Well, that's my opinion anyway. But maybe that is just me being forever the Notts County optimist. Either way, although I don't think we will be anywhere near the top of the table this season - I anticipate a lower top half finish, perhaps between 8th and 12th - I do think there are many reasons that my optimism is justified.
The end to last season was a shocker. Having taken charge, firstly in a caretaker role then in a permanent capacity, Chris Kiwomya lead Notts to only 5 wins in the final 17 games of the season and ultimately a 12th place finish. Hardly the desired result for a team who had had aspirations of the play-offs and promotion before a ball was kicked way back last August. This poor run of form led to many people questioning whether the new man was the right man in charge. I have to admit that I agreed. I was still bemused at the decision to sack Keith Curle, especially as there was no successor lined up. I know that the team had been under-performing and that performances and results alike were poor, but it's not as though we were in any danger of getting relegated so, for me, the only reason to sack the manager would have been to bring someone in 'Cotterill-style', in the hope of gaining momentum and having a real push for the play-offs during the run in.
Instead Kiwomya was hired and fans were 'treated' to a similar show to that which had occurred under Curle, making it seem as though the change in manager had been a massive waste of time and that this man did not have his own ideas. But I think the hierarchy at Notts must have had a change of plan. Up until this point it seemed as though the chairman and board were putting up a large budget - in the context of League One - in the hope of spending our way to promotion. It now seems that this philosophy has changed and the emphasis now is on Kiwomya bringing players through from the youth ranks and molding them into the first team.
I have to say that I think this is a change for the better, and probably the main reason for my optimism. All great sides - and I'm not trying to say that Notts are to become a 'great' side - are built on bringing in players from the youth team and filtering them into the first team picture alongside experienced pros. Manchester United under Ferguson is probably the most obvious example of this working perfectly and being sustainable over a number of years. Obviously Notts don't have anywhere near the spending power or the size of youth scouting network available to United, but the club is situated in a city that does have a history of developing a large number of successful footballing careers and I think that, in Kiwomya, the club have the right man in charge to bring on these players and to see them prosper in first team action.
It also seems as though this is a return to the way that Notts County used to operate as a club. It's the philosophy of bringing on young players and seeing them develop that I have heard many fans talk about, but being of the younger generation, have never had a chance to witness. In my opinion, it is the only way that this club will be able to progress. Without having a huge budget to splash on players left, right and centre, the only logical method of progression seems to be this slow philosophy of bringing on young players. The club doesn't have the financial power to compete with the bigger clubs, so must find an alternative way of progressing. It is not a method that will provide instant success but with patience it should, hopefully, be equally as successful.
I'm hopeful that Kiwomya will, therefore, be in charge of the side for long time to come. That does, however, rely on a change of mindset from a chairman who has previously been more than happy to pull the trigger on any manager suffering any sort of poor run of form. I don't consider that to be the best way forward, especially now that we have a manager who is young and still learning his trade. I am 100% sure that Kiwomya will make mistakes, but I am also hopeful that he will learn from those mistakes and improve himself as a manager. Stability is the key, and I think the club have the right man in charge to provide that - albeit only if the chairman is willing to give him the time.
No comments:
Post a Comment