Unofficial Halesowen Town FC Forum

From my time.
Stuart Hall,
John Chambers
Alan Moore
Colin caretaker
Brendan Phillips
Colin on a caretaker basis assisted by Tony hemming?
Paul Holleran
Colin assisted by Graham Jones, the physio
Martin O'Connor
Morrell M**s*n
Matt Clarke
Phil nardiello.
Tony Thorpe
Shaun Cunnington
John Hill
lee Hughes
Paul Smith.

Also missing is a brief stint from Rob Elmes. Colin acted as caretaker manager several times from 1998 onwards. Here's my list, including dates and stats, based on the archive of the excellent Yeltz Archives:

Thought I'd put Chambers and Holleran. Flippin' beer goggles.....

Superb information everyone, the usual fountains of all Yeltz knowledge. I will let you know how it goes and the decision we eventually make. I’m sure we will take it seriously, it could actually take a few weeks of extreme debate.
Anyway Kev, there is only one reason I haven’t posted for a while. I had forgot my login details - simples !

Having only been following the Yeltz (on and off) since 2001, the only managers I have really seen in any great depth are Brendan Phillips, John Hill and Paul Smith. I’m not going to tread on the toes of those who have been following well before my time and also consistently to make their overall ‘hall of fame’ decisions but this would be my top 3:-

In terms of what Paul has brought to the football club in such a short space of time has been nothing short of phenomenal. The style of football is the best I have seen, the atmosphere and togetherness between the fans and the club is as good as I’ve ever known and the way he communicates both face to face and through social media is second to none. What is the icing on the cake though has to be the FA Trophy run this season and going to the likes of Halifax and Barnet and genuinely believing you can get a result against those sides is unbelievable so for me he has to be No.1.

Brendan Phillips was the manager when I first started going and fell in love with the Yeltz. The 2001/02 promotion season was fantastic and as a 14 year old going to the Grove with mates from school and seeing us smash the likes of Shepshed Dynamo and Racing Club Warwick 6-0 every week was the stuff of dreams. He lost his way towards the end of his tenure but will always be a favourite of mine.

Last of all John Hill. He will have his critics (me included) and his style of football left a lot to be questioned but no-one can deny he managed the club during a very difficult period and did a very good job considering the limited resources and tight constraints he had. His highlight of course was the 2013/14 season and winning promotion to get us back to our ‘rightful level’ but he outstayed his welcome by probably one or two seasons too many which slightly tarnished his reasonable record.

Off the cuff I know I might got shot for this and very unpopular but if it was based on football management and statistics alone but looking at MM’s record it was actually quite decent! I was only a fleeting attendee during his tenure he almost got us up to the Conference North/South level having one step away. The off the field stuff is another matter and not the right place to go into that on here of course.

And whilst he also diminished his name as an assistant manager to JH and also with the reasoning behind him being relieved as manager, Matty Clarke had a fairly commendable season in 2009/10 with some attractive football played as well.

But... I shall leave it up to the ‘experts’ to make their decisions.

Paul Smith is every thing a manager should be; he acts with professionalism, he clearly has a game plan and prepares fully for each opposition, he watches our youth sides to scout for potential talent, he has built a rapport between fans and players, and also takes time to engage with fans.

I don't want to sound disrespectful to those of you who have been in attendance longer than I, but I really do think you'll struggle to name a better Yeltz manager than Paul Smith.

AwayDayYeltz wrote: ↑

25 Apr 2020, 20:31

Paul Smith is every thing a manager should be; he acts with professionalism, he clearly has a game plan and prepares fully for each opposition, he watches our youth sides to scout for potential talent, he has built a rapport between fans and players, and also takes time to engage with fans.

I don't want to sound disrespectful to those of you who have been in attendance longer than I, but I really do think you'll struggle to name a better Yeltz manager than Paul Smith.

The debate will be long and tortous but you won't get any disagreement from me.

My personal favourite up until this time was Stuart Hall, we played some great football against some very good sides at a constantly high level. He was also a very approachable guy with a great football knowledge. Football today is different since the onset of the internet. Every move and comment is dissected, every moment of every game has to be explained, and everybody is an 'expert'. It makes a manager's job a lot more difficult. Paul Smith comes up trumps in every department for me and I truly hope he is here for many more years to come, we could achieve like never before.
There will be arguements for the others for sure, especially Paddy Page and possibly John Morris, but for me it's Stuart Hall and Paul Smith, though his tenure as yet is short, he will surely become a legend.
My only fear is everyone will want him.....

I suppose it depends on what you are basing the ‘best’ manager as being.

Is it success? Is it popularity? Interaction with the club and fans? Iconic?

Will be an interesting debate I’m sure.

Nobody with any age in this topic will debate its paddy page by a mile,John morris 2nd for the football and the money from players he signed the club made,Number 3 little bit unsure i don't think we played good football under Stuart Hall alot of it was defensive especially at home and try to catch teams on the break,also He spent alot of money john morris made.So i would go for paul smith 3rd just for getting the club to top of the league and a trophy semi-final.