Wilder Gone

[Snake]

There are gonna be two camps here:

1. Those who think Wilder shouldn't be in a position where he has to worry about job security bearing in mind the job he has done for this club and the fact we are proper contenders for promotion this year.

2. Those who think Wilder accepted the 1 year contract on the terms that it would only be renewed if he got promotion so he should have seen the task through and given it his best.

However, whichever camp you're in I cannot see how it can possibly be a good thing that a manager who has got us 4 points from the top of the table has left us for the club at the very bottom of the football league.

If Northanpton are a better option then something is seriously wrong with this football club.

I’d go further and say three camps (or four if you include the Gypsy who instigated this curse on Us).

The third camp is the whole matchday experience at Minchery Farm. A home attendance of 4422 on a Saturday (by taking away the Torquay travellers) then I wonder how many fans paid given that ST holders are always counted in the official stats?

A very sad end to the guy who was my hero at Wembley, and no doubt more recriminations to come. I think Chris knew his level, but a combination of contract insecurity and financial pressures within the club made it impossible for him to stay so he’s going to take his chances elsewhere.

The interview on RadOx with IL was predictable (and just like the situation in sacking Kelvin) in that you know you’re not popular if the owner just refuses to talk to you. Or answer your voicemail , answer phone messages, txts or emails. i.e. the best thing to do is just walk away from the crap on Grenoble Road and move on.

[Radley Rambler]

http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/sport/oxfor ... d_manager/

I suspect this is just to protect his legal position but it's becoming a shambles. He and Mr Lenaghan surely can't continue to work together after today's events.

Still on the bright side, this forum is the liveliest it's been in months!!!!!!

[JoeyBeauchamp]

Love how his agent says: ""Further comment will only be made as and when appropriate." Surely that would be right now?

[Kernow Yellow]

There is little wrong with the club.

Well there's something very wrong with the situation as it stands. What the hell is going on? Chris Wilder has told various people, including the players, that he has left.

IL speaks to RadOx and basically admits that he doesn't know what is going on. He says Mickey Lewis has agreed to take charge for our match at Exeter on Tuesday.

Now CW's agent issues a statement saying he continues in his role as normal! Which is the one thing that obviously can't really happen now without a lot of people losing a lot of face.

I think CW is trying to back IL into some kind of corner, but he's going about it very strangely. And it is not reflecting well on OUFC at all.

Also, when asked where CW's apparent departure leaves the club in terms of new signings, IL spoke in vague terms about having made money available to CW to get 'a striker or two' in this week, but didn't answer the question about whether ML or whoever will continue to pursue that. Now I understand that he may have more pressing matters on his mind, but this is a serious issue for OUFC's success (or otherwise) this season.

It's a complete mess.

[theox]

Agree with KY. Total mess.

Pretty sure IL and CW have each other's telephone number and could at least exchange a few texts instead of making contradictory media statements.

Whether he meant to resign today or not, Wilder has to go now and, sadly, it's another chapter of farce for the OUFC history books!

[Radley Rambler]

roley
11 minutes ago roley said:
IL will put CW on Garden leave without doubt if he hasn't resigned. He's told the players he's going to Northampton and told IL he will quit after today's game, so he has no leg to stand on. Wilder has made his bed so he should now lay in it.


I think that might be right Roley. If CW had not released the statement, then all would be sorted out on Monday morning and CW would be at Sixfields. Now there are egos involved and IL may just decide that paying CW to sit at home (and not get a new job) for the 5 months left on his contract at a cost of c.£50k is chicken feed in the scheme of things for a man of his wealth. IL seems to be a nice guy but I detect a very ruthless streak when needed and CW may be about to find out all about that.......

Exciting isn't it.

This has been posted on the other side and may be a realistic scenario whereby Wilder finds himself without a job for the rest of the season.

[OUFC4eva]

Where is KT when you need a Press Release.

Do we have a manager - yes or no?

How bad were the club's financials last season snake?

[Kernow Yellow]

roley
11 minutes ago roley said:
IL will put CW on Garden leave without doubt if he hasn't resigned. He's told the players he's going to Northampton and told IL he will quit after today's game, so he has no leg to stand on. Wilder has made his bed so he should now lay in it.


I think that might be right Roley. If CW had not released the statement, then all would be sorted out on Monday morning and CW would be at Sixfields. Now there are egos involved and IL may just decide that paying CW to sit at home (and not get a new job) for the 5 months left on his contract at a cost of c.£50k is chicken feed in the scheme of things for a man of his wealth. IL seems to be a nice guy but I detect a very ruthless streak when needed and CW may be about to find out all about that.......

Exciting isn't it.


This has been posted on the other side and may be a realistic scenario whereby Wilder finds himself without a job for the rest of the season.

Isn't this basically what happened with Atkins and Kassam (although Atkins never got as far as storming out in the first place)? Atkins was negotiating a new job with Bristol Rovers, so FK put him on gardening leave for breaching his contract, and Atkins never took over at Brizzle til much later in the season (or the summer even?) as FK wouldn't agree to release him. Or am I imagining that?

[Radley Rambler]

roley
11 minutes ago roley said:
IL will put CW on Garden leave without doubt if he hasn't resigned. He's told the players he's going to Northampton and told IL he will quit after today's game, so he has no leg to stand on. Wilder has made his bed so he should now lay in it.


I think that might be right Roley. If CW had not released the statement, then all would be sorted out on Monday morning and CW would be at Sixfields. Now there are egos involved and IL may just decide that paying CW to sit at home (and not get a new job) for the 5 months left on his contract at a cost of c.£50k is chicken feed in the scheme of things for a man of his wealth. IL seems to be a nice guy but I detect a very ruthless streak when needed and CW may be about to find out all about that.......

Exciting isn't it.


This has been posted on the other side and may be a realistic scenario whereby Wilder finds himself without a job for the rest of the season.

Isn't this basically what happened with Atkins and Kassam (although Atkins never got as far as storming out in the first place)? Atkins was negotiating a new job with Bristol Rovers, so FK put him on gardening leave for breaching his contract, and Atkins never took over at Brizzle til much later in the season (or the summer even?) as FK wouldn't agree to release him. Or am I imagining that?

My very good 'sauce' at the time told me that IA was touted to Bristol Rovers by his paymaster due to IA having a very low base salary but a significant promotion bonus and we were top of the league so there was a real danger of it actually having to be paid.

[Snake]

Where is KT when you need a Press Release.

Do we have a manager - yes or no?

How bad were the club's financials last season snake?

Hey, they only cost a quid to get from Companies House, but if anyone wants a copy then send me a pm with an email address and I'll pass them on. In essence Oxford United's debt to WPL increased by over £3000 a day last season.

[neilw]

If CW truly believed in his ability, and that of the team he's put together, he'd want to see the job through. With another promotion on his CV, he'd be likely to land a pretty decent deal, with us, or elsewhere. Instead, as soon as a firm offer was presented, he's lost his nerve. Bottled it! Rationally, it's poor, short sighted, judgement of his part.

For someone who prides himself on his professional conduct, he has, and is, acting like a complete arse. He's let himself and a lot of people down. One thing's for sure, he never did connect with our supporters. His actions today are contempt for them and the club.

Wilder has done a good job. Regardless, all parties knew it was getting stale and it was time to move on. Shame, Wilder's petulance has ruined his legacy.

[GodalmingYellow]

Where is KT when you need a Press Release.

Do we have a manager - yes or no?

How bad were the club's financials last season snake?

Hey, they only cost a quid to get from Companies House, but if anyone wants a copy then send me a pm with an email address and I'll pass them on. In essence Oxford United's debt to WPL increased by over £3000 a day last season.

They don't even cost a quid if you know where to look

http://companycheck.co.uk

[theox]

Even assuming that Di Canio is a joke, be careful what you wish for :

Tweet from Oxford Mail - The odds for Oxford United's next manager has a top five of Dave Kitson, Sean O'Driscoll, Mickey Lewis, Martin Allen and Paolo Di Canio!!!!!

[joepoolman]

Still nothing posted on the official club website about the situation, although I'm pretty sure there was an article entitled "The Manager Writes", which was up there previously, but isn't visible to me now...

[Dr Bob]

Things I took from ILs statement on RadOx (it is really surprising how far up the M1 you can get reception).
IL did not know what was going on, because despite what he and others had heard about CW talking to the players, CW had left without talking with IL. All he could do was report what he had heard regarding what CW is supposed to have said to the players...and then having to read between the lines to try to discern what that actually meant.

IL came out and spoke to the media but was only able to report rumour rather than concrete fact. Doubtless he (and "the club") would have been heavily criticised had he said nothing.

CW was told four weeks ago he could sign a striker (maybe two, depending on Kitson's progress back from injury).

CWs contract includes a clause that prevents the uncertainty over renewal or not from dragging on too long towards the end of the season (regardless of whether or not, as IL claimed, negotiations would have started in the next couple of weeks).

Given all this, I think CW has played his hand extremely badly. Given the speculation about the Cobblers job (double entendre intended), he must have known that not talking to IL, not allowing any player out to be interviewed post-match and departing without saying anything to anybody himself was not going to work well (surely)? Given what was purportedly said by him to the players, the statement issued later by his agent merely reflected some sort of damage-limitation exercise - but how he can feel he has conducted himself with integrity after the events of yesterday afternoon beats me.