Post by QPR Report on Apr 16, 2009 15:48:24 GMT
Get Hampshire/Charlie Oliver - Waddock - finances are key
Aldershot Town FC’s AGM takes place at the Rec on Monday April 27, swiftly followed by a fan’s forum on Thursday April 30 2009.
One man especially interested in what will be revealed at the AGM regarding the club’s finances is manager Gary Waddock.
Speaking to the assembled media - The News Group, Shotsweb, The Sun and more - in the press box after Monday’s draw with Barnet, Waddock was already looking ahead to next season and repeated his desire to push The Shots forward.
But results over recent months have suggested, nay dictated, that the manager will need some new players to do that - and it remains to be seen whether the club can afford to provide Waddock with that luxury. Given the history of Aldershot football, chairman John McGinty’s first priority is always to keep the club within its means.
“It’s all about pushing this club forward. We've had a difficult period, partly due to injuries and suspensions, but my job is to push this club forward on the footballing side. And I’ll find out soon whether I’m able to do that or not,” said Waddock.
“The chairman and I have discussed one or two things already. There is an AGM and a fans’ forum coming up, so I’m sure it will come to light then what I’m able to do.
“The bottom line is that the squad is not big enough. A manager is only as good as the tools — the players — he works with.
"We've made a number of mistakes this year and we have not always learnt from them. It can't keep happening otherwise it's time to move on in terms of the players, as they are not learning."
The right back position is indicative of Waddock's problems, some self-inflicted, others not. After letting Rob Gier go in the summer, Waddock has used seven different players at right back, not including Scott Davies, who filled in there briefly at Dagenham last Saturday.
Perhaps Waddock should have given Ben Starosta a few more opportunities but Junior Osborne's prospects were curtailed by injury and later Andy Lindegaard, who was settling in well to the position, was surprisingly recalled by Cheltenham Town.
All those factors have meant that, in between, Waddock has had to use Louie Soares (an attacking wide midfielder), Chris Blackburn (a central defender) and Lewis Chalmers (a central midfielder) at right back. The left-sided Dean Howell even filled in there against Barnet.
"The right back situation just shows you how things are. It is a problem area for us - and we need to bring in players to the group," said Waddock. "We need more numbers."
Lindegaard is, no doubt, a player Waddock will pursue over the summer but he fears the situation is out of his control: "Lindy did really well for us but he got called back and has now been offered a new contract at Cheltenham. So, possibly, that one is closed up.
"There are one or two things that may develop but it will all depend on finances. Then I’ll see if I can take this club forward," added Waddock. When asked if there was a danger that his ambitions might surpass the realities of Aldershot’s financial strength, Waddock was cagey. “We’ll have to wait and see on that front,” he said. "Am I anticipating that I won't be able to take the club forward? That's more a question for the chairman and the board of directors," he added.
But Waddock, who briefly managed Queens Park Rangers in the Championship in 2006, clearly hopes he can, for now at least, continue to realise his managerial ambitions with Aldershot. “I want to take this football club forward. I am very ambitious. I want this club to perform at the very highest level I can get it to. And I want to work at the highest level I can, alongside Martin Kuhl,” he said.
Chairman McGinty said in his notes in the Barnet match-day programme that he had suggested to Waddock after last season's promotion to the Football League that he was looking for a 12th-placed finish or better in League Two this season. Aldershot will almost certainly finish a few places shy of that target. And Waddock's pre-season target was, almost certainly, higher still.
Not that he believes that this has been a poor season; Waddock's point is that he is always searching for the very best possible outcome and it is clear after one season in the Football League that his current squad lacks both depth and quality - and he is not sure whether he will be able to address those deficiencies or not. Waddock's attacking tactics, relying on a traditional 4-4-2 formation, have also been exposed at times in League Two, especially away from home.
Not that Waddock is slow to praise his current charges. "Why have we got any divine right to end up 12th - or to get in the play-offs," said Waddock. "Several teams have been in this division for a number of years. If I had said to anyone, when I took over, would you be pleased with promotion and then staying in League Two the next season, we all know the answer would have been yes.
“But expectation has its way of pushing everything through the roof. With the squad we have and the budget, it has been an absolute miracle to get us to where we are in two seasons. The squad and Martin Kuhl deserve so much credit.
"The players have done a fantastic job. But we have come up against better quality and better organisation in League Two.
"I know some people will throw Exeter at us [who came up with Aldershot from the Conference via the play-offs but are now pushing hard for automatic promotion]. But they had been in the League not so long ago and have a League structure in place behind the scenes. We are competing against Bradford too, for instance, who were a Premier League club not too long ago.
"We need to calm everyone down and work towards making Aldershot a League Two club that, in time, will push in the right direction.
"How far can this football club go? Sometimes success can be a downfall. Everybody expects more and more and more but that is not possible."
Just look at the old Aldershot FC, who, more often than not, lived and struggled in the bottom division of the Football League.
“We have been victims of our own success from last season, when expectation was raised so high and we won so many games — but at a different level."
At least Waddock and his predominantly young squad have now had a season to learn about life in League Two - some of his players will undoubtedly improve next season, on the back of lessons learnt over the recent tough months.
And Waddock insists that players and managers alike never stop learning from a life in football.
"You are learning all the time," Waddock said. "Once you say you've cracked it, you may as well give up. You learn every day and in every game."
And, on the back of that experience, all Waddock wants to do is push Aldershot Town FC forward. But, to do that, he will need some money - and, given the inclement financial climate and Aldershot's impecunious history, it is quite a dilemma, for him and the board of directors alike.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Waddock takes his side to Peter Taylor's Wycombe Wanderers on Saturday, looking to complete a League Two double over the promotion hopefuls.
Wycombe are still well-placed for automatic promotion, despite losing at Exeter City earlier this week, but Taylor will be wary of the superb victories Waddock has enjoyed over him, both earlier this season and when Taylor was in charge of Stevenage Borough last season.
Those wins were at the Rec, however, and Wycombe will start as firm favourites, given that Aldershot have lost 15 times away from home in the league this season.
Waddock must also do without arguably his best player in recent weeks, Lewis Chalmers, who serves the first of a two-game ban for receiving ten bookings.
Meanwhile Wycombe may be without leading-scorer Matt Harrold.
www.gethampshire.co.uk/sport/aldershottownfc/s/2049115_waddock__finances_are_key
Aldershot Town FC’s AGM takes place at the Rec on Monday April 27, swiftly followed by a fan’s forum on Thursday April 30 2009.
One man especially interested in what will be revealed at the AGM regarding the club’s finances is manager Gary Waddock.
Speaking to the assembled media - The News Group, Shotsweb, The Sun and more - in the press box after Monday’s draw with Barnet, Waddock was already looking ahead to next season and repeated his desire to push The Shots forward.
But results over recent months have suggested, nay dictated, that the manager will need some new players to do that - and it remains to be seen whether the club can afford to provide Waddock with that luxury. Given the history of Aldershot football, chairman John McGinty’s first priority is always to keep the club within its means.
“It’s all about pushing this club forward. We've had a difficult period, partly due to injuries and suspensions, but my job is to push this club forward on the footballing side. And I’ll find out soon whether I’m able to do that or not,” said Waddock.
“The chairman and I have discussed one or two things already. There is an AGM and a fans’ forum coming up, so I’m sure it will come to light then what I’m able to do.
“The bottom line is that the squad is not big enough. A manager is only as good as the tools — the players — he works with.
"We've made a number of mistakes this year and we have not always learnt from them. It can't keep happening otherwise it's time to move on in terms of the players, as they are not learning."
The right back position is indicative of Waddock's problems, some self-inflicted, others not. After letting Rob Gier go in the summer, Waddock has used seven different players at right back, not including Scott Davies, who filled in there briefly at Dagenham last Saturday.
Perhaps Waddock should have given Ben Starosta a few more opportunities but Junior Osborne's prospects were curtailed by injury and later Andy Lindegaard, who was settling in well to the position, was surprisingly recalled by Cheltenham Town.
All those factors have meant that, in between, Waddock has had to use Louie Soares (an attacking wide midfielder), Chris Blackburn (a central defender) and Lewis Chalmers (a central midfielder) at right back. The left-sided Dean Howell even filled in there against Barnet.
"The right back situation just shows you how things are. It is a problem area for us - and we need to bring in players to the group," said Waddock. "We need more numbers."
Lindegaard is, no doubt, a player Waddock will pursue over the summer but he fears the situation is out of his control: "Lindy did really well for us but he got called back and has now been offered a new contract at Cheltenham. So, possibly, that one is closed up.
"There are one or two things that may develop but it will all depend on finances. Then I’ll see if I can take this club forward," added Waddock. When asked if there was a danger that his ambitions might surpass the realities of Aldershot’s financial strength, Waddock was cagey. “We’ll have to wait and see on that front,” he said. "Am I anticipating that I won't be able to take the club forward? That's more a question for the chairman and the board of directors," he added.
But Waddock, who briefly managed Queens Park Rangers in the Championship in 2006, clearly hopes he can, for now at least, continue to realise his managerial ambitions with Aldershot. “I want to take this football club forward. I am very ambitious. I want this club to perform at the very highest level I can get it to. And I want to work at the highest level I can, alongside Martin Kuhl,” he said.
Chairman McGinty said in his notes in the Barnet match-day programme that he had suggested to Waddock after last season's promotion to the Football League that he was looking for a 12th-placed finish or better in League Two this season. Aldershot will almost certainly finish a few places shy of that target. And Waddock's pre-season target was, almost certainly, higher still.
Not that he believes that this has been a poor season; Waddock's point is that he is always searching for the very best possible outcome and it is clear after one season in the Football League that his current squad lacks both depth and quality - and he is not sure whether he will be able to address those deficiencies or not. Waddock's attacking tactics, relying on a traditional 4-4-2 formation, have also been exposed at times in League Two, especially away from home.
Not that Waddock is slow to praise his current charges. "Why have we got any divine right to end up 12th - or to get in the play-offs," said Waddock. "Several teams have been in this division for a number of years. If I had said to anyone, when I took over, would you be pleased with promotion and then staying in League Two the next season, we all know the answer would have been yes.
“But expectation has its way of pushing everything through the roof. With the squad we have and the budget, it has been an absolute miracle to get us to where we are in two seasons. The squad and Martin Kuhl deserve so much credit.
"The players have done a fantastic job. But we have come up against better quality and better organisation in League Two.
"I know some people will throw Exeter at us [who came up with Aldershot from the Conference via the play-offs but are now pushing hard for automatic promotion]. But they had been in the League not so long ago and have a League structure in place behind the scenes. We are competing against Bradford too, for instance, who were a Premier League club not too long ago.
"We need to calm everyone down and work towards making Aldershot a League Two club that, in time, will push in the right direction.
"How far can this football club go? Sometimes success can be a downfall. Everybody expects more and more and more but that is not possible."
Just look at the old Aldershot FC, who, more often than not, lived and struggled in the bottom division of the Football League.
“We have been victims of our own success from last season, when expectation was raised so high and we won so many games — but at a different level."
At least Waddock and his predominantly young squad have now had a season to learn about life in League Two - some of his players will undoubtedly improve next season, on the back of lessons learnt over the recent tough months.
And Waddock insists that players and managers alike never stop learning from a life in football.
"You are learning all the time," Waddock said. "Once you say you've cracked it, you may as well give up. You learn every day and in every game."
And, on the back of that experience, all Waddock wants to do is push Aldershot Town FC forward. But, to do that, he will need some money - and, given the inclement financial climate and Aldershot's impecunious history, it is quite a dilemma, for him and the board of directors alike.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Waddock takes his side to Peter Taylor's Wycombe Wanderers on Saturday, looking to complete a League Two double over the promotion hopefuls.
Wycombe are still well-placed for automatic promotion, despite losing at Exeter City earlier this week, but Taylor will be wary of the superb victories Waddock has enjoyed over him, both earlier this season and when Taylor was in charge of Stevenage Borough last season.
Those wins were at the Rec, however, and Wycombe will start as firm favourites, given that Aldershot have lost 15 times away from home in the league this season.
Waddock must also do without arguably his best player in recent weeks, Lewis Chalmers, who serves the first of a two-game ban for receiving ten bookings.
Meanwhile Wycombe may be without leading-scorer Matt Harrold.
www.gethampshire.co.uk/sport/aldershottownfc/s/2049115_waddock__finances_are_key