Martin ling

[supergulls]

People keep stating that Alan knill would prefer to be up north, which isn't the case. He is originally from the slough area and although his career did take him up north all of his children are now grown up and are not living at home and his wife works from home so leaving Sheffield would not be as difficult as people think. His wife visits devon regularly and stays for a number of days at a time. Which is not a problem as previously said she works from home.

[Southampton Gull]

It is a recipe for disaster having Martin Ling back. Rightly or wrongly, he is tainted by this season. In essence it is his team. His return will at the least divide opinion and possibly alienate supporters at a time when many supporters have lost faith with the club after such a terrible season.

His football style was turgid and uninspiring and offered nothing in terms of entertainment and in the end, little in terms of results, such as his final 3 months in charge.

If the club really want to move on from this season, they need to start afresh, otherwise the chances are that next season will be a continuation of this one. If Ling does return, it will not take very long at all for people to get on his back because they were starting to anyway and that was before the disastrous run of late winter and early spring and before he went sick.

So in effect the club will be bringing back a manager that a lot of supporters do not want, so that can be added as a FACT because whatever people's opinion of Ling is, it doesn't alter the FACT that lots of people do not want him back. It hardly sets the club up for a positive start next year.

He has a contract so there isn't much the Club can do about it other than welcome him back. As for it being his team well yes it is but he identified that it wasn't strong enough but wasn't allowed to bring in the targets he wanted. Knill came in and was afforded that luxury.

Martin Lings record of bringing in players is very good. Sure people can throw in exceptions but even Fergie has bought a few lemons in his time, Taibi anyone?

Olejnik, Saah, Downes, Howe, even Jarvis a player condemned by many previously has shown he does have ability at this level. Bodin splits opinion but is a junior international and will prove his detractors wrong. Add Cruise and Leadbitter and it's obvious he has an eye for talent. Give the guy a chance to tweak the squad and see how things progress. He has already shown that he can succeed at this level if given the tools.

[brucie]

Ling isn't the worst manager we have had by a long chalk, I accept that but as I said the wheels were coming off before he decided to go awol.
I remember an after match interview after yet another home defeat in which Ling stated that we weren't doing anything different to last year but instead of winning games one nil we were losing them by the same scoreline.
That was a warning sign if ever there was one.
You mention Jarvis - well Ling never played him. Ling started the season with Stevens as first choice winger. Another marker for the strength of our squad.
As well as having just the one striker in Howe on the pitch, Ling backed that up by playing Craig on the wing - he is possibly the slowest player in League 2.
No wonder the football was stale and boring.
Knill played Jarvis wide because he realised that although not a winger he was a better player than Craig,Halpin,Stevens and Macklin - both in work rate and application.
And for the person saying we should give Ling the benefit of the doubt - well why should we take that risk.
I am not sure what the interest is on Mrs Bristows 15 million quid but I am sure it should be enough to pay offLing. He is a risk we cannot take.

[wivelgull]

I agree with Brucie.

[Dave]

I see Wivel has his spoon out again, Brucie there laws against stalking I would think about an injuction. Or at the very least keeping your shirt tucked in..

[wodger of awabia]

Ling isn't the worst manager we have had by a long chalk, I accept that but as I said the wheels were coming off before he decided to go awol.
I remember an after match interview after yet another home defeat in which Ling stated that we weren't doing anything different to last year but instead of winning games one nil we were losing them by the same scoreline.
That was a warning sign if ever there was one.
You mention Jarvis - well Ling never played him. Ling started the season with Stevens as first choice winger. Another marker for the strength of our squad.
As well as having just the one striker in Howe on the pitch, Ling backed that up by playing Craig on the wing - he is possibly the slowest player in League 2.
No wonder the football was stale and boring.
Knill played Jarvis wide because he realised that although not a winger he was a better player than Craig,Halpin,Stevens and Macklin - both in work rate and application.
And for the person saying we should give Ling the benefit of the doubt - well why should we take that risk.
I am not sure what the interest is on Mrs Bristows 15 million quid but I am sure it should be enough to pay offLing. He is a risk we cannot take.

You really must stop making libelous statements on the internet. AWOL is army shorthand for absent without leave. You will get yourself into serious trouble unless you can prove that your statements are true. The club have published that M.L. is on sick leave which is most certainly not absence without leave, but I suppose that you know better.

[Trojan 67]

They shoot 'rses, don't they ?

Albert Steptoe's horse (Hercules) must be turning in his rotting lasagne.

Some punch you in the face alarm signals from last season went unheeded resulting in the systematic failures of this season.

Giving out gold plated contracts protected by bullet proof steel is pure folly.

It appears that incompetent staff at TUFC are unsackable.

When the generous and genuinely kind hearted board learn the hard nose art of sacking people, then TUFC and all associated with it will move forward.

[yellow]

I thought I might add something to this thread. In search of inspiration I stuck my head up my own arrishole, which seems to be the approach employed by many contributors.

TUFC is a business. It is governed by the rules of land. As a caring society we do not allow employers to summarily sack people for being sick. One day when you are sick you will be grateful for this.

The respective performances of the manager and the interim manager (which both fall in the disappointing category) are not relevant.

[Gullscorer]

He has a contract so there isn't much the Club can do about it other than welcome him back. As for it being his team well yes it is but he identified that it wasn't strong enough but wasn't allowed to bring in the targets he wanted. Knill came in and was afforded that luxury.

Martin Lings record of bringing in players is very good. Sure people can throw in exceptions but even Fergie has bought a few lemons in his time, Taibi anyone?

Olejnik, Saah, Downes, Howe, even Jarvis a player condemned by many previously has shown he does have ability at this level. Bodin splits opinion but is a junior international and will prove his detractors wrong. Add Cruise and Leadbitter and it's obvious he has an eye for talent. Give the guy a chance to tweak the squad and see how things progress. He has already shown that he can succeed at this level if given the tools.

[brucie]

wodger - thanks but I don't need any advice from you at all. Its a figure of speech (awol) - so whether Martin LIng went awol, went off sick ,had a drink problem, was stressed or whatever he wasn't here.
He left a team that was in a disarray, a cowboy outfit, a team that played turgid football which bored the supporters to death.
A team that couldn't beat anyone (even Harrogate).
He has not been well enough to be anywhere near the team for the past three or four months. Now he is apparently completely cured, but is going to step right back into an environment which isn't going to be any less stressful.
For his own well being is that really the ideal thing to do.

[Gullscorer]

He has not been well enough to be anywhere near the team for the past three or four months. Now he is apparently completely cured, but is going to step right back into an environment which isn't going to be any less stressful.
For his own well being is that really the ideal thing to do.

That's a good point but it's really not for us to judge. Only the medical people, Martin Ling and the club jointly can do that. They are in the best position to do so. As Dave says, we must welcome him back and give him a chance to get on with the job. If it becomes obvious by next autumn that he is not coping, then he and the club should make appropriate decisions.

[Trojan 67]

As a caring society we do not allow employers to summarily sack people for being sick. One day when you are sick you will be grateful for this.

Yella me o' mate, we no longer live in a caring society. The Government has stood by doing nothing and given employers the tools to sack/force previously directly employed PAYE employees into bogus self employment. These "self employed", previously PAYE employees have lost their rights to statutory paid holidays, statutory sick pay etc and are now earning less than their PAYE counterparts. These "self employed" people have no automatic and immediate claim to Government Benefits (such as Job Seekers Allowance/Employment Support Allowance) like their PAYE counterparts.

Yella, me o' mate, in my time as a directly employed and "self employed" craftsman, I know the harsh consequences of being out of work through lack of it, injury and illness including a recent non self inflicted life threatening one . It is you, me o' mate, who needs to get the head out of the 'rse.

Employers can "sack" individuals who are away from work due to injury/illness/sickness. I know of individuals who with no "soon enough" prospect of returning to work have suffered this fate.

As for the comment "one day when you are sick you will be grateful for this", don't ever, me o' mate, say that directly in the face of this craftsman who knows the craft.

[yellow]

Troj me old horse.

People sign up to contracts of employment. Some are fairer than others. Your own perspective is obviously informed by bitter experience. That doesn’t make it right.

There is great inequality between the best and the worst contracts. I didn’t say life was fair did I?

I take your point about caring society. It was, I have to confess, a bit tongue in cheek.

[PlainmoorRoar]

Gullscorer are you martin ling in disguise?

Ive never seen someone constantly reply defending Ling as much as you!

You need to find out the truth, or facts as it has to be on here

i will gladly PM you if you want

[Richinns]

Gullscorer are you martin ling in disguise?

Ive never seen someone constantly reply defending Ling as much as you!

You need to find out the truth, or facts as it has to be on here

i will gladly PM you if you want

Can you PM me it please? I have heard rumours but many of them!!!