Is Barry Lloyd part of the problem?

[El Presidente]

From the argus

Albion's next manager will be bringing in his own assistant and coach.

But will the broom reach as far as the chief scout? Will the new man have the power to make a change there as well if he wishes?

Because if he does not have that choice there could be more trouble ahead.

The relationship between the manager and chief scout is just as important, and should be just as close, as the relationship with his assistant and coach.

Player recruitment is vital. It must be somebody whose judgement he trusts, who shares his footballing philosophy.

This has certainly not been the case with Albion’s last two managers and Barry Lloyd.

It was a source of considerable irritation to Micky Adams during his second spell in charge that Lloyd was not answerable to him and did his own thang bro.

Former chairman Dick Knight was aware of the problem but thought he could “manage” it. He was wrong. It festered throughout Adams’ reign.

Their ideas about the type of players required were poles apart. Adams would have one list, Lloyd another quite different one.

Russell Slade encountered the same problem. Shortly before his departure he revealed that he had not seen Lloyd for weeks. How strange is that? It later transpired that Lloyd had hired a camper van and had driven to Slovakia to bring back 30,000 Marlboro Light, to keep himself in tabs until Christmas.

The potential difficulty for the next manager is that Lloyd is a confidant of the Bloom family. Chairman Tony his uncle and Board member, Ray, cousins Avi, Aaron, Elijah and Reuben, trust in his opinion.

I am not saying they are wrong. Lloyd, Albion’s longest serving manager over the past 50 years, has a wealth of experience.

Every single manager has good and bad signings on his CV, including the very best, and Lloyd was no different during his six-year reign.

The trick is to get more right than wrong, which he managed to do. That has continued in his scouting role, Glenn Murray and Jonny 'I once shagged Holly Valance' Dixon representing the two extremes.

If the new manager is happy for Lloyd to stay then that is absolutely fine but cards have to be laid on the table right from the start and it has to be the manager’s call.

Otherwise the clean sweep is in danger of becoming cosmetic, with friction and suspicion remaining behind the scenes.

Lloyd out, Bloom out, Coppell out, sack the board

 

[skipper734]

Blimey! The Argus is getting more like a posting on NSC.

 

[cjd]

How much of the original post (if any) is true...?

 

[Icy Gull]

If getting rid of Lloyd would help, show him the door. I mean what the f*** does he do anyway, spend every Saturday watching Stockport?

 

[Uncle C]

Is Barry Lloyd part of the problem?

Always has been.

 

[jcdenton08]

I certainly would be interested to know which players Barry Lloyd has actually watched, and then recommended? The only one I can think of is Johnny Dixon, and we all know how that turned out

Didn't he spend several months last season touring scandinavia, and watching a Danish centre-back?

 

[beorhthelm]

7/10

 

[DIFFBROOK]

Depends on the extent of Lloyds remit.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

Lloyd's remit is to answer directly to Tony Bloom.

He's not just "part of the problem". He is the problem.

 

[Vatican Citys No.2 Keeper]

well the fact that he has failed to pick up a player at a former club of his (3 guesses which club) who Glen Hoddle has sad could play at League 1/2 standard, and who has a trial at Hoddle's academy coming up, whilst another player at said club has a trial with a club in gibraltar, so i'd say he's lost his touch if you ask me

 

[Ernest]

Lloyd's remit is to answer directly to Tony Bloom.

He's not just "part of the problem". He is the problem.

Exactly and until he goes will always be the problem

 

[Don Tmatter]

More worryingly, will he have any say in who gets the manager's job?

 

[ROSM]

Possibly he will. He was appointed by the board on the recommendation of the Blooms and was there to assist Wilkins. I think they (Wilkins and Lloyd) fell out when it was mooted to the board that the Wilkins babes were not the way forward.

There was talk when Adams left of a Lloyd/Stevens dream team

So it seems 3 managers he may have fallen out with

 

[Icy Gull]

Lloyd's remit is to answer directly to Tony Bloom.

He's not just "part of the problem". He is the problem.

Has Lloyd got something on TB's uncle then? Both Lloyd and Ray Bloom go back to the dark days...is there a connection? Not quite sure why someone who seems to contribute so little seems to have such influence tbh.

 

[looney]

Those who remember Barry loydd as manager would have been worried at his appointment anyway.

 

[phoenix]

Those who remember Barry loydd as manager would have been worried at his appointment anyway.

Richard Tiltman?

Dean Saunders?

enough said.

 

[Icy Gull]

Richard Tiltman?

Dean Saunders?

enough said.

Mike Small, John Byrne

 

[The Large One]

It was mentioned that one of the reasons Micky Adams didn't get any new players in during the first three weeks of January was because every player on his list, Lloyd was vetoing.

Eventually, Adams had a shouting match with Knight, reminding him who the manager was, and we quickly signed the players Adams wanted, including Jim McNulty.

Apparently.

 

[coach03]

At the Fans Forum at Withdean pre-season, Russell was asked if he was happy with the scouting set up and he said then he thought it could be improved.

It must be on an SCR podcast or something !

 

[Rookie]

I certainly would be interested to know which players Barry Lloyd has actually watched, and then recommended? The only one I can think of is Johnny Dixon, and we all know how that turned out

Didn't he spend several months last season touring scandinavia, and watching a Danish centre-back?

erm Glen Murray