Cod Almighty | Diary
Diary - Tuesday 19 July 2011
19 July 2011
Your Guest Diarist, occupying a currently vacant seat in the Cod Almighty diary week, was not instantly smitten by the words of the new management team when they blew in to Town. It sounded like a lot of brittle bluster from the Shouty one, who appeared to be suppressing an evil temper which seemed as anxious to escape as a cat from a bag. But last night, at a strangely timed fans' forum, the dream team seemed to talk a lot of sense.
Not that the start time was odd, you understand. But more that, unless they'd known for absolutely ages that Connell was going to be sold last weekend, three weeks before the season starts is an odd time to face the fans, in my opinion. Because the only opportunity the fans have had to assess the squad changes is a blur of new faces running around in less than concentric circles about three days after they were reacquainted with a football for the first time in ages.
Yes, folks: judging from the post-forum vibe, it would seem that those attending and those listening in seemed generally to agree that we have a management team who are positive, realistic and very clear about how they plan to go about things. 4-3-3 is the publicly announced preferred formation. And the managers told us other stuff last night: Spencer Weir-Daley is definitely not the striker replacement they are looking for, and the pitch narrowing is just a temporary pre-season-only thing requested by the groundsman. Plus creating team spirit is absolutely vital.
Their recent after-match comments about instilling a better ethic, by persuading players like Duffy and Makofo to work harder defensively from the front, had given me a hint that they might be better than I'd given them credit for so far. And the midfield signings exhibited enthusiasm and workrate together with the odd decent pass. But for the next few weeks the real hard work is ahead of them. Anybody can get a squad fit - why, every single manager for the last ten years has claimed his team is fitter than what he inherited. But the two big issues to be worked on are assembling a jigsaw suited to and capable of playing 4-3-3, and how to stop giving the ball away in the middle of the pitch.
When you know the known (4-3-3), one assumes you can buy a player to fit in to that formation better than if you only know you need to replace a striker. Going back to that midfield three, then, it would seem at this early stage that Church is Leary 2.0, that Disley is a Bolland lookalike in more ways than his red-top and that Artus has the beginnings of a sweet left foot. For a fan supporting a team that hasn't had any semblance of a working midfield for what seems like bloody years, that seems like a tiny sip of ambrosia.
But it is not all sweetness and light of course, folks. Naturally, as Chairman Fenty had his twopenn'orth as well last night. If someone had the influence to persuade him that less talk is more, it would be a good start. Because then he wouldn't repeatedly spout sentences that contradict earlier ones. He reminded me of a young naïve Apprentice contestant who claims to have a brilliant business plan and is being forensically dissected by a cool expert.
Except football fans aren't cool about their passion - they want to believe. So it's worse than that when everyone listening realises the chairman is saying 'no timeframe for the new stadium' one minute and 'it'll take only three years' the next. No-one wants to hurt Fenty, but we are all silently screaming that he should stop the platitudes, and only announce news about a new stadium when there is something tangible to demonstrate that it is a credible project.
And the grim financial situation was highlighted. Town lost nigh on a million quid last season and projected to do the same again this. Are we a substantially stronger club with a better chance of promotion for these gross overspends? It's hard to see how. It is plain to see that the overheads of the club are far too high: the deficit is the entire playing budget and the club desperately needs someone vaguely independent like Mike Parker to come in and examine where the overspend is going. And have the remit to do something about it. The club needs justification and value for every pound it spends.
So far so good then, for Shouty and Shorty at least. They have roughly a third of Connell's fee to splash in the market (Swindon are paying for him over three seasons). It is fairly obvious that they have a small shortlist of players; let's hope they get the one they want very soon.
Of course, gentle reader, I should mention before leaving that if the midfield doesn't work out you'll read me again in a few months' time telling you I meant ambrosia like a rice pudding. See yer.