Summer of discontent on the horizon

 

They always say it's the hope that kills you and it feels like I have felt this way since Mark Bowen took over for the final seven fixtures before the Sheffield Wednesday game.

Back then we were 21 games without a win in all competitions, we had dismissed Mark Robinson (Robbo) after another loss at home to Cambridge United at Plough Lane. The visitors were promoted from League Two last season  and have comfortably navigated their way through the higher division, even having a giant killing away day in the FA Cup  to Newcastle before they had a chance to spend the money being invested by the Saudi’s. 

I have expressed my thoughts on 9yrsTV and our long-running 9yrspodcast that I felt dismissing Robbo was the wrong decision and we were too eager to give up on the long-term strategy agreed by the PLC and DTB in the previous summer. Football is an emotional game and I acknowledge that I got on very well with Robbo and his dismissal hit me harder than any others, simply because of his 18 years of service and the mixed messages delivered by both boards in the weeks leading up to his dismissal. 

Equally I didn’t want to warm to Mark Bowen (MB) and Eddie Neidzwiecki (EN) because they were only going to be here for seven games and then we would be looking for another manager, which would be our 6th (including caretaker managers) in 1266 days since Neal Ardley left in November 2018. But they say time can be a healer and I have always been a glass half full type of person and the early signs from MB have provided me hope, not necessarily for this season as what can anyone do with a team so low on confidence, unable to hold on to a lead and looking like they are playing with fear which is never a good thing. MB has impressed me by what he has said in all of his interviews and whilst actions talk louder than words, he seems to have fallen in love with the club as each day passes and seen the togetherness and the good people we have behind the scenes. I will admit that sometimes I have forgotten this season the reason I love this club and MB and EN have reminded me of that and it gives me hope for the future. 

We have a week left of the season and we go into one of the most challenging summers in recent history. In the last month we have seen CEO Joe Palmer, Head Coach Robbo, Dons Trust Co-Chair Xavier Wiggins and more recently our head groundsman leave the club. They are all key people to replace and I know people will laugh at me including a groundsman, but it's one of those things that just tops everything off as if everyone is leaving the sinking ship. The new season starts earlier this year because of a World Cup being played in winter for the first time and we only have 92 days from our final game of this season to the start of next season. Normally players return for pre-season around 5 weeks before the start of the season, so we are looking at around last week in May and by then we need to have resolved who we are trying to keep from players who are out of contract, along with a new manager and potentially new coaching team. 

We first need to know who is in charge at the top and currently that is Mick Buckley on an interim basis and he is looking at the structure and do we need to continue with a CEO, or look at a different structure. I have met Mick many times and he is a really good person, however he has a hell of a job on his hands and I really don’t want him to rush the decisions. 

Personally I would give MB the manager's job as soon as our fate is decided in the next week. 

Why?

Since MB has taken over we have gone to a very defensive set up, which is totally the opposite to the style under Robbo. A low block and very little space between the defenders and midfielders was what he decided to go with. Whilst this is not the type of style I want to see us play long-term, I totally understand why MB decided to make us hard to beat first of all as when he took over we were on a run of five straight defeats. We came unstuck at Crewe after good draws with Charlton and them, but that can happen as we were the favourites and when they equalised we remembered why we hadn’t won for so long and got caught between our old and new style. 

I am confident a MB team with his own recruitment doesn’t play this way and the encouraging thing from my point of view is he has been able to get the team structured and following a new style in no time at all. 

We also need to get our shit in order as soon as possible and I don’t want to go into the next season with instability behind the scenes as that always has the possibility to transfer on to the pitch, which looks like it has this season. I have seen many teams visit Kingsmeadow who are basket cases and look broken on the pitch because of the stuff going on off the pitch. 

Chesterfield, Bury, Oldham, Scunthorpe and Southend to name a few all got relegated and failed to sort out the stuff in the background. We pride ourselves on making the impossible possible, however surely this season has shown that we are just as susceptible to problems and we need to get back on track as soon as possible. 

If MB & EN can give us that platform to deal with all the contractual issues, recruitment and strategy, then we have to take this with open arms. We have very little football knowledge at the club, which is mad when you think about it, but it's true. We are likely to get clubs sniffing around our young players and who at the club knows the true value of our players. Jack Rudoni is likely to be a target for teams higher up in the pyramid and if someone comes in with, say £500k, do we see the pound notes and accept, or does an experienced football person sit back and not get too excited. 

We go into the close season with saleable assets which is a leaving present from Robbo. Most seasons we are discussing how we have lost our top goalscorer on a free, as we did with Joe Pigott last season and in previous seasons with Lyle Taylor and Tom Elliott. If we are going to have a competitive budget next season in whatever division, we need to get the best money for players we sell and invest it seriously in the squad. If we are in League 2 next season, we have to accept that we may need to cash in on some of our talent, as that is why it happens with relegated teams every season. 

Anyway we go into the final away game of the season at Fleetwood with some hope, which as we know is horrible but as football fans we all dream and think anything is possible. Fleetwood have been involved in some season defining games over the years against us,  with us beating them 9-2 on aggregate, home and away in the Conference Playoffs, survival on the final day of the 2012/13 season and the emergence and debut of England Number 1, Aaron Ramsdale.

Today is a must win, which we have been saying for the last few weeks, yet today is win or bust and nothing less that a win results in likely relegation to League 2. Highbury Stadium will be sold out today and pressure will be on Fleetwood also. They can take the draw today and knock us out of the survival race, yet we all know that is a dangerous mindset to have and the pressure of the situation may just get to them. 

I have heard many of my mates say that we got promoted too early to League One under Neal Ardley and that we have struggled every season, and whilst I agree with that, just because we got promotion based on a mad run of form at the end of that glorious season 5 years ago , I don’t want us to give up our league place without a fight and certainly not with a game left to play. 

Win today and we take it to the last day of the season and a sellout at Plough Lane. Yes we have only won two games at our fabulous home this season, however we know this club loves a fight and has a habit of winning in every battle we have faced, so whilst we only have a faint hope of staying up, lets win today and fight it out to the finish at Plough Lane next Saturday against Accrington Stanley.