Well it will come as little, or no, surprise to most of us – even if we might not want it – but according to a report on setanta sports Peter Storrie seems to be paving the way for Paul Hart to be appointed as our manager on a long-term basis: ‘the players have acknowledged how much they enjoy the coaching and the way the pair are taking the club forward.
‘They are experienced pros and have been in the game a long time so they are in the driving seat at the moment.
‘We’ll have a look at the end of the season but it’s certainly looking quite favourable.’
I take it that ‘looking quite favourable’ translates into ‘the cheap option’ if we are being honest…
Maintaining our top-flight status was/is paramount, and with this now looking very much as if it will happen it is almost time to start thinking about the summer, as we will need a manager to help make decisions about those that will stay and those that will go, along with those that come in – although to be honest I am not really expecting a great deal of movement in, although I do feel there will be a hell of a lot of movement out, both those being released and some being sold…
Whilst I can see why Hart could be viewed as the man to carry on next season, I really fear for his and our futures if he does!
We have a major rebuilding job ahead of us this summer, and whilst I already say I am not expecting a lot of movement in player wise, we clearly need to bring in a couple – but for this we need a manager that would be capable of attracting some players, and bargain players at that, and I am not convinced – despite his years in the game – that Hart has the ability to do this, although with Brian Kidd’s contacts and knowledge he ‘should’ be able to point us in the right direction?
I say I fear for Hart and our futures, but why?
Well, this is not so much because I feel we will be dead certs to go down under him next season, as, although I again think it will be a long old slog, I think we ‘should’ have enough to stay up again, but my fear for him is that he will end up being forced out like Tony Adams was. Then if that happens, and as said countless times before, we then lose the greatest chance we have had in donkies years of keeping a possible ‘constant stream’ of our own talent coming through – think of it this way ‘when’ as opposed to ‘if’, for me, he ceased to be our manager is it really that likely he will be able to return to the academy set-up?
I would say no, as parting on good terms would be difficult not to mention then having to see the players day in day out, which would be tough.
There are managers out there, and managers that could do a job without needing a huge budget to work with, so I really do think that we need to look towards one of them. Appointing Hart beyond the end of this could become prove one of the worst decisions we have made in a long time…on the other hand maybe not?
All in all though I think you just have to ask yourself this ‘why has a man of his age not spent more time as a 1st team manager in his own right?’
This seems to answer itself really, and seems to add weight as to why I think it is a bad idea…
PLAY UP POMPEY!
Share this article
