Tales From Davy Jones Locker: Part 2, one year on at Wycombe.

by eamonn  29/07/2013 | 10:45 2 Posted in Best Stuff, Opinion 

We were floundering on the sea floor when you left us. Attempting to get to our knees (standing is still a life-time away ! )

To survive and rise !  An eight point plan we  had. Eight points to improve our standing; eight points to raise much needed cash; eight points to improve our squad. And just how did the author of those eight points perform ? Was he good enough to heed his own advice ? And did he survive his first term ?

Now my little bat-friends; my little wanderer friends; my lost wanderers … shall we turn the page? …

• Coaches:
• Scouts:

The key was HIRE SOME MORE !! … and so we did … the team was crying out for both more coaches and scouts, and by October’s end, we had three new coaches on board.

We wanted mental toughness; tactical awareness; and technical ability so our coaches could impart their knowledge and experience to our playing staff. Very happy we were indeed with our new employees; just goes to show who is out there looking for a job … even with a team such as ours .. down here in League Two. In John Murtough (oh we hope he is mucho tough!!) and Keith Ryan, we should be able to upgrade our playing level and become much more competitive.

The Board were very happy for us to add three coaches without question, and we have managed to do just that. Getting them to work straight away with the players will no doubt only help to strengthen the side.

And by the calendar year end 2010, we have also added a couple of scouts to help ferret out more talent. And also … (as you can see) come season’s end 2010/11, my assistant (or rather erstwhile assistant, as it is in the present tense) has left the club via mutual consent. Well, alright then, I actually nudged him toward the exit door, and booted him through it thoroughly once close enough. The falling out?? Well, no, of course it had nought to do with his earning more money than yours truly .. but rather .. you do remember he was tres loyal to his former boss (and also stuck in his, and those old ways) and he would mostly tend to disagree (vehemently) with my selections. So Martin Kuhl and I decided to a parting of the ways (alright – I decided – the joys of being THE boss) and prior to season’s end, Martin became … as the saying goes … history. Better to bring in a happy and new face in the new season to come, someone eager to prove himself, someone not spoiled by the old ways …..

Affiliated Clubs

It took a wee while to obtain our desire. We were twinned with Brentford of the second tier for a while, and then we landed the plum of Tottenham Hotspur. Oh the joy ! They pay us £44,000 per year, chicken feed for them (but we have a lot of chickens here at Wycombe—and some who fancy themselves roosters) We also now get to keep the entire gate receipts when Spurs come to Adams Park for their yearly sold-out friendly. In addition, they will usually loan us a very promising youngster from their ranks and cover 100% of his wages to boot. Nice, very nice.

 Youth

Our youth recruitment policy has always been fairly basic with just the bare bones of facilities. My feeling is, it will take many years of hard slog to build up a half-decent academy. We were turned down by The Board for our request to upgrade. Reason: lack of funds. So the local lads we attract are very low on skills and most likely will not be sticking around very long. They will be wandering but not Wanderers. (unless Bolton or Wolves pick them up J )

My young friend, above, is a case in point. Already 18 years of age, horribly low on technical ability; and no where near the mental strength to feature even in OUR first team. As a defender,  tremendously low in marking; tackling; concentration; technique – oh dearie dearie me !! I could go on and on and on …. Stamina ; strength ….the only thing Man U about Leika is his name !! … and he is about the standard young “starlets” we are attracting to our under-18’s. It is a revolving door policy mostly – in one year and out the next … even offers to other clubs – even those non-league sides – attract not a jot of interest – I don’t think even exceptional coaching can save the first few years crop !  ….

And , I am afraid, it will be quite some years before we have enough spare funds lying around to work on upgrading the facilities, and thus attract the quality of youth we want and need. In the interim, we will have our scouts look for promising youngsters elsewhere and hope to grab a few on ‘a free’ and build up the under-18 squad. – Unless of course, we attract a sugar-daddy (or sweet momma) with deep pockets. Yes, it is going to be a very slow process and methinks we will be fortunate to find two or three youngsters graduate to the first team in the un-for-see-able future.

Friendlies

We had mentioned friendlies, especially home matches, as a good way of obtaining some much needed income. In addition to evaluating your squad and how they perform, friendlies get them into match-shape for the coming season. Don’t forget to arrange matches for your reserve and youth sides as well. And pop down to the under 18 games once in a while and see for yourself just who may be worth a call-up to the big side.

Yes, we arranged quite a few friendlies for the team, with lots at home, and also inaugurated a yearly tournament: ‘the Wycombe friendly cup’; each year in pre-season we will invite three different sides to compete with us in a competition at Adams Park. Its fun, it draws crowds, teams from the world over, and creates some much needed cash for us, all at the same time. It also gives us a glimpse at our players in matches against diversified and top sides, as in future, even premiership sides will be keen to attend.

The Board

If the Board is good enough to hire you in the first place, do not ever be afraid to approach them every so often with a shopping list of your requests. You may wish for more staff – coaches; scouts; physios. Perhaps upgrade the training facilities – perhaps ask for more transfer funds – perhaps a new contract for yourself – perhaps help to sign a really big transfer target you believe will really make a difference. Never be afraid to approach them, they may say ‘no’, but as yet, they could surprise and help out and release funds you thought you were locked away in the vault and would never see the light of day. Although my own Board turned down my, I thought, reasonable request to build a youth academy, they did say ‘yes’ to relaying our mangled pitch; ‘yes’ to requests for more scouts and physios; ‘yes’ to obtain affiliated clubs, both parent and feeder; even ‘yes’ to raising the wage budget !  (although Mr W Rooney still remains out of reach!). So always make the approach, I feel the Board are there to help and not hinder.

Loans

And here, we come to the crux of the matter. It is not only loans, but transfers, and especially,  FREE TRANSFERS, where elevation of the club is paramount. Of course, most times, you do have to free up funds by dumping those you deem unworthy. (oh dear, as in my case with Chris Westwood, among others) … but at least you do not pick up the tab for the loan signings, and well, as regards the frees, one must be circumspect with weekly wages and stay within budget whilst still striving forwards as a club.  Here’s a look at our dealings in the market during our first season.

As you can see, each and every transaction was a FREE. We garnered four loan signings in our first season, including two from Liverpool ! It does not harm to ask the big clubs, as they may be very willing to send their players even to a club in the fourth tier. Also the players themselves sometimes recognize playing time is much more important than just sitting on the bench at their parent club. In fact, our four loan signings played a total of 106 matches for us in the season, just goes to show how valuable they can be, and Victor Palsson came back once again the following season on loan and played a further 34 games. Alexis Nikolas, our first ever signing, on a free, played 35 matches during the season and added steel and guile to our midfield. He had been with Chelsea for four years, but never played a game; released to Brighton in the Championship, he made 44 appearances over two years without scoring and was let go on a free to St Albans in the Blue Square Premier from whence we reeled him in. This is the way of life at the bottom, surviving on the scraps; the shrimps the big fish throw overboard; dining on the krill, before the whales and sharks gobble it all up; attempting to turn  Abyssobrotula Galatheae  into beautiful, sleek, fast swimming Dolphins. (is it possible??)

Tutoring

Approach as many of the senior players and request they tutor the youngsters. Nearly all will be delighted and ready to help. Attempt to match positions and personality types. You will find this goes down a treat. The younger players will learn and become friends with their mentors if all goes well. This has the added effect of creating squad harmony. The younger players will learn and the older ones will be happy to impart their knowledge and will appreciate being asked by you. Just be careful not to match volatile personality types, but for the most part, tutoring can only but help the club and draw them closer together as a unit.

Summary

So when all is said and done … as the saying goes … just where did we finish ? Remember the Board wished for a straight return to League One, and despite backing me all the way, I was still afraid I was only going to last only the one year. As the season wound down, and March saw us winless in four, I thought the barnacles were on the anchor, and knew it to be impossible. Even four wins and a draw in our last six matches did not matter. I anticipated I would be walking the plank at the end of the season … our lack of goals (as fore-seen) only 50 in the league, was a sore we were unable to heal. At the end, we finished 9^th, and I feared the powers that be would cast me overboard.

The only reason, I gathered why they let me survive to fight again the next season, was that I had built up a good relationship with the team, the players, the Board themselves, and kept slowly, slowly, slowly building.

They gave me another chance … another chance to avoid the jellyfish and the barracudas that prey on the weak, another chance to struggle for oxygen and to sorely glimpse the light far above at the surface ….. but I knew it was a chance I had to take next year …. I knew next season I had to rise to League One at the very very least … I knew … if I failed … by next season’s end … I would be the one sealed up in Davy Jones’ Locker …  the rusted key dissolved in the sandy brine below the Titanic … and me … a barnacle-encrusted relic … telling tall salty tales in the local coffee house ….

(the tales of eamonn o’hanlon)