What next?

[gazzathegreat 0]

Several posters still loyal to keeping Worthy at the club are asking those who are not what they would do, post Worthy?

I think you will find (as whatever happens this season, he will not stay forever) there will be lots of candidates for the position of manager of a football club with potential and a large and loyal fanbase.

My personal opinion is if Worthy is to go before the end of the season to appoint Dave Williams (academy coach) as caretaker while the board take a long and serious look around at possible replacements.  If Worthy is to go at the end of the season (IMO the most likely time, relegation or not) then they will probably have already started to draw up a short list of possible replacements.

Anyone at a club which is going places is in the running.  Several managers at championship or Division One sides would be ideal candidates.  Boothroyd, Newell, Tilson, etc.  Burley, despite his Ipswich connections is not under contract anywhere.  I am sure, if the position became available then there would be a long interviewing process.

When this time comes the board have to look at why things went wrong under Worthy and try not to repeat them.  I wonder if he was on a shorter contract whether he would still be here now?  Perhaps the term of the contract and the money they would have to dish out in compensation is putting them off easing him out?

Also the board have to look at present coaching practices.  Is it enough for a team not performing well at present to be only working on their game, tactics etc for a couple of hours a day?  Would it be a good idea to appoint a director of football if another young manager is installed to help out in times of need?

Is it really wise to give players such long contracts and also to expect a small squad (such as ours this year) to remain unscathed and therefore able to play as and when the manager wishes).  Isn''t relying on such a small band of players unwise considering not many of them are truly able to adapt to different positions?

More than anything the board need to look at where and why things have not gone well this year and how much a consequence was the year in the Premiership to our campaign this season.  Also, while they are there, the whole question of the wisdom (or not) of wheeling out players to blindly show faith after another defeat.  Do they really think anyone is grateful, or thinks it useful practice?

As the board have the best interests of the club at heart it is perhaps understandable they should give Nigel every chance to put things right.  Thing is, what is their benchmark for this?  I do hope they are expecting rather more than the aforementioned Hull at home!

This is only a dashed post before I go to work, sorry for that, but I hope it goes part of a way to give the Worthy faithful something to digest.