Sparks: You're in Last Chance Saloon

I'm a defender of Sparks, but there is something in this. Did we establish what kind of footie Hughes would play before appointing him or just get all dewy eyed when he approached us?

Likewise, we know what style Adams played. Plymouth fans stomached it, because it was a big improvement on their previous half a dozen seasons. Remember we could have had Daryl Clarke (who we've missed out on again) instead of Adams. Now both are good L2 managers - but Clarke gets the big club mentality far more than Adams does and is still affectionally talked about at both Bristol Rovers and Port Vale.

 

Daryl Clarke would always have been a better signing than Adams. We could have got him in the winter of 2021, i.e. just before he went to Port Vale. It would have meant getting rid of Trueman etc, who admittedly had us in the middle of one of our best runs in years. However, it's arguable that Sparks was two quick to give them the job 'permanantly'.

I think Sparks has been good. But there have been some missteps. Why for instance if Hughes was poised to be sacked if we didn't beat Harrogate, with Clarke still available (he's just gone to Cheltenham) didn't he be ruthless and do the only logical improvement that there was available.

All has the hallmark of CEO, who isn't quite up there with the very best.

 

Nice to see you pal. I got worried when you never came on to post about our excellent progress after the Walsall and Tranmere games.

 

Now even I was starting to think that Hughes had lost it.

Puzzling. I think it shows what a scrambled mind can do.

I maintain there was nothing disastrous about us up to the Newport win. Then he ruins the momentum with a non-team against Boro and then does those bizzare subs against Walsall with more against Tranmere.

I think he'll be relieved to be have been relieved!!

I still don't see it as good. If we go up this season, we'll be the first L2 club in at least ten seasons to have done it, having changed the manager after the season started.

 

The Spain farce, for your information, is one of the biggest reasons I can’t stand the man. Bankrolling his mates fledgling company to squeeze a few quid out of a handful of City fans for the most stupid training match is unforgivable. Only IMHO of course

 

Wow, that's a sobering statement....

 

Garbage it was a competive priced chance to go to the match take it or leave it. We pay very little for our football so I am all for any ways the club can make money seeing as how there is no money coming from above. There are many things people can accuse the club of but certainly not fleecing them

 

And it's a fact. Quite astonishing but true. Virtually every team has had their manager in place well before the start of their promotion season a plan than nearly worked for us and definitely worked for four that were promoted!!

Good examples of where it's worked well was Matt Taylor at Exeter, where their manager was in charge for seasons. Duff at Cheltenham plus David Artell at Crewe - with these two taking at least three years to get promotion.

Bolton appointed Evatt very late in the window and significantly had a poor start to the season - before turning it around and getting automatic at the last minute.

I think L2 has so many quirks to it - you can't buy your way out of the division. You need to know the club and more importantly how your rivals will play, hence the time needed.

Happy for us to be part of a nice stat, though!! ie. promotion this season!!

 

I’m relieved Hughes has gone but I agreed with his appointment. From afar it was a great experiment to see if an experienced higher level manager could cut it at the L2 level. Unfortunately for us it looks like the answer was no. He might be yesterdays man but it looks like it could be chalk and cheese.
It could have worked big time but it appears the answer sadly is no. I cannot blame Sparks for trying.

 

This is all down to Rupp. He hires the CEO so unless HE thinks Sparks is doing a bad job, it's a mute point. From the outside I can't see Sparks admitting he's wrong, by bringing someone in who would effectively have the best role at the club.

Consider this. Sparks leaves, half his commercial team leave, either to take up new roles or in support. The Manager has just been sacked, the Assistant Manager has been sacked, Trueman and Macdonald are in temporary charge. The owner lives in Germany and we're 18th in league 2. That scenario has all the hallmarks of a Rhodes return and we all know what that brings. That's a massive gamble for an owner who's quite happy to bob over from Germany 4 times a year. Unless he's going to oversee the whole process and spend the next 4 - 6 months in the UK, I can't see that happening.

The only way this works in the long term, is for Rupp to sell up and the new owners bring in their own personnel, but that takes time and on evidence, there's more chance of that going wrong than working out. For now, Rupp has to insist on a DoF or consultant to oversee the appointment of our next manager. Someone who leaves a blueprint for Sparks to work to, because for all his lack of experience, Sparks is doing a good job in everything but the most important part of a being a CEO, the playing side.

 

Good article by Jason on WOAP

https://widthofapost.com/2023/10/04/mark-hughes-leaves-bradford-city-as-the-club-tries-to-reverse-a-sudden-slide-in-the-wrong-direction/

 

The shit at the top tends to come done to the bottom.

Open your mind! When you do that you will see that Rupp and Sparks are blame. The club is a failure and a joke.

 

I don't see Sparks job as under threat, he is doing well commercially at the club and looks like he has built a good team around him in that regard.

The football side is a more questionable aspect - I don't think hes appointed any manager the vast majority haven't been pleased with at the time but I would seriously question how he then oversees his ongoing working relationship with them. Now Hughes has gone I would really like Ryan to come out and explain to the fans how we have ended up with a bloated and in many areas mediocre squad when he promised a leaner and more quality driven team for this season? This is not a CEO and management team singing from the same hymn sheet! How does he think this is seen by the outside looking in? We just need some honest communication now Ryan!

Be interesting what he now does with Gent who I have not been over impressed with and I still don't understand how SG and MH really worked together in recruiting as seem to have been so many inconsistencies.

I just hope that behind the scenes there has been some serious soul searching at the top and a carefully thought out plan in place to give us the best chance to move on from the largely cautious and negative style Hughes adopted - the fans need cheering up and to be able to start looking forward to match days again

 

Yes you're correct about where the back stops but of the management appointments he has made I don't think many people at the time would have said "this is a really bad appointment". We can all make that judgement later after a run of bad results/performances, even Sparks would feel like that.
Would you be happy with Steve Evan's now? I would, he'd love to manage this club.

 

Hughes didn't help your opinion at all. To be fair his luck deserted him in the final.games, Lewis dropping clangers, Walker hitting the post with an absolute beauty, football cam be about fine margins at times. But then he had rode his luck in pretty much every home game this season, the luck being scoring last minute goals in either the first or second half that saved him from a roasting from the fans.
Bewildering formation changes, substitutions that had you scratching your head, I'll be honest I go to every home game, have done for years buy I found myself getting annoyed with Hughes and his tactics to the point where I questioned why I was going? Exactly the same questions I asked myself under Adams and Bowyer.
I shouldn't be asking myself those questions, football really ain't that complicated a game. By the end his players looked like they weren't enjoying what they were being asked to do, it's a privilege to be good enough to play football and if your players look despondent like they did then it's clearly the right decision to find a manager who will get them back to enjoying that privilege and is fans enjoying watching that resultant enjoyment.

 

Rhodes been brought in to help Sparkes get it right probably as Rupp trusts him