Meanwhile on our other forum..........

[Deleted]

There is a very interesting thread "Can someone enlighten me" which for me changes the entire picture about the Manager RH. The thread was begun by SunnySaturdays whom many will remember from this forum and basically gives, for want of a better statement, some interesting 'inside' information that RH hands are somewhat tied behind his back because of the mess left behind by Matt Lewton......not as some seem to think MA.

I for one, hold up my hands in calling for RH to move over, but as I say, information has emerged which changes everything and he has my sympathy for the mess inherited that is making his job very difficult at the moment. The other forum website is eastleigh-fc-fans.proboards.com/ and I urge all efc fans to take a look, even if you don't like the forum itself, do read that thread. The last post from SS is quite astonishing about one of the contracts Matt Lewton gave.

I think most efc fans will reflect that given these circumstances RH deserves more time to sort things out and he's going to need another summer at least to begin that process. I appreciate that some of our fans are told things in confidence and can't spread the word, I've been privy to that myself over the years and you have to respect that confidence. But this information will get those calling for RH head off his back if they have any sense and let him get on with it. He can only work with what he has got and he has to do a good PR campaign with the local media in shall we say, keeping the ship sailing in stormy waters while pretending it is calm and sailing quietly.

Some people forget he is also doing the DoF job as well at the moment so that's not easy to juggle one would think. If he can keep the ship away from the rocks and steer us safely through this season, then a proper RH team may well emerge next season and that is when it would be time to judge him if things start going wrong. I apologise for calling for him to move out of the Manager's chair, and I would like to think others will reflect the same way once you read the thread but that is a matter for their own conscience like mine was.

[michaelefc]

But this information will get those calling for RH head off his back if they have any sense

They don't and it won't.

[Deleted]

Lets wait and see Michael, the majority of Eastleigh fans do not have hearts of stone and being enlightened may sway most of them, if not all eh?

[hantslondoner]

There was a thread soon after the Ramblers forum was created which basically slated Matt Lewton.
Reading between the lines, rightly or wrongly, I got the impression (I may be wrong) that a thread like this would not have been allowed on this forum, which was one of the reasons that the Ramblers one was formed in the first place. There are a lot of people who claim to be 'in the know' who post on there. I am not one of them.
If Lewton was responsible for a lot of the bad things that happened during Martin Allen's reign then clearly he deserves criticism; I would also ask to what extent he was following orders from SD, who, by his own admission in his recent interview (and which I had already suggested, if you read my previous posts) was trying to 'buy' the league last year. If, however, MA had been dealt such a poor hand, then I'm surprised he hasn't said anything about it; presumably his leaving deal included some sort of non-disclosure agreement. I was very disappointed with they way it went with MA, I thought he was a great signing. It's clear now there was more behind it.
Anyway, I'm only guessing, like a lot of people. The situation now is that RH has inherited all this, and, again as I've posted before, this season his brief appears to be to steady the ship, now with a mid-table budget (confirmed by SD in his interview) and a mid-table squad. He's doing that. I do not think, and never have thought, that he should be replaced. We will have ups and downs but I'm sure we will finish mid-table. I predicted the win at Macclesfield, by the way. One of the 'ups' after a big 'down'.
EDIT: just seen the updates on the Ramblers forum about some of the players being too comfortable on big contracts from last year, so RH still has that to deal with too. 

I'm just interested as to what the next step will be....
There are several teams bigger than us in this league but overachieving (not one of the biggest) clubs like Dover and Macclesfield are still top of the league, even at the end of October. The dynamics of the National League are changing and it will be fascinating to see what develops. As I've said before, the only thing we don't seem to have tried yet is to invest in an effective youth system.

[bigwing]

Spirit - I never bother with the 'other forum' for obvious reasons.

However, you're right, this is an eye opening thread and maybe explains so much. For what it's worth, I always though it was madness getting rid of MA so early - after all, he's the one manager we've had with a genuine track record of success. I also thought it was odd that we were shipping players so quickly and had heard rumours that this wasn't MAs doing. I also thought it odd that RM left in the manner that he did.

We'll never know the full truth of course, but maybe more of the buck than we imagined needs to be placed at SDs door for last season's chaos. It's great having a chairman that funds the club in the way that SD does and we wouldn't have achieved what we have achieved without him. I do sometimes wonder though if we're in a real life Football Manager 2017, by EA sports.

In spite of all of this though, this season's dire start and dire lack of entertainment is still down to RH in my view. It's his players and his style of play. If he has lost the dressing room, as the other thread appears to imply, then that's down to his own behaviour. Others on here have called it 'arrogance'. The history and failings of last season shouldn't make us reluctant to make a necessary change. That is all.

[westendspitfire]

Lost the dressing room is a completely made up phrase that is used by the papers and fans who do not know anything about the dressing room and how could they. Talk to the players and see what they say, obviously some will say they are towing the company line in public if they are supportive of the management, but that is for their agenda not the real world.
We have not had a great start but to say it is dire is way off the mark, with the number of injuries we have suffered it is not surprising the team has not been able to gel, yet still we are just 6 points off the play offs and there are only 6 teams in the whole league who have lost less games then us so far this season.
There is no need to make a change just for the sake of it, give it time to settle down and I'm sure we will be comfortably away from relegation and may even flirt with the play off positions for a little while, it's going to be that sort of season.
Got to be a real chance a team in the bottom half in October will go on and win the league, unfortunately my money would go on the scousers and not the Spitfires...

[taylov]

An interesting thread (on the other forum) and one that needs to be read again after listening to SD's recent interview with BBC Radio Solent about the change in EFC's approach - no more big spending Eastleigh.

[bigwing]

Oct 30, 2017 10:32:53 GMT westendspitfire said:

Lost the dressing room is a completely made up phrase that is used by the papers and fans who do not know anything about the dressing room and how could they. Talk to the players and see what they say, obviously some will say they are towing the company line in public if they are supportive of the management, but that is for their agenda not the real world.
We have not had a great start but to say it is dire is way off the mark, with the number of injuries we have suffered it is not surprising the team has not been able to gel, yet still we are just 6 points off the play offs and there are only 6 teams in the whole league who have lost less games then us so far this season.
There is no need to make a change just for the sake of it, give it time to settle down and I'm sure we will be comfortably away from relegation and may even flirt with the play off positions for a little while, it's going to be that sort of season.
Got to be a real chance a team in the bottom half in October will go on and win the league, unfortunately my money would go on the scousers and not the Spitfires...

With the greatest of respect Westend, it's for me to decide what I regard as 'dire' not you.

[martfergie]

Wonder who the player is who never has refused to play? Is he playing or 'injured'? I'm struggling to work out who it is?
Stack, Togwell or Hoyte are the only ones I can think of with the club covering up their absense with injury? All of which are part of MA's tenure here.

Any guesses? I'm literally just thinking of the players who are injured!! 🤕

[hantslondoner]

Looking at one of the other threads, perhaps it's Reda ;-)

One of the three names you mention has rarely performed well for Eastleigh, in my opinion, although I wouldn't suggest it was deliberate.

Anyone who 'refuses to play', if it's as clear-cut as that, is surely breaking the terms of their contract and should never get another one anywhere again once news gets around. So I suspect it's not as clear-cut as that.

[unknownquantity]

I cannot recall ever meeting Martin Allen, Matt Lewton or Sunny Saturdays so it is difficult for me to form an opinion, although there are often more to these situations than meet the eye.

I do recall though Sunny Saturdays being very active on this forum for short periods and then deleting his account.