Fans vent their fury at under fire Carshalton boss (From Sutton Guardian)
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Fans vent their fury at under fire Carshalton boss
6:18pm Thursday 22nd March 2012 in Carshalton Athletic By Graham Moody, Sports Reporter
Pressure is mounting on Carshalton Athletic manager Paul Dipre to quit.
The Robins owner has come under fire from fans since taking over from Mark Butler a year ago but has failed to inspire a play-off push this season with the team 16th in the Ryman Premier League.
Last week, he looked back on his first year in charge and admitted it could have been better but he could also have done a lot worse – an assessment which led one angry fan to write into the paper.
“Paul Dipre’s first year report cannot go unanswered,” he said.
“It’s little more than an attempt to cover a remarkable record of failure as manager.
“Whereas most of us would admit we wouldn’t have the skills to do the job, he appears to be the only person who hasn’t realised he doesn’t have them either.
“Morale on the terraces is at an all-time low, not helped by the atmosphere and the exodus of younger fans in particular.
“Dipre has achieved good progress in some areas at the club but he has failed to understand he is clearly not the right person for the manager’s job in my opinion.
“He should gracefully step down and bring in a manager with a proven record at this level, and let him get on with the job while returning to a behind-the scenes role.”
The Robins host Hendon on Saturday after losing 1-0 to Canvey Island last Saturday, their a fourth defeat in a row.
Concerned Beechman says...
2:03pm Fri 23 Mar 12
The optimism and goodwill that may have existed when Dipre joined the Board three years ago has steadily evaporated and since becoming the majority share-holder his abrasive and arrogant style has driven away many good people at all levels, from Board Room to the terraces, who had given their best efforts to keep the Club going in good times and bad. His selective and vindictive ban on troublesome supporters, which continues to this day, has been well publicised and an example of his ongoing contempt for others is demonstrated by his failure once again to issue a statement of accounts to shareholders on time and to call a shareholders meeting in disregard of the requirements of the Football Association. In the last few days we hear rumours that the Club plans to hold a meeting to discuss plans for next season, but guess what attendance will be by invitation only
Against this background, his decision a year ago to dispense with the services of another manager and to appoint himself to the post was greeted with trepidation by many supporters whose worst fears have been largely realised. Despite exercising his right to award himself a budget well in excess of that enjoyed by his predecessors and his recruitment of expensive players with experience of playing at a higher level on generous signing-on fees and wages (in itself a disregard of his previously stated policy of nurturing home-grown talent), this has been a season of miserable failure. The team is now being mis-managed by someone with unknown coaching qualifications and no experience or apparent ability to coach, train, lead, direct or motivate a squad of players at this level of football. The decent run in the FA Trophy has been overshadowed by a dismal league performance and last Saturday's 11th home defeat of the season against Canvey equals the Club's worst Isthmian League performance as attendances steadily fall and players appear demoralised
The one area in which Mr Dipre has consistently over-achieved has been his ability to camouflage what is going on with an ongoing succession of contradictory statements. "Failure is not an option" was one such statement to a concerned supporter. It would be nice to know his definition of failure.
Peter Randall