As 'Yoof' team coach. Our loss is their gain. Just wish the club would stop treating us like mugs and let us know the real reason he was sacked. :dismay:
Sacked cos he was a sub-standard first team coach I guess mate. Though Aidy should take some blame for that too.
Best news in ages - he was the prime instigator in stitching up Gibbsy ....... probably our most successful coach ever with the kids, and then the reserves. I do hope his record of failure continues at the Saints!
I don't buy that Rich. The reason in the media was because we were playing long ball...Aidy decides which tactics/style of play we chose, not the coach. I find it interesting that both Cummins and Hockaday were sacked at more or less the same time...a little birdy tells me something different, which i'm not going to say on here. I totally agree.
Leicester will be pleased, he only lasted a week or so there. He can not have a go at us for not showing loyalty now. Southampton's youth set up is top notch though so he will have a good job down there.
No doubt losing Gibbo was a massive blow to all the fans, particularly the older lads that have seen him from teenage years...and you're obviously a lot more ITK regarding the club than I am mate...is it really true that Hocks stitched up Gibbsy? I really wouldn't know. No suprise to me Gibbs when to a decent club like Reading...but then again Hockaday has gone to arguably the best club in the country when it comes to producing young talent in recent years.
You're right about Aidy deciding tactics etc but I personally reckon it came down to man management issues. Aidy's always said he likes people who challenge his decisions and debate them with him but I've always got the impression he likes to have the final word. Maybe Hocks couldn't adapt from being head honcho in the academy to second in line with the first team? Or maybe he was counter-acting Aidy's "orders" when it came to the lads (Doyley, Young, Mariappa, Macca etc) who he'd seen through the youth setup? Or it could simply being the bonus money issue as with Cummins.
This is what i've heard...didn't want to say on here for obvious reasons. Well I guess you're right with regards to his man management, I suppose we'll never really find out the real reason for his sacking. If I bump into him in Southampton at any time I will ask him.
DH was announced at Leicester as coach but did not actually take the job. It seems he has taken the view (after his January experience) that there is greater job security in being an Academy boss that a 1st team coach. He won't be at risk if Martin Allen does not work out at Leicester. DH had been paid up, made the most of it and moved on as he thinks best - good luck to him. But Chris Cummins probably thought he had job security too.. DH was in charge of coaching the defence before his dismissal after Xmas. As I remember it, defence was not the problem then, creating and scoring goals was. Some of the other speculation on this thread is way off the mark.
Twas written into NG's 'leaving package' that he was not allowed to comment on any of the 'cirumstances' regarding his departure. Believe me, it was not the 'happy clappy loss of a loyal servant' news-bite that was released by WFC. Remember Gibbo had just won the Premier Reserve League (in his first season with the reserves) ...... not hard to imagine whose aspirations this would most affect, is it?
i do deffinilty think there is more to the story than just man mangement skills, but then again maybe he just couldnt adapt to not being in charge anymore
Wasn't a good coach, got shot of people like Norville who I personally rated quite highly. Gibbs was excellent and was the reason some of the talent that has served us so well recently improved so greatly. Appalling decision to get rid of Gibbs originally, but its not unusual for new managers to bring in their own staff. Its just those rules just shouldn't apply to Gibbs... :]]
My Barnet supporting mate speaks of him in high regards. I think he made something like 5 appeaences in 2 years there! I do remember him scoring a cracking goal against Shef Weds I believe on his debut though.
At the time I did think he was very good. He was very good, but was injured CONSTANTLY!! In the reserves he was a stand out player IMO and I wouldn't have minded giving him another year to see if he could have done anything decent. Shame, but thats what you get for being injury prone. I used to sit next to his Dad at the reserves and he was a really nice bloke but thought Hockaday was a complete ******.
Gibbs was living in the past in terms of his tactics. His ideas were as limited as Lewington's and although theres no doubt that he was/is a legend, it was time for a change IMO.
Norville was a fekkyn joker. 10/10 for slapstick, 0/10 as a player. Good luck to DH. From what I know of him he is a top bloke. It was a tragedy when we lost NG, but at the end of the day, AB is judged on results, so must be free to run his ship as he sees fit. Whatever his reasons for getting rid of Nigel "yellow blood" Gibbs, if he takes the club forwards over the next 2-3 seasons and establishes us in the top-flight, I, for one, will forgive him. If not, we can string him up outside Kudos.
Gibbsy did well but remember was Lewington's 2nd hand man when we were on the slide... Shame Hockaday had to go for whatever reason but then I trust Aidy to do what he thinks is best....
kabba francis not always the best idea to leave aidy completley by himself but no if he thinks he needed a change then so be it
if hockaday was sacked for coaching the long ball tactic then why on earth was mackay signed as his replacement? Mackay was the biggest culprit. Everytime he gets the ball he just has a competition with himself to see how higher he can boot the ball in the sky.
Im sure people will start giving it the "o what a loada cr@p freind of a friend rubbish" but i get the odd bit of news from a guy i know who is very good friends with kevin afflek (even showed me text on his phone from afflek regarding king). He says simpson tries to keep him as far away as possible from every story and just no comments alot. Regarding this story he said cummins was a bit big headed and although helped players progressed alot of them didn;t like him very much. As for Hockady, the club just wouldn't tell him a thing other than the statement they released on the website.
Gibbs won us the reserve Premier League title. Now lets all count how many times that has been achieved since? Ok. Oh and whats this? He has just won Reading the reserve Premier League title this year, ahead of us! Oh my word I see a pattern emerging here.... Needed a change my arse.
We can talk about Gibbs and Cummins and Hockaday all day long but we'll never get a firm answer.... hopefully (and I really mean that), if they have taken Simpson to court.. we'll eventually find out. Meanwhile, if I bump into Aidy at one of the pre seasons, Im just gonna have to ask!
I wouldn't listen to a word that comes out of Affleck's mouth, he's a lazy journo and clearly the biggest dunce at the watford observer.
