Beard Out - Rogers Promoted

I had the feeling that he was not going to be there since June.

His recent post match interviews have been poor, especially his defeatist attitude after the Man City game. So i guess i wasn't terribly shocked either. Do you think that it's been affecting the players on the pitch?

He has close ties to the NWSL through the managers already there and I did suspect he would always fancy a crack at it himself, but I didn't imagine it would be so soon. I always got the impression he wanted to emulate Arsenal and dominate for years, but a lot of his comments regarding his move have been about how he has accomplished everything he can here by having already won the league. He is right of course to some extent; the biggest trophy was bagged twice; but the domination part which is something even his players speak about as well hasn't even started. I didn't expect him to want a change of scenery this quick. Nor did I expect him to want to sign off with such a damp squib of a league campaign. But I guess without the pull of the CL, which we won't now be in again until October 2017 at the absolute earliest (unless by some miracle we actually win next May), there is nothing else here to trump an NWSL gig.

So I think it's a fair question to ask if he has been looking towards the exit ever since a top 2 finish started looking unlikely - which for this season happened pretty damn early in proceedings.

Guest wrote:His recent post match interviews have been poor, especially his defeatist attitude after the Man City game. So i guess i wasn't terribly shocked either. Do you think that it's been affecting the players on the pitch?

It's hard to say when we don't know the specifics of the time frame. But I would like to think that now it is all out in the open it could be a catalyst for improvement as they try to finish the season on a high note for him. After two league titles in a row it would be a bit sad if he finished his final season empty handed. The Conti Cup is still on. And I really wouldn't mind reaching the CL quarters either. Doing the latter might open us up to a higher caliber of replacement for him as well.

I sincerely hope the management drama currently playing out with the men's team does not distract from us sorting out our business. I have no idea how much overlap there is between the running of the men's and women's teams these days and especially when it comes to things like hiring managers, but I do know the person who orchestrated the original overhaul isn't here any more to do this next one. If there is significant overlap it goes without saying that we won't be the priority.

I think his "I feel I have taken the club as far as I can" comment is interesting. Is that as far as he can within the limitations of our current set up i.e. we aren't boosting the set up each season so we have a ceiling, or as far as he can in general because he has a ceiling? 

Had we had any indication anywhere about possible budget increases next year before it was announced that he wouldn't be here?

I'm sure I read or heard somewhere that he was getting additional funds for next season but I can't remember where. So it doesn't seem like our commitment to the cause is stagnating if we are upping budgets. Not only that but he said in his LFCTV interview that he has done 11 years in English football now so he probably is referring to himself in general and believes he can't reach his next level (which is what the team needs to reach theirs) until he experiences working in different leagues.

In an interview, Beard said that Boston formally approached Liverpool around 10 days ago inquiring after him.  There had to be at least feelers out there before Boston went to Liverpool while we were still in season.  My guess would be that Beard knew that Boston was interested in him at least a month ago.  Bonner was also interviewed about the situation and she sounded very flat on the radio.  I wouldn't be surprised if we don't win another league game and it's a toss up whether we go further in the Conti Cup.  

About the CL, it's unclear to me when Beard is done as manager.  Is he staying on if we progress past the first round?  Surely Boston will want him focusing on his new club as soon as possible, so where's the incentive for Beard to want to continue in that competition?  Hell, I would rather Vicky Jepson take over in a care taking role, at least her full attention will be on the team and not what's next.

The statement from us did say he was staying on for the CL games. The round of 32 is done by mid-Oct. Should we progress then the round of 16 is done by mid-Nov. If we were to also reach the Conti final, which I believe is on Nov 1st, then extending his stay into November for a potential R16 would only keep him with us for an extra two weeks beyond his domestic commitments. So it's not that bad at all. But there are however a lot of if's involved with that.

I'm not concerned about him being distracted though as much as I am the players. He can do his job how he always does, but it's the players who are the ones who actually have to play, and if they too are thinking of the exit then it's going to have more of an affect than a semi-interested Beard (which I don't actually think would be the case). It's not like we have enough bodies to be able to switch out anyone whose head has been turned.

Guest wrote:I'm sure I read or heard somewhere that he was getting additional funds for next season but I can't remember where. So it doesn't seem like our commitment to the cause is stagnating if we are upping budgets.

It would be interesting to know if whoever replaces him is to be given the same amount he would have got had he stayed or if we are only going to provide them with a percentage until they prove themselves worthy of big funds. The more they get from the off the more attractive a job prospect we are.

I'm not concerned about him being distracted though as much as I am the players. He can do his job how he always does, but it's the players who are the ones who actually have to play, and if they too are thinking of the exit then it's going to have more of an affect than a semi-interested Beard (which I don't actually think would be the case). It's not like we have enough bodies to be able to switch out anyone whose head has been turned.

Really? Who do you think is looking for the exit? We are still a good club and have what seems as a tight squad. All it would take is a good manager and a few signings, mainly in defense, and we would easily be title contenders next season. We thrashed Arsenal after the world cup and looked on fire, all we need is everyone to stay fit.

Guest wrote:It would be interesting to know if whoever replaces him is to be given the same amount he would have got had he stayed or if we are only going to provide them with a percentage until they prove themselves worthy of big funds. The more they get from the off the more attractive a job prospect we are.

It will probably depend a lot on what calibre of manager they are and what is on their CV. It's not my money but I'd be happy to give them whatever Beard was going to get if they have in the past done good work somewhere commendable. There's no reason why an equal or a better should get less than him in my view. And I'm in half a mind to say that if there is money there then it should just been given to whoever anyway because no other team is going to slow down for us until we are ready to go full speed. If the club only want to put funds in proven safe hands then proven safe hands is what they should be hiring.

I think we have to acknowledge that missing out on CL qualification means there is a tier of managers who we aren't very likely to interest, and especially so because the WSL being summer league means there is such a ridiculously long gap between qualifying and actually getting to play your games. It's not as if someone can think 'right, I'll go to Liverpool and in 12 months time if get us qualified I would be a CL manager'. They've got at least a two year wait unless we win the 2015/16 edition.

Progressing to the quarterfinals this time around would however allow somebody to be a CL manager as soon as they take over which brings potential benefits to all even if it ends up only being short-lived. Big ask given the number of names on or only just recently off the treatment table but not totally beyond the realms of possibility. 
  
As for the other tiers of managers out there - I'm sure an awful lot would jump at the chance to work in England, and especially so at a club which appears to be in as good a position as ours. Plus, WSL jobs really don't become available all that often so if you want in you're going jump at whatever is open.

I'd like to think we'll receive a very good standard and number of applicants.

I'd like to think we'll receive a very good standard and number of applicants.

Who do you consider a good standard?

Guest wrote:Who do you consider a good standard?

Coaches who have previously worked in leagues with the better reputations would be a nice start. Somewhere which has some of the better players in the world so that if the coach hasn't actually coached any of them themselves they can at least say they have faced them. Champions League exposure is one of the easiest ways for these two boxes to be ticked. Both the W-League and the NWSL are a bit of a melting pot as well. Wanting somebody who has won trophies in these places is probably a big ask though because I don't think the WSL itself has enough pull to get those kind of names. International coaches are a maybe but it's unusual to see anybody switch from international to domestic, it's usually the other way around. Coaches from the men's game are also a maybe but you're stabbing in the dark there in regards to who would be interested, and I personally would rather we didn't take this route.

Guest wrote:In an interview, Beard said that Boston formally approached Liverpool around 10 days ago inquiring after him.  There had to be at least feelers out there before Boston went to Liverpool while we were still in season.  My guess would be that Beard knew that Boston was interested in him at least a month ago.

There is talk of Portland having already replaced Riley and the gap between the firing and the hiring there is even smaller than with Boston. So either the NWSL teams who didn't made the playoffs started working on staff changes immediately meaning things have been cooking for longer than stated in the case of Beard, or this is just another example of one of the NWSL's many quirks and they really do replace managers this quickly.

Either way I hope we take a little more time to explore the possibilities for us. Not too much time though.

I wonder if we will let managers come to us and pick from the interested or if we will approach somebody with an offer. It's so difficult to know who at the club could or would be in charge of finding his replacement which makes it practically impossible to know if we even have anybody capable of going headhunting. Maybe Beard himself will play a part in finding someone? Scouting players will have fallen under his remit and you can't really scout players without indirectly keeping tabs on their managers performances too.

There were comments from Beard in last night's BBC Women's Football Show about how he believes the WSL is going to become another French league with a mini-contest at the top and everybody else just making up the numbers below. He said City, Chelsea and Arsenal. Not us. Is he purposely sending a message that he has jumped before we and the wider league sinks or is his prediction of the future something completely unrelated which is just coinciding with his departure? I really wish I knew whether I'm supposed to be viewing this as a fulfilling a professional goal thing or an abandon ship thing.

It will be a combination of both, but the fact there is any degree of abandoning ship (although I think putting it like that makes it sound worse than it is) is alarming enough. It still doesn't really answer the most important part of it all though - has he 'taken us as far as he can' in a soon to be procession league because we can't compete or won't? Is it a lack of means or a lack of will?

A lack of means to keep the pace with City and Chelsea. For now it's a lack of will to keep the pace with Arsenal, but if they kick on then it will be a lack of means to keep up with them as well. We need the men's team to buck up their ideas and get back into the CL on the regular to boost the revenues at the club on the whole, and we also need to do more from our end to generate some revenues of our own. Easier said that done I know. 

Nobody could expect to match City so that is just an accept and get on with things job. Not even Chelsea will be able to eventually and they are another we can't copy so again whatever. But Arsenal at this point in time? It's disappointing to learn that we can't even compete in the short term.

I can't really blame him to wanting out under these circumstances but at the same time we probably won't ever be better positioned for a manager to get our point across to the people who matter. Two league titles counts for something when you go knocking with your begging bowl. But if he has already tried I suppose that's that. At least the next manager will know what they are signing up for.

I'm not terribly familiar with the French league except that Lyon wins everything. How many teams are mostly professional? If only a couple, i think in there lies the difference, besides Birmingham City which is supposably is going full time for the most part all clubs train full time. That has to be a draw for players internationally and Man City and Chelsea can only buy so many players at the same poistion before players will start leaving for playing time elsewhere. Also I hink/hope that our English talent pool is deep enough to nuture existing and future players that work hard and can be consistently competitive in other clubs. That gives all clubs a chance to be title contenders with the right type of players and coaching.

I think that we could have been competitive this year without injuries, I think a very hard season has lead Beard to be overly pessimistic and is mostly likely why he pounced on this opportunity at Boston. He has a great point and the league would only be better with some sort of spending cap to keep parity, if for no other reason because it will ultimately help England if the senior squad is spread out amongst the clubs and are playing tough and meaningful games every time they step on the pitch.

Guest wrote:I think that we could have been competitive this year without injuries, I think a very hard season has lead Beard to be overly pessimistic and is mostly likely why he pounced on this opportunity at Boston. He has a great point and the league would only be better with some sort of spending cap to keep parity, if for no other reason because it will ultimately help England if the senior squad is spread out amongst the clubs and are playing tough and meaningful games every time they step on the pitch.

The thing about introducing spending measures though is that the time to do is before the spending starts. It is much easier to control it from the outset than it is to let people ride off into the distance and then try to peg them back once you realise they have gone too far ahead. The problem the WSL has is that the measures weren't put in place as soon as it became apparent that the substantially richer than anybody else clubs were about to start investing in their women's teams, which now means the writing is already on the wall, and that somewhere in the not to distant future is a point where City and to a lesser extent Chelsea will be in a spending league of their own. It means that regardless of what we do ourselves - and we really could throw the kitchen sink at it - it still wouldn't be enough

I really can't blame Beard for being of the opinion that the FA have allowed the horse to already bolt from the stable. But is the bleak sounding future of the WSL, no matter how near or far a future it may be, a sound enough reason to be leaving us today? Probably not, not unless he knows something we don't; because as it stands we have a competitive squad. But when you combine it with our poor season, and that he sounds bored with English football, that he has close ties to the NWSL, and that it suits his family that he goes there now, then it all makes sense.

Mark Parsons has switched from Washington to Portland already. It seems the NWSL really do just change managers this quickly.

Guest wrote:It feels very weird to think about replacement managers when you technically already have one. It's usually an off season subject so it now kinda feels like the year has already finished. Except it hasn't. So are we allowed to speculate on a replacement or are we supposed to wait until he is actually gone. What's the etiquette here 

I say the subject is fair game and you would like to think the club aren't sitting around waiting for him to actually depart before they set about finding his replacement.

Last night's BBC Women's Football Show said we already have our shortlist and are interviewing next week (not entirely sure if next week means this one since it was said on a sunday).

Jacqui Oatley tweeted this a couple of weeks ago:

Congrats to @ReadingFCWomen on promotion to @FAWSL 1! Now there’ll be 2 female managers in the top flight. Or possibly 3: @LFCladies?! https://twitter.com/JacquiOatley/status/648165705943240705

And on the BBC show last night she said practically the same thing again about there possibly being another female manager hired by us.

It could mean absolutely nothing of course. But she is the only person I've seen give an update on where we are in the replacement process, so if she knows that there is no reason she can't also know stuff about who we are talking to?