High Noon Cover up. V Rotherham away Sat 11th Jan 12-30.

[BWFC_Insane]

To play devil's advocate for Sharon, if you want to defend Evatt you can do it; but you have to want to now.

Evatt consistently improved every season until this one, so this is his first regressive season.
He started the season with a raft of senior player injured and the lost a number of his summer signings to injuries.
He's still not got all those players back fully fit and his first January signing only arrived in the building this week.
Many of the players have publicly (and privately) backed him - including signing new deals.

So if you believe wholeheartedly in him then at minimum you are giving him January recruitment and then time for those new players to settle and have an impact.

Sharon got national praise for saying they would run this club differently and not sack the manager as the first resort, now we're struggling and all the has gone out of the window.

That being that, regardless of your personal view, she has got to back him in the market. If she believes all of the above then he will need at least 2-3 more players. He's said himself it can't just be recruitment, but some of it will have to be. Deserved or not.

The obvious issue is coaching. He will be given months to coach his way out of it. He's previously turned around bad situations, but he's never lost this large a section of the fans before.

This will not be fun.

He’d spent too much already before this season. He had to get the club up last season. He didn’t and presided over one of the clubs worst days in its long history after a string of embarrassing defeats whenever the character was tested.

This season was not about making amends. We already should be a championship club and he had no leeway. He had enough and got way more to spend. Storm the league with a side that is way better to watch than the dross he’s served up to date - anything else will mean he becomes Phil Neal MK2. He’s now Phil Neal, just more unpleasant and arrogant and less self aware.

He’s done for. He won’t change my view now nor that of the fans regardless. And the only question is whether Sharon is similarly done for in the opinion of fans.

[GhostoftheBok]

Are there fans that still support Evatt, Ghost?

Clearly. Some were throwing punches for him today and plenty were telling those singing for his head to shut up.

They are now the minority, though.

[GhostoftheBok]

He’d spent too much already before this season. He had to get the club up last season. He didn’t and presided over one of the clubs worst days in its long history after a string of embarrassing defeats whenever the character was tested.

This season was not about making amends. We already should be a championship club and he had no leeway. He had enough and got way more to spend. Storm the league with a side that is way better to watch than the dross he’s served up to date - anything else will mean he becomes Phil Neal MK2. He’s now Phil Neal, just more unpleasant and arrogant and less self aware.

He’s done for. He won’t change my view now nor that of the fans regardless. And the only question is whether Sharon is similarly done for in the opinion of fans.

The question being asked by many fans is how Sharon can still support him. She will feel she's being entirely reasonable.

[The_Gun]

Are there fans that still support Evatt, Ghost?

Clearly. Some were throwing punches for him today and plenty were telling those singing for his head to shut up.

They are now the minority, though.

Fair enough, everyone’s entitled to their opinion. Hard to see their logic, though.

On the injuries point I would ask two things:

1. Have we had worse injury problems than other clubs in the division this season?

2. How many of our injuries were suffered by players who were signed with known injury issues?

[BWFC_Insane]

He’d spent too much already before this season. He had to get the club up last season. He didn’t and presided over one of the clubs worst days in its long history after a string of embarrassing defeats whenever the character was tested.

This season was not about making amends. We already should be a championship club and he had no leeway. He had enough and got way more to spend. Storm the league with a side that is way better to watch than the dross he’s served up to date - anything else will mean he becomes Phil Neal MK2. He’s now Phil Neal, just more unpleasant and arrogant and less self aware.

He’s done for. He won’t change my view now nor that of the fans regardless. And the only question is whether Sharon is similarly done for in the opinion of fans.

The question being asked by many fans is how Sharon can still support him. She will feel she's being entirely reasonable.

Poor leadership. It’s a theme. It runs through the club top to bottom.

[GhostoftheBok]

Fair enough, everyone’s entitled to their opinion. Hard to see their logic, though.

On the injuries point I would say two things:

1. Have we had worse injury problems than other clubs in the division this season?

2. How many of our injuries were suffered by players who were signed with known injury issues?

1. We usually do.

2. This has always been why 1 is true.

We keep buying crocks and they keep getting crocked.

It's been the bane of every season.

You have to have a solid core of lads who can play every week OR you need 35+ players over a season - as some clubs have had to get up. We can't afford the latter.

[GhostoftheBok]

Poor leadership. It’s a theme. It runs through the club top to bottom.

In which case, Evatt is right. Sacking him won't change much.

[The_Gun]

You’d know better than me with regards to the actual numbers, but I do feel like fans of most clubs think they suffer inordinately with injuries.

Again, I’d have to do more research to prove this, but my intuition is that we haven’t had an abnormal number of injuries this season.

[Harry Genshaw]

I just want him gone ASAP.

From the club. Not this spiritual plane.

In case the Rozzers are watching.

[GhostoftheBok]

Again, I’d have to do more research to prove this, but my intuition is that we haven’t had an abnormal number of injuries this season.

We came in with a very light squad. We discussed it at the time.

In other seasons some clubs have had a similar number of injuries (or more) and gone up, but when you look at how many players they have USED in those seasons you see how they solved that issue. As Pompey's manager said, "We took the decision to front-load the squad in January" and they pumped millions into their wage budget to do it.

Evatt pointed out today we are 8th in the division for wages. We are spending money on fees, but those assets retain value on the books. Wages are just lost money, which we won't write off.

[GhostoftheBok]

That's not to say injuries is a valid excuse this season. It's contributed, but Evatt has just fecked up.

[BWFC_Insane]

Poor leadership. It’s a theme. It runs through the club top to bottom.

In which case, Evatt is right. Sacking him won't change much.

I mean yes this is the worry. What does Sharon know about football? She appointed Hill. And Evatt. She hasn’t been in the game. There is nobody involved with relevant experience as far as we know. No jaded old hand with a book full of contacts that we are aware of.

I suspect she’s a great person but the reality is that what works in competitive sport is different to what works in broader business. You can evaluate a plan to turn a business round and decide if someone has the ability to do so. In football that’s far harder to do. You may will them to do so, but it needs a lot of things and a particular character and personality that are not required in many businesses and really can’t be learned.

We sorely need football expertise in the boardroom and not some data nuts either. Proper experience.

[TonyDomingos]

I wonder what she makes of Evatt's comments about the players. It's at complete odds with her style of management.

[Bertie Wooster]

I wonder what she makes of Evatt's comments about the players. It's at complete odds with her style of management.

I get the impression that he can do and say anything he wants as far as SB is concerned.

[TANGODANCER]

I've got a good idea; lets do a Robin Hood and unite the team, management and supporters and start playing with some fight. Right now we're being bullies and bossed outside the club, not inside it. Scrub the pass-the-parcel, because we're not good at it, and start taking the fight to
the opposition. At worst, leave three on our goal line and welly the rest to seven attackers in the opposition half. Won't happen, I know, but what's worse than right now?

[Bertie Wooster]

"sideways and backwards everywhere we go", "Ian Evatt your football is shite" and repeat.

[brommers95]

Such a shame Evatt’s tenure is ending like this to be honest. I’m not particularly enamoured with him as a person but he has given us some great moments over the past five years; the crazy run in L2 to get promoted bringing great joy whilst being locked inside, the 6-0 vs Sunderland, 5-2 vs Ipswich, 4-1 vs Charlton, winning at Wembley, the likes of Dapo and sexy Kieran Lee playing fluid attacking football and giving supporters belief back after a turbulent few years.

Something has turned sour at the club though - he’s very much lost the dressing room. Best for all parties to part ways now, but looks like we’ll have to endure another futile four months while he leads us to a ninth place finish.

[GhostoftheBok]

he’s very much lost the dressing room

He very much hadn't a month ago.

That game was not pretty, though. His comments weren't either.

[The_Gun]

Poor leadership. It’s a theme. It runs through the club top to bottom.

In which case, Evatt is right. Sacking him won't change much.

I mean yes this is the worry. What does Sharon know about football? She appointed Hill. And Evatt. She hasn’t been in the game. There is nobody involved with relevant experience as far as we know. No jaded old hand with a book full of contacts that we are aware of.

I suspect she’s a great person but the reality is that what works in competitive sport is different to what works in broader business. You can evaluate a plan to turn a business round and decide if someone has the ability to do so. In football that’s far harder to do. You may will them to do so, but it needs a lot of things and a particular character and personality that are not required in many businesses and really can’t be learned.

We sorely need football expertise in the boardroom and not some data nuts either. Proper experience.

Keith Hill was a jaded old hand with a book full of contacts. That’s not what we need. We need smart, rational, pragmatic people who can think originally and best leverage the resources at the club’s disposal.

[enrdentw]

My hypothesis about Sharon's loyalty to him is based on his loyalty to her and the club, perhaps he took the decision to decline offers to talk to Championship clubs when his reputation was at its peak...…

The "mentally weak" players he’s calling out are his own signings, except for one—whom he made captain. I thought his “comprehensive” recruitment process assessed technical, physical, and mental attributes? After five years in charge, a manager can’t hide behind these excuses.

My tweet from earlier which most have already repeated on here…