Where to now?

Brewer Dave once again!
I was one of last ones to desert Pesch, and in that I was probably wrong. I did however put a lot of faith in "Uncle Ben" and believe that despite the difficult circumstances, he made the right decisions at the right time.

It has been great to see the Gillingham win and Crawley draw, the fight by the players and the support from the fans. It looks as if League 2 status is virtually assured, and Gary Rowett deserves a lot of credit for this. We have our self-respect back, and this forum is much more positive.

So you'd expect "Die-hard Dave" to be right behind Gary Rowett getting the job at the end of the season. But I'm not ! And the reason why is Gary's comments after the Wimbledon game, when he said "we weren't fit enough"
and implying that the attitude was not right, and complacency. The fitness issue rankles me, being 75% through the season, and the Coach says the team the team aren't fit enough. Pesch has gone, and the absent are often blamed for anything and everything, But surely the Coach cannot be absolved from blame for something which is so fundamental to his job!

So it prompts me to suggest what are our objectives for the new season might be.
1) Not to get promoted (unless we really can't help it!) but to be challenging for a play- off place, with no threat of relegation (I would think that's the same as this season should have been)
2 ) To have a team playing committed, attacking football.
3) To have a prudent but forward looking playing budget, without passengers , and everyone committed to the club.
4) Through the above, and other marketing measures, seek to improve attendances
5) Employ the right management team to fit in with this vision. Not instant results but gradual progress.

I hope that Uncle Ben is on the case now. It could be that Ben will decide on Gary, but should the right man become available lured by the chance of something more permanent than the average League Managers job, and the opportunity to achieve something over a longer time-phase than usual.

I would not like to lose Gary and Kevin, and a new Manager may want to keep them on. But the case for a new Manager is strong, and I would cite a number of reasons:
a) The standard of the League is getting higher, as better players than before are playing in this league.
b) Better players means better teams. The standard of teams is the highest yet this year. There are no easy games, and you have to be on your game to pick up points.
c) because of a & b, Managers have to be more professional as they pit their wits against a much higher calibre of manager. The football League paper did an article last week on which teams will be relegated from League 2, and Managers like Ady Boothroyd, Laurie Sanchez, Phil Parkinson, John Still and Brian Horton are amongst them.
d) Better players at this level,means the need to improve the quality of the squad, with more emphasis on youth and promise. It also means we need to
shake off our BSP heritage.I am not suggesting a complete cull, some individuals are still good enough, but inevitably most will have to go, with I'm sure our sincere thanks and best wishes.!

I hope the decision is made soon. Either at the end of the season or early into the close season. there's a lot of sorting out to do, and we need to be organised and make a good start to the season.

But whoever is the Manager, C'mon you Brewers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Brewer Dave