| Ranking Town's worst managers 09:42 - Jan 9 with 8561 views | Herbivore |
Thought it was worth doing an updated one of these in light of Cook's demise and departure. Given how his time here went, he has to be seen as a legit contender. I'm sticking to a list of five and I should caveat my list with the fact that I started supporting Town under John Duncan so haven't included anyone prior to his time in charge (or ultimately Duncan himself as it goes).
1. Paul Hurst - whilst Cook styled himself as demolition man, Hurst really did demolish a competent Championship squad and replaced it with dross. We've still not recovered.
2. Paul Cook - perhaps a touch controversial, but the shortness of his tenure speaks to his level of failure. To manage a worse record than Paul Lambert did in the third tier with the players at his disposal takes some doing.
3. Roy Keane - could easily have been a spot higher or indeed a spot lower, swapping with my number 4 on the list. Spunked away the only millions Evans ever really invested in fees on average players and seemed to lack almost every quality you need to be a manager.
4. Paul Lambert - frankly I'm stunned I have him this low but it speaks to the 'quality' of the opposition. After coming in and saying some nice things that led to a short term uplift in performances (though not results) he seemed to lose all desire and any clue. Famously blew an almost open goal shot at promotion off the back of 27 points from our opening 11 games by inexplicably engaging in a season long game of Lambingo.
5. Paul Jewell - what to say really? Inherited a bit of a mess from Keane and then smeared that mess around a bit for just under 2 years. Occasionally 5 game runs of looking great invariably followed by 10 game runs of looking like a pub team. By the end he looked totally lost and should have been put out of his misery much sooner.
That's my list. It's a packed field, despite all of the managers listed having managed Town within the last 12 years. [Post edited 9 Jan 2022 12:36]
|  |
| |  |
| Ranking Town's worst managers on 18:24 - Jan 9 with 663 views | Herbivore |
| Ranking Town's worst managers on 17:49 - Jan 9 by Mullet |
When it wasn’t Cooks fault for failure it was Ashton doing all the recruiting and undermining him apparently.
Regardless he had opulence beyond any of his predecessors in terms of the squad and made them worse. It’s simply a nonsense to suggest he had anything but ultimate backing and incorporated that into his failure somehow.
When we did win games it was largely because we had so many better players who could do a Celina etc |
It's Shrodinger's squad, simultaneously Cook's and not Cook's depending on what line is being taken to defend his time here.
I'm a little surprised that a few have him right at the bottom of their top 5, I couldn't stand Lambert and thought he was hopeless and should have gone at least a year sooner than he did, but it's not even arguable that Lambert did a less poor job in terms of results in the third tier than Cook did. I think some are still blinded by him being a decent bloke who'd got a good record elsewhere. Taking the emotion out of it, he did abysmally here. | |
| |
| Ranking Town's worst managers on 18:33 - Jan 9 with 648 views | Kropotkin123 |
| Ranking Town's worst managers on 18:24 - Jan 9 by Herbivore |
It's Shrodinger's squad, simultaneously Cook's and not Cook's depending on what line is being taken to defend his time here.
I'm a little surprised that a few have him right at the bottom of their top 5, I couldn't stand Lambert and thought he was hopeless and should have gone at least a year sooner than he did, but it's not even arguable that Lambert did a less poor job in terms of results in the third tier than Cook did. I think some are still blinded by him being a decent bloke who'd got a good record elsewhere. Taking the emotion out of it, he did abysmally here. |
I'm not surprised that you are dismissive of alternative opinions. It is arguable, which is why people are providing reasoning for their opinions.
Have you ever considered that people are not simultaneously saying it is or isn't Cook's squad and it is just either a small minority of people or different people giving these opinions.
Clearly it is not my opinion as I have demonstrated in my previous post |  |
| |
| Ranking Town's worst managers on 18:36 - Jan 9 with 635 views | Herbivore |
| Ranking Town's worst managers on 18:33 - Jan 9 by Kropotkin123 |
I'm not surprised that you are dismissive of alternative opinions. It is arguable, which is why people are providing reasoning for their opinions.
Have you ever considered that people are not simultaneously saying it is or isn't Cook's squad and it is just either a small minority of people or different people giving these opinions.
Clearly it is not my opinion as I have demonstrated in my previous post |
I wasn't responding to you. | |
| |
| Ranking Town's worst managers on 18:37 - Jan 9 with 631 views | Kropotkin123 |
| Ranking Town's worst managers on 18:36 - Jan 9 by Herbivore |
I wasn't responding to you. |
I was responding to you | |
| |
| Ranking Town's worst managers on 18:39 - Jan 9 with 626 views | Herbivore |
| Ranking Town's worst managers on 18:37 - Jan 9 by Kropotkin123 |
I was responding to you |
In a needlessly salty fashion. | |
| |
| Ranking Town's worst managers on 18:48 - Jan 9 with 615 views | positivity |
| Ranking Town's worst managers on 18:24 - Jan 9 by Herbivore |
It's Shrodinger's squad, simultaneously Cook's and not Cook's depending on what line is being taken to defend his time here.
I'm a little surprised that a few have him right at the bottom of their top 5, I couldn't stand Lambert and thought he was hopeless and should have gone at least a year sooner than he did, but it's not even arguable that Lambert did a less poor job in terms of results in the third tier than Cook did. I think some are still blinded by him being a decent bloke who'd got a good record elsewhere. Taking the emotion out of it, he did abysmally here. |
results aren't the be all and end all, there are other things to bear in mind
did a manager leave a legacy of good players?
did he leave an ageing group?
did he leave an undisciplined group?
did he leave us in a parlous financial state due to overspending?
did he leave us with a better relationship between club and fans?
did he leave us with an decreasing or increasing attendance?
length of tenure and whether sacking was overdue or a bit early?
lots of things to bear in mind, so i'm not surprised cook is seen by many as better than the likes of jewell, keane & lambert |  |
| |
| Ranking Town's worst managers on 18:53 - Jan 9 with 593 views | Kropotkin123 |
| Ranking Town's worst managers on 18:48 - Jan 9 by positivity |
results aren't the be all and end all, there are other things to bear in mind
did a manager leave a legacy of good players?
did he leave an ageing group?
did he leave an undisciplined group?
did he leave us in a parlous financial state due to overspending?
did he leave us with a better relationship between club and fans?
did he leave us with an decreasing or increasing attendance?
length of tenure and whether sacking was overdue or a bit early?
lots of things to bear in mind, so i'm not surprised cook is seen by many as better than the likes of jewell, keane & lambert |
Don't be silly, its not even arguable... | |
| |
| Ranking Town's worst managers on 18:55 - Jan 9 with 590 views | Herbivore |
| Ranking Town's worst managers on 18:48 - Jan 9 by positivity |
results aren't the be all and end all, there are other things to bear in mind
did a manager leave a legacy of good players?
did he leave an ageing group?
did he leave an undisciplined group?
did he leave us in a parlous financial state due to overspending?
did he leave us with a better relationship between club and fans?
did he leave us with an decreasing or increasing attendance?
length of tenure and whether sacking was overdue or a bit early?
lots of things to bear in mind, so i'm not surprised cook is seen by many as better than the likes of jewell, keane & lambert |
Some of those things are at least partially outside the manager's control, which is why I tend to weight it more towards results. Ultimately managers are judged by the results they achieve, not by attendances or whether fans think they are likeable. And it's easier to leave an improved squad (on paper) if you've been given lots of financial backing than it is if you've been expected to work on a shoestring. Based purely on what they did here I do find it hard to make a case for Cook being the least bad of that crop but appreciate some rate him higher based on liking him more. | |
| |
Login to get fewer ads
| Ranking Town's worst managers on 18:57 - Jan 9 with 584 views | BiGDonnie |
| Ranking Town's worst managers on 18:48 - Jan 9 by positivity |
results aren't the be all and end all, there are other things to bear in mind
did a manager leave a legacy of good players?
did he leave an ageing group?
did he leave an undisciplined group?
did he leave us in a parlous financial state due to overspending?
did he leave us with a better relationship between club and fans?
did he leave us with an decreasing or increasing attendance?
length of tenure and whether sacking was overdue or a bit early?
lots of things to bear in mind, so i'm not surprised cook is seen by many as better than the likes of jewell, keane & lambert |
None of that really means much, other than the financial state which isn't really a managers responsibility. A manager should and will be judged on results. If we're looking at that, Cook's the worst. Worse than Hurst - particularly with the 'experience' he was supposed to have. If he was that experienced he wouldn't have got shot of everyone last season and fooked up the play off push. |  |
| |
| Ranking Town's worst managers on 19:00 - Jan 9 with 573 views | footers |
| Ranking Town's worst managers on 18:57 - Jan 9 by BiGDonnie |
None of that really means much, other than the financial state which isn't really a managers responsibility. A manager should and will be judged on results. If we're looking at that, Cook's the worst. Worse than Hurst - particularly with the 'experience' he was supposed to have. If he was that experienced he wouldn't have got shot of everyone last season and fooked up the play off push. |
Cook, although very bad, is in no way worse than Hurst. Hands down the worst manager we've ever had. Maybe if he'd been kept on longer he could have proven this more conclusively but he was clueless, arrogant and a bit of a tw@t to boot. [Post edited 9 Jan 2022 19:21]
|  |
| |
| Ranking Town's worst managers on 19:01 - Jan 9 with 573 views | BiGDonnie |
| Ranking Town's worst managers on 19:00 - Jan 9 by footers |
Cook, although very bad, is in no way worse than Hurst. Hands down the worst manager we've ever had. Maybe if he'd been kept on longer he could have proven this more conclusively but he was clueless, arrogant and a bit of a tw@t to boot. [Post edited 9 Jan 2022 19:21]
|
It's proper tight, I'll call it a draw. | |
| |
| Ranking Town's worst managers on 19:03 - Jan 9 with 567 views | Texaco73 |
| Ranking Town's worst managers on 16:51 - Jan 9 by Nthsuffolkblue |
Manager Win percentage (League level) Total matches managed.
Keane 34.6% Championship 81 matches
Jewell 34.1% Championship 85 matches
Hurst 6.7% Championship 15 matches
Lambert 32.7% Championship and League 1 113 matches
Cook 29.5% League 1 44 matches
Statistically the only manager who could be seen as worse is Hurst. When you factor in that Cook was a level below and with the backing to have signed a squad full of players experienced at the level above (as opposed to one with no experience even in the same level for Hurst), it is arguable that Cook was worse than Hurst. It is certainly very close.
I really don't get that it is controversial that Cook's failure is so bad. |
This is my order.
1. HURST
2. COOK
3. LAMBERT
4. JEWELL
5. KEANE
Keane was at the begining of downward spiral, but ultimately Marcus Evans put us here.
It's a results game.
Cook ranks that high as he had the opportunty post ME to build something but he couldn't get a good group of players to play to their potential. His record is poor. Only exceeded by Hurst in ineptitude and tactical illiteracy. |  | | |
| Ranking Town's worst managers on 19:07 - Jan 9 with 558 views | footers |
| Ranking Town's worst managers on 19:01 - Jan 9 by BiGDonnie |
It's proper tight, I'll call it a draw. |
It's actually remarkable given how many managers we've had that so many awful ones are jut in the last 15 years or so. How we've been able to pull that off is quite an achievement. | |
| |
| Ranking Town's worst managers on 19:07 - Jan 9 with 560 views | Kropotkin123 |
| Ranking Town's worst managers on 18:57 - Jan 9 by BiGDonnie |
None of that really means much, other than the financial state which isn't really a managers responsibility. A manager should and will be judged on results. If we're looking at that, Cook's the worst. Worse than Hurst - particularly with the 'experience' he was supposed to have. If he was that experienced he wouldn't have got shot of everyone last season and fooked up the play off push. |
If a manager is "judged on results" only, then Hurst is the worst with a 6.7% win ratio. The order is Hurst, Cook, Lambert, Jewell, Keane.
You can't say none of the positive things Cook did - like assemble a great squad of players - doesn't count. And simultaneously say that things that make his performance worse - like experience - does count. Just to serve your opinion that he is the worst. | |
| |
| Ranking Town's worst managers on 19:10 - Jan 9 with 545 views | Herbivore |
| Ranking Town's worst managers on 19:07 - Jan 9 by footers |
It's actually remarkable given how many managers we've had that so many awful ones are jut in the last 15 years or so. How we've been able to pull that off is quite an achievement. |
Combination of Marcus Evans and the new North stand being built on an ancient Native American burial ground. | |
| |
| Ranking Town's worst managers on 19:14 - Jan 9 with 536 views | BiGDonnie |
| Ranking Town's worst managers on 19:07 - Jan 9 by footers |
It's actually remarkable given how many managers we've had that so many awful ones are jut in the last 15 years or so. How we've been able to pull that off is quite an achievement. |
Literally just showed my boy this thread and said it's all in the last 10-15 years!
We're turning the corner, sharply. The next 15 years will be brilliant. | |
| |
| Ranking Town's worst managers on 19:14 - Jan 9 with 534 views | bazza |
Keane was a terrible manager for us, but love him as a pundit, always waiting for him to drag someone over the coals. |  | | |
| Ranking Town's worst managers on 19:14 - Jan 9 with 533 views | jas0999 |
Most of these were very very poor. Difficult to rack and stack. You could make arguments for all of them to be number one!
On the one hand was Hurst given time? Yet, his strategy was naive and his ability very poor. Keane and Jewell were both very poor considering the backing, but for me, the latter worse than the former, only because Keane got us to the semi finals of the League Cup. Cook, well, seemed to let power go to his head with money and the demolition man. Turned out he wasn’t good enough to manage good players. Less said about PL the better!
Dearly me, all of these were useless!! | | | |
| Ranking Town's worst managers on 19:17 - Jan 9 with 529 views | BiGDonnie |
| Ranking Town's worst managers on 19:07 - Jan 9 by Kropotkin123 |
If a manager is "judged on results" only, then Hurst is the worst with a 6.7% win ratio. The order is Hurst, Cook, Lambert, Jewell, Keane.
You can't say none of the positive things Cook did - like assemble a great squad of players - doesn't count. And simultaneously say that things that make his performance worse - like experience - does count. Just to serve your opinion that he is the worst. |
I mean it, Cook was as bad as Hurst. Remember Cook was a league lower than Hurst and came with years of experience.
I do get that other factors come into play, but would we keep a manager that had all of those but lost every game.
I'm just glad they're both gone. Forever. | |
| |
| Ranking Town's worst managers on 19:19 - Jan 9 with 521 views | The_Romford_Blue |
| Ranking Town's worst managers on 16:29 - Jan 9 by Mullet |
Apart from the fact that by every measure he was. The only redemption he has is that he wasn't largely likeable. But he's clearly in with a shout for our worst ever manager given the only contender next to him is Hurst for destroying the club. |
I just can’t stress it enough how much I disagree here. He was nowhere near as damaging as Hurst, Keane or Jewell.
Jewell filled the side with loans and nearly got us relegated.
Keane sucked the life out of the squad and fans with his awful attitude.
Hurst sold a team of championship players and replaced them with sh*te, ultimately relegating us.
Ok cook failed to get us promoted but the football wasn’t dreadful, there was plenty of good moments and he showed genuine respect about our club. He’s nowhere near our ‘worst ever manager’ and shouldn’t even be in the discussion. |  |
| |
| Ranking Town's worst managers on 19:21 - Jan 9 with 516 views | The_Romford_Blue |
| Ranking Town's worst managers on 16:36 - Jan 9 by HighgateBlue |
We can all have differing views, but how is it outrageous, given that Cook objectively had worse results than Lambert with Lambert's squad, and with Cook's own squad? Because he smiled more? Because he held coffee lots? |
How was Cook better than Lambert?
- Goals
- Style of play
- General entertainment
There’s three off the top of my head. | |
| |
| Ranking Town's worst managers on 19:21 - Jan 9 with 516 views | Kropotkin123 |
| Ranking Town's worst managers on 19:17 - Jan 9 by BiGDonnie |
I mean it, Cook was as bad as Hurst. Remember Cook was a league lower than Hurst and came with years of experience.
I do get that other factors come into play, but would we keep a manager that had all of those but lost every game.
I'm just glad they're both gone. Forever. |
I don't want to say anything positive about McKenna, as it is so early in his managerial career, and I don't want to jinx things.
I'm glad that so many supporters think McKenna is making a positive impact at the club and hope that continues. Hopefully we won't have to revisit this list in a while. | |
| |
| Ranking Town's worst managers on 19:21 - Jan 9 with 515 views | Herbivore |
| Ranking Town's worst managers on 19:19 - Jan 9 by The_Romford_Blue |
I just can’t stress it enough how much I disagree here. He was nowhere near as damaging as Hurst, Keane or Jewell.
Jewell filled the side with loans and nearly got us relegated.
Keane sucked the life out of the squad and fans with his awful attitude.
Hurst sold a team of championship players and replaced them with sh*te, ultimately relegating us.
Ok cook failed to get us promoted but the football wasn’t dreadful, there was plenty of good moments and he showed genuine respect about our club. He’s nowhere near our ‘worst ever manager’ and shouldn’t even be in the discussion. |
He's top 5 without a shadow of a doubt and very likely top 3. It's hard for anyone to top Hurst given just how much damage he managed to do, but after that I don't see much to give Cook an edge over the other candidates. | |
| |
| Ranking Town's worst managers on 19:22 - Jan 9 with 513 views | The_Romford_Blue |
| Ranking Town's worst managers on 17:00 - Jan 9 by footers |
"Give me one measure on which Cook outperforms Lambert."
He wasn't a complete knobsocket?
Just disregarding stats for a minute, I still had things like personality in mind when thinking about this as I'm sure many others did too. There's more to what can make you a 'worse manager' than just results and performance imo, especially at a club like ours where how you conduct yourself really does matter. Asking for an indepedent journalist to be banned from pressers is the action of a dictator and was beyond the pale really. |
Absolutely spot on. Have an arrow of harmony. | |
| |
| Ranking Town's worst managers on 19:23 - Jan 9 with 504 views | footers |
| Ranking Town's worst managers on 19:21 - Jan 9 by Herbivore |
He's top 5 without a shadow of a doubt and very likely top 3. It's hard for anyone to top Hurst given just how much damage he managed to do, but after that I don't see much to give Cook an edge over the other candidates. |
I think this deserves a poll really, so we can make it semi-official.
Clearly Hurst is the worst but let's just rubber stamp it. | |
| |
| |
By continuing to use the site, you agree to our use of cookies and to abide by our Terms and Conditions.
