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I think that it's only the cup run keeping him in the job.

Another woeful performance today against a well organised Hemel team
We played well for first 20 minutes but failed to get on score sheet and went downhill from there
Very few chances created and gave away to many needless fouls which gave Hemel chance to slow the game down
Fans will make the excuse that conditions today were tough but Hemel managed them well which we failed to do.
We have a couple of injuries to key players which has not helped but the players have not stepped up
No excuses now we have 5 points from 10 games which is simply not good enough.
Don’t let a semi decent cup run paper over the cracks of a very disappointing start.
I am looking for a change of management before it’s to late to turn season around

Time for a change in my opinion. Gary has served Chippenham well over the years as player, coach and manager....but he and his management team have ran their race. There is nothing there on the pitch and there is an alarming inability to change the course of a game with substitutions, tactical tweaks etc.

Recruitment has come up short, the set up is often muddled and this team.... (which is Gary and co's team)....won't win many matches.

Maybe the Cup will keep them in situ for a while longer but personally feel that would only paper over the cracks.

Whether the hierarchy have it in them to make a change is another question but new faces and new ideas are needed i feel.

Last edited by Argus (04/10/2025 6:29 PM)

I'm not joining this pile-on, I'm afraid. I don't think we were woeful today.  Two gold-plated chances to put the game to bed in the first 25 minutes (when we were completely dominant) and they just didn't go for us. You sensed then that we'd drained our cup of good fortune and so it proved. They got lucky at a wind-assisted corner and all 3 points went their way. Our heads went down  after that.. and with a limited time on the clock we played with little real urgency and just looked bereft of answers to a swirling wind and uphill slope. It could have as easily gone the other way.
With a reduced playing budget, the strains and inadequacies are showing.  i'm not going to use injuries as an excuse as every team has them.  What we HAVE  lost is 2 influential, creative quality players in Spokes and Andrews.  These are the fine margins between success and failure. 
To me, it would be  unrealistic and  impractical to replace Gary Horgan at this stage... unless he has lost the Chairman's confidence and the changing-room too.  No evidence to suggest either is the case, although I have no inside track. Before you replace, you have to know who is out there who is going to take the same group of players to greater heights... and at what price... and who is instantly available?   i think here would be a number of NSL clubs very interested in Gary Horgan, who I'd guess is highly respected  across the the League for doing a tough job well, on a very limited budget. As for not handling young players well... perhaps those critics would like to list the players that Gary and his team have mishandled ... maybe  starting with Jordan Young, Dan Ellison and Joe Andrews?
It's been a bad start to the season.  We're in  for a struggle. We might get relegated. Emotionally and philosophically ( in the way we try to play\) I think Gary is still the right fit for the Club... despairing as i often am at some decision-making and tactics. Whether there is another form of reset possible, I don't know.

I Am blue-tinted Wellard.  I'm a Chippenham Town FC supporter!!