Manager for the future?

[nobadspitfire]

 Ballboy said on Facebook "Surely the magic man Hilly has got to take charge of the team into the next season and where would we be if we had him instead of MA - Discuss"

Well, Steve, obviously RH has done a fantastic job since returning, but I'd like to see him working with a younger chap to help out with ideas. Strevs is undertaking that role at present, but I'm not sure if that is going to work long term. At the end of the season, if not before, the Board need to sit down with RH and discuss the way forward, because we don't want the situation happening again like after the Dover game last season when RH resigned. We have to have a Management structure in place for the future.

[Deleted]

Agreed Martin.....RH has got the club out of the mire and we are all thankful but I hope he moves to DoF come May. This sounds nasty but basically he is cleaning up the mess he created by resigning in the first place. Ok he is not responsible for the choices of Managers that the club employed after him but that is where the demise began. I believe DoF will suit him with the knowledge of the transfer market and fees in trying to bring quality to the club without SD getting ripped off, the experience RH has is vital in this area to progress. We need a proper 3 year plan for the new manager and even if next season is tough as we rebuild, we need to support him through thick and thin, not panic and whield the axe because it hasn't worked immediately....Rome wasn't built in a day.

[bigwing]

The assistant manager MA brought in is still with us and although primarily a fitness coach, he's well regarded and brings the type of skills essential to get us to the next level. 

While RH has helped to turn things around, I don't think he is the way forward. 

[ballboy]

Thanks Martin for creating this thread - i would like to see a manager who has a passion for the club and RH fits that bill. I appreciate he left us in the lurch after the Dover loss but he seems to be able to get the current team working for each other and recent results means us fans now look forward to games with anticipation and not go with a feeling of trepidation. If he doesn't become manager it would be good to have him as DoF but we need a young manager from this or the North/South league.

[westendspitfire]

I'm 100% in the Hill camp at the moment, the man knows his onions and loves the club, setting up some sort of DoF structure seems a bit pointless to me and could make it difficult in getting the right Manager if we are looking for someone new. No matter how new to management you are it doesn't necessarily follow that you want to work under a DoF, you would more likely want to go with your own ideas.
Employing RH very much depends on how he views the reasons why he left us the last time and whether those demons have been exorcised, but it's a results game and he has shown he is more than capable of getting results with limited resources in a short period of time, so let him build a squad for next season, if he wants it and see where it leads us.

[michaelefc]

I a big RH fan too. The problem for me is a) does he want the job? b) does SD want him to have the job? c) do a good majority of EFC fans want him to have the job? If we assume that the answer to all three is yes the problem then becomes, what if we spend big in the summer, and 9 games into the season we are in 13th place, having lost the last 2 games, RH isn't sleeping and we are all feeling a bit sad? The pressure will then be for Richard to resign, and he has already shown after a couple of defeats he is quite prepared to do that. In that scenario we have lost RH, probably next time for good; whereas if he is DOF (or whatever title you give it), he will stay on no matter what happens to the manager whoever he happens to be

I really hope RH sticks around for a long time this time, and I am not convinced him being manager again makes that very likely. That said if we were taking a vote on it right now I would be voting RH!

[Deleted]

The proof is there for all to see what a turnaround RH has achieved in a short amount of time, and I will be forever grateful to him for removing the specter of the dreaded 'R" word that was starting to swirl around the club. BUT, let's not get carried away. We are still behind where we were this time last season, and where we were when RH left the first time because he felt he couldn't take us any further.
I'm just going to enjoy the rest of the season and let SD worry about the management team for next season.

[back4more]

I'm amazed at the short memories people have in relation to the work Richard Hill did at this club before he decided last season that it was time to take a break. Far from resigning after losing a few games he endured some extended torrid times during his initial seasons but used every lost match as an opportunity to improve with the result that he finished with an unrivalled record of success if you count reaching play off places as a success, which I believe it is.
Probably only he and Stewart know exactly what led to his decision to take himself away from the club when he did but it could be that his timing was spot on. He has certainly come back at the right time and the club has regained the benefit of everything he has to offer from his wealth of experience, knowledge and expertise. It's also likely from his previous time at Eastleigh that he will be in a much better position than anyone coming in from outside to determine what will be the correct plan and strategy for the club to develop in the future. That might or might not include appointing a first team manager or coach or assistant manager or whatever, but I'm not sure whether or why there would specifically need to be a prescribed age range or specific background. For every Danny Cowley or Eddie Howe there are a hundred failures.
I do though think it is far too early for any of us to be pontificating after a few matches on what the club should or shouldn't be doing. I would guess that RH and SD will be concentrating on getting the best out of the rest of the season with a view to looking at the longer term towards the end of April.

[taylov]

The Board has a simple decision between -

A Offer Richard the job again. He will do a good job IMHO, BUT is he the man to take us to the Football league?

B Use RH in his DOF role to help us to find the next Eddie Howe.

My vote? B

[westendspitfire]

Agree with all you say back4more other than the bit about waiting till April. The season is done in all but time we're finishing between 12th and 16th. I'm sure RH can concentrate on getting the team through each game while discussing with SD the next steps and what needs doing now to get us on the front foot.
Why delay any longer?

[back4more]

Fair comment westend. We know SD and RH talk all the time so they are bound to be having some conversations about the future options of course anyway. What I really meant to say is that the definitive decision making should probably take place end of April or near the end of the season anyway. I have always taken the view that when you have a momentous decision to make, you should never make it sooner than you have to. That way, in the extra time you give yourself, the various options available can be more thoroughly considered, reviewed, investigated and assessed. 
Having said all that I have a feeling that Richard Hill might very well already know in his own mind exactly which way he wants it to go and we will just have to wait until the white smoke appears. In my own view I would be apprehensive at bringing yet another new face into the equation any sooner than we have to after the chaos we have experienced already this season and just when we are seeing some refreshing stability.

[nobadspitfire]

We recall, I'm sure,  MA saying during his spell that he had agreement for 2? players to join us when their contracts expire at their current clubs at the end of June/the season. That could have been 'fake news' but if it was true, will RH want them? I get the idea the club is moving away from SD being the main mover in making signings, & whilst RH will need his assent to make certain signings, he (RH) might not want the type of player we've been signing since he left in Oct '15. 

[back4more]

And I should add that "the board" led by Stewart as the controlling interest, by appointing RH as DoF as well as caretaker manager, has presumably given RH the job of presenting them/him with his recommendations as to exactly what appointments the club should make. And once you do that you don't tend to ignore the recommendations that come back from the person you have appointed to make them. To all intents and purposes it's presumably going to be down to Richard Hill what his future role is at the club and who is brought in and in what capacity. As it probably should be. And I would think he will make his recommendations at some agreed point in time which might be the end of the season or might be when he is ready to do so. 

[back4more]

I'd be guessing Martin that might be water under the bridge by now. 

[bigwing]

I would expect to see Guy Butters come back, which would be a major step back in my view