Thought I'd have a look at the feeder leagues and see if there were any up and coming local managers who might see us as being a good step up. No idea if they would be of course, they may be very content where they are but it's a bit of food for thought! I'd like to think we might be an attractive option for someone, as we're no longer a club in crisis and can get crowds through the gate when we're playing well.
If we're limiting it to more local guys, (and in a lot of ways I hope we do...we don't want another Gwynett situation) on the face of it, the top of the Isthmian Prem doesn't immediately offer much in the way of potential candidates. Nor indeed does the Southern League, a division into which we may be relegated if we don't pull our socks up, although Farnham Town's Paul Johnson would be a decent candidate if he could be tempted away from such a very good set up. (Johnson was a player at Hampton under Mark Harper some years back.)
Looking at the lower Isthmian though...(would we consider anyone from more than one step below? I think we should be open minded on that.)
Ian Selley, Leatherhead. Sitting pretty at the top of the Isthmian South Central League, we obviously have very recent first hand experience of how pacy and organised they are. Selley must have learned a lot as a first team player under Arsene Wenger at Arsenal and could be worth a look. Managed a few different clubs now, and surely deserves a chance, but is two divisions below too much of a jump?
Luke Elliott/Andy Crossley, Westfield. 2nd in the table below Leatherhead. Relative inexperience could hamper them at this stage but they have had a fabulous start to the season at the Woking based club.
Simon Haughney, Hanworth Villa. Two places below Leatherhead in the same division. This is a club well known to many Hampton fans, and they do very well at their level. Could be an interesting move.
Some intriguing ideas then, even if that's all they are at this early stage. As for me, I'd like to see us for someone who knows non league, has some managerial experience and can perform miracles on a budget. I'd also like to see a more open approach to sharing weekly updates about team news/injuries and player movements. Not much to ask for is it??
New Manager...possibles
We certainly interviewed one lower league candidate before appointing Alan Julian so may want to renew that interest. Ahmed Rifat at Wingate & Finchley did well last season but mid table this year.
I hope our ambition is to be more than a side largely recruited from L3 and L4 as we are likely to end up there. If we have the fight to stay in the NLS (and of course the money) then we really need someone who can bring in good quality players quickly so has good contacts at NLS and above. Scott Davies at Slough would be a great choice but couldn't see him leaving Slough without the promise of greater resources. Bradley Quinton often comes up in potential manager lists and has good experience but doesn't seem to stay anywhere too long. Dulwich didn't extend his contract last season after a disappointing run of results.
I hope our ambition is to be more than a side largely recruited from L3 and L4 as we are likely to end up there. If we have the fight to stay in the NLS (and of course the money) then we really need someone who can bring in good quality players quickly so has good contacts at NLS and above. Scott Davies at Slough would be a great choice but couldn't see him leaving Slough without the promise of greater resources. Bradley Quinton often comes up in potential manager lists and has good experience but doesn't seem to stay anywhere too long. Dulwich didn't extend his contract last season after a disappointing run of results.
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Lord Elpus
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You can only guess that they left in solidarity or just weren't offerred it. Glad to see we haven't just made a quick knee-jerk longer term appointment anyway, and do appear to be considering our options.geedub wrote: Tue Dec 02, 2025 5:13 pm New tweet from the club says Massey, assisted by senior players, is in charge tonight...
Maybe Donovan and Luke have left with Jules?
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Lord Elpus
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I understand there were quite a few managers at the game last night, some possibly checking us out, others maybe doing a bit of scouting for future fixtures...interesting (and very positive) that we appear to be considering things properly even if it does seem to have been a quick decision re Julian after Saturday's game at Eastbourne.
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Lord Elpus
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To be honest it was more my son who recognised them...his knowledge of the wider non-league scene is much better than mine these days. I was told two of the Hanworth management team were there, although I wouldn't have recognised them to confirm it. There was also Mark Jones, previously at Oxford City, Banbury and Hemel. A couple of other faces we recognised but couldn't put names to them. Sorry to turn out to be a bit vague! I'll check with him later to see if he remembers any more.
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BevereeMaster
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Not a problem! Better than no names!Lord Elpus wrote: Wed Dec 03, 2025 4:32 pmTo be honest it was more my son who recognised them...his knowledge of the wider non-league scene is much better than mine these days. I was told two of the Hanworth management team were there, although I wouldn't have recognised them to confirm it. There was also Mark Jones, previously at Oxford City, Banbury and Hemel. A couple of other faces we recognised but couldn't put names to them. Sorry to turn out to be a bit vague! I'll check with him later to see if he remembers any more.
Personally i am big fan of the Wingate manager, would like to see what he could do here with slightly bigger budget.
Dowse would be nice but im reliably told it’s unlikely!
Danny Bloor is another who never gets given the necessary time at clubs but i think could do really well at a set up like ours.
Hanworth management lot would be interesting, not sure how good their contacts in the game are!
In the end i expect us to probably keep Massey in charge.
Always more ‘managers’ than jobs. I’d be surprised if we get news before Saturday. May as well let the players ‘manage’ themselves like they did last night. Then hopefully if you get one in place at the weekend they will have both Tuesday and Thursday next week to get know the new manager in training.