24 Hours In Football – Why No Surprises At Meadow Lane?

As Neal Ardley unusually flipped his lid post point at Yeovil, it may have seemed underneath that all was not well, a final chance blown perhaps, he knew his time was close to up, dangling on a thread as each week goes by, rescued by a win, dangled further by a draw, eventually suspended long enough to be cut a month or two shy of season end, thrown away, cast aside, with a simple thank you letter for your efforts.

Make no mistake about it, Notts County brothers in arms, Alexander and Christoffer Reedtz had Ian Burchnall on their football radar for some time… Burchnall ‘fits’ the ethos of the Danish duo, a Head Coach, young, hungry, sought after, well-respected from his time in Norway and Sweden and appropriately, free to work within hours of Ardley’s exit.

For me, Neal Ardley can walk away from Notts County Football Club head held high, having been part of arguably the worst crisis in the clubs history, relegation to the National League, midst takeover turmoil, during covid times, it could only have been bumpier had he took control whilst riding a camel.

Whilst Ardley never got the consistency County craved in the race for promotion back to blighty, he managed at times with his hands chopped from his arms, completely rebuilding a team last season, to improve in fortunes and push Barrow for promotion before covid hit, the Magpies eventually lost to Harrogate in the playoff final after the back-end of the 2019/20 National League campaign was cut short.

This season started badly, got better, was covid hit, injury hit, virus hit, dwindled away, got better again, saw slip ups and slowly improved, but by mid-March it was clear to see, regardless of excuse, the side he had built up, which was very good on paper, was surely better than sixth best in the division.

Timing is always an issue in football… Days before an FA Trophy semi-final tie awaits, hours after a reasonable draw and comeback away from home, it is never a good time to sack a Manager, it’s never a good time for a Manager to walk, or indeed for a club to part amicably and mutually with whoever is in charge… But my feeling is… Ardley has known about murmurings for a while… And I respect him even more for continuing to push and get results despite all this happening in the background. Maybe Yeovil was the last straw for him… Maybe it was the ice that broke the camel’s back for the Reedtz brothers? Many of those bumps will now perhaps be flattened out thanks to Ardley’s foundations laid on a plate for his predecessor… Leicester born former Viking & Ostersunds boss, Ian Burchnall.

When I first heard the news this morning, my initial reaction was “Ian who” before thinking to myself… “This is a gamble”… Whilst I get that the Scandinavian model has worked for some (Brentford, Brighton perhaps), it doesn’t necessarily mean that it would for others… The National League is unforgiving… How does one with no-experience of the English lower leagues not be a gamble when being asked to run a team that has a potential 19 (or more) fixtures over the next two months.

But after hearing Burchnall interviewed, I see similarities with Ardley, but more detailed, an intelligent man that believes in his coaching skills, that believes in playing the right way… Sometimes too often this season I felt Ardley, who arguably had the best team in the division, didn’t always play to his strengths, often compensating the skill and technique of Rodrigues and Knowles for example, in favour of some more solid and unspectacular, O’Brien or Effiong perhaps… I hope that Burchnall will have more belief in his most skilful assets moving forward.

When asked the question on what Notts fans are to expect of his teams style, Burchnall replied “positive, brave, attacking football” which will be food and drink especially to those who drowned out the social media corridors calling for Ardley’s head after one too many abject displays.

Whilst Burchnall doesn’t know the National League, he states “I know football, I know tactics, I know coaching, so that’s a start”

He believes in his own ability, the question is will his players believe in him? If they buy into the model it could be instant success, more realistically it will take longer as players adapt to his way, have Notts now written off realistic chance of promotion this year? Or have they acted at just the right stage to save their season over the final run in?

I suppose only time will tell, football is after all, a results business… Promotion by 2022 essential.

But in the grand scheme of things, during Ardley’s tenure this past week, month even year, you can’t help imagining, for the Notts owners and the for the way the club wants to move forward with a model that is ‘different’ to those elsewhere in this country, that Ian Burchnall, Head Coach, was the right man for the job, all along.