Joined: Sat Sep 23, 2017 2:48 pm
Posts: 4819
Location: In the Armchair.
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A MELTDOWN SPECIAL – THE NEW GAFFERFine margins…. a goal in the last moments of that final game against Burton roared on by nearly 1,700 Dons fans and we would probably not be talking about this right now, and you could even argue, that if some people had done better in their roles Mark “Jacko” Jackson could still be at the helm, or indeed Liam Manning, but at least it gave us something to talk about during the summer lull.
We had so many chances to get over the winning or should I say finishing line, that in the end we deserved to be relegated, not for the fans but the club, and I have to add, the club deserved just about every insult thrown at them, not all of them mind, as some on social media think anything goes….it doesn’t.
Pete has held his hands up…. AGAIN…..Sweeting has been sent to a dusty cupboard and will only be rolled out now on high days and holidays and to me at the chance of being duped again, I have to say this feels strangely different and I’m not really sure why, but it does.
I feel …..rightly or wrongly…. that Pete has set some clear goals that he can be judged on, whether he meant to do that or not I don’t know. Comments like we are going for an experienced manager with a proven record and if I got the gist of this correct, we are going for it.
Now that seems very clear to me and something we can judge him on his word and there will be a clear pathway of tick boxes or hurdles to jump where even the most rose tinted spectacle wearer will not be in two minds if he has achieved those expectations or not.
We should comfortably be in the Top 6 budget wise so I would expect to see a bit of experience coming into the squad to add to what we already have and with the goal of reaching the playoffs as a minimum, anything less will be a failure in my book, and I suspect many others, although whatever happens, I’m sure someone somewhere will try telling us we should be grateful.
Since Jacko and his backroom team were shown the door on May 9th with just six wins during his 25 game spell, Pete and whoever is involved in these matters have deliberated at great length and finally we are seeing white smoke billow from SMK, and we can welcome our new manager/scapegoat/lamb to the slaughter (delete as applicable) ….Graham Alexander aged 51 and born in Coventry although with a Scottish father and an Irish mother he was eligible to play for all three, but following his father there was never really going to be any other option than play for Scotland.
Even the most sceptical would have to say the Winkie has delivered on his first promise by appointing somebody experienced as there are very few at this level more experienced both on and off the field, but time will tell, as most will have agreed it wouldn’t have mattered who had been in charge last season, even the very best manager/coach would have struggled to get a tune out of the class of 22/23.
So, with the first box ticked, the next thing on the agenda is financial backing in terms of bringing in players, if that is not forthcoming this appointment will be meaningless, and we might as well have hung on to Jackson and it won’t be long before we will be able to see if we really are going for it as Winkie said, Dons fans will be watching and scrutinising every move, there will be no hiding place.
It’s hard to criticize Alexander at this level and the numbers speak for themselves since he first started his football journey in 1988 with Scunthorpe Utd as a right back or defensive midfielder. Over 24 years he played in 981 games scoring 131 goals and represented Scotland on 40 occasions and has played in the Premiership, Championship, and LG 1, 2, 3 & 4 for Scunthorpe Utd, Luton Town, Preston North End, Burnley, and finally back to Preston where he hung up his boots, and there’s a bit of a story about that final game.
Playing in his advertised final game he was supposed to come on for a cameo appearance in the final few minutes to soak up the adulation of the North End fans but with Preston losing 2-1 to Charlton things got slightly overshadowed until almost the last kick of the game. Preston were awarded a free kick 25 yards out in stoppage time and Alexander stepped up and curled it round the wall to score with his final touch of his career, a fitting end to over 1,000 games played.
In the hot seat he’s had a decent time of it, a brief spell as Caretaker Manager with Preston was followed by his first full time job at Fleetwood Town, and in his second season in charge he guided the Lancashire team to a play off final victory but was subsequently sacked after a poor start in the League 1 campaign.
In March 2016 he was appointed as the new manager of Scunthorpe Utd and in his first full season he got them to the playoffs only to suffer defeat to the eventual playoff winners Millwall. Just about two years to the day later it was announced that Alexander had left Scunny after a run of 8 winless games although they were still in 5th place.
In May 2018 Alexander was back in full time work as the manager of newly promoted to the National League Salford City on a 4 year contract, and again Alexander didn’t disappoint as they made the playoffs and then Wembley beating AFC Fylde 3-0 and promotion to League 2.
In his second season Salford made it through to the EFL Trophy Final which was postponed through Covid. When football started again Alexander lasted just 5 games and despite being unbeaten and in 5th place Co-Owner Gary Neville wielded the axe and in came his best mate Paul Scholes the very next day, a decision he later commented on as a terrible mistake.
In January 2021 he took on the job at Scottish Premiership side Motherwell and finished 5th which isn’t that bad considering the stiff opposition but following elimination by Sligo Rovers in the Europa Conference League he left by mutual consent.
In all that time he has maintained a decent Win Ratio, as high as 48% with Salford with the lowest almost 39% with Fleetwood Town and a career average of 43% which is exceptional at any level. In total he has managed 444 games with a record of W 191, D 110, L 143.
The next chapter then, but with a track record like that it is a positive appointment and shows intent, we now wait with bated breath at the first signings, and for me at least a decent set of friendlies to give him and the club an idea of exactly where we are in the grand scheme of things.
We need to hit the ground running and I certainly don’t want to hear any bollocks about needing time to gel, every point is vital not just the last month or so of a season.
See you Shortly.  WD
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Read the MELTDOWN after every game, no bullshit, just giving it straight
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