioned above. If anyone thought a team containing Clinton Morrison, Danny Butterfield, etc could hold a Liverpool to a draw for 60 minutes, they’re a £ucking idiot.

And this isn’t hindsight. I and 6,000 others said it as soon as the teams were announced. It was a stupid team selection, a huge metaphorical pin thrust into our Cup-run balloon.

Tosser.

Best thing to come out if that was the "Dad's Army" photo montage as produced by Log for SSD.
The film came out around the same time, amazing zeitgeist and extremely funny!

 

[MJP_Exeter]

Phile, sceptic or phobe? Most of us are fluid when it comes to managers. With regard to Tisdale, I transitioned from phile ( Conference to Hillsborough inclusive), through sceptic (league 1 relegation with a whimper) to full on phobe (Anfield team selection).

There do remain those who never shift - Elgin, MJP and Geoff remained loyal to Tisdale to the end, Dommers always hated Taylor and, it seems, MJP will never remotely like Caldwell.

Any other non waverers like to identify themselves - any manager, any persuasion?

I always feel I share what I think on our performances on the pitch and all other aspects of the club / manager / players. I have stood up for Caldwell on numerous occasions, praised where I felt he deserved it on top of any criticism I have put, I Have never gotten personal with GC, unlike those whom wanted Tisdale removed all those years ago. Yes I went in early, but I will always feel last season we lost a real opportunity to be in the top 10 and will always feel GC Dragged that side backwards because of the style of play he wanted and the god awful team selections (He truly was the only person whom saw Kite as RWB and Key as an ACM). You can slag that opinion off all you want, but GC imho over 18 months has failed to consistently get the best of his side he has, whether in winning, losing or drawing in either season. The games of, 2nd half v Bolton, Shrewsbury Albeit against 10 men and Barnsley first half are the signs things could improve, but we had March / August where it felt things where being learnt and improvement seen, only for it to go to crap, so for now, He deserves a chance for next season now, because of recent form, but We have to see considerable improvements.

I stood up for him in April during the injury crisis (7 straight defeats was it?), praised his handling of the JB Situation and also heavily praised March / August / early sept and praised the recent run to safety (We are pretty much there). I think it is unfair to say I will never change my opinion. But with GC after 18 months I still feel 1 defeat could turn in to 5, into 8, into 10, I really have concerns around when we slump, we truly do slump and this season I am really thankful our division's quality is lower than last season by some distance. Next season will be very different, as teams from both ends look like they will have more about them than this season and will be a huge test for the club and GC.

I will always back an Exeter manager, ultimately we want our managers to be successful, irrespective of anything else, but this season has been a real drag, really hard to stick with and been really difficult to see us so infrequently get the best out of our players, never mind the 100 days without a win, How often has anyone come out of the ground and gone, that was us at our best, whether winning, drawing or losing, it hasn't been often this season. The club ultimately got it right to stick with GC, they gave there reasons and have been shown to be correct for now. I still have huge reservations about GC and personally have seen not enough in the 18 months he has been here yet to be completely for him, but ultimately if next season we are winning games, scoring more goals and not being such a drag to watch and making it generally easier to support then I am all in. I am delighted we have found ourselves to safety, But I am mighty glad this season is almost over and mighty glad the recruitment team / GC will have another chance to have a go in the summer and try to improve things for us next season in terms of goals scored, entertainment and getting the best from the squad.

On Tisdale, I have explained many times before, Tisdale left at the right time for all concerned, The club during that period was in a difficult position, I think people forget just how little money / budget the club had in that period following league one relegation, we had the transfer embargo and it was when Grimes left that the club really as a whole turned a corner again, I think Tisdale during that period focused on getting youth through and turning them in to saleable assets (The whole club did this brilliantly in this period) and in the right conditions, I always felt Tis would be successful, his last 2 seasons we where a very effective side and did really well and where unlucky to not be promoted in both seasons, even if it wasn't the greatest football we have ever seen, the side was so effective on the pitch.

On MT, he was a breath of fresh air when he came in and quickly showed a style of play which was entertaining, fun and productive. MT imho would have gotten us promoted in the covid suspended season had it been played out to its end, I really like that side that season, although in hindsight we where better off not getting promoted that season. Taylor had the covid season behind closed doors to deal with and he nearly got our young side to the playoffs. MT, despite my early reservations, is my favourite manager of the trust era, He combined all of the right things to make it a great watch for fans, effective football and plenty of goals and attacking opportunities, his recruitment was also massively spot on (Although the whole club has recruited well for the last 7-8 years imho).

 

[STURTZ]

What a lot of words!

Wonder if the "Super Gary Caldwell" song will be dusted off and belted out again this season? Hope so.

 

[Grecian Max]

What a lot of words!

Wonder if the "Super Gary Caldwell" song will be dusted off and belted out again this season? Hope so.

Why don't you start it, or do you not have the cajones

 

[fred binneys head]

What a lot of words!

Wonder if the "Super Gary Caldwell" song will be dusted off and belted out again this season? Hope so.

We’ve got Super Gary Caldwell
He knows exactly what we need
Buses at the back
No-one in attack
City’s staying in the f***ing league