Sometimes the best is in front of you

It has become something of a Sunday Ritual; the kids wake me up kicking and screaming around 6am, and after breakfast I head up the road, buy a copy of The NLP – yes, I really do – and flick through the pages I had been sweating over just 12 hours before. I then keep a steady eye on Twitter and social media to answer any reader queries (or complaints) throughout the day. My wife says I should ignore it, but I feel a sense of duty to keep my hand in.

Talking points – on Twitter – usually range from fans wanting to know why their club hasn’t featured as one of our Star Games, or if our player ratings are selected by journalists who have actually attended games (I can assure you they are).

But in recent weeks, most of the Sunday chat has been about management sackings; last week it was Jamie Day at Braintree, seven days before it was Gary Brabin at Tranmere. Following disappointing results for both (Braintree lost at home to Forest Green before Day’s sacking and Tranmere away to Sutton prior to Brabin’s exit) patience had finally run out and so the axe came down in merciless fashion.

Once the manager has gone, and the rights and wrongs of the dismissal have been debated, talk quickly turns to who the replacement will be. Most fans are realistic, but some carry hopes above their station – much like some of the chairmen who are charged with making the appointments. I myself would like to see more clubs invest in guys who have cut their teeth in Non-League football rather than some big name who might bring a few more fans through the gates before hopping off to find their next adventure in the dugout. This is a hopeless business model for success.

We are all for the Jimmy Bullards of this world kicking off their managerial careers in the lower divisions – actually, I think that’s a great appointment which sends out the right message to aspiring bosses who enjoyed success as a player in the higher divisions, but realise they will have to put the hard yards in lower down to get things going. But I would like to see more Non-League chairmen follow the lead of Boreham Wood’s Danny Hunter, who last season handed the reins to a 30-year-old in Luke Garrard; just reward for the fine work he had done with Wood’s Academy. Garrard has continued to do a top job at Meadow Park and his appointment offers something of a blueprint for success.

You could say the same for Bernard Morley and Anthony Johnson at Salford, who this week have been shortlisted for the prestigious ‘Manager of the Year’ at the MBNA Northwest Football Awards (more of that on page 16). With the backing and commercial pull of the ‘Class of 92’, it would have been easy to attract a bigger name than that of Morley and Johnson. But the Salford hierarchy knew they needed men with the right ingredients for success at their respective level. It’s fair to say they have made the right appointment.

Non-League managers and their support staff work harder than any in football. More and more rely on full-time jobs, but football remains their passion and they give everything to the clubs they serve.

Let me know your thoughts. Although I do hope we aren’t talking about another sacking today...