Yes it does appear that the term Manager is increasingly changing to that of head Coach. But football is an increasingly changing world. The old school of blood & guts of Sirrel, Shankly, Clough and Allardyce has moved on. The intensive nature of running a football club is now compartmentalised. Where once the main man would supervise all areas of football management, there are now specialist people running certain areas, including that of recruitment. Where once managers built their own squads for team to play football their way. If it succeeded, fine. If it didn’t, sadly too often in our history, it required a trunk and branch renewal. Often there would be costly sackings of managers, the appointment of a new manager who would rebuild a squad for a team to play his way… and repeat… and repeat.
The way Notts are structured is enlightening. Successful, cerebral-minded-business people who have made their money using data driven analysis to predict the outcome of football matches, have invested that money in buying Notts County. A team which has seen the whole spectrum of success from back to back promotions, through to almost disappearing, at the hands of gamblers, gangsters and businessmen, some with the best honest intentions in good faith.
Where previous owners empowered managers to once do the old way of buying players, most recently evidenced with Alan Hardy giving Nolan a free hand to buy players without a Director of Football or established playing style. Despite the best of intentions, it all ended in tears and its back to square one and repeat as above.
The brothers bring a plan. Data driven analytic football. Agreeing a style of play. Securing a Head Coach who seeks to play that style of play. Secure players who can and want to play that way. Should – as evidenced in Burchinall and Williams - our manager be teased away, the style of play continues. It is all about keeping the engine working, about replacing the part, not the entire engine.
Part of this covers the recruitment. Wide-angled and embracing multi-faceted, data-driven football that has unearthed players such as Rueben, Macca, Scott, Jones and Jatta. Our future is about continuing this. The brother’s track record shows they will make sure the players will honour their contracts. Not selling key players. So to answer the questions outlined above, Notts will secure managers who not only agree with and buy into the agreed style of operating but excel in the roll of extracting the best from the best group of the players available via the recruitment team. Luke got great players playing brilliantly at NL league level. Last season was a learning curve in learning how to adapt and survive.
I believe our players had abandonment issues when Luke left. I believe these players struggled with his departure and performances suffered. This will be Stuart’s first start to a Notts season. I believe he can extract the best from our players, to recover from the disappointments of last season and consolidate. If I’m wrong and he fails - then as spelt out above – it is not a disaster. Not a back to square one. It is about keeping the engine working, about replacing the part, not the entire engine.