weston super mare

Have today parted company with manager Mickey Bell by mutual consent OK bottom of the league but he got them to fa cup first round and probably made them 20k .strange decision

In a way, yes. They had as easy a run to the 1st round as we should have had - Banbury, Flackwell Heath and Witham - before luck favoured them again with a home tie against league opponents. But they've lost 6 league games in a row and are already 7 points adrift in this shortened season. Perhaps it's a proactive move rather than knee jerk...

Perhaps they are going to spend some of the FA Cup money on getting Laird back.

Could'nt we do a swap?

I'm certain they'll get Laird back.

Which manager are you implying we swap with - Bell? Did you miss Powell's post? I'm not sure the league positions Clevedon achieved under him were great either, but no idea what type of budgets he's worked with.

Yes - I did mean Bell, in the absence of knowing if anyone else is currently 'unattached'. No - I didn't miss Powell's posting, and his track record at Weston looks poor. To my knowledge though the budget there is smaller than ours, and he has a wealth of talent to work with here compared to the ones he has just left.
I think we need new blood in the manager's post, so, although I mentioned a swap with tongue in cheek, we could hardly do worse than making no change at all. Any change should arrest the falling gate - could bring an increase of interest, as it would be seen as a positive step to oust such an unpopular present incumbant.

What did the Weston fans think of him and were you impressed at the work he did at Clevedon? I expect Jason Mellor and Chas Hemmings worked under him before.

I don't know what the Weston fans thought of him, and I am not conversant with the work he did at Clevedon.
In case of confusion I missed the word 'not' out of my first sentence, between 'of' and 'knowing'. I expect you have more first hand knowledge than me as to who is currently available, but all this is missing my point of suggesting that an opportunity to replace Howells has arisen and should be considered.

Maybe it's just me, but I don't see the point in replacing someone with a manager who, going by his record this season, is not going to improve us? I know you don't like Howells, that's fair enough, and you won't change your mind. It'd be a bit like Man City deciding to get rid of Pellegrini and bringing in someone like Villas-Boas.

If ever we decide to part with our management team, which I can't see us doing for the time being, the sort of people who should be considered, in my opinion, are Mehew or Laird. Looking at Weston's position now it's clear Laird did a great job and bar a bit of a slump last year Boris worked wonders for Gloucester. I'll have a look into Bell's managerial career later. I'm sure Clevedon didn't set the world alight in their league, which is two lower than ours, but can remember Adie saying that they try and play good football.

I think you're right about the management team being with us for a long time yet. If change was going to be made, it would surely have followed the cup exit. Again, I don't have the stats, but it seems that at our level many managers leave of their own choice rather than being pushed, with a reduced budget being given as the reason. Last night's attendance and lack of financial support, as cited in the recent board statement, suggests we should brace ourselves for a similar scenario.

I understood that Mr Howells has twice offered his resignation to the Board, but had it refused each time. I hope that should it be offered a third time it will be 'third time lucky'.

Ah right, fair enough, who is the source?

To the best of my memory it was common knowledge, but I heard it last season so I guess he has not offered to go lately - but I'll keep my ears open.