All Time Diamonds XI: Manager

[BartonRaz]

This one will be interesting. I still remember all the ill-feeling from most people on the old rdfcnet forum after OBN left the club.

It has to be Talbot for me though. As others have said, delivered under massive pressure, and bought nearly all of the players mentioned throughout this poll to the club.

Edinburgh was the only one i've given a second thought to. To take such a poor team and turn it into such a good one, on half the budget, is miraculous.

If Barry Hunter gets a vote i'll be horrified. Couldn't manage the proverbial piss-up...

[Dukes]

I know I'm in for a lot of stick here but Talbot was absolute rubbish.!
He didn’t deliver under a lot of pressure - it took 4 seasons with a budget the size of all the teams in the Conference combined. He had no tactics except one - and that was to buy the best two players in the league for every position in the team - and he often paid well over the odds - look at Alford and Turley.
Everyone knew at the time that he was a fraud - I remember one game against K*ttering when we - the home fans were singing Talbot out and the K*ttering fans unfurled a huge banner stating 'Talbot in'.
We were hated for Talbot's excessive spending - plastic fans etc.
And I wonder how Duane Darby feels about OBN and his total stubbornness in not playing him instead of the greatly inferior Partridge.
This wonderful manager then went on to inglorious stewardships of Oldham and Oxford – see their boards for their far from praiseworthy assessments.
No – OBN was crap disguised by money. If we had had a manager as good as JE, or dare I say Westley, then we would have been promoted in two seasons and maybe with the money saved still be in the FL now.
OBN had a wonder job – massively paid and no accountability… Max’s weakness.
Now on a fat pension from his investments - in sunny Malta. Nice one Brian.

[Three of Diamonds]

I ended up voting for Talbot, but Justin was a very close second. Talbot bought some great teams but it took the fans who turned on him, to mould that team into a Conference winning one. I honestly believe that the team fought for it's manager when the fans had a go at him. Edinburgh could well become the best if he achieves FL status with so little at his disposal, whatever he does he's moulded a real team spirit at the club.

[Everyweeker]

I agree with the sentiments that Talbot was poor. The way he treated certain players, coupled with the sheer financial advantage he had, he'll never get my vote for all-time Diamonds manager.

[OsanoIsKing]

I know I'm in for a lot of stick here but Talbot was absolute rubbish.!
He didn’t deliver under a lot of pressure - it took 4 seasons with a budget the size of all the teams in the Conference combined. He had no tactics except one - and that was to buy the best two players in the league for every position in the team - and he often paid well over the odds - look at Alford and Turley.
Everyone knew at the time that he was a fraud - I remember one game against K*ttering when we - the home fans were singing Talbot out and the K*ttering fans unfurled a huge banner stating 'Talbot in'.
We were hated for Talbot's excessive spending - plastic fans etc.
And I wonder how Duane Darby feels about OBN and his total stubbornness in not playing him instead of the greatly inferior Partridge.
This wonderful manager then went on to inglorious stewardships of Oldham and Oxford – see their boards for their far from praiseworthy assessments.
No – OBN was crap disguised by money. If we had had a manager as good as JE, or dare I say Westley, then we would have been promoted in two seasons and maybe with the money saved still be in the FL now.
OBN had a wonder job – massively paid and no accountability… Max’s weakness.
Now on a fat pension from his investments - in sunny Malta. Nice one Brian.

Spot on. I seem to remember him not using subs until the game had near enough gone or until the PDB had gave enough of a hint that they wanted a change (I might be wrong I was only a young'un ;) ). It's a tough one to vote for, i'm far too young to remember Ashby so that's out. Only other person I could vote for would be JE because I like his style, but he hasn't had enough time yet.

[CountHermanDeBanker]

What shocks me is the number of votes for JE outweighing Roger Ashby's, given respective achievements for the club.

Ok, some of you on here may not have been of an age to remember Ashby, but take 10mins of your time, look on the official site, see what Ashby achieved for us, and then weigh it up against what JE has achieved so far.

JE is doing great work for us at present but its produced no silverware to date, I am more than certain it will come, but come on!

[srusrdfc]

Justin Edingborough for me because hes done it with a very low budget and hes changed things around at nene park

[DiamondsFan]

Justin Edingborough for me because hes done it with a very low budget and hes changed things around at nene park

Justin Edinburgh.

Bearing in mind you are judging an ALL TIME manager on Justin's one full season?

[CountHermanDeBanker]

Justin Edingborough for me because hes done it with a very low budget and hes changed things around at nene park

Justin Edinburgh.

Bearing in mind you are judging an ALL TIME manager on Justin's one full season?

Exactly my point.

[Formic]

I would never have voted for Talbot on the strength of the Conference promotion alone, given how long that took, but I do believe he did a good job in the first two league seasons - spotting the issues we had, unearthing Onandi Lowe, blending in the likes of Barry Hunter, Andy Edwards and Stuart Wardley, and getting the best from the likes of Burge and Unders in their first league seasons, bringing through Gary Mills, John Dempster and David Bell etc.

(I accept he couldn't go too far wrong with the Bignot or Hall signings, and he did sign Scott Partridge, and fail to get the best from Rodney Jack as well).

He did still have serious funds from Max, but we've seen that it doesn't always guarantee success.