Sam Emery
Non-League
PA P E R
Another week, and another flurry of managerial departures in the Football League – so what is making the Non-League game more patient? League Two alone saw two bosses out of a job as AFC Wimbledon rather emotionally sacked Terry Brown and Wycombe Wanderers dismissed Gary Waddock just days later. That now makes it five sackings in the Football League so far with many more bound to come. Blackburn boss Steve Kean looks likely to leave the club after a will he, won’t he debacle that has dragged on, much like the boos from Ewood Park, since the end of last season. Fortunately that trend hasn’t found its way down to NonLeague. At The NLP we thankfully do not have to report on too many sackings. But the question surely has to be, why? The simple fact is that Non-League boardrooms are more patient than those higher up the divisions. People often complain, and rightly so, about the lack of money that trickles down from England’s top tiers to the grassroots game. But in this instance, and many others, the money is one of
the biggest problems. Can a manager really be expected to work his magic over eight games? Most with experience would say no. But as TV money increases and foreign owners enter the English game, expectation levels are skyrocketing. People in football, especially those who own the chequebooks, want everything now. Instant success is almost a given but as the saying goes: “money isn’t everything”. Owners and chairmen in Non-League understand that and managers on the whole are given more time to get things right which is one of the many reasons why young managers should aim to start their managerial careers in NonLeague. From the three Football Conference divisions, we’ve seen just one departure so far this season. Ian Baird lost his job at big-spending Blue Square Bet South side Eastleigh after an indifferent start to the season. Baird had transformed his Spitfires squad with the money injected into the club and that, ultimately, led to his downfall. If you look at the BSB Premier, you’ll see Kidderminster
Forest v Harlow Town - Page 24
Harriers propping up the rest of the table. With five draws and five defeats from their opening ten games, it hasn’t been the start Steve Burr and Kiddy wanted, or hoped for. However, despite being tipped for the play-offs in pre-season, the Harriers board have stuck by their man as he searches for the answers. Everybody knows Burr is a top manager and one of the best in Non-League but sometimes things take a while to turn around. If this were the Championship would he still have a job? I think we all know the answer to that one. Common sense seems to have disappeared from the majority of the Football League but thankfully for us, NonLeague on the whole still gets it right.