Simon Wright welcomes the appointment of John Trewick as the new Hereford United manager.
I spent Friday afternoon slogging in Birmingham Central Library to research a new book project. One of the matches I was interested in was Albion's 3-2 defeat of the Cup holders Manchester United in the 77-78 FA Cup. One of the Baggies main man that night was Tucka who was described as "maturing into such a thoughtful schemer".
A couple of weeks later, another newspaper carried an interview with him being called up for England(presumably the U21's). It was a reminder just how good a player he was -and versatile too playing anywhere across the middle or at left back. He made a big impression on me in the early 1980's.
I freely admit to being biased. I really like Tucka. He's always been approachable and very helpful to me at the Hawthorns and subsequently. He's down to earth, honest and highly supportive of his charges. Equally, he doesn't put up with any old rubbish and is willing to fight his corner on a point of principle even at the expense of his own career. There were several conflicts of this nature at the Hawthorns. I don't have acomplete picture and confidences are involved so I can't say much more other than John has a track record of sticking to his guns. He's long wanted to be a manager of adults so this offer will be too good to turn down. It's a bigger chance to get noticed, to come out from theshadows. And could he sensibly turn down Turner? The alternative is to introduce a new manager to the club who probably would not want Tucka on the scene. To me, it's take the job or lose a job. Question is though is just a shifting of the Titanic deckchairs?
If GT controls the purse strings and instinctively has always made the final decision on purchases, will he honestly let Tucka have his own way? It's easy to imagine some diagreements down the line as Tucka is not a Yes man. Let us hope that the lines of responsibility are thrashed out in some detail before next season starts. Perhaps a more equal relationship is just what United need? Anybody can get stale in a job and I thought last October that GT really didn't need such an unequal struggle at his age.
I'm up for it and I reckon everyone might be pleasantly surprised.
Text at top (next game etc)
Next Game: Scarborough In The League At Edgar Street On Tuesday 19th November At 7.45pm