Why was Hourihane given the full time job after the Bolton game?

At that point he had 5 points from 6 games - hardly setting the world alight in terms of results or performances. It's not as if there would have been other clubs sniffing round him and it was a case of appoint him or lose him; the board could have waited until the end of the season to take stock and make a decision. There would have been no downside to waiting, especially given there were supposedly several others interested in the job who they could have taken the time to interview. The club even agreed, at first. Here's some quotes from Neerav:

"So I think Barnsley is an attractive place for head coaches to come and prove how good they are. That said, we made the clear decision that the best options would be available in the summer."

"We want the best possible option that is going to be available in the summer."

"Conor would be one of the candidates and his name will be in the hat. We’ll obviously assess him over the next nine games."

"It would be unfair to say Conor is a frontrunner or anything like that because we want to get the best possible candidate. But it will be open to everyone and a wide spectrum of coaches and Conor will absolutely be one of the names ."

The fact that he was the suddenly appointed after the first good result shows that it was already a done deal, and just a case of PR management. They had made the decision he would be the next full time manager before they even sacked Clarke and likely last summer when he joined. They thought that they would see an improvement over the 9 games that would allow an easy confirmation of the appointment in the summer and laid the groundwork in the press to make it seem like we would be considering other candidates. However after a difficult start they jumped on the first positive result, knowing that if they waited until the summer and things hadn't improved then it would be very difficult for them to justify the decision they were pretending not to have already made. Only at Barnsley FC could **** results hasten a job offer.

So not only are they clueless at running a football club, they've also completely pillocked fans with his "playing" role and then handling his appointment as manager.

I feel sorry for Conor because the club has handled this terribly. I really hope he can turn it round next season, but we all know Sormaz isn't going to equip him with a good squad, and on the evidence to date it doesn't look like he can get much of a tune out of an average one.

 

Because Paul Warne decided to go to an ambitious L2 club instead of a L1 club heading for L2 if nothing changes in the leadership at the club.

 

I don’t know the answer - though to be a pedant he actually only had five points from six games. He got his sixth point against Peterborough and now has six points from nine games, at a rate of .66 a match.

At that rate we’d achieve 30 or 31 points over a 46 game season.

Shrewsbury, plum last, who prior to today had won twice away from home all season and hadn’t won for 16 games, currently have 33 from 45.

 

Cheers, edited.

 

We were 8 points behind Bolton in 6th when they sacked Clarke & had a very favourable next four fixtures with a home tie against Bolton to come too.

Make no mistake they thought we could still make the play offs.

All the stuff Nareev said in his interview is what’s fed to him from Sormaz & people working day to day at the club. I believe they genuinely thought they had a top 4 squad & expected Hourihane to get results.

When he didn’t & then finally did get a win against Bolton I think they panicked & thought they had to appoint him now whilst all the fans are happy after an excellent performance

 

And what has raised the big red flags is Neerav stating Mladen is doing a good job. What the actual ****?! Mladen will destroy this club if he's left to oversee anymore transfer windows. He's so far out of his depth it's unreal.

 

Yeah that's the way I see it, and Ive also posted similar comments.
Whether Warne or even Duff or Evatt were candidates, its doubtful because this lot had probably decided some time ago.
And if not Conor, then it would have been a fourth or fifth choice, who sometimes likes to watch football on the telly!!.

 

That interview with Neerav where he actually said Sormaz is doing a good job did a lot of damage. Spoke to a few today that said they aren’t renewing because of that statement. Just get Sormaz out the club ASAP.

 

Let’s be honest, they’re skint and don’t want to put in a penny more than they have to; and won’t.

spectemur agendo

 

It was already decided when he was brought in last summer he would be the next manager, they just waited for the right time to announce it.

 

I'm not judging him until next season when hopefully lads are all fully fit and something to play for again, whilst more importantly, getting some confidence back. Tough to do a job with the players he has.

We were ***** when he took over, so although we had something to play for, a slight chance, it was always going to be a push to get us in playoffs.

Heres hoping it works our for next season.

 

I still genuinely think he’s the right man for the job and truthfully posts like this aren’t helpful or supportive. Who would you rather have?

Whatever you are looking for in a head coach I think he meets the requirements:
- he’s articulate
- promotes standards
- understands the club
- has introduced new ideas
- played with wingers (something a lot wanted)
- we do look more organised despite the poor players
- he’s played at the highest level

We can accept this season is a mess without it being Hourihane fault.

 

So far he's looking like Nigel Spackman, who also fitted all those criteria. Because unfortunately:

- we lose every match
- defensive organisation is a joke
- football is abysmal
- talks a good game but its just turd on the pitch