STU IS A PERFECT FIT FOR NOTTS!
Stu Maynard had managed 139 games, all with the same club. Since replacing the man he assisted, Dean Brennan, in 2019, Wealdstone recorded finishes of 19th, 16th and 13th in the National League. When Maynard joined Notts County last week, he left the Stones in the same position, 13th, after 25 games. Success is relative, of course. Wealdstone’s 16th-place finish in 2021-22 was the club’s highest in 35 years. They were, and still are, the last truly part-time team in Non-League’s top tier. They were punching well above their weight. But still, on the face of it, his appointment as head coach of a team chasing promotion to League One was pretty remarkable. Or at least it was. Not anymore.
If you are reading these pages, you will no doubt know, as well as me, the reason why County came calling for Maynard. Some of the football, and goals, Wealdstone have produced over the last couple of years have been breathtaking, befitting of a much grander stage. The sweeping 23-pass move, finished off by Micah Obiero, in a 1-1 draw at Chesterfield in February. The wonderfully constructed and incisive goal at Aldershot, straight from kick-off, finished off by Sean Adarkwa, in August. The 21-pass sequence, finished by Tarryn Allarakhia, in a 2-1 win at Oldham in August 2022. All bore familiar traits. Patient build-up play. Adventurous defenders. Rotations in midfield. Drawing out the opposition’s press. Overloads in wide areas. Bodies flooding the penalty box. So while Wealdstone’s achievements should not be diminished, it was the football, more than the results, that persuaded Notts owners to hand Maynard — who left a job of 19 years with BT — his first full-time role in football. When you look at the data, Maynard’s team ticked most of the boxes savvy owners look at these days.
They dominate the ball, averaging 58.5 per cent this season, which is the fourth-highest in the league. Their passing is slick and choreographed: they average 443 passes per 90 minutes, a figure only bettered by Chesterfield and Gateshead. Crucially, they turn that dominance into chances: only Gateshead and Fylde average more shots per 90. And there’s youthful bent to the team: at 24.3 years old, Wealdstone’s starting XI has been the youngest, on average, in the league.
Schooled
This, increasingly, is what owners and club directors are looking for. It’s the way players want to play too. They see the way Manchester City and Arsenal and Tottenham perform, and want to emulate their style. Indeed, some were schooled in elite academies, deemed not good enough, but still dream of climbing the leagues. Wealdstone’s top scorer, Adarkwa, came through West Ham’s ranks. Charlie Barker made his loan from Charlton permanent in the summer. Micah Obiero started at Huddersfield, Ashley Charles at Watford, Charlie Seaman with West Ham and Bournemouth, Jaydn Mundle-Smith at Fulham. All are aged 24 or younger.
With Maynard at the helm, Wealdstone became an attractive proposition for young players. That’s an attractive prospect for a club hiring their head coach. Moreover, when elite academies are prepared to loan out young stars, you’ve got a much better chance of snaring one if your team plays a similar brand of football.
The lower leagues have changed dramatically in the past decade or so. When Maynard was appointed at Meadow Lane, the careers of Danny and Nicky Cowley came to mind. The former PE teachers, now managing Colchester United in League Two, are probably the closest parallel to Maynard’s rise in recent years.
Traits
In my last season as a player, at Grimsby Town, we faced their Braintree team in the Conference play-off semi-final in 2016. They had taken a team with a budget a fraction of ours to the brink of the Football League. They were smart, forward thinking and set-piece specialists in the days before set-piece coaches were a thing. They were making a name for themselves. And deservedly so. But their football was direct, physical, functional fare. And, despite the extraordinary work that followed with Lincoln, their football began to feel increasingly ill at ease in higher leagues. To climb the ladder these days, the style is almost as important as the substance.
The trend is clear. And Maynard, who was released by Watford as a teenager, shares several traits with his predecessor at County beyond their styles of play. Luke Williams was released by Norwich and played in Non-League. He worked in a warehouse, drove a mini-bus and started coaching to earn some extra cash. He learned his craft working in the shadows and served his time as No 2. His County side were promoted in remarkable style last season, of course. But make no mistake, Swansea came calling this month because of his football too.
Mike Williamson is another. Williamson had a stellar career, but he was not handed the reins by MK Dons because of that, or because he won the National League North title in 2022, or for leading the Heed to sixth before the League Two club came calling in October. Williamson was hired for his possession football. Only Notts averaged more passes per 90 minutes last season. Wealdstone were just behind them in third.
Of course, there’s no right or wrong way to play. Just ask Wrexham, who plundered their way to promotion last season, averaging 200 fewer passes per 90 than County, who they ultimately beat to the National League title. But it was Williams, not Parkinson, who Swansea wanted. And now Maynard has a chance to test his methods in the Football League.