Ed Dallimore gives an exiles perspective into the current situation at Hereford FC.
After the disapointment
of recent results and performances, I've been scratching my head, as
I'm sure many other HFC fans have been, as to what the club should do
regarding the situation we find ourselves in.
So here is my two pennies worth…
Here is the situation, Peter Beadle
was sacked, after what I would describe as a ”stutter”, following 3
straight promotions ”on our way back to the Football League…”. We were
12th in National League North when he received his
marching orders. Yes only 12th, but hardly a disaster in a new higher
league and despite losing several quality players, and in Beadle's
defence I would say, most for reasons beyond his control. Retirements,
temporary contracts ending and a restricted budget,
amongst others. Hardly grounds for firing one of the most loyal and
passionate supporters of the club, who not only brought us success on
the field, but did a fantastic job of bringing fans and players
together. Making sure that after every game, players acknowledged
and showed their appreciation to the clubs fans.
But the minority of
impatient fans got their way and Marc Richards was appointed, because we
were told, he was better equipped and more capable than Beadle of
taking us to ”the next level”. A level at which
Beadle incidentally already had experience.The Gloucester Messiah
however, could only just manage to keep us in the league, with the
inherited squad he was allowed to supplement and strengthen. The board
kept faith with their chosen one however, while they
were on their summer holidays at least, and unlike Beadle, he was
provided with an increased budget with which to assemble a squad capable
of challenging for promotion.
But then came the second most bizarre
sacking within the space of 12 months. Just 3 games
into the ”new” season after a win, a draw and a single defeat, (on the
road to this seasons league leaders Kings Lynn), Marc ”the chosen one"
Richards too was relieved of his duties. Once again, the board had
panicked and shot from the hip, and fans were left
wondering, who would be next to arrive through the Edgar St revolving
door.
Enter the ”experienced” Russell Slade, to inherit a Richards
squad, which he must now utilise and adapt to his own system and
footballing philosophy. Limited extra funds were made
available, to strengthen the ranks, but a few signings and a few weeks
later, it appears the team are still no closer, to achieving a higher
league position than the one Beadle got the boot for a little more than a
year ago.
So now it seems, Mr Slade is in
the cross hairs, as he too begins to run out of excuses and bad results
become more frequent and disappointing, and if past performance is any
guide to future performance, the boards nervous fingers must by now
already be on the trigger. I hope not. The average
fan meanwhile, can hardly be blamed for wondering, how a board of
directors, can be so clueless in their decision making over football
related matters, (albeit with the best intentions in the world I am
sure), and now it seems they are scurrying for the exits
like rats on a sinking ship.
Too easily swayed by the boo boys and the
keyboard fan managers, it was poor and badly timed boardroom decisions
that led us into this mess, I believe. Be that or be that not true, and
hindsight is a wonderful thing of course,
I still cannot for the life of me fathom, why we didn't just give all
that money wasted on new managers and poor quality players to Beadle and
give him time to consolidate and rebuild his squad, in this a very
tough league, including several former league
clubs? It was the least we owed him, given his achievements in the
first 3 seasons at our reborn club, and honestly, I think the treatment
he received was an insult and embarassment to HFC.
It is a good job our
board of directors, were not at the helm of Man
United, during Ferguson's first 3 seasons in charge, or they would have
collected a lot less silverware in the following decades. Interesting
too, that since Man United forgot the importance of continuity, and
became a firing club, they too have had a lot
less success on the field. When clubs hire someone with a good CV and
track record, they need to give them time and an opportunity to assemble
a new team/squad. Afterall, a new manager has in the main, only the
players he inherits, at least in the short term,
so it is hard to justify firing them when a miraculous turnaround isn't
achieved, using the same personel. I know it is futile to even think
it, but surely we would not be in a worse position than we are now, if
we'd stuck by the passionate and loyal Mr Peter
Beadle?
But myself and others repeating this mantra, does not help us
in the situation we now find ourselves. For whatever reason, our board
decided not to give Beadle the time and money, and two managers later,
the club is now in crisis, so where do we go
from here? Admittedly, my flippant and emotional gut reaction, after
each of the recent disappointing results, has also been to say, ”Beadle
in”, enough is enough, but that is not only unrealistic, it also goes
against my belief in giving a good manager time,
as I have iterated here.
Right now our man is Russell Slade and honestly
I do not believe we should make another emotionally charged, badly
thought through decision, and one that could potentially set the club
back even further or even worse, lead us into another
financial crisis. What I believe the board need to do, is take the
flack for the poor decision making that got us into this mess and back
the man they appointed, and hope he can do the job they selected him to
do. The board must of course set some clear and
realistic goals, for the short and medium turn, and he should not be
fired until it is clear he has failed to achieve those goals. Hopefully
of course, that will not happen. But if he fails to take the club
forward, in line with the goals that we as fans have
the right to expect, given the relative size of our club and available
resources in this league, then he should be replaced, but that should
also be done at a time when a new manager has the possibility of
clearing out and assembling a new squad he can call
his own.
Until then, we the fans should support our manager and the
players, to the extent we all can, (if they are giving blood sweat and
tears for the cause), and do our bit to help turn the club around. It
will be difficult when performances don't always
match our hopes and expectations, but encouragement breeds confidence
and together we are stronger. So despite my sympathy, respect and love
for Peter Beadle who has done so much for my beloved club, I still say
let's back the man in charge for now.