Why Jobi may not get the job

Jobi will get the job, unless he decides it isn’t for him. There are plenty of excuses to convince the Orient board that he’s still the right man for the job.

Here’s a few I can think of;

Jobi inherited the squad,
He stopped the rot,
Jobi is likely to attract better players,
Jobi is already on the books,
The board may be apprehensive about bringing in someone from outside in case it doesn’t work out (again),
Play offs were not reached owing to the distraction of contract talks (or lack of).
With three different coaches overseeing the squad this season, the board may deem that the players aren’t good enough, which will be addressed.

What is of concern is whether Jobi thinks 4-3-3 is the ideal formation and has not worked because the players haven’t done what has been asked of them.

"He (Jobi) stopped the rot".

Oh no, he didn't! Or maybe he did ... at first.

For the Board, appointing Jobi must have looked almost a no-brainer after the first seven or so games. I'd suggest it doesn't look that way anymore. Jobi may well still get the job, but it's no longer an "obvious" option.

That was under Ross wasn't it?

Jobi's first game was Grimsby away.

Besides all that I don't think Jobi will get the job.

Mainly for the reasons Jimbo has outlined above. Why not announce it now?

I also think that Jobi has now fallen below the 1.5 points per game ratio that Kent deemed a minimum requirement. Even Ross was okay outside the playoffs until he drastically dropped below the 1.5ppg level.

Haven't my stats to hand but I think a win on Saturday puts Jobi back on the 1.5ppg. But it's Salford. Away. They have something to play for. We've been dire and have nothing to play for.

Also going against Jobi is Kent's talk the other day about an outsider now being allowed to bring in their own staff.

And let us not forget how bad we were in the games that actually mattered. Cambridge who were practically giving us a win, and then that dire dire Southend game (Southend hadn't scored in 7 home matches, 26th January). And Carlisle too who we just have up against.

I think if we could have got a bit of pride in the last 5 or 6 games of the season it would have been Jobi's job. But we've just petered out into nothing.

So what it comes down to is high esteem v declining points ratio.

If I understand your point, sentiment is the concern. Jobi is an impressive and erudite character and he has that background of overcoming the Bechetti experience. Sentimentally, we'd all love to see him leading us to success. The cold hard evidence however is far less convincing and it is difficult to see much of it pointing to good reasons why Jobi could be regarded as a good bet. Quite the opposite in fact.

I think he'll get the job because he has inherited a squad built by Ross (and to an extent Justin), that doesn't have enough quality and consistency in it, to finish any higher than mid table.

When teams have good seasons, they tend to have a settled defence, but apart from Vigs, these are the number of starts from the squad defenders.

Akinola 30(2) mixture of RB and CB

Brophy (43) mainly LB, occasionally LM

Coulson 19(1)

Happe 37(2)

Ling 26(3)

Thomas 1(0)

Thompson 6(0)

Turley 15(3)

Widdowson 20(5)


I am amazed that we have kept the number of clean sheets that we have, and can only put that down to Vigs and the cover provided by the defensive midfielders. No team can be successful without a settled defence and we haven't had it.

The players, with one or two exceptions, are not those that League One clubs are likely to want, so Jobi took on the role with a defence that was not good enough to be promoted and I think deep down the owners will know that.

They will be disappointed that he couldn't motivate the players to reach a higher level, but realistic enough to know they are buying into a manager with a future and a vision of his own.

He deserves the chance to build his OWN squad.


Ling, take note.

Why he might not get the job?

New investors want a proven manager with a strong track record to be given the job.

I know it will seem I have a real downer on McAnuff ( I honestly don’t!) but personally I would rephrase your comment about him ‘ overcoming the Becchetti experience” . Survived it yes but overcome it no imho. His first spell at the club was a dismal failure  ( with good reason) and the general consensus when he left for Stevenage was that he along with a number of other “ big names” brought in during the Clown regime had let the club down badly. I totally take on board that McAnuff is an articulate and well informed individual with a wealth of playing experience who fits the “ model” that the owners appear to be seeking of a younger coach in tune with the modern day game and its demands. Unlike some I don’t necessarily see his long association with the club as a positive in as much as I think that may mitigate against him making the very tough decisions on players/ coaches that are probably required. Obviously whichever way the Board decides to act it (a) won’t please everyone and (b) has no guarantee of success. 
It still seems to me however that a newcomer with a fresh perspective and no “ baggage” affords the club a better opportunity to succeed than attempting another internal makeover.👍