28-12-2023, 16:59
When PC left us to go to Pompey a few years ago, I could sort of see his point. I don`t think it had a great deal to do with players coming to the end of their contracts; I think it was more the case that Dave Allen (whose understanding of football, it has to be said, could be written on the back of a postage stamp and still leave enough room to lick it) had announced that the playing budget was going to have to be slashed. PC obviously saw what the future held and could see his own career going with it so bailed out before the inevitable happened.
This time, things are very different. The future looks brighter than it has for many years and he did indeed say when he came back that his ambition was to take us back to where we were when he left; the top half of League 1. Personally, I think he`s well on the way to doing it. If we can keep this squad together with just one or two additions / replacements I can see us doing it within a couple of years, as both Stockport and Wrexham show every sign of doing. I think our squad now is just as strong as theirs when they went up. So if he did decide to move on now, I would find it much harder to understand – or to forgive.
At the moment, however, I`m not aware that Argyle – or any other club, for that matter – have made an official approach for him. As I understand it, it`s just speculation on the part of some bookies and some elements of the Press. That being the case, I don`t see that there`s any onus on him to say anything at all publicly until or unless they do. What`s being said internally is another matter and I would hope that he has made his position clear to the directors, to the back-room staff and to the players. I`d be very disappointed in him if he hasn`t.
If he does decide to go, then so be it. I`d be saddened, obviously, but I would assume that DW would stay and I think he has the ability and the standing at the club to keep it on a straight course. (That being said, I have been following the Spireites long enough to be fully aware of our capacity for cock-ups of any magnitude.)
We`ll just have to wait and see what happens, I`m afraid.
This time, things are very different. The future looks brighter than it has for many years and he did indeed say when he came back that his ambition was to take us back to where we were when he left; the top half of League 1. Personally, I think he`s well on the way to doing it. If we can keep this squad together with just one or two additions / replacements I can see us doing it within a couple of years, as both Stockport and Wrexham show every sign of doing. I think our squad now is just as strong as theirs when they went up. So if he did decide to move on now, I would find it much harder to understand – or to forgive.
At the moment, however, I`m not aware that Argyle – or any other club, for that matter – have made an official approach for him. As I understand it, it`s just speculation on the part of some bookies and some elements of the Press. That being the case, I don`t see that there`s any onus on him to say anything at all publicly until or unless they do. What`s being said internally is another matter and I would hope that he has made his position clear to the directors, to the back-room staff and to the players. I`d be very disappointed in him if he hasn`t.
If he does decide to go, then so be it. I`d be saddened, obviously, but I would assume that DW would stay and I think he has the ability and the standing at the club to keep it on a straight course. (That being said, I have been following the Spireites long enough to be fully aware of our capacity for cock-ups of any magnitude.)
We`ll just have to wait and see what happens, I`m afraid.