Awford to meet with the board tomorrow

[Locky_McLockface]

According to the Beeb

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/27125374

[Ziggy Sawdust]

Why would they not offer it to him? Surely he's proved he can do the job beyond any doubt. Or am I being naïve?

[RubiconCSL]

I can't see there is any particular hurry though either. Surely they can quite happily wait until the summer; it's only a couple more games. After all, Moyes is available now and I'm sure he'd make a great nr 2 to AA

[Selsey Bill]

Why would they not offer it to him? Surely he's proved he can do the job beyond any doubt. Or am I being naïve?

I don't think you are being naive at all. If the shareholders were voting on this, it would be a big YES from me.

It's interesting though that Andy Awford has instigated this 'talk' (according to the press), especially as the club originally put out a statement that no decision would be made until the end of the season. Bearing in mind this is less than two weeks away I think the board should wait, and I suspect that is what will be re-iterated in the meeting tomorrow?

Acting the devil's advocate though, we have no idea whatsoever of his ability in a transfer market and how successful he would be at attracting players in. Bearing in mind how many of our players are out of contract in the close season, this will be a crucial part of the role and I am a little nervous about this aspect. It is one where Richie Barker ironically did far better than Guy Whittingham in my opinion.

Also, the situation the club was in when he took over was dire, and 'siege mentality' kicked in with both Awfs and the players. Whilst, he obviously had an immediate and staggering effect on our team's performance I'd be a little worried as to what he'd be like with the players over a longer period, especially once the honeymoon period had worn off.

Having said all of that, he's got to be worth running with. 100% no brainer for me!

[Lost in Transportation]

According to the Beeb

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/27125374

Neil Allen did tweet this last night. Perhaps it should say "BBC sources understand"...

[pomp 'n circumstance]

I believe that what we have is a certain naivety in some of the responses to this thread - listen to his Solent interview and you should all realise there is a lot more to Awfs than meets the eye.

It is naïve to think that we should all bog off on our summer hols with no decision having been made. It should be made asap and the Board should clarify his position before the season ends. That way, the players know, the Board know and the fans know. The fans should know because it affects season Ticket Sales and marketing strategy, the Board have time to react to Awfs suggestions (or not!) and Awfs should know because what he has said, makes a lot of sense - particularly about who takes over the Academy! These plans that he has, were not written on the back of a fag packet but I believe are more likely to contain sound footballing sense and address the root and branch of the Club structure - something which has been sadly lacking in the past.

What Awfs will produce, is a footballing blue print for the future - and that includes the ground, the training facilities and the sort of team Awfs wants to manage. I suspect it will be a blend of youth and experience - if any of them are god enough at 17 or 18, I'm pretty sure he'll give them a chance - if the last 5 games are anything to go by........!

[miltoninLA]

Let it not be forgotten that the board declined to employ Awfs before, preferring the unforgettable Ronnie Barker. If I was in Awfs position I'd be demanding a quick response or regrettably I'd be on me bike.

[The Cincinnati Kid]

In a way, his incredible success over the last 5 games has entirely handicapped the possibility of looking around a bit for a manager. Every win makes it more difficult not to hire the man!

Anyhoo:
Pompey.....check
Defender...check.....I like managers that used to be defenders
Scouting experience...check
Youff experience....check
Coaching experience....check
Fighting talk speeches....check

Thats a decent resume.

[Selsey Bill]

I believe that what we have is a certain naivety in some of the responses to this thread

???

[richisbradders]

Hopefully he will bring back the old throw in and hoof up the pitched he used to do with Adrian whitbread. That always amused me.

[Weybridge]

2+2=5 but whatever.

Awford wants a blend of youth and experience, and a 'if they're good enough, they're old enough' mentality. And he's taking advice from Jim Smith.

Jim Smith who brought Awford into the first team as a 17 year old along with Symons, Powell et al with the same policy.

[Milkins]

So, that'd be today then.


Give him a chance - he more than most will know what is required to actually manage the club from top to bottom. The job must be manager, not just coach. The structure of the club seems to be weak and requires complete overhaul.

The board should listen to his plans and, if approved, hand him the wherewithall to carry them out. They should then back off, do their glad-handing, do their paperwork and then sit back and wave from the directors box.

He has to have control with the board acting more like Governors...

[Pompey1985]

I beleive we need someone to take care off the off field elements of the football side of the business. A paid Coppell if you like, this person doesnt have to have been a manger previously either.

Given the work that is going on with regard to the new training ground etc... there is I'd have thought going to be a lot of involvment in getting that into shape. Something I think we can ill afford our manager to spend his time on. At the same time none of the board nor Catilin have spent their time in the world of football (to my knowledge at least). These leaves the manager to be able to focus on the playing side while still having an involvment in the off pitch side of the footballing parts of PFC. A complete overheaul from scouting, youth recruitment, medical facilities even down to working out what can be done to improve Fratton Park from a players perspective. These are some of the things that players look at and could stand us apart from other clubs in our league and the leagues above.

I wouldnt necessarilly call them a director of football as this has a stigma attached to it, but there I think there needs to be something there.

[Portchester PFC]

I beleive we need someone to take care off the off field elements of the football side of the business. A paid Coppell if you like, this person doesnt have to have been a manger previously either.

Given the work that is going on with regard to the new training ground etc... there is I'd have thought going to be a lot of involvment in getting that into shape. Something I think we can ill afford our manager to spend his time on. At the same time none of the board nor Catilin have spent their time in the world of football (to my knowledge at least). These leaves the manager to be able to focus on the playing side while still having an involvment in the off pitch side of the footballing parts of PFC. A complete overheaul from scouting, youth recruitment, medical facilities even down to working out what can be done to improve Fratton Park from a players perspective. These are some of the things that players look at and could stand us apart from other clubs in our league and the leagues above.

I wouldnt necessarilly call them a director of football as this has a stigma attached to it, but there I think there needs to be something there.

Surely this would be a good role for Micah Hall to undertake as our engagement manager or whatever his role is ? He is certainly a stickler for detail as we know following his blog, would suit him perfectly i would have thought, i can't imagine engaging with whatever he engages with keeps him that busy ?

[Pompey1985]

I beleive we need someone to take care off the off field elements of the football side of the business. A paid Coppell if you like, this person doesnt have to have been a manger previously either.

Given the work that is going on with regard to the new training ground etc... there is I'd have thought going to be a lot of involvment in getting that into shape. Something I think we can ill afford our manager to spend his time on. At the same time none of the board nor Catilin have spent their time in the world of football (to my knowledge at least). These leaves the manager to be able to focus on the playing side while still having an involvment in the off pitch side of the footballing parts of PFC. A complete overheaul from scouting, youth recruitment, medical facilities even down to working out what can be done to improve Fratton Park from a players perspective. These are some of the things that players look at and could stand us apart from other clubs in our league and the leagues above.

I wouldnt necessarilly call them a director of football as this has a stigma attached to it, but there I think there needs to be something there.

Surely this would be a good role for Micah Hall to undertake as our engagement manager or whatever his role is ? He is certainly a stickler for detail as we know following his blog, would suit him perfectly i would have thought, i can't imagine engaging with whatever he engages with keeps him that busy ?

In that case it might aswell be one of the board.