A manager’s not a man for all seasons.

I was going to entitle this a managers just for Christmas, not for life, the sentiment is the same whatever the headline. I’ve been thinking, after all this upheaval. Are there any lessons to be learned from our recent travails?

Well there’s always a lesson to be learned and for us, I think is it’s important to bear in mind, just as players come and go, so do managers. In our case we’ve had both but of course that often happens and as the saying goes, only the fans are constant.

Except that’s not the case, or all of it at least. With a bit of luck the board of directors and other senior staff members remain. It helps if those people are the level headed leaders every business needs if it is to prosper. I’ve often rather admired those clubs that have managed to achieve boardroom stability and with it the hope that football stability can also be maintained. I’m thinking Norwich City?

Now the Canaries are a good example as they’re a club that usually fluctuate between the Premiership and Championship although it doesn’t seem that long ago they we’re in league one. Anyway, throughout it all there is Delia and her directors at the helm, trying to stay out of the limelight (not always succeeding eh Delia?) and I can’t help feeling, by hook or by crook, we’ve managed to arrive at a situation whereby the people at the top, along with us, the fans are in it for the long term. I’m not of course suggesting we can get anywhere near the Prem but is the Championship such a distant dream?

We should, I believe be eternally grateful to Clive Nates, or rather that some football God has sent Clive to us. Now I do know occasionally Clive reads this blog and I’m certainly not writing this to ingratiate myself. Just to underline this I’ll also say that the process of recruiting a really focussed and expert board began or possibly was continued by Bob Dorrian but either way the board as well as ourselves are in on a permanent basis, or as permanent as this life permits.

Like you, I suspect, I fretted over the loss of our management team. What have we got now? Potentially an even better manager. I mourned the losing of Harry Toffolo only to be delighted by the start our new young players made in the victory against Blackpool.

So my new years resolution is, don’t worry when people move on. It’s going to happen. Trust the club and support the players, through thick and thin. It’s all we can do and it’s all the club ask of us.