Why Jackett’s staying at PO4 – YOUR Blues questions answered
You have been giving some hard-hitting questions to answer with Kenny Jackett’s future firmly under the microscope – so read below on the lowdown on everything from why the boss is staying, how he could yet be sacked, the Blues’ dressing room and why Gareth Evans left.
Q. Are the board/owners even considering getting a new manager?
Andy Slater JC: Only one place to start this week, and it’s with Andy’s question which has been echoed many times over by you, mainly with less printable variants.
You may have seen we’ve revealed this afternoon that Jackett is to remain as Pompey manager, a story which gives a lot of background to the subject of his future.
It worth starting by making the point that the frustration which escalated on Saturday, are emotions being echoed among the club’s board.
The performance against Wigan wasn’t good enough. The start to the season hasn’t been good enough.
Whatever the strength of feeling among fans, though, the board's view is it's too early to pull the trigger after three league games, but they certainly know what’s taken place so far isn’t acceptable.
So yes, it’s too early in the season, but let’s not pretend this decision isn’t also about the desperate state football finds itself in.
Sacking the manager simply doesn’t make economic sense at present.
The club have now lost over £5m through the Covid crisis, losses which are being propped up by the Eisners.
It doesn’t take a financial expert to realise those losses can’t be sustained, and Mark Catlin has already indicated he can’t rule out redundancies.
If the club were to sack Jackett it would cost circa £400,000 and, of course, there’s the additional costs of paying up backroom staff, potentially compensating a club for a new manager and then the likely ensuing
player tur nover.
How does paying out that kind of money align with potentially having to make loyal staff redundant?
It may not be what supporters want to hear, but Kenny is going nowhere. To be clear it’s not just a financial decision, but in the crisis Pompey and football are facing they feel now is not the right time for a change.
Q. Will the club honour KJ’s contract until the end of the season or is there a possibility he could get sacked if the slow start continues?
Elliot Miller JC: Continuing with the theme of Kenny’s future, but more with a focus on timescale with Elliot’s question.
As I said previously, I think the club view it as too early
to sack Kenny, especially after three league games.
If they did it now, it would smack of a knee-jerk decision, which is definitely not the Eisner’s way.
If they were going to sack the manager they would have done it after the Oxford United play-off defeat, instead of backing his recruitment all summer and doing it now. I could certainly imagine Milan Mandaric going down that route back in the day, however!
The vibe I get is that if Pompey were down the wrong end of the table when it gets to November time, they could still act. So the eight games in October are huge.
There’s been a few people saying why won’t the manager walk? Forget that, he has a contract until next summer and will expect it to be honoured.
Obviously, if it got to the end of the season and the
club didn’t go up, there would be a parting of the ways at the contract’s end.
Bottom line, as Jackett said himself, he knows the business he’s in and the rules of the game. If things don’t improve he’s aware of the outcome.
Q. Has the chief executive explained to the owners the strength of opinion gathering against the management team and how toxic things can become at a football club when situations are allowed to continue?
Mike Flannagan JC: Only one talking point this week isn’t there!
I don’t think Mark Catlin needs to tell the board about the strength of feeling among supporters at present.
Toxic is a term which is being bandied around a lot, and it’s certainly an accurate one to describe how Fratton Park would be if fans were present. It would be AFC Wimbledon away last season on steroids.
So perhaps the manager is lucky that games are taking place without fans. That’s possibly the case in more than one way, because if supporters were allowed to attend and they voted with their feet by staying away, I could picture that being a scenario which would force them to act over his future.
Q. Has Kenny lost the dressing room?
Rory Jones JC: This is a subject which has once again reared its head after the weekend.
I wrote back in August I felt one of Kenny Jackett’s biggest challenges was to repair fractures in the dressing room after the events of last season.
Without naming names, it’s fair to say there would have been a lot of people alienated by decisions made last term over selection and tactics.
That issue has been brought into focus by the season’s start and it was interesting to see someone with Guy Whittingham’s experience suggesting it didn’t look like the players were trying for their manager on Saturday.
The term ‘lost the dressing room’ is a strong one. Perhaps it’s a combination of past events, lack of confidence, belief and leadership coming together in a perfect storm of negativity for the players.
Whatever it is, that dressing room now needs to stand up and show its character.
Q. Was Evans moving on to do with being dropped again by Kenny?
Rory Jones JC: Two questions from
Rory this week, but two good ‘uns and we have to tackle the subject of Gaz Evans departing.
It was disappointing to hear of his impending departure last Thursday, and I think the outpouring of affection showed how fans felt. It certainly meant the world to the man himself.
Basically, Evans departed because he was told he wasn’t going to feature this season - especially after Michael Jacobs’ arrival.
He was informed he would be back up and it would take a number of injuries or a scenario like the squad to be decimated by Covid-19, to get him into the team.
From Jackett’s view, he obviously feels the player’s wages and position in the squad under the wage cap may be better utilised elsewhere - like a deeper midfielder, for example.
So maybe it was a move which was best for all parties, but, from a personal standpoint it was just very sad to see Gaz go - and I thank him for the memories.