Chris Kinnear

[Jeff Trice]

The man's a total legend and I can't believe we've sacked him, I'm totally disgusted. What makes it even worse is the crap about him and Kevin 'being suspended from their duties'.

 

We all know what Chris has done for the club and the way I see it is that we got relegated from the Conference through no fault of his. Then we got relegated last year when things around the club were absolutely desperate and the only people Chris could sign were other people's cast-offs. This season Chris had to scratch around for players again and bring in half a new team using a trial and error process that couldn't really be avoided. We had a great run of results little more than a month ago and then we've had a poor run of results over the past month.

 

We're not going to go down and presumably if we'd won tonight Chris would still be in a job. We'd have won if Bertie hadn't been sent off when he'd done nothing wrong. Bar a stupid couple of minutes we'd have got at least a point on Saturday and could easily have won if the Heybridge keeper hadn't pulled off four or five great saves.

 

I'm rambling but I've never been so disgusted about anything in 28 years as a Margate supporter. No way should Chris have gone, I'm convinced he would have taken us back up the leagues again given a set of normal circumstances for a whole season which he hasn't had for about five years.

 

Thanks a million for everything Chris.

[geoff pay]

Have to post my bit under the legend jeff twice cos his post says it all. Its late and only Gary Hyde will believe this but CK stopped his car and flashed us down by Westgate Golf Club at 10'oclock tonight to tell us the news. His lovely son recognised me first i think. gary and i were stunned but felt highly honoured to know first. I thank God for giving us ten years of his managerial life. A lengend amounst men let alone managers. Ten years and the last three were hell!! THANK YOU CK. Hot chocolate and a whisky to celebrate his time with us. God bless you Chris. <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

[Chris1]

Great respect to Chris and Kevin who have been total Margate legends. Our lack of success this season was not CK's fault, and he has done a great job of building a squad for the future under difficult conditions.

 

Whatever success we achieve next season will be due, at least in part, to his efforts.

 

I am gutted at what has happened, and I wish CK success in whatever he does next in football (thankfully not his full-time job).

 

Good luck mate!

[JohnKirby]

CK, you are the best, and one of the only MFC managers I have ever known. You took us beyond what I thought we could ever achieve. The way this has wound up is a disgrace, your name is synonimous with MFC and always will be. I can only hope that the directors realise what a mistake they are making and re-instate you. Your drive, passion and ambition for the club is unrivalled.

 

Maybe now your loyalty will be rewarded with a real top quality job, and that will be the ONLY silver lining in this story.

 

I am truly appalled and ashamed of my club for the way this has turned out.

[MargateMan]

Truly a manager who deserves the title 'The Special one' did miracles with this club. But I guess it is the boards decision. Good luck CK, and thanks for the many good years of loyal service, and the good times and the bad times!

[Coffin Ender]

I am shocked. So who is in charge for Saturday? Have the board lined up a replacement? You don't sack someone without doing that first, surely...

[MIKE PERRY]

Truly nice man who has stuck by the club through the most trying of circumstances. I have been outspoken about him during the season but am still surprised about the timing of this. Thought it might have happened at end of season but Directors obviously feel, perhaps rightly, that we are still in danger of a third successive relegation and that a new man at the helm may galvanise the team into getting the results we need to survive. Given the fact 44 players have been used so far this season and the team have consistently under performed and maybe more crucially that the directors have put a lot of money in, I can understand their frustrations as things seem to be going backwards rather than forwards on the pitch. Thanks for the good times, Chris,the heady days of the Conference,which we led at one stage, the southern league championship winning season, the FA cup matches against Fulham and Leyton Orient, the league cup and all the Kent Senior cups. However we must all look to the future and accept that we will progress on and off the pitch with a new man/men in charge. Up the Gate.

[Gate Watcher]

CK you are a legend and will never be forgotten.

[JohnKirby]

i make it won 4 drawn 4 lost 6 in the league since xmas, correct me if i am wrong, but i wouldn't say that was really really bad form since xmas.

 

Is anyone else planning to phone the club today?

[Gate Watcher]

John, please bear in mind the amount of money the board are putting in. I have heard the reported wage bill figure and it is very large so I can in some ways understand the decision. If it was my money I would be mortified by a possible relegation.

[JohnKirby]

Isn't it the board though who are supposed to keep financial matters under control? If so then it shouldn't have got to this point in the first place.

[Coffin Ender]

But what are the odds of being relegated? Someone I know spoke to Ken Tomlinson last week who said the fourth from bottom thing is very unlikely because of league reorganisation. And even if it does happen here is the current situation with us and the three fourth bottom teams (the bottom side in this mini league would be relegated).

 

Margate 37-39 -11

Lincoln United 36-36 -17

Hendon 37-35 -19

Northwood 37-35 -32

 

Our superior goal difference means we are effectively five points ahead of Hendon and Northwood with only five games left.

[JohnKirby]

I bet kinnear is cursing some names now for tempting him to stay through all the [****!!****] like playing at Ashford. They want to get more through the turnstiles but this will only alienate the fans further.

[geoff pay]

agree john

[JohnKirby]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_conf/4878472.stm

 

its now in the news

[Jeff Trice]

With regard to finances, obviously the board allowed Chris to pay however much to whichever players - he couldn't have signed Bertie, Danny and Robin without their go-ahead and I think that's basically the three players we're talking about. So when they were signed did the board tell Chris he had to win every game from then on or that we had to get into the play-offs otherwise he'd be sacked. I doubt it very much, especially as we'd never have been allowed to go up anyway.

 

So effectively Chris was allowed to sign those players in a season in which we weren't going to go up or down then we've had a bad run of results and he's been sacked. There's been at least 2 or 3 of the run of defeats that we could have won with a bit more luck and going back to Bertie, Danny and Robin who could seriously say they haven't been successes as individuals ?

 

Dover fired Chris - and I'm pretty sure they didn't gloss over it by saying he'd been suspended - after a short run of relatively bad results when he'd performed miracles there and after that a succession of managers failed to emulate his achievements there. Still, next season he'll be back at Crabble and we can watch him turn a club around again.

 

Notice Andy Ford's being touted as our new boss, I can't even bring myself to think about that as I'm still in shock but as far as I know he took Gravesend from the Ryman Premier to the Conference and was sacked after a terrible run of defeats - certainly more than seven games. Put simply, his record isn't as good as the man we've just sacked and whoever comes in won't have credentials as impressive as Chris's.

[JohnKirby]

yeah, the new manager is gonna have to be pretty [****!!****] awesome, unless the club are looking to someone like Gazza... after all he'll bring a few extra through the turnstiles... please recognise i'm being sarcastic.

[Coffin Ender]

Last summer we lost the following players...

Che Stadhart, Rocky Baptiste, Ross Graham-Smith, Mark Green (effectively), Darren Annon and Adrian Clarke (and others). The rebuilding of the team was always going to be a major job and this was always going to be a difficult season.

[Gringo]

Just heard Chris on radio kent, hes very dissapointed. They asked for his resignation he said he'd think about it so they suspended him <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> he was a true gent about it. I am sure he will get another team on the up. Especially a well run one.

[JohnKirby]

Got to go to work now, but will strangely enjoy reading more when i get back as i'm sure some news will leak out as to what is going on with the club

 

anyone wanting to be in the know, or wants to tell the club what they think of the situation here's that all important number

 

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