The next Bognor Manager

[fyfe1]

Now that Jamie Howell has returned, and Jack seemingly about to retire, I wonder who people would prefer as our next manager? Would it be Robbie Blake, or perhaps Birmy who bleeds Green blood and is a die hard Rocks man, or perhaps would it be Jamie who has left us in the lurch twice before? And would any of those mentioned above benefit from having Dabba by their side or as part of the coaching staff?

[bognorrocks]

I would go with Birmy or Robbie as manager and the other as a coach or even be joint manager with Dabba working underneath them that would be the best all round for the football club.

[kittman]

Personally I would like to see Dabba back in some coaching capacity, whether that's part time or as an advisory role to assist Robbie in the coaching and to balance Dabba's other pressures / roles that he undertakes. As for the Managers job, either Jamie or Birmy would be perfect for the job.

[kof]

fyfe1, don't understand your manufactured question? Is "jack seemingly about to retire" and when did Jamie leave us in the lurch twice before? You are a great supporter and usually I agree with you or is this question just a firework?

[fyfe1]

Kof... Jamie left us twice before, once to Burgess Hill, second to Eastbourne.... Not a Firework at all just pointing a serious point. Are we looking for a management team for the future, or someone who will leave at a whim? Personally I'd go for the long term. As for Jack... I'll leave that for others

[seasiderock123]

Interesting post. I have to say the appointment of Jamie has created a lot of interest amongst the fans.
I feel it is not a loaded firework and does need answering, although I am sure Jack will not agree. Depsite watching the team for nearly 60 years, and seeing Jack involved for over 50 years, surely with all his FA committments he can't continue ?
Jack has been amazing with what he has achieved at this club, I can remember sitting on the old grass mound behind the goal and watching us play in the Sussex 2nd Division. I can remember our cup runs, I can remember how the ground used to look like, so many good fond memories. However if this club is to continue t o progress on the pitch we need changes now!!!!
Since this Jack came back we have gone down from the National South League and stagnated into a mid table Isthmian league side, no ambition and no progress. In that time Worthing has grown in strength, they have overtaken us by miles and we are light years behind their infrastructure.
Personally I would give the job to Birmy with Robbie as his assistant. Add Dabba to the coaching staff and what a dream team we have.
Have a lot of time for Jamie and his links with the allstars is amazing. Personally would love to see him set up our own academy instead of renting one.
Lets see this club get the infrasture right, and see where we can take the club.

[cityboy]

Really well written and thought out post.
Some very good ideas for sure.

[kof]

I don't dispute Jamie left the Rocks twice but to say he left us "in the lurch" or " on a whim" is an unjustified opinion not a fact. You could say the same about Birmy when he stopped playing, which I also believe is not true. FWIW, I would also like to see Birmy back as manager although, on the face of it, Jamie's credentials are better.

[Fish and chips]

As a supporter of the club for over 20 years I think jack's been amazing but the time has come to step aside and let someone else do the work on the pitch. I would still love him to be involved in everything at the club just not the managers role. Birmy would be my personal choice with dabba as coach . But I'd also wouldn't mind Jamie being manager if we couldn't get birmy. Feeling very deflated about on the pitch this season and the last 3 before that as we seem to have no ambition on the pitch but lots off it with how good the ground looks. Please jack just let go and let the club push on.

[hampshirerock]

I'm glad to see other people are finally starting to speak up instead of saying it but not speaking up on here.most of us have had enough with jack as manager hopefully he will read the forum which I'm told he does even tho he says he doesn't. And just admit he isn't right for the job. Get birmy in to shake things up and build a team he wants not what he would inherent. We have some great players but they are not being made the most of. With being played in wrong positions. And poor tactics . I feel Jamie coming in does absolutely nothing to change things unless he is made manager which he isn't. People getting excited about winning the last game against a poor team below us in the league and it seems we can only beat some teams below us recently and not above us. which really shows what position we deserve to be in in the league. We really need something positive to get the club going again as feel it's all gone a bit flat recently.

[shadders]

Personally. I’d like to see Birms as manager with Jamie and Dabba along side him.
I would like to think if JP has the club at heart he will step aside and give them all the support and experience they ask for but not be in the driving seat making decisions. As I say only step up and help if required. COYR.

[Goldy]

Think people are being disrespectful to Robbie based on not liking Jack.

I’m intrigued to know what role Robbie would actually want ,does he want to be manager or happy being a coach?
If manager then having a Dabba besides him would work.
But i like the idea of Jamie Howell and Robbie Blake working together. Jamie’s local knowledge of players coming to the end of the careers or local youth who they have had their eyes on for a while.
Birmy’s time will come I’m sure of it,and I agree sometimes clubs need to take a gamble when managers come from lower leagues just because someone is a club legend(would that also work against him)
But I know us as fans we’re patient and will give whomever is in charge the time it needs.

One thing I’ll agree on Seaside Rock is the allstars link being more affiliated to the club rather than a loan as you put it. Something the club turnt their nose up at years ago,and look how that ended up.

Anyway,keep getting those numbers through the turnstiles and build on it off the pitch and get it right on the pitch strongly till the end of this season and see where we end up.

[Felpham Rock]

The ‘Jamie left us in the lurch’ comment is odd. We don’t know the in & outs. Maybe he had already got the impression we didn’t really want to go up which seemed to be the case when we did! How about remembering his tactical masterclass in that play off final v a Dulwich side which had looked unbeatable for two months. Funny how playing players in their correct positions worked a treat that day.

[Goldy]

Feb 4, 2022 16:50:00 GMT 1 Felpham Rock said:

The ‘Jamie left us in the lurch’ comment is odd. We don’t know the in & outs. Maybe he had already got the impression we didn’t really want to go up which seemed to be the case when we did! How about remembering his tactical masterclass in that play off final v a Dulwich side which had looked unbeatable for two months. Funny how playing players in their correct positions worked a treat that day.

Played Craney in midfield and left Dylan Barnett at left back? Agree 💯 it was a masterclass that stopped their midfield playing.

[paul]

It does rather feel as if we have reached a natural changing of the guard in terms of team management. I always think Jack talks a lot of football sense and I find myself agreeing with him more often than not but we've been 'giving the ball away unexpectedly in our half of the pitch' for about as long as he's been doing post-match interviews and the playing personnel has changed considerably in that time which might suggest it's more about how we play than who is playing.
The brutal reality is that, since Jamie was last here, we've had an absolute shocker in the Conference South (the most dispiriting season in the 40 odd years i've been following Bognor) and, despite odd moments of brilliance and the success of bringing young players through to send on to higher leagues, we've been pretty much a run-of-the-mill mid-table side in the Isthmian Premier, even allowing for the curtailed seasons, which is in stark contrast to the improvements we've made off the pitch. A club of our standing and our support should be aiming a lot higher than that.
Jamie was (and presumably still is) a young and ambitious manager and I'd be surprised if he's come back to play second fiddle to anyone so. assuming he actually wants the job, he'd be my choice for manager come August. Just as importantly, he's a pragmatic manager - to highlight the stark difference between him and Jack, I remember the interview that Liam did with Jamie during the early stages of the pandemic and, recalling the FA Trophy run, he touched on the performance away at Maidstone which was a gritty, backs to the wall victory against a team flying high in the league above, the sort of result that good teams churn out. Apparently, Jack was at the game and left twenty minutes early because he didn't like the way we were playing... Admittedly, Jamie had a better hand in terms of the players he had available to him but he understood that the bottom line of any football team is results and we haven't had enough of them over the past few years.

[funky gibbon]

My preference would be Birmy with Dabba. At the moment I can't find the incentive to spend 12 pound plus as much again in petrol to come and watch a team who are happy to tread water at this level. Let's show some ambition. The gate money must allow for some decent players, rather than the cheap kids that we continue to sign.

[funky gibbon]

My preference would be Birmy with Dabba. At the moment I can't find the incentive to spend 12 pound plus as much again in petrol to come and watch a team who are happy to tread water at this level. Let's show some ambition. The gate money must allow for some decent players, rather than the cheap kids that we continue to sign.

[Felpham Rock]

Good point in the earlier post about Craney in midfield v Dulwich. However back then Craney was used in midfield in certain games. As was Craig Robson. And Snorre. Horses for courses depending on the opposition.