Another Manager Gone.

You couldn't make it up: Hartlepool have sacked Hartley, Paul.

Blimey Jim when I read the thread title I thought Betsy had been sacked lol.

Not really because most clubs aren't run by the trigger-happy types who clearly run these tiny minority of clubs here. Outliers do not constitute a trend, as my old teacher used to say

Colchester seem to change their manager regularly in recent years, and always just bring in someone who already works at the club or a former player whenever that happens.

Hartlepool have now confirmed Keith Curle as interim manager

Why not? I’ve read the statement by Colchester and they do a weird thing of being defensive in admitting the sacking will be regarded by many of their fans as harsh. They at least have some self awareness that they’ve made a decision that will divide their fan base. They have some self awareness about how tinpot it makes them look to the outside.

Generally you have to peer a little deeper at the real reasons why owners make these decisions. Often it’s very little to do with playing record but merely that the relationship between owner and manager is not right. Some bad early results put the strain on it and it is revealed.

You then have to consider what the situation is here. Is there any real signs that Crawley owners and Betsy have a dysfunctional relationship? I’d submit there is zero evidence of that

What's baffling to me Jim, is why there is such a vocal minority calling for Betsy's head when we are more or less where we are every year and showing some signs of real promise given time. If we keep chopping and changing, we will never get the level of stability we need to make real progress.

I was having a discussion on a Twitter space last night with a few others about Betsy and the poor performances we have seen so far this season. For me, the main issues have not been the style of play (you don't have to resort to long-ball tactics or rugby tackles to do well in this league anymore, the teams that did well last season apart from Sutton weren't like that at all the times I saw them) but the execution of it, as well as little things like not leaving a man on the halfway line when defending corners or players sometimes being afraid to take shots. The build up play has been too slow at times and is reminiscent of Manchester United under Louis Van Gaal, and when it is like that teams will find it very easy to defend against. I will say I think we are looking a lot better defensively than in recent seasons but with the attacking talent we have up front we should be scoring way more goals then we are at the moment.

I want Betsy to prove us wrong and turn the form around, but if it's looking worrying in late October serious questions will have to be asked sadly. What I hope doesn't happen is for Betsy to be let go without any plan put in place for what would happen in that scenario (which for me is either having someone like Lewis Young as interim or hiring a Brachiosaurus type manager like Westley, Sheridan or Hill because they are 'experienced')