The best a Man(ager) can get?

Saturday's defeat at home to Uxbridge seems to have been the final straw for a number of our supporters.  Coming so soon after the painfully lacklustre non-performance against Chalfont in the FA Cup, some Poppies fans have been pushed over the edge into demanding our Managerial Duo be sacked.

Anyone looking in from outside the seething cauldron of passion that is Poppydom might raise an eyebrow as to why supporters of a team that is top of the table, with most wins, least defeats, most goals scored and least conceded are screaming for managerial blood?

One of the problems Machin and, seemingly, particularly Baillie seem to have with their detractors is that they were slipped into their management roles too easily.  Many fans indulged in far too much wishful thinking when it came to appointing Thomas's replacement.  Why they thought a part-time position at this lowly level would appeal to the likes of Marcus Law, and who knows who else remains a mystery.  Even through we all know Kettering Town FC is by far the greatest team the World has ever seen, we play in a glorified park league.

And it would appear we are looking for a very specific kind of manager.  It is a given that they must win every game.  They must also do it with elan.  Opposition teams must be battered for fully 90 minutes, begging for the ref to stop the contest.  The Manager must spend the entire game being "tactically brilliant" and using just the right amount of verbal encouragement at exactly the right time.

At the same time we want managerial perfection we are happy to endure some extremely moderate efforts from some of the players, who, at the end of the day, are the ones on the pitch to actually win the game.  Is it the fault of Management when players don't try?  Or can't pass a ball properly?  Or take crap shots when they should pass?  Or miss open goals?

If Ritchie bowed to pressure to remove Scott and Thomas he will be faced with an enormously difficult task.  Not only will he have to find the managerial equivalent of a hybrid of Cloughie / Ferguson / Mourinho and Big Ron, he will also need to find a compelling reason to tell the candidate why the club are looking for a new supremo even though they are on top of the league.  How is the new man going to top being, er, top?

Some Latimer Park patrons won't be happy until the club's
new facility is put to good use.