amberchoc
1st team Player
Blessed is the person who having nothing to say abstains from giving us wordy evidence of the fact.
Posts: 1,501
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Post by amberchoc on Dec 19, 2023 11:28:59 GMT
If I’d have been eating cornflakes at the time I’d have spluttered over them! Not a surprise, but still a shock, if you see what I mean.
I just checked to see if Matt was already in the Hall of Fame and, quite rightly, he was inducted straight after leading us into the Football League.
Even though Matt doesn’t read this forum, it’s only right to echo the thoughts of everybody else in this thread: Thanks for everything Matt and good luck in your future managerial endeavours.
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Post by halftimet on Dec 19, 2023 11:45:22 GMT
Like many others, I've got mixed feelings about this. I had a lot of time for Matt, and of course he's earned an important place in the club's history, but this season we have appeared to be sliding back to the level we were at when he was appointed. The result at Stockport, coupled with the manner of that defeat, was the decisive blow. It remains to be seen whether a new managerial regime can haul the club to safety. There's a lot of work to do but, as Gareth L says, the January window provides an opportunity to overhaul the squad. Not sure we need an overhaul. We just need to get the best from the players we have in a system that works. A couple of additions maybe.
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Post by banjo on Dec 19, 2023 11:46:13 GMT
Thanks Matt for the memories and for being an honest bloke , so thanks ones a gain and good luck for the future.
For me though I think it’s the right decision and also show how the club wants to stay in the league. ⚽️⚽️⚽️
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Post by baboonfish on Dec 19, 2023 11:46:46 GMT
Join the EFL and leave your traditional values behind you. No longer #inittogether apparently. While I totally understand the sentiment, it's wishful thinking to believe a club can enter it's 3rd year as a professional League 2 side and not be forced to change ways of operating. I feel there are some who actually long for a return to being non-league, and I can understand that sentiment too. If we'd bombed in 21-22, Gray would not have been sacked. As others have said, he's a victim of his own success. There is an awful lot of money at stake here with the vastly inflated Sky pot. That money will widen the gap between the league and non league again - a gap which has been dwindling year on year since the mid-80s. It's highly likely, if and when we go down, none of us will live to see Sutton as a League club again. Ultimately, Matt made the decision to cull the squad and rebuild, and it did not work out. His inability to get the most out of the squad he's assembled, his tactical inflexibility, and our defensive frailties which were ruthlessly laid bare on Saturday, have cost him his job. Whether he'd 'lost the dressing room,' we'll never know, but I suspect the reported row with Smith might've revealed cracks in that department which weren't visible before. And the whole Omari Patrick thing also reflects poorly on Gray's management. He should've been able to tweak his tactical system to fit in a player who has consistently scored goals, but he couldn't. Instead, Patrick, who is probably our highest earner and most valuable player in cash terms, has been warming the bench. All those things combined means the club made the only decision it could if it wants to remain a football league club. Keeping Gray would've meant accepting relegation. Only time will tell if the situation is salvagable, but at least we've given whoever is incoming a fair crack of the whip with a few games to assess the squad then a full transfer window. The appointment will tell us a lot about the ambitions here. The club isn't going to appoint someone like, say, the Crowleys, or a big name ex-pro taking their first managerial post, then not back them up with a decent pot.
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john
Spectator
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Post by john on Dec 19, 2023 11:47:05 GMT
Matt gray you are a legend, a million thanks for all you have done for the club,to get us into the EFL and a trip to Wembley and iam so sorry this has happened to you, good luck in what ever to do from now, if it's to another club, they will be getting a top bloke!!!
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Post by Andy K on Dec 19, 2023 11:49:13 GMT
I believe the last time we sacked a manager (and possibly the only time, and happy for others to correct me) was Ian Hazel in 2007. Oddly enough he isn't in the Hall of Fame as he took us pretty much on a downward trajectory from day 1, which was turbo charged when Paul Harford left. That time we replaced him with, on paper, someone who looked like a decent choice for that level, Ernie Howe. You know what happened then. We ended up playing at the lowest level of the football pyramid since the Athenian League days.
I really wasn't sad at all when both of those departed, but I really am today. After the initial shock of the club sacking a manager sunk in, I'll be forever grateful to a manager that delivered things beyond our wildest dreams. I don't think you can underestimate the magnitude of a side like Sutton getting to the Football League. It literally stands out as pretty much the only club without any league pedigree previously or without significant financial backing to make it. Not only was it amazing for us, it gave other sides of similar stature the hope that they could do it too.
This feels even more of "end of era" stuff that Dos going, as that became a bit of a saga and a long drawn out affair, whilst this was sudden. I really hope Matt has learnt from this experience and comes back to be the brilliant manager he has shown he can be, and whichever club take him on next are in for a treat. Personally I was hoping that Matt would have read the room better and walked away rather than getting the chop, but sadly he was still sticking to the "we don't have time in training to get my ideas across line" and then when we did we lose 8-0. I don't doubt he totally believed it himself, and maybe that's the lesson for him to learn.
I truly wish the man every success going forward and hopes he gets another role soon, although currently the only suitable role that is vacant is at Havant, a club where he was captain and finished his playing career at. So maybe he will be in post before the new year.
Thank you again Matt for those magical moments you've given us. That day against Hartlepool, and moments like the penalties at Wigan and finally getting to Wembley after 40+ years won't ever be forgotten.
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kpinwp
1st team Player
Posts: 1,245
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Post by kpinwp on Dec 19, 2023 12:05:56 GMT
Very sad but I do not see how the board could have, realistically, come to any other conclusion.
Staying with the status quo and hoping for the best would have been a weak decision. This shows a determination to try to stay in L2.
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Post by Amber Aleman on Dec 19, 2023 12:15:50 GMT
Just for the record, Ian Hazel wasn't sacked. He resigned on 8 October 2007, the Monday following a 3-0 home defeat to Weston-super-Mare that left us at the foot of the Conference South table.
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Post by garethl on Dec 19, 2023 12:18:04 GMT
Very sad but I do not see how the board could have, realistically, come to any other conclusion. Staying with the status quo and hoping for the best would have been a weak decision. This shows a determination to try to stay in L2. Or maybe the brave decision given sacking is what football clubs do and the pressure they would have been feeling under to do something.
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Post by boomboom on Dec 19, 2023 12:39:28 GMT
Like many others, I've got mixed feelings about this. I had a lot of time for Matt, and of course he's earned an important place in the club's history, but this season we have appeared to be sliding back to the level we were at when he was appointed. The result at Stockport, coupled with the manner of that defeat, was the decisive blow. It remains to be seen whether a new managerial regime can haul the club to safety. There's a lot of work to do but, as Gareth L says, the January window provides an opportunity to overhaul the squad.Just a minor observation but getting through to the 3rd round of the Cup - for what's a "free hit" match - carries the bonus of giving the new man in charge a bit longer to assess the squad and make his mark.
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kpinwp
1st team Player
Posts: 1,245
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Post by kpinwp on Dec 19, 2023 12:44:51 GMT
Very sad but I do not see how the board could have, realistically, come to any other conclusion. Staying with the status quo and hoping for the best would have been a weak decision. This shows a determination to try to stay in L2. Or maybe the brave decision given sacking is what football clubs do and the pressure they would have been feeling under to do something. Frankly, no. It would have been foolish. The results speak for themselves. Stockport was a debacle. Our improvments, after the Salford fiasco (and it really was that), have just not been sufficient. There have been no concrete reasons to assume that things would improve. None. If the board felt under pressure then they right to do so. A great deal is at stake.
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Post by FaultyyearsaU on Dec 19, 2023 12:57:41 GMT
I can't really add very much to what many others have already said. Just my own - Thank you Matt, for everything. What a 4.5 years it's been in our great club's history. I think my biggest sadness is that he is just a really decent bloke and I, for one, was very proud to have him manage and represent our club. I shall take a very great interest in whomever he manages going forwards and can only wish him all the very best for the future. Getting someone (probably already done ofc) who really "understands" SUFC will be the biggest challenge. I guess you could say that the board have achieved this twice, very successfully in past 15 years so why not again?? Anyway "For what we are about to receive......"
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Post by paz on Dec 19, 2023 12:59:59 GMT
At the end of the day, now was the time the club had to act. Had they not done so now and that decision proved to be costly, it would have been their error and them at fault. Some may even think it has come a bit late.
To be fair they gave Matt plenty of time and helped him assemble a decent squad of players this year, at least on paper. They allowed him time and for a few games we saw improvement, but we crashed right back down with that 8-0 defeat.
They have given Matt enough time but also given a new manager enough time. My money is still on relegation, but at least we would have done all we can, and who knows what this change may bring.
I would like to say to Matt, Thank you sir! You have achieved so much at this club and have given me some of the best moments in Football. The doors at Sutton United will always be open to you and you will have a beer in hand. I wish you all the best in your career and I am sure a fresh change will be of benefit to you after a much-deserved break. You achieved too much too quickly in the end.
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Post by medyel on Dec 19, 2023 13:03:27 GMT
Thank you Matt for all you have done and for all the dreams you made come true. Sadly the vast majority of football management jobs will end in a brutal way, but as in many things there is a natural life span and I think the Board are right to say enough is enough; time has been afforded, personnel has been changed but rock bottom and a post war battering says it all. Who next? My name for the hat is Paul Clement; a well respected coach, (I think) not in a job, would change the way we play and has local connections (he taught at Glenthorne in Sutton Common Road). Just a thought..
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Post by paz on Dec 19, 2023 13:10:48 GMT
Thank you Matt for all you have done and for all the dreams you made come true. Sadly the vast majority of football management jobs will end in a brutal way, but as in many things there is a natural life span and I think the Board are right to say enough is enough; time has been afforded, personnel has been changed but rock bottom and a post war battering says it all. Who next? My name for the hat is Paul Clement; a well respected coach, (I think) not in a job, would change the way we play and has local connections (he taught at Glenthorne in Sutton Common Road). Just a thought.. A bit hopeful! this guy coached under Ancelotti. I was thinking more along the lines of Jimmy Dack
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