Time For Some New Ideas

After the play-off final defeat Blackwell had the balls to offer his resignation. He was astute enough to realise he had taken the club as far as he could. Credit to him for that but McCabe had other ideas and persuaded him to reconsider. We now know that was not for football reasons. Blackwell has got on with the job while the board have sold numerous quality players. When your gut instinct tells you the time has come to leave it is usually spot on. Blackwell is doing a job for the board that many other managers would complain vociferously about.

The most annoying part of this season is the financial state of affairs. If the club is skint then why not just admit it? In the summer, there was a real buzz about this season but when the season tickets were sold it was clear what the real intentions were. The loss of parachute payments, loans repaid to McCabe and the Kop redevelopment all add up to a considerable sum. The fact the club has accepted £100,000 from Sheffield Eagles for the use of our stadium demonstrates how much we need the revenue.

Of course, if the financial picture has changed then the football club needs to follow suit. It is all well and good cutting the wage bill but what happens when there is nothing left to sell? We have been here before when Charles Green sold the team and in no time we had a relegation battle on our hands. All this pretending to be a financially sound club fools no one especially when half the players in the team are not ours. If we cannot afford to buy the finished article then the alternative is up and coming talent. There is no logic in spending millions on one player when the substitute’s bench is half empty.

And then we come back to the manager and his preferred style of play. We can handle the fact we are unlikely to be promoted but watching hoof ball is no good. For whatever reasons (losing Beattie being one of them) Blackwell has failed to recreate the level of performance of two years ago when he took over from Robson. In his own words, he has taken us as far as he can. We have seen smaller clubs pass the ball and make us look silly. They have done this without hotels and links to third world clubs.

The new Kop roof should be postponed for the time being and those resources channelled into areas with a greater need. For example, another centre half to play alongside Morgan might not be a bad idea as it seems likely Killgallon’s days are numbered. The board should ensure the next manager is a marked improvement on the Robson fiasco. Advertise the vacancy and interview a shortlist instead of plucking a manager from thin air.

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