If that is the truth, THE WHOLE TRUTH and nothing but the truth then it doesn't paint the club in a very good light but I am informed, as I have laid out in another thread, that it isn't. What is described here is accurate but is alleged to be far from complete and until that is cleared up I'll hold my judgement.
Can't be fairer than that.

Unbelievable if it is true. I fully understand that there is no room for sentiment in professional football but the manner of KP's dismissal seems extremely harsh: he had achieved "agreed milestones" and as a result a two year contract on the table, just about to meet players to discuss end of season and suddenly out of the door. Feck me I feel genuinely sorry for KP.

The source is Sky Sports by the way.

An unfortunate placement of cord on logo there

So do I, as most would but there are concerns that something is being held back here.
His reward for meeting agreed milestones had been doubled from one year to two and then suddenly withdrawn. That scenario in isolation raises questions.

The nub of the issue is why was the two year offer withdrawn? Either it was simply because Sarll (allegedly a previous target) declared himself available or KP was doing something Raj disapproved of. The speed of Sarll's arrival suggests to me the former. I recall when Challinor was appointed we were all amazed that Hignett had been sacked and then 24 hours later Challinor's appointmenr was announced. Pretty similiar to KP's dismissal and Sarll's arrival.

I might be wrong but didn't Sweeney take charge for a few games before DC was appointed.

Someone will be along to clear this up but as I recall (memory not what was) Challinor was announced but was not able to take control for couple of weeks due to contractural issues with Fylde which was why Sweeney was in temp charge. As I say, I may be misremembering

What is absolutely clear is that Sarl was lined up. It’s obvious that he was RS’s first choice and there clearly has been some back and forth about whether he would take the job or not. My guess is that when he said yes, KP was dumped. It’s a disgraceful way to treat someone who had turned relegation favourites into a mid table safety team.

I think this time Raj had his head turned by the new board members and rightly or wrongly went with them. I believe he wanted KP to sign hence the extra added year But Auld Len & Co got into his head and he agreed with them and therefore withdraw the offer. You got to remember Raj has been a total disaster in recruiting managers other than DC, but I was told back then the commercial manager ( cannot recall his name ) had known DC for years ( both from same area ) and it was him who introduced DC to Raj and highly recommended he signed him up. So maybe this time Raj thought I will indeed go along with you Auld Len and his vast experience because I always get it wrong.

Derwent, you accepted the club's mendacious statement at face value (Club Update:Kevin Phillips), chuckled that "The whole scenario certainly got the natives going and now we have the speculation drums banging again" but weren't above chucking in a bit of speculation of your own: "perhaps KP was in negotiation with other club(s)."

Now you are literally falling over yourself to suggest that Kevin Phillips being treated disgracefully by the club isn't the whole story.

"I am informed..." Does it never occur to you that you might be being played rather than 'informed.'?

Sorry we weren’t relegation favorites, though we were on a poor run and Askey was struggling badly
I agree it’s not on the way Phillips has been treated but I think somehow hailing him as a great escape mastermind is not correct
What turned us around was getting in waterfall
And Parkes, both of whom were lined up before Askey was removed, Phillips signings were all almost universally shite, and sorry that 7-1 can’t be just brushed under the carpet, it was our worst result for 30 years and Phillips just sat there clueless
I recall earlier in the season Askey trying something against rochdale and they were battering us 3-0 so….he changed things, the fact Phillips was unable to do that or even think about it spoke volumes to me

Football can be cruel, because it’s about succeeding.
Was Kevin Phillips going to get us promoted next season, his own loan signings would suggest not.

Like loyal said, the people who rallied us were Waterfall and Parkes.
If you wanted mid table excellence Phillips was your man.
If you’re serious about succeeding you have to make hard choices and upset people.

Again by his underhand methods Raj adds yet another stain on the clubs reputation in the game.

Shouldn’t you be enquiring about the two directors who intervened after Raj and Phillips had allegedly agreed a deal as it was their intervention that swung things away from Phillips.
It’s tough on Phillips???? but was he really the man for us?
The football wasn’t that great.

What's underhand about it? The guy had the contract and sat on it for over a week without signing it, why?

I'd say it was prudent to have options lined up otherwise if he hadn't signed we would have spent the close season trying to find a manager rather than building a squad.

Phillips had an opportunity and let it slip through his hands by dithering.

As usual with Pools we'll probably never find out the full story, communications as ever piss poor.

Phillip's dithering as you put it might have been him fighting for a bigger playing budget. Will be interesting to see what this years budget is and how many players are released.

We'll never see this year's budget, same as we've never seen any years budget under any chairman. As usual we'll all speculate on if it's good bad or average based on a number of factors but at the end of the day all guesswork.

Maybe Phillips was negotiating for more to spend or more for himself, the bottom line is its doubtful that he would have been sacked if he had in fact signed the contract. So his delay in doing so cost him the opportunity.

I quite liked Phillips and thought he would do a job for us so it's sad we'll never find out but personnel come and go at a pace in football. Don't see anything as being underhand, but certainly doesn't paint the club or Raj in a good light.

Phillips wouldn't have got the job over Sarll in a straight recruitment process. His contract was up. He hadn't signed the offered contract.
End of.

If Phillips was that keen, he should have signed the contract 2 weeks ago, he was supposedly going to be talking to the players, some of whom he would have been trying to sign a new contract, imagine the conversation, KP - I want you to sign up again for us, we're going places, PLAYER X - have you signed up yet Boss, KP- No not yet, PLAYER X - ok Boss , me neither then !!

KP will be able to afford decent lawyers and so, if there is truth in what he is implying (and I can imagine that he has been used while RS waited for Sarll), then this could get messy - will RS pay for his silence or will the club's reputation get further tarnished in a Court?

And I recall earlier in the season Pools were winning 2-1 at relegation fodder Oxford City and got beat 5-2. Remind me, what were Askey's tactical masterstrokes that day?
Pools cerainly were on a 'poor run' when Askey got the bullet - W3, D4, L10 of his last 17 games in charge - that's nailed on relegation form.

As for Parkes and Waterfall being lined up before Askey was removed, what do you base that on? Askey went on 30th December, Philllips came in on 21st January, Waterfall signed 4 days later. Do you think it's par for the course for clubs to pursue the transfer targets of sacked managers?

Yeh ive heard from a very reliable source there is more to it than this. But yeh Sarrl was fave and was wanted and i think may just be the man to give us some better fortunes next season. Supposedly KP was asking for a war chest of cash similar to that of Chesterfields budget or something along those lines. Think he was a bit delusional as to how much cash we dont have.

however he is the same kevin phillips who was offered a contract extension after getting a dreadful result. his period should not just be looked at by 45 minutes of disgusting football or a good victory either.

in some ways it doesn,t put sarll in a good light either. think he has been around for weeks now and not just a few days before his appointment was announced. he seemed to know a lot about the club in his interview, more than i,d expect any of our past managers would know about woking. he had better do a good job for us as i have no time for someone quite happy to step into someone elses chair before it gets cold. how much he caused the sacking we,ll never know and we,ll all have our theories.

As usual Raj seems to have a problem both telling the truth and keeping his customers the supporters and companies who sponsor the club aware of the true reasons decisions have been made. I smelled a rat when On Thursday last week KP said he would be having the retained list out early this week and then nothing happened. If John Walter Mitty Shithead had any decency about him he would resign from the board as he does not represent the majority of the fan base.

His contract expired and he didn't sign it? What's the legal claim here?

If the club didn't act we could be managerless again rather than building a squad

Well first of all it is my choice as to what I accept or don't accept and you will never be able to change that, as it is my choice to be selective in which topics I get involved in.
When the club put out statements I read them and normally move on simply because as I have said dozens and dozens of times, I refuse to beat myself up over things I don't control and the next time the club consults me prior to making an announcement will be the first.
The only reason I commented on their announcement that KP was history was because of what Stelling wrote somewhere regarding the possibility that KP could be listening to offers from elsewhere, which of course is his right if he hadn't signed a new deal. It wasn't a speculation that was originated by me.
The natives being restless remark was actually a forecast and I'm sure you would agree it actually has come true. There is restlessness and you have said your bit, which I actually advised another bunkerite to read as I thought is was worth it.
On the statement by KP and his representatives, I am not falling all over it at all. When I first read it which was teatime yesterday my reaction was sympathy for Kev until I was warned that there was more to it. At that point I decided to keep my powder dry and see what developed. A good few hours later I decided to share the warning with fellow bunkerites, including you, because it is something I thought you lot might be interested to hear. You obviously didn't like it and that is your choice to make but I am only the messenger.
I very rarely put what I am told up on here but this time, after giving it much thought, I decided to tell you all.
I agree there is always the situation where any of us could be played as you put it but we all have a fair idea of the value or not of posting such comments.
On the face of it the first likely reaction favours Kev but the whole statement favours Kev. They got in first and I don't doubt any of what they said. My doubt is accepting that they unfolded the big picture and not just the bits that suit them. Of course my doubts and the warning I got could be groundless, at which point I will revert to my first reaction in favour of Kev.
Raj does what he sees fit, whatever I say so getting uptight about any decisions is pointless but I do try not to give in to the knee jerk scenario.
Keep taking the tablets.

Ah, so you have been told the same as me. I wish I could have got more but there's more to this is basically all I got.

It took months for Dave Challinor to agree all the details of a new contract. KP says he had the OFFER of a contract 2 weeks before it was withdrawn. There's an awful lot of people jumping to the conclusion that he had a contract in front of him fully drawn up and ready to sign but somehow didn't. Nothing in what KP said in the last week of the season or in his statement supports that assumption.

I was at that Oxford City game and I still can't believe what I witnessed. We were comfortable up to half time and teaching them a footballing lesson. There wasn't any segregation and the wife and I were sat next to a very vocal City fan and his son. I said at half time I reckon this will be 4-1 to us and their fan said "only four". He was amazed and obviously jubilant at the result but very surprised at the capitulation by us.
I have my theories on what caused the collapse but I don't think you want to hear them.
I also attended the Woking game at their place and our tactics that night were suicidal, not for the first time.

Fair enough. I hope at some point you will say more about the 'warning ' you received regarding the Phillips statement rather than just leaving it hanging there - in the way the unsubstantiated claims of consortiums just waiting to invest millions do.

The fact still remains that if he had signed the bloody thing it might have been different.
No one knows when the negotiations with KP started.
We can produce as many maybes for or against as you like but it is all history now and we move on.
Oh and DC is history as well.
I don't see what good it does to bring him into the job at every corner.
I might bring Fred Westgarth in if you want and I few more since.

If you got a contract from Raj Singh would you be rushing to sign it, only if you were desperate for a job, Phillips would have sought advice to go over the small print which wouldn’t happen in a few days yet. Sarll was appointed the same day as Phillips left Pools therefore I imagine he had had a contract in front of him weeks ago just waiting for the nod. When was the interview conducted with Sarll, it was at Pools the same day it was announced Phillips contract wasn’t being renewed. Sarll for some reason was in the area as the interview was at Vic Park ?

When I give my word to protect anonimity I keep it mate. That way not only do you get more but it shows people trust you and, as that means something to me, I protect it.
As for consortiums, takeovers etc etc. They will happen when Raj wants them to happen, not before.

By the sounds of things and rightly so - the board realised that Kev would only be successful if he had the cash behind him. Sarrl can probably work better with our budget. Kev would have found himself in the deep end shopping in Harrods with nothing but a few coppers. However Poundland Raj and Sarrl will make things work. Tbh they may have done KP a favour. He wanted more than what the club could offer (sounds like DC all over again) but in reality we have protected ourselves by not messing about and waiting and got a decent manager in before he went elsewhere.

I think the thing everyone has missed is that KP was under contract. 'after the option terms of his initial contract term were met as a result of the agreed milestones being achieved during his tenure.' and 'He was offered a new two-year contract, double the length initially outlined in the original agreement'. Does this not say his contract had been extended to the end of the current season already because he had met the terms in his initial contract e.g. avoid relegation and this three month contract extends for another year, but Raj decided to offer a 2 year contract as well to show support. Therefore we've sacked him, lied in our statement about him ('at the end of his contract') and then brought in another manager. No matter the reasons it's a horrible way to treat somebody as it sounds like he didn't see it coming (unless Mr Derwent wants to elaborate on the other reasons he's heard).
I think we could get away with doing this to a lesser known non league manager (not that it wouldn't be awful) but we've done it to Kevin Phillips... It's no coincidence that Sky Sports got his statement first. Our reputation as a club was low already due to players and other managers dealings with us but this affects us a whole lot more due to who we've fucked about.
I feel bad for Sarll himself, no matter your thoughts on who the better manager is/was you have to admit this will not help to attract players to us and has already mounted the pressure on Sarll to succeed.

thats the big worry for me - they should of thought about the media consequence's of this whole thing. Its not like it was years ago. Dirty laundry is absolutely aired for everyone to see these days and everyone wants to see it too. KP is a well known so yeh it was right that the media will make an absolute dogs dinner of this and make us look even worse ! DS has alot of pressure now on his shoulders (if he didnt already) ! Again just makes matters worse for us on and off field - hopefully it hasnt affected the staying under contract playing staff an makes them want off. Come start of the season it all be done and dusted and forgotten about but lets just hope it doesnt affect us getting decent players in.

Didnt SShields have a problem with KP and budgets, Seem to remember thats what was said at the time, And HE walked.
Seems he never gave them a second thought.

clubs reply.
https://www.footballforums.net/index.ph ... peg.99326/

Can't get that.

We can explore and interpret every little detail of Contractgate, but at the end of the day no one can do bugger all about it.
We’ll have to suck it and see.

Indeed. The real fun starts when we get Lenny Lawrence's retained list to chew over

If the club do a reply it'll be on the official site or the club's X account. Unless some bloke sounding off on a football chatroom is setting new standards of professionalism

We haven't missed any point at all KPs contract had ended. The option to offer a new contract was taken up and presented to Phillips who sart on it for over a week - at the end of his contract he was unemployed pending him signing the new contract.

Much as it all paints Raj and the club in a poor light, there's no breach of contract by either party. If there was I'm pretty sure KP wouldn't have sanctioned that statement pending a potential legal action being started against the club.

Spot on PTID

Parkes and waterfall rallied us but they still conceded hatfuls, i wouldnt get too carried away with them, started off really well but a lack of pace was found out big time at times.

Whilst agreeing with you about lack of pace the fact is without those two coming in I dread to think where we would have ended.

Oh yeah probobly saved us, i just worry that the goals didnt stop going in once the improvement had happened. Conceded a boatload away.

Why does he need ‘representatives’ to speak for him, couldn’t he just release his own statement?