I will be sad to see Schteve go. By all accounts he has brought a great deal to the back room, and it has been suggested on more than one occasion that he was brought in as the natural successor to Harry - either if we did badly and HR was sacked mid-season, or if we go all the way and HR quits as a hero at the end of a successful promotion season. Watching the club videos it is evident he has a great rapport with the players, and it appears he is respected and liked by all - I wonder how much of the reason we are where we are at the moment is due to his influence, and how much we will miss him in the coming months. When his arrival was announced, I really never though I would be so worried by his departure - funny how things have changed since his shameful 'wally with a brolly' treatment by the media.
I agree wholeheartedly with you, mate The thing that gripes me is at present, everything is in balance and it shows with where we are and how we are playing. Take something away and it could have an adverse effect.
Personally I don't believe that he was brought in just in case things went titsup under Harry. He was given a three month contract which has helped us and given him paid work in that period where there are no managerial vacancies. The manager merry-go-round doesn't really get going until October.
We're doomed, relegation fodder without McLaren. Perhaps we should sack Harold and give Steve the job, just to make sure we keep him. Or if he was really a part of the plan rather than H getting some opportunistic help in for a few weeks, we should have offered him a proper contract to begin with. But we didn't. Why - because it was always clear on all sides that he would stay until a management job came along. I'm sure Harold will cope with Joe, Kev and Hitchcock's Dad to help him. McLaren is not some kind of shaman, he's cocked up more than he's succeeded in management and has always been at his best as a coach under an experienced manager. That way he can be the players' mate while the manager is the authority figure. Would be nice to have around, but him going can't be an excuse for us not doing as well as we expect in future.
