Chris Beech Confirmed as Head Coach

18 month deal....


Why not till end of season then review it? What happens if its a total disaster between now snd April?
Not learned from Abbott Kav and Pressley,?

Underwhelming stuff once more.True to form from the useless [censored] incharge..

He will need to turn things round quickly...but even the staunchest of fans must be thinking ffs..

We can afford to offer 18 month contracts to unproven managers but not one of our best players from last season??

We've had our fair share of knee-jerk reactions when it comes to managers and players over the years, so I'll say it's best to just give the man a few months before any real judgment.

Probably a Yes Man for Holdsworth, working with no momentum and a club on its backside; always going to be tough for whoever came in. Emphasis on youth is great but all we do is sell any decent product at the first offer and get robbed.

Give him time and get behind him. Keep the faith as we all know anything can happen in this division.

Not going to pretend I know him but I have spoken to him in the past as he lived in the Chorley area, not sure if he still does. I'm just not convinced he is a leader which is what we need right now.

I hope he succeeds but he has a huge challenge ahead of him and it is not the appointment which will excite the fans who are wavering, or staying away, although regime change is likely to be the only thing which will impact that.

Pretty sure we got these abbreviations from America.

Your burger still is American.

And it’s very predictable when you’ll turn up.

I hope he does well and you look stupid you div.

I wish him luck. When telling my southern comrades of the the news not one of them had heard of him. But judging by the way clubs always go for the known name and then sack them only for another club to chose them it may not be all doom and gloom. Positives its not MacDonald or Clarke. Players need to show there metal on Saturday. Putting everything a side a good win in the cup and a big name in the 4th round would lift supporters spirits. [censored] the board.

lummy8 wrote: Good luck to him, maybe underwhelming but that's not his fault. Its a great opportunity for him and hopefully he will take it.

Big call by DH, he needs this one to go right, and the transfer window to justify role.

I'd have been quite happy with this at the start of the season. Someone fresh and possibility of finding a gem. Just don't think the timing is right he's got a potential relegation scrap and Pressley's squad. Good luck though Chris!

I think it’s within the Carlisle demeanour to appreciate an unassuming character rather than one of these gobshite types.
Could turn out to be a decent appointment.
I’m sure your average Carlisle fan will feel uninspired by this appointment but are also prepared to give credit where it is due and if he does a good job, he will win everyone over.
Welcome to the club Chris.

I don't know who wrote the statement, but it's another PR disaster.


Supporters don't want to know about selling young players for money and buying cheaper, they want to know about getting results and playing good football - there was none of this so shows you their intentions. Absolutely nothing to excite, quite the opposite and he is onto a hiding to nothing already.

The trust haven't released a statement about this appointment - they wanted a young or experienced manager - come on show your true feelings for once.

Can't really get my head around this! good luck to Chris and I certainly will be behind him fully...but.....I simply can't understand why the board have gone for such an unknown with no real management material and which nobody but nobody knows anything about.
If they were going to go down this route then they would have surely been better off going for Danny Grainger, Peter Murphy, Clint Hill or Michael Bridges, people that the fans know and people that would bring back a bit of buzz about the place. And something that would take the heat out of the situation for the board.
Beggars belief sometimes!!!

The last time we had an "unknown" like this was Neil McDonald. He did ok and it turned out that he wasn't an unknown to some folk whose judgement the board trusted.

I've got to admit I felt a bit underwhelmed when I first heard the name but having thought about it, I'm more than happy to give him a go.

I really didn't want someone to just drop in off the managerial merrygoround.

I really didn't want someone who has just stopped playing in the Premiership and thinks he has a devine right.

I wanted someone who knows the lower leagues inside out, who has contacts and a good reputation who players will want to play for (not an overbalance of loans as we have now).

I wanted someone who has some media savvy and can give a decent interview.

I wanted someone who believes in bringing on youth.

Asking around I haven't found anyone who doesn't rate him as a coach.

So logicially he ticks a fair few boxes, I'm actually looking forward to seeing how we go. I just hope there will be a bit of money for him to use in the January window.

Some good points there Bumble.

deepfathom wrote: Some good points there Bumble.

Agree, just think it would be better at the start of the season. Not part way through.

Neil McDonald was far from a nobody Bumble given he played a lot of his career in the top two division and had been Big Sam's assistant for a few years beforehand.

I think the board have been swung by the mention of 25 million pounds and no one else had a chance after that when if they did a little research like Tashy did it was nowhere near.

McDonald was also here a youth player, he'll have remembered a fair bit about the club and area

McDonald was indeed a youth player, Newcastle took him from us for what many thought was not enough money at the time.

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Wukkie wrote: Neil McDonald was far from a nobody Bumble given he played a lot of his career in the top two division and had been Big Sam's assistant for a few years beforehand.

I think the board have been swung by the mention of 25 million pounds and no one else had a chance after that when if they did a little research like Tashy did it was nowhere near.

Gosh, I would never call McDonald a nobody, he might be looking in!

To be fair I wouldn't call him a nobody anyway, he was a good coach and always pleasant when I see him.

It was his first Managerial appointment though and a lot of folk didn't know the name. There was a lot of talk on message boards that we should have got someone more experienced or that was a "name". Neil signed for Carlisle United on the same day as Peter Beardsley along with another lad who also worked in football but very few folk knew that at the time Mac signed.

tommycoleman1 wrote: McDonald was indeed a youth player, Newcastle took him from us for what many thought was not enough money at the time.

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To be fair Tommy, we can't take a lot of credit for shaping his career, he Beardsley and another lad all signed on the same day from Wallsend Boys Club, we didn't have McDonald long before he went to Newcastle.

tommycoleman1 wrote: McDonald was indeed a youth player, Newcastle took him from us for what many thought was not enough money at the time.

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He was also a grade one arrogant prick as a player, so no surprise when he turned out as one as a manager.

We played good football under MacDonald - the Walsall fans were bemused when we sacked him on the first day of the season for an away draw at the League 2 champions!

Bumble wrote:

Wukkie wrote: Neil McDonald was far from a nobody Bumble given he played a lot of his career in the top two division and had been Big Sam's assistant for a few years beforehand.

I think the board have been swung by the mention of 25 million pounds and no one else had a chance after that when if they did a little research like Tashy did it was nowhere near.

Gosh, I would never call McDonald a nobody, he might be looking in!

To be fair I wouldn't call him a nobody anyway, he was a good coach and always pleasant when I see him.

It was his first Managerial appointment though and a lot of folk didn't know the name. There was a lot of talk on message boards that we should have got someone more experienced or that was a "name". Neil signed for Carlisle United on the same day as Peter Beardsley along with another lad who also worked in football but very few folk knew that at the time Mac signed.

Was McDonald not after Breadsley Bumble? Are you referring to Gate and Thompson as the other guys?

Stan Gate, Peter Beardsley and Neil McDonald all signed at the same time, or that's what I was told.

Bumble wrote:

tommycoleman1 wrote: McDonald was indeed a youth player, Newcastle took him from us for what many thought was not enough money at the time.

Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk

To be fair Tommy, we can't take a lot of credit for shaping his career, he Beardsley and another lad all signed on the same day from Wallsend Boys Club, we didn't have McDonald long before he went to Newcastle.

Are you sure that is right Bumble?

Peter Beardsley and Stan Gate signed from Wallsend Boys Club on the same day (early August 1979).

When Peter Beardsley made his debut (21 August 2025) Neil McDonald (born November 1965) was still only 13.

Well there was certainly one person who didn't know his name or who he was as he was sat near him only to announce in front of a full press conference that the new manager would be...........NEALE COOPER!

A shanful day if ever there was one and has to go pretty high on the list of Jenkins' bloopers. Embarrassed the club and yet he still remains in charge all these years later.

howoldboy wrote:

Bumble wrote:

tommycoleman1 wrote: McDonald was indeed a youth player, Newcastle took him from us for what many thought was not enough money at the time.

Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk

To be fair Tommy, we can't take a lot of credit for shaping his career, he Beardsley and another lad all signed on the same day from Wallsend Boys Club, we didn't have McDonald long before he went to Newcastle.

Are you sure that is right Bumble?

Peter Beardsley and Stan Gate signed from Wallsend Boys Club on the same day (early August 1979).

When Peter Beardsley made his debut (21 August 2025) Neil McDonald (born November 1965) was still only 13.

I thought they signed onthe same day but I will definitely bow to your facts. I am away from the house just now so can't check but from what you say I'm wrong, sorry about that.

McDonald signed when he was 16, so defo after. England schoolboy player at the time.
Was weird how we got him.

CarlisleWhite wrote: McDonald signed when he was 16, so defo after. England schoolboy player at the time.
Was weird how we got him.

In which case he had one weird arrival and one strange departure.

CCU wrote:

Jon Colman @joncolman

Fans' trust CUOSC, in their @newsandstar column today, have commented on Carlisle's appointment of Chris Beech. The… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

28 Nov 2025 09:33

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CUOSC's representative Billy Atkinson says he hopes fans are "happy"

I'll be happy when CUOSC actually start representing the fans voice like they are supposed to, and issue a statement of no confidence in the regime.

I'm also relatively happy they never went for a "merry go round" manager instead we got an academy manager that when caretaker - never won a game in 6.

The decision was made by Andrew Jenkins, John Nixon, Steven Pattison, CUOSC representative Atkinson, director Lord Clark, and John Jackson. Great pioneers in the game - one doesn't even like football - they have made great managerial decisions so far!

CUOSC never say anything against the club.

Mullen103 wrote: CUOSC never say anything against the club.

So either they are in bed with the BOD or the BOD is so perfect they never do anything wrong for CUOSC to criticize them for. Wonder which it is?

Fact is hes left with nearly a full squad of Pressleys players, many of which have individual skills but need moulded into a winning team. It seems he's well thought of in coaching terms so let's hope he sees a way forward..and instead of cuddling some, he tells them how it is in mens football.....and gets us in a better frame of mind.

I keep harking back to last years lads......if we are supposed to have the same budget as last year, why ship so many out. Baffling

Well I was talking to my Dale season ticket holder mate at work who thinks he's a cracking bloke to have running club ..very well thought of good coach and was credited with having them playing good football as Hills assistant

Time will tell I suppose

Skelton should have been in the same taxi as Presley

Can’t help think this is bit of a case of premature load blowing.

They’ve maybe worked well for their first couple of sessions, but maybe should have waited a couple of weeks or a month. What if like Pressley he wants to bring in his own assistants when it gets to the summer?

Also regarding the coaching contracts, one would assume/hope that we’ve inserted some sort of break clause in their contracts should the worst happen and we get relegated.

No player can get longer than a one year deal but Gavin Skelton can?
(Nothing against him BTW)

I'm actually glad now we were only giving out 1 year deals to players after seeing some the shite Pressley has brought in!

All the best to Chris and welcome to the club.

Our state of mind most Saturday evenings is in your hands

New manager brought in and told to work with the coaching staff. Old manager booted out at the first opportunity. Coaching staff given new contracts. Don't have to look too hard to see who the powers that be think is responsible for our current position

Markovitch wrote: Old manager booted out at the first opportunity.

I disagree.... I think there were plenty of opportunities for him to be sacked before he actually was...

Whoever gave him the contract is equally to blame. I wonder who that was

Interesting in his statement on the OS....says he wants to connect with the fans and he wants the players to connect, doing visits, hospitals etc....wonder if somebody has said this has been lacking...Pressley didn't exactly buy into the city and we lost the glue with Danny going and the other long standing players. Got to say I cant really relate to this squad like in the past

To be fair to the club I think the players visit schools regularly and also hospitals especially around Xmas time.

good move to get Gav Skelton sighed up long term

I agree that the club does lots of great work in the community.
In the end though, fans absolutely love a couple of characters to identify with, not just good players , but those that show a bit of passion for the club as well.
We e had a few over the years eg Lummy, Jabo, Deano, Reeves etc. Short term deals don’t give us that. This doesn’t help the feeling of apathy.

I hope Chris Beech is successful.

However in his job interview I hope he spelled out that the club needs to sign at least five players in the winter window to ensure league survival, because no matter how good he is as a coach the evidence over the last four months is that the present squad isn't good enough.

And Pressley's revelation that players were in tears in his office would suggest that even if those individuals are good players, they might not have the stomach for a relegation fight.