Mike Conroy

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Re: Mike Conroy

by Branfoot Out » 23 May 2021 08:49

Royal Rother Pathetic dismissal of the huge achievement of 2 promotions and a Cup competition in which we beat 3 top flight teams - all in the space of 5 years.

He may have been limited but he was a very successful manager for us.

Oh, and I’m not usually one of those tedious pedants with such an empty life that I have to point out spelling mistakes, but, in this case, I feel the need. Whatever your origins, it’s SIMOD not Simon.


5 top flight teams actually in the Simod win - QPR, Oxford, Forest, Coventry, and Luton. All top 10 1st division (prem now) teams that season except Oxford with Forest finishing 3rd and QPR 5th. Coventry were also the FA Cup winners the previous season and Luton would win the League Cup a few weeks later against Arsenal. Hell of an achievement really considering all the teams were pretty much at full strength as resting players wasn't a thing back then. Especially as we were in the process of getting relegated.

Mind you, after 87/88 Branfoot lost the plot and 88/89 was about as bad as it can get - only avoiding relegation to Div 4 on the last day and a terrible atmosphere at home games at the end of the season and many anti-Branfoot demonstrations...

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Re: Mike Conroy

by nailseabiscuitman » 23 May 2021 09:53

Anyone complaining about our style of play at the moment should have to have endured the Branfoot era to know what turgid football was really like. Might be my memory playing tricks but I seem to remember his hands were tied with the selection of the cup winning team in that several of his newer signings were cup tied. So the next game after the final where we completely outplayed Luton he reverted to his normal team and promptly lost.

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Re: Mike Conroy

by RoyalBlue » 23 May 2021 11:26

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I’m not usually one of those tedious pedants with such an empty life that I have to point out spelling mistakes, but, in this case, I feel the need. Unless you originate from the USA, It’s CENTRE not center.

And as for Mike Conroy, just a typical ‘Branfoot I’m out of my depth signing’ to add to an already shocking team. Even if he was any good, he wouldn’t have been able to to perform in that shower of shite.

You know the 13 wins at the start of the season was under Branfoot
You know that the Division 3 title was under Branfoot
He may have been dour but effective and I don't think 'out of his depth' could be levelled so easily at him

Did he lose the plot ? probably
Was he always shite ? absolutely not


Add the Simod Cup to the list too, we haven't won at Wembley since either...


Indeed, given the club's position and performances we'd too often endured prior to his arrival, he gave us some fantastic times and memories as listed above. I think he had quite a large element of outspokenness and stubbornness, which eventually contributed to his downfall.

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Re: Mike Conroy

by oldebiscuit » 23 May 2021 21:53

Royal Rother Pathetic dismissal of the huge achievement of 2 promotions and a Cup competition in which we beat 3 top flight teams - all in the space of 5 years.

He may have been limited but he was a very successful manager for us.

Oh, and I’m not usually one of those tedious pedants with such an empty life that I have to point out spelling mistakes, but, in this case, I feel the need. Whatever your origins, it’s SIMOD not Simon.


Simon, Very good spot, and well pointed out, but my mistake isn’t undermining a Nation’s language.

However, I wouldn’t put my comments down as a pathetic dismissal, more of a realistic assessment.

Promotion one was Maurice Evans team that Branfoot took over in an unpopular Smee move, whilst we occupied the top four. Yes, Ian took it on and was in charge when we crossed the line.

Promotion 2 was an excellent achievement as I have already acknowledged, but asi have said, it was after this that he was out of sorts.

Please don’t take the Daytripper Cup as a serious result.

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Re: Mike Conroy

by Mid Sussex Royal » 24 May 2021 14:04

oldebiscuit
Royal Rother Pathetic dismissal of the huge achievement of 2 promotions and a Cup competition in which we beat 3 top flight teams - all in the space of 5 years.

He may have been limited but he was a very successful manager for us.

Oh, and I’m not usually one of those tedious pedants with such an empty life that I have to point out spelling mistakes, but, in this case, I feel the need. Whatever your origins, it’s SIMOD not Simon.


Simon, Very good spot, and well pointed out, but my mistake isn’t undermining a Nation’s language.

However, I wouldn’t put my comments down as a pathetic dismissal, more of a realistic assessment.

Promotion one was Maurice Evans team that Branfoot took over in an unpopular Smee move, whilst we occupied the top four. Yes, Ian took it on and was in charge when we crossed the line.

Promotion 2 was an excellent achievement as I have already acknowledged, but asi have said, it was after this that he was out of sorts.

Please don’t take the Daytripper Cup as a serious result.


Agree with both posts to an extent and it shows how Ian Branfoot split fans' opinions probably more than any other manager in my time, would have been fun if HNA was around back then.

The football was never good to watch but you had to balance that with WWW which it was for a prolonged period

I agree the first promotion was Maurice Evans' squad and I'm convinced Maurice would have taken us up too but whether we would have made the next step up in my view is doubtful. But there is no doubt he was very harshly sacked, football is an entertainment business and in the first half of the season before Evans was sacked I really enjoyed the games which were very entertaining with several high scoring wins and from memory Trevor Senior had 20 goals by the end of October...it became much more pragmatic, even dull, following his sacking with the crowd pleasers such as the late Dean Horrix soon sold and replaced with harder working players. Sanchez, who I always rated, was sold to Wimbledon for peanuts.

The Simod Cup though was a fine achievement as as has been mentioned above, even before the final, Clough's Forest played a full first 11 as did Coventry in the semis, and a very decent Bradford side in the quarters going for promotion. That said, there was an element of default in it as some of Branfoot's desired first 11 were cup tied resulting in a more measured build up....why this side was never given a chance in the league, particularly when we were struggling, only Ian knows.


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Re: Mike Conroy

by Sutekh » 24 May 2021 17:44

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oldebiscuit
I’m not usually one of those tedious pedants with such an empty life that I have to point out spelling mistakes, but, in this case, I feel the need. Unless you originate from the USA, It’s CENTRE not center.

And as for Mike Conroy, just a typical ‘Branfoot I’m out of my depth signing’ to add to an already shocking team. Even if he was any good, he wouldn’t have been able to to perform in that shower of shite.

You know the 13 wins at the start of the season was under Branfoot
You know that the Division 3 title was under Branfoot
He may have been dour but effective and I don't think 'out of his depth' could be levelled so easily at him

Did he lose the plot ? probably
Was he always shite ? absolutely not


Add the Simod Cup to the list too, we haven't won at Wembley since either...


If Reading make another play off final perhaps they should temporarily sack their then manager and appoint Branfoot for that one game.

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Re: Mike Conroy

by tmesis » 24 May 2021 22:21

oldebiscuit Promotion one was Maurice Evans team that Branfoot took over in an unpopular Smee move, whilst we occupied the top four. Yes, Ian took it on and was in charge when we crossed the line.

Promotion 2 was an excellent achievement as I have already acknowledged, but asi have said, it was after this that he was out of sorts.

Reading looked a decent team in the first season up, but the heart was ripped out of it with the loss of Senior, Steve Wood, Kevin Bremner and Terry Hurlock.

Low quality replacements were all the club could afford, and the writing was on the wall very early on. After relegation, further financial constraints made life difficult. He was very unpopular when he left, but was probably pretty hard done by. He didn't help himself with comments like Terry Hurlock's best days being behind him, as he took over Millwall's midfield for the push to the top flight. He later admitted he sold him because he was being 'ineffective' in the dressing room.


Please don’t take the Daytripper Cup as a serious result.

Why not? That was an amazing achievement in the days when clubs still put out the full team for those games. In some ways it was also his downfall, as fans wondered why he played one (unsuccessful) way in the league, and other way in cup games. That stubbornness didn't help him.

He wasn't a great manager. He certainly wasn't a sophisticated one, but I don't think he was as bad as it seemed in the dark days after relegation.

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Re: Mike Conroy

by Jackson Corner » 26 May 2021 13:46

Just to go back to the Maurice Evans Ian Branfoot season. I remember the games at the start of the season were just brilliant to watch they were like basketball matches you score three wheel score four we had Trevor upfront alongside Deano with David crown on the wing two attacking fullbacks it was great to watch. And then whilst in fourth place I think. Maurice was sacked. Much to everyone’s myself included surprise.

In came Ian Brabfoot, Who overnight changed the style of football he did not pull any punches. It was throw it in the box into the mixer and see what comes out. A total contrast to what we had been watching it was boring as hell but you can’t argue with the fact it got us promoted. This carried on out when Deano and Crown in came Whitehurst Horlock and eventually Moran. And eventually Trevor left. Then came the strange season where we were fantastic in the cup competitions and hopeless in the league Branfoot would play Deano and Gilkes up front in the cup. And Moran and Whitehurst in the league. I just don’t understand to this day why Ian at least towards the end of the season play the cup lineup as at least we were winning matches against better opposition.

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Re: Mike Conroy

by tmesis » 28 May 2021 22:23

Jackson Corner
In came Ian Brabfoot, Who overnight changed the style of football he did not pull any punches. It was throw it in the box into the mixer and see what comes out. A total contrast to what we had been watching it was boring as hell but you can’t argue with the fact it got us promoted. This carried on out when Deano and Crown in came Whitehurst Horlock and eventually Moran. And eventually Trevor left. Then came the strange season where we were fantastic in the cup competitions and hopeless in the league Branfoot would play Deano and Gilkes up front in the cup. And Moran and Whitehurst in the league. I just don’t understand to this day why Ian at least towards the end of the season play the cup lineup as at least we were winning matches against better opposition.

Whitehurst and Moran came in after Hurlock and Senior left. Crown was gone after the 84/85 season.

We couldn't play Dean Horrix after the cup win because we'd sold him to Millwall a couple of weeks before the final. While Whitehurst and Moran were hardly a lethal partnership, they were at least strikers. Playing a left back/winger and midfielder up front for the final, and it working, was something of a miracle.


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Re: Mike Conroy

by fartdad » 29 May 2021 01:18

I hope jmSG appreciates I necro'd a 8 month old post just because I felt bad for the guy that signed up and posted a thread that probably needed approval and got lost in the abyss. :(

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