Mariner leaves Plymouth to pursue opportunities elsewhere

**anto7** · 12-30-2010, 07:19 PM

Paul Mariner leaves cash-strapped Plymouth Argyle

Paul Mariner has left his role as head coach at cash-strapped Plymouth Argyle to pursue an opportunity elsewhere.

The 57-year-old joined the Pilgrims from US side New England Revolution in October 2009.

He initially worked under Paul Sturrock, before replacing the Scot as Argyle boss in December 2009.

Mariner, who asked to be released from his contract on Thursday, had reverted to the number two role at Home Park under Peter Reid this season.

Mariner's departure comes with Plymouth facing the threat of being wound up next year, unless the club can pay off their £760,000 tax bill to HM Revenue and Customs.

The former England striker made 135 appearances for the Pilgrims between 1973 and 1976, scoring 56 goals.

**anto7** · 12-30-2010, 07:21 PM

From BBC news

**wzhxvy** · 12-30-2010, 07:58 PM

Hmmm...I wonder where he is going...leaving a sinking ship to board another one.

**vince93** · 12-30-2010, 08:01 PM

Press conference, Dec 31, 11:59.
TFC promised a new manger before the year was out!
Happy New Year to all the supporters.

**Pookie** · 12-30-2010, 10:04 PM

Reports say Toronto FC Ready to Name New Coach:

http://www.thestar.com/sports/soccer...name-new-coach

"The British press has reported that Mariner, 57, was offered a three-year deal in North America."

**Detroit_TFC** · 12-30-2010, 10:42 PM

Well, at least he will have a little bit of knowledge about how things have gone here, at least until he went back to the UK. I would imagine he's stayed in touch with MLS contacts even while he was over there.

**Jeff s** · 12-30-2010, 10:42 PM

Please no. Apparently tfc doesn't wanna win anything. We need a MANAGER, not an assistant like Carver. Pffff

**billyfly** · 12-30-2010, 10:54 PM

Well, the quirky league known as the MLS seems to dictate (like the CFL), someone with experience in the league's rules and the types of players required in teh ping-pong style of play.

**Stryker** · 12-30-2010, 10:54 PM

Im down with Mariner. I mean he isn't the miracle worker this team needs, but aside from Sigi I can't think of anyone else in North America I'd rather have.

**billyfly** · 12-30-2010, 10:56 PM

He better not bring any more argyle into TFC's gear though. Parky tried that already.

**Ossington Mental Youth** · 12-30-2010, 10:59 PM

Originally Posted by Stryker

Im down with Mariner. I mean he isn't the miracle worker this team needs, but aside from Sigi I can't think of anyone else in North America I'd rather have.

Bruce arena but yeah I'm not entirely opposed to him especially if joined by nicol

**Darlofletch** · 12-30-2010, 11:20 PM

Mariner's 50% of a reasonable MLS management team. going by coaching resumes alone, I'd certainly have chosen him ahead of Gary Smith or Jason kreis when they got their head coach positions and they haven't done too badly have they?

I'd be ok with him, but I'd still be looking for someone better than earl to be working above him.

**Waggy** · 12-30-2010, 11:24 PM

Edit: Im an idiot, and late to the party. And borderline illiterate. But hey, at least I found the Mariner thread to post in

**reggie** · 12-30-2010, 11:33 PM

since when do you hire a coach before a gm....

**Boondaddy** · 12-30-2010, 11:37 PM

Hear the rime of the ancient Mariner!!

**reggie** · 12-30-2010, 11:41 PM

so mlse went cheap again...so we got the the coch and a sailor...
enjoy my money for the last time mlse.

**Corpand** · 12-31-2010, 12:52 AM

Wow, why all the negativity? This is by far the best coach we have had. Talk to any NE fans and they will have nothing but love for the guy. He knows this league quite well, has connections and from what Ive read, knows how to deal with troublemakers.

**Waggy** · 12-31-2010, 01:04 AM

Originally Posted by Corpand

Wow, why all the negativity? This is by far the best coach we have had. Talk to any NE fans and they will have nothing but love for the guy. He knows this league quite well, has connections and from what Ive read, knows how to deal with troublemakers.

Cause normally a General Manager hires a coach, not vice versa. The announcing of a coach basically means they have a GM, and he's found a coach. Which means that Earl will most likely be the guy staying on as GM, as opposed to someone with some experience who didn't already work for MLSE

**David_Oliveira** · 12-31-2010, 01:08 AM

Originally Posted by Waggy

Cause normally a General Manager hires a coach, not vice versa. The announcing of a coach basically means they have a GM, and he's found a coach. Which means that Earl will most likely be the guy staying on as GM, as opposed to someone with some experience who didn't already work for MLSE

Reminds me alot of the Leafs bringing in Wilson for when they had a chance to get Burke. Are they bringing in Mariner to possibly go after Nicols?

**Waggy** · 12-31-2010, 01:14 AM

Originally Posted by David_Oliveira

Reminds me alot of the Leafs bringing in Wilson for when they had a chance to get Burke. Are they bringing in Mariner to possibly go after Nicols?

Hey, any time you can replicate the success of the Leafs in another sport, you gotta take the opportunity

I assume they are, its just such an ass-backwards way of doing business that it makes my head hurt. I'd almost rather if they said Earls our boardroom guy, Pauls our on the pitch guy. Bringing in Mariner THEN bringing in Nicols on top just seems like adding unnecessarily. Unless they want Nicols to be the Director of Soccer or something instead of GM. Which I'd whole heartedly support theoretically. Even then though, why hire the guy to be Director of Soccer and not give him the freedom to find his own style/manager?

**David_Oliveira** · 12-31-2010, 01:19 AM

Originally Posted by Waggy

Hey, any time you can replicate the success of the Leafs in another sport, you gotta take the opportunity

I assume they are, its just such an ass-backwards way of doing business that it makes my head hurt. I'd almost rather if they said Earls our boardroom guy, Pauls our on the pitch guy. Bringing in Mariner THEN bringing in Nicols on top just seems like adding unnecessarily. Unless they want Nicols to be the Director of Soccer or something instead of GM. Which I'd whole heartedly support theoretically. Even then though, why hire the guy to be Director of Soccer and not give him the freedom to find his own style/manager?

I don't know about you, but at the time it looked like Burke could do wonders. I fully thought he would work magic. I would have made the same move. Why not go after one of the best in MLS? I'd be down. Let Earl be the "GM" for now and when Nicols comes in, he moves to a senior role

**Yohan** · 12-31-2010, 01:27 AM

Just a hypothesis, but if Mariner is indeed signing for TFC as head coach, and Nicol as GM, seems to me either Nicol has no problem working with Mariner again or TFC has Nicol's approval to sign Mariner, and just sorting out paperwork with NE to sign Nicol

**Shway** · 12-31-2010, 02:12 AM

this seems like preki all over again, just without the mo

when signed.......everybody supported preki
when things weren't good.....everybody wanted preki gone

**Waggy** · 12-31-2010, 03:09 AM

Originally Posted by David_Oliveira

I don't know about you, but at the time it looked like Burke could do wonders. I fully thought he would work magic. I would have made the same move. Why not go after one of the best in MLS? I'd be down. Let Earl be the "GM" for now and when Nicols comes in, he moves to a senior role

I agree with you. At the same time though, it didn't work with the Leafs and I can't think of an example where that sort of organizational model has succeeded (coach preceding GM in a long term build). MLSE needs to stop trying to outsmart everyone and start doing things the conventional way. In sports, conventional works. it just does. Teams that win almost always tend to follow very similar and safe paths to success. Why do MLSE teams have to try and be either ahead of the curve or throwbacks? Why can't they just replicate what works TODAY? And what works today in MLS is not hiring a coach then bringing in someone after him to be the one picking players and an organizational philosophy. That didn't work ever. I don't care HOW good the coach is

**__wowza** · 12-31-2010, 08:18 AM

Originally Posted by Jahinho_Guerro

this seems like preki all over again, just without the mo

when signed.......everybody supported preki
when things weren't good.....everybody wanted preki gone

actually, the sentiment on the board was very anti-preki at the time.
if you'll recall, he cleared out our team almost completely. cleaned house and moved several of our fan favourites.

when he started people didn't like him.
after the columbus game people didn't like him.

most of us chose to reserve judgment until we saw the completed team he was trying to put together, but you really couldn't help feeling uneasy this time (fast forward a month) last year.

**razor787** · 12-31-2010, 08:44 AM

Well yea, once he started making the cuts we hated him. But when we heard the name it was a relief. People were praising him because he had taken chivas to the playoffs even though they were in the same boat we are in. But then, like you said, we saw what he was doing, and we turned.

**ManUtd4ever** · 12-31-2010, 08:47 AM

Originally Posted by Ossington Mental Youth

Bruce arena but yeah I'm not entirely opposed to him especially if joined by nicol

Originally Posted by Darlofletch

Mariner's 50% of a reasonable MLS management team. going by coaching resumes alone, I'd certainly have chosen him ahead of Gary Smith or Jason kreis when they got their head coach positions and they haven't done too badly have they?

I'd be ok with him, but I'd still be looking for someone better than earl to be working above him.

Originally Posted by Corpand

Wow, why all the negativity? This is by far the best coach we have had. Talk to any NE fans and they will have nothing but love for the guy. He knows this league quite well, has connections and from what Ive read, knows how to deal with troublemakers.

Yup, yup, and yup...

**vince93** · 12-31-2010, 09:15 AM

I think people on this board who are so concerned about who the GM will be or is are looking at the situation as North American sports fans. In world football the manager makes all the player related decisions, not a GM. Who is the GM at MUN, Inter, or Real Madrid? The question should be if Paul Mariner is the right choice as manager not who the gm will be. How many teams have a GM anyway?

**ManUtd4ever** · 12-31-2010, 09:32 AM

^^ The reports indicate that Mariner will be hired as the Coach/Manager although Gerry Dobson tweeted yesterday that the rumored GM candidate to have recently emerged is Steve Nicol. I hope Dobson is on to something as I would love to see Nicol and Mariner reunited as a management tandem in Toronto without being hindered by the financial constraints they dealt with in New England...

**menefreghista** · 12-31-2010, 09:57 AM

Originally Posted by vince93

I think people on this board who are so concerned about who the GM will be or is are looking at the situation as North American sports fans. In world football the manager makes all the player related decisions, not a GM. Who is the GM at MUN, Inter, or Real Madrid? The question should be if Paul Mariner is the right choice as manager not who the gm will be. How many teams have a GM anyway?

This is a pretty big misconception. Really only in Britain is the role retained by one person. Most of the rest of Europe has a Coach and GM similar to the structure of North American sports.

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