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Who fired Chris Nicholl?


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Hmmm a relatively successful manager hounded out by fans who think they should be doing better? Leading to a collapse from mid table to a relegation scrap? Sound familar?

 

Nice to know the fans are as incapable of learning from mistakes as the board are ;)

 

Can you name a relatively succesful manager who most fans were alive and can recall??

 

WGS... and then...

 

Oh, and if you're referring to GB, I seem to recall Scotland came calling rather than any hounding!!

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CN had the hardest job going replacing Lawrie. Not only had we massively overacheived and signed players beyond our wildest dreams, but the people running the Club were never going to back him as they did Lawrie.

 

This may sound corny, but I always thought of CN as like George Harrison in the Beatles, with Lawrie and Ted as Lennon and Macartney. Looking back Harrison wrote some great songs, however he suffered in comparison to the other two.

 

CN was always going to be put in the shade, following the great men, however take his record against the others that followed and it's pretty good.

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Can you name a relatively succesful manager who most fans were alive and can recall??

 

WGS... and then...

 

Oh, and if you're referring to GB, I seem to recall Scotland came calling rather than any hounding!!

 

I was being mischieveous - I don't mean he was actually hounded from the club, but certain people on this board who shall remain named after mountain ranges were all for hounding him out ;)

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Chris Nicholl was cursed by following LM, had he been appointed after Branfoot he would have been manager for years.I played tennis with him and am told he is now playing the professional veterans tennis circuit.

At the time there were fans saying he was buying for division2 , especially when he bought the full back Gerry ????

We had been used to KK ,Channon and Balls and didnt like not having the big name signings.Shows the fans dont chnge.

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I haven't seen it written in any post here, but to be honest I would take Chris Nicholl back right now over the current set up with Lawrie McMenemy as DoF. You can't tell me the wage bill would be higher than it is now and the experience would be so much better.

 

 

Now that is a bit of a strange wish.

 

The funny thing is Nicholl never did anything of note at any other club, which for a man who had five years top flight experience and was pretty successful against anyone's standards, was quite odd.

 

He was at Walsall for about five minutes, disappeared, came back to Walsall as Ray Graydon's assistant and now he does something for the pools panel or press association or something where he counts how many corners are taken at matches in the midlands.

 

I'm sure he'd jump at the chance to finish what he started in 1991 ;)

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Now that is a bit of a strange wish.

 

The funny thing is Nicholl never did anything of note at any other club, which for a man who had five years top flight experience and was pretty successful against anyone's standards, was quite odd.

 

He was at Walsall for about five minutes, disappeared, came back to Walsall as Ray Graydon's assistant and now he does something for the pools panel or press association or something where he counts how many corners are taken at matches in the midlands.

 

I'm sure he'd jump at the chance to finish what he started in 1991 ;)

 

Yes, it is strange although wasn't he involved with Northern Ireland? I seem to recall he did quite well at Walsall but as is always the case with them they couldn't survive the next division up. I think the thing was that he was percieved as a mellow bloke whereas the typical Division 1 boss at the time was still a fiesty British sort with a blackberry crumble for a face - Atkinson, Clough, SAF, Bassett. Taylor didn't have the blackberry complexion but fitted the stereotype in many ways. Venables had been portraying a different image which going to Barcelona helped but still a tosser in my book. The only good thing Vegetables has ever done is almost destroy the Skates and he couldn't even do that properly.

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Chrissy Nicholl's Red and White Army!

 

Fans were very fickle in those days. Even in 1989, I remember going one down to Liverpool at home and the crowd were all chanting Nicholl out, I think we equalized late in the first half and through half time and most of the second half, we sang Chrissy Nicholls Red and White Army! Even some guy started off the OWTS with KNOCK KNOCK, who's there? We all replied, the next line is usually Owen, but out he came with Chrissy Nicholls red and white army, and off we went again. I think we won 2-1, could've been 3-1, but the second goal, I went from the back of the Milton right to the front! Awesome surge's in those days!

 

I remember we were top of the League in November and CN won manager of the month. We were away to Wimbledon at Plough Lane (I was there also, home and away in those days!), and in the away part of the program, CN stated that he would not open the bottle of Champagne until our next win. That day we lost 2-1 and Tim Flowers scored an own goal with a diving header! It was another 22 games before we got our next win, a Neil Ruddock 89th minute penalty against Newcastle in the Milton end (slammed in high and to the keepers right). This effectively sent Newcastle down that season. Nail biting end to the season with some great away wins, noteably against Borough. But we could make things safe by beating Utd at home with our last home game. Went 1-0 down to a young Lee Sharp goal. But a young Rod Wallace, off a great run and through ball by Glenn ****erill, made it 2-1 with 6 mins to spare (can't recall who got the equalizer, Paul Rideout I think?), we went mental! Probably the biggest roar I'd ever heard at the Dell!

 

Just on the Gerry Forrest thing, we also had an amazing left bck in Derek Statham, CB's of Russel Osmand, Neil Ruddock and Kevin Moore, midfielders of Glenn ****erill and Jimmy Case, Barry Horne. Danny Wallace, Rod Wallace (Ray had also played at the back), MLT, Paul Rideout and I'm trying to remember when Colin Clarke joined from Bournemouth, think it was at the start of the next season.

 

Those were the days my friend...

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I think we were a realtively stable but unspecatular mid table team under Nichol. we got some good wins against Liverpool.

Football generally was going through the doldrums and was becoming unfashionable and even tarnished to an extent. Certainly, there wsn't the money about and many players came to Saints to live on the South Coast and enjoy the family atmosphere of the club.

What would i give now to be a mid table top league team.

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I think we were a realtively stable but unspecatular mid table team under Nichol. we got some good wins against Liverpool.

Football generally was going through the doldrums and was becoming unfashionable and even tarnished to an extent. Certainly, there wsn't the money about and many players came to Saints to live on the South Coast and enjoy the family atmosphere of the club.

What would i give now to be a mid table Championship team.

 

Lower your horizons... ;)

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Those were the days, who can forget 4-1 at home to Liverpool, 4-1 away to QPR (passed my driving test that day) 3-1 away at Spurs in the Cup and playing 4-2-4, Wallace, Shearer, Matty and Paul Rideout? With Timmy in goal and Neil Ruddock in front of him. A young Jason Dodd and a left back worse than Franny, dear old Ray Wallace (buy 2, get 1 free!)

Possibly the best season ever supporting the Saints!

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Those were the days, who can forget 4-1 at home to Liverpool, 4-1 away to QPR (passed my driving test that day) 3-1 away at Spurs in the Cup and playing 4-2-4, Wallace, Shearer, Matty and Paul Rideout? With Timmy in goal and Neil Ruddock in front of him. A young Jason Dodd and a left back worse than Franny, dear old Ray Wallace (buy 2, get 1 free!)

Possibly the best season ever supporting the Saints!

 

I seem to remember Steve Foster getting Ray sent off against Luton in the cup - stamped on his heel and Ray reacted. Never did like him - Foster not Ray.

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Now that is a bit of a strange wish.

 

The funny thing is Nicholl never did anything of note at any other club, which for a man who had five years top flight experience and was pretty successful against anyone's standards, was quite odd.

 

He was at Walsall for about five minutes, disappeared, came back to Walsall as Ray Graydon's assistant and now he does something for the pools panel or press association or something where he counts how many corners are taken at matches in the midlands.

 

I'm sure he'd jump at the chance to finish what he started in 1991 ;)

 

Dont get me wrong. I am not saying we would be world beaters or indeed win the league, but for a centre half he had a very attacking way of approaching the game. Maybe he was just lucky in that he had so many potential and proven strikers at his disposal that his team picked itself in the lack of defensive players. All I know is he would give us oldies a sense of what we were. I would love him back with Lawrie guiding him.

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Chrissy Nicholl's Red and White Army!

 

Fans were very fickle in those days. Even in 1989, I remember going one down to Liverpool at home and the crowd were all chanting Nicholl out, I think we equalized late in the first half and through half time and most of the second half, we sang Chrissy Nicholls Red and White Army! Even some guy started off the OWTS with KNOCK KNOCK, who's there? We all replied, the next line is usually Owen, but out he came with Chrissy Nicholls red and white army, and off we went again. I think we won 2-1, could've been 3-1, but the second goal, I went from the back of the Milton right to the front! Awesome surge's in those days!

 

I remember we were top of the League in November and CN won manager of the month. We were away to Wimbledon at Plough Lane (I was there also, home and away in those days!), and in the away part of the program, CN stated that he would not open the bottle of Champagne until our next win. That day we lost 2-1 and Tim Flowers scored an own goal with a diving header! It was another 22 games before we got our next win, a Neil Ruddock 89th minute penalty against Newcastle in the Milton end (slammed in high and to the keepers right). This effectively sent Newcastle down that season. Nail biting end to the season with some great away wins, noteably against Borough. But we could make things safe by beating Utd at home with our last home game. Went 1-0 down to a young Lee Sharp goal. But a young Rod Wallace, off a great run and through ball by Glenn ****erill, made it 2-1 with 6 mins to spare (can't recall who got the equalizer, Paul Rideout I think?), we went mental! Probably the biggest roar I'd ever heard at the Dell!

 

Just on the Gerry Forrest thing, we also had an amazing left bck in Derek Statham, CB's of Russel Osmand, Neil Ruddock and Kevin Moore, midfielders of Glenn ****erill and Jimmy Case, Barry Horne. Danny Wallace, Rod Wallace (Ray had also played at the back), MLT, Paul Rideout and I'm trying to remember when Colin Clarke joined from Bournemouth, think it was at the start of the next season.

 

Those were the days my friend...

 

Colin Clarke joined in the summer of 1986, directly after the Mexico World Cup.

Edited by krissyboy31
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Was he a Nicholl signing? I thought Branfoot got him.I never rated him

 

I think he scored one of our 4 goals against Liverpool. Rod Wallace crossed for an MLT header MLT crossed for Rod Wallace, Rideout scored one (I think) and Danny Wallace crossed with the outside of his right foot for Rod to score another one. (I think.)

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I think he scored one of our 4 goals against Liverpool. Rod Wallace crossed for an MLT header MLT crossed for Rod Wallace, Rideout scored one (I think) and Danny Wallace crossed with the outside of his right foot for Rod to score another one. (I think.)
You are right JFP> What a game that was we were supreme.Was it the game that Dalgliesh made excuses and there were loads of letters in the Echo about his ungracious attitude .i think I had a letter published in the Pink about that.
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You are right JFP> What a game that was we were supreme.Was it the game that Dalgliesh made excuses and there were loads of letters in the Echo about his ungracious attitude .i think I had a letter published in the Pink about that.

 

We also had that young player Shearer on the pitch. Whatever happened to him?

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I seem to remember Steve Foster getting Ray sent off against Luton in the cup - stamped on his heel and Ray reacted. Never did like him - Foster not Ray.

 

I can remember standing next to a random guy on the Milton who was lobbing the most incredible amount of pound coins at Foster in that game at every corner Saints got and Foster was defending at that end. None hit Foster on the head, a couple hit the bar and one might have hit Foster on the top half of the body. Bit like David McGoldrick's shooting!

 

Remember Foster as a dirty centre-half in a white sweatband. Did he get an England cap in Bobby Robson's early games as England boss? SBR was a great manager for so many years but not one of his better decisions if os.

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Flowers

Dodd Osman Ruddock Benali

Case C*ckerill

Le Tissier Rideout Shearer Rod Wallace

 

As I remember it, CN had that team forced on him due to injuries and, although it treated us to an feast of attacking football against Liverpool, he reverted to 4 - 3 - 3 in the next game.

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I’ve supported Saints since the mid-60s, so have been fortunate to experience some great times in the old first division, the Ossie and Keegan eras, and, of course, 1976. However, many of my greatest Saints’ memories are of Nichol’s 4-2-4 team with Le Tissier, Shearer, Rideout and Wallace up front. Fantastic times from that era have already been mentioned, but a couple of others that I recall are the 6-3 win against Luton, and a League Cup game against Swindon, when we brought on Shearer and Ruddock – at that time aka the Bruise Brothers – and turned over a 0-2 deficit! And that was back in the days when cup competitions actually meant something! And don’t forget we got to the FA Cup semi-final in Nichol’s first season, and might have sneaked it if only Mark Dennis’s last minute shot had been a few inches lower. Happy days, even if they do seem a long, long time ago!

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Flowers

Dodd Osman Ruddock Benali

Case C*ckerill

Le Tissier Rideout Shearer Rod Wallace

Thanks but i was knocked off guard by someone mentioning Danny wallace in the game as well and so thought we would have had too many up front. Fantastic football that day. Wasn't it under Nicholl that we had Andy richies late goal in injury time that that p##ck Roger Milford added on from nowhere
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I was being mischieveous - I don't mean he was actually hounded from the club, but certain people on this board who shall remain named after mountain ranges were all for hounding him out ;)

But he wasn't relatively successful either. 6th place acieved thanks to a great degree to the input of Glyn Snodin...

For wanting to hound out GB, Alps was absolutely spot on.

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The funny thing is Nicholl never did anything of note at any other club, which for a man who had five years top flight experience and was pretty successful against anyone's standards, was quite odd.

 

He was at Walsall for about five minutes, disappeared, came back to Walsall as Ray Graydon's assistant and now he does something for the pools panel or press association or something where he counts how many corners are taken at matches in the midlands.

3 seasons at Walsall, including promotion from Third Division to Second Division and a win percentage of over 45%. Two seasons assisiting Lawrie Mac when he was Northern Ireland manager. Agreed, fly-by-night, unsuccessful manager :rolleyes:

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If we could have kept that team together over the next 5 years we would have walked that league!!

 

too true.. that`s the team who made me support the Saints.

there was a ridiculous amount of skill in that front line !

 

and to those who didnt rate Rideout: he was essential in that formation,with his hold-up play,excellent heading & work rate.

those were the days :)

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But he wasn't relatively successful either. 6th place acieved thanks to a great degree to the input of Glyn Snodin...

For wanting to hound out GB, Alps was absolutely spot on.

Yep and Clough was helped by Peter taylor and LM by Clunie Ted bates by Mortimer. GB left us in a better position than when NP left or the situation now. He turned players like Bale Jones and Baird into big money sales. What ddi we sell those 3 for? more than he spent in his time here. he walked out on us like Hoddle, WGS, Bally and LM they all in their own way have hurt the club by doing so.
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Fantastic match, though I seem to have mixed up a couple of different games as not all the goals I was thinking about were in this match.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0StQKf5NRp4

 

That 3rd goal is one of the best goals I've seen at the Dell. Cheers for that JFP, it bought a lump to my throat.

 

I always knew we were doomed to obscurity when we sold Shearer for £3.6m. I know it was a record, but I remember buying the pink in Eastleigh and turning to my wife in the shop and saying "this will be the bargain of the century what with all the money coming into the game". The ignorant **** who was chairman then (GA obviously) clearly thought that a bird in the hand, and David Speedie were a better deal :)

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Wasn't it under Nicholl that we had Andy richies late goal in injury time that that p##ck Roger Milford added on from nowhere

 

Yep. Cheating poodle-haired ****. From what I remember he added on about 7 minutes for a player who was lying injured OFF the pitch. Dirty Oldham monkeys ran on the pitch and celebrated in front of the Lower East. Still makes me angry to this day.

 

 

I think that was in the same run as the Swindon game someone mentioned above. That was a quality comeback. Cracking MLT freekick.

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