Kevin Nicholson has his say..

CraigUnder · Post by **CraigUnder** » 20 Dec 2015, 15:10

http://m.torquayheraldexpress.co.uk/TOR ... story.html

Personally, this still doesn't put anything to bed on whats happened this weekend, we still need answers from the board.

Richinns · Post by **Richinns** » 20 Dec 2015, 15:53

We have been crying out for some truth and this is a very frank and honest insight and one which Kev should be applauded for putting out in the public domain.

taunton_gull · Post by **taunton_gull** » 20 Dec 2015, 16:07

So the man who promised not to offer any excuses decides to do exactly that. His social media meltdowns highlight exactly why he should never have been given the job in the first place. There are deep rooted problems at the club which go beyond the dugout but he is just accelerating our slide towards the conference south it seems.

He fails to address why he is the first name on the team sheet each week and offers no apology to the fans who have paid out a fortune following these pathetic losers up and down the country each week. Unbelievably he still seems to have a loyal bunch of sheep who worship the ground he walks on. He is so arrogant he probably thinks he deserves to remain as manager indefinitely. There are countless teams who have faced similar problems but because of proper leadership have managed to fight their way out. The only things you hear about Nicholson is him arranging fitness sessions at the gym the day before a game and not bothering to properly assess opponents for upcoming matches. He can do one as far as I'm concerned - the sooner the better. The club does not owe him or any other parasite a living.

Richinns · Post by **Richinns** » 20 Dec 2015, 16:21

Parasite? Try looking in the mirror mate! What a **** prick you are!

Post by **Gulliball** » 20 Dec 2015, 16:30

It is a very valuable insight, and an honest appraisal of where he stands. I liked a lot of what Nicholson had to say when he was appointed manager - it is clearly something he's wanted and been working towards for a long time. His plans to integrate us with the community are fantastic, but will only see a benefit years down the line.

I think he has done all that he can whilst he's been here. At times we've been good defensively and have matched good sides like Wrexham and Grimsby for entire games, but then the next week we'll concede four and all hope looks lost. This is what is always going to happen though when you have a squad like we do, when even the most talented players like Lavercombe, Smith and Wright are teenagers themselves and aren't the finished article. These players should be developing with first team football, but are actually having to carry the others around them, which isn't fair and is never going to work.

Had we appointed Nicholson when Hargreaves came in, I think he would have done a much better job. Two years later, he's in a situation where he has nothing to work with and no room for manoeuvre. It's impossible to judge him as a manager when he's got so little scope to make an impact.

As he alludes to, our killer mistake was made in the summer. If Cox was the man we wanted, paid six figures to pay off Hargreaves and Hodges, and then let spend the entire budget on his own players, then he was a proven manager and was a fair enough plan. To not have him on a contract, and then walk out 10 games in, left us with no manager, no money and no room to change anything.

Lavercombe, Berry, Butler, Smith, MacDonald, Richards, Marsh and Wright are probably players that can play at this level. Berry and MacDonald aside though, they're all kids, and even those two aren't vastly experienced and have responsibilities such as captaincy that are solely because of the inexperience of others.

We've had horrible luck with injuries to our two most proven players, Young and Fairhurst. Add a 15 goal link up striker and a player who can dictate the play and we'd be 10 times the side without having spent an extra penny. The other side is our own fault though, in that players were signed for a 352 formation, and since Cox went we've never played it - leaving us with no wingers. Senior players like Exodus, Fisher, Heslop and Briscoe aren't contributing, and it's left on youngsters to grind out results - which isn't going to happen. The budget's been spent on a Cox set-up for a manager that was free to walk out at anytime and did after 10 games.

Given that we have no budget anyway, I would like to see us keep Nicholson until he gets a chance to work with his own resources. Paying off managers and then repeating the same mistakes is what got us into this problem, and if we manage to raise another £10k then it could be much better spent adding some quality to the midfield and strikeforce. Replacing Young and Fairhurst in the team would be the first step, and if we can't afford to do that then there's no point changing the manager as he won't be able to get any more out of Exodus and Heslop than Nicholson anyway.

portugull · Post by **portugull** » 20 Dec 2015, 16:49

Gulliball I agree 100% the killer mistake was appointing Paul Cox without a contract.A suicidal risk.

If Cox did not want a contract a wise and experienced Board would have said no contract no appointment. It was a massive error of judgement.

taunton_gull · Post by **taunton_gull** » 20 Dec 2015, 17:05

Richinns wrote:Parasite? Try looking in the mirror mate! What a f**king prick you are!

I see you are taken in by Nicholson as easily as the rest of the flock are. A simple question, if he is so dedicated to the job and developing his players as 'athletes', why did he let them go on a Christmas drinking session ahead of a hectic set of fixtures?

Gloucester Gull · Post by **Gloucester Gull** » 20 Dec 2015, 17:13

What on earth are you talking about? Christmas and the congested fixture period it brings was a week away.

Dazza · Post by **Dazza** » 20 Dec 2015, 17:15

He is fully entitled to his say. It will obviously be his view but it seems to fit well enough with the situation at the club. However the Board have now got to make a really tricky decision. They are getting sucked into the melee by the day as results don't improve. The chances of results improving unless they do something are now razor thin. They are probably not great any

Post by **Dave** » 20 Dec 2015, 17:17

Gloucester gull, you're not Andy who goes under the same username, hmmm Gloucester, anything to do with the Mansell family ? just a thought

arcadia · Post by **arcadia** » 20 Dec 2015, 17:20

Cox walks out
His assistant walks out
Spiess walks out
Who else can leave because they've not got a contract.
Who did not register the players for the trophy it's a comedy of errors.
Kevins spoken but this should have come from the Chairman as some of this happened before Kevin took over and if the board supports Kevin then they have got to do more to get investment into the club.
We also need a voice in the dugout with the authority to change things. This weekend it looks as though the squad was decimated.

Post by **Dave** » 20 Dec 2015, 17:24

I've said on a number of posts I think Nicho should be forced to accept help, to clarify that, for me personally I wasn't referring to quick phone call here there and everywhere, I'm personally referring to a consultant along the lines off Sturrock etc, being brought in to work with Nicho day to day, because whatever guidance he's been getting doesn't seem to be working, we're going backwards.

And before anyone says, yes there's an old saying "pay peanuts get monkeys" however Dino Maamria appears to have got the monkeys he took over at Southport and achieved 16 points out of 18.

MF68 · Post by **MF68** » 20 Dec 2015, 17:31

Forever is spot on. The Board, who pay Nicholson, should insist he receives help whether he likes it or not.
I have to agree with an earlier post that Nicholson's facebook statement does nothing to reassure anyone bar himself.

The Board are obliged to back or sack him or at least insist he cannot improve without guidance from someone else.

A Realist · Post by **A Realist** » 20 Dec 2015, 17:42

I could have shortened that to four words for him. Please don't sack me.

brucie · Post by **brucie** » 20 Dec 2015, 17:51

So Nico - the man who said he wouldn't offer any excuses, offers a list of excuses.

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