Kevin McDonald’s Bradford army

100% agreement from me.
Rolling contract with options at the end of the season.

 

Be more interesting and a better time to judge when the game plan isn't working, does he have a plan b. Or when we are inevitably beaten, how as a team we react. Too early to make this call on mcd

 

With regards to Sparks, I suppose if he has a prime candidate ready and willing, then why wait especially when mcd has already said he wants to prolong his playing career. That said, as I said on the Grimsby thread and you have also stated, we have foundations being formed in a more attractive manner which the fans are enjoying. That may be the bigger challenge for Sparks, getting a man in whom plays a style we surely all want to see more of.

 

^^^^^^^^
The recent suggestions of going for an external, up and coming rookie manager, could be negated knowing we have one sat in the front room already?

His calmness is a cracking attribute both on and off the field. Other than a couple of misplaced passes , he didn’t put a foot wrong last night.
Let’s not forget the resurgence of Smallwood either?

 

The trouble is from McDonald’s point of view is if he takes the job till the end of the season it almost certainly ends his playing career. And if it ends badly he will be left high and dry

 

Hence why I stated a rolling contract.
No firm commitment from either party.

 

That’s true , but if he and we were completely honest, how long has he remaining to be a player anyway Park? A year to 18 months tops ? Remember 75 mins once a week is his max even today.

 

But it will need compensation written in. It is not right to make use of his services, and then when or if things go wrong he is sidelined and lose his football career. We have to compensate with either money or/and coaching job.

 

All the more reason why he doesn’t want to give up on it now. A footballer’s playing career is short. He knows his playing days are limited but he wants to continue doing it for as long as he can. He’s got decades of football management potential ahead of him. Why prematurely end the last precious years of doing what he loves - playing?

 

It is also a health risk to him personally. I noticed somebody had hurt his back last night. Hopefully he will be ok, but I suppose it brought it home to me that any damage to his one remaining kidney would be terrible.

 

Stern test on Saturday let’s see how he handles that. But so far so good. In the meantime the club can take its time

 

Doing well as caretaker but opting to continue his playing career instead will give him this manager record in the bank for when he does retire from playing and moves into management. Will make picking up that first job, wherever it may be, all the easier..

 

As far as I can see, big Kev can't make it any clearer, he doesn't want to be player/manager on a permanent basis and also doesn't want to hang up his boots just yet. I get what people are saying about him not having long left as a player anyway and not being able to play 90 minutes week in week out, but given what he's been through in terms of losing out a couple of years of his playing career already due to his kidney transplant, I'm not surprised he wants to keep playing for as long as he possibly can and nobody should be trying to put pressure on him to rethink that. I think the best scenario all round would be if we can appoint a manager who plays the same kind of attacking, pressing football we've seen under Kev's leadership, and Kev is offered a role as player coach. We still get the player and he gets the opportunity to hone his skills without the pressure and expectation being the top guy will bring. Then if it doesn't work out with the new manager, or it does but he gets poached by a club higher up the pyramid, Kev will hopefully by that time be ready to step into his shoes. Of course, this scenario would require a bit of joined up and forward thinking by the club, something we've not been great at for some time, so I don't hold out much hope of it happening.

 

I agree Steve giving up playing football at any level is a difficult choice but in his present situation he could still be involved maybe not game by game but his form/fitness would have been a deciding factor if Hughes had still been here, at the moment he has the chance to ease into football management, (if he got the gig) where as when his footballng career is over he starts at the bottom, big call but his first call is does he really want it at the moment its a no.

 

From his perspective , a difficult decision. I had to make a similar decision many years ago , get off the shop floor into management . Is it turned out I made the right one. The factory closed soon after I left and redundancy would have followed. Only he can decide what’s best for him and his family. Parallel lines eh?

 

Yes of course ,engaged as a player he has a contract, likewise a manager has a contract. These people aren’t stupid. If it does go belly up he will be fully contracted thus compensated just like MH.

Rolling contracts are not what you think they might be perhaps?It can be written in to a two year rolling contract that if terminated he would get two years compensation. Trust me I know.

 

Precisely Dave, spot on. ( except your last of all comment) If offered the job on a two or three year he would accept it is my guess . Why not? He still would have to negotiate the remaining deal he still is contracted for. So in reality , paid off his existing contract , plus a new managerial contract?