Missed Call: Danny Cowley

I don’t suppose that is something you see every day on your mobile phone, but every so often I have the pleasure of chewing the fat with our manager on a range of issues. Yesterday, in the wake of my blog about us not being a ‘non-league’ club, or manager decided to call me up and have a chat to put his views across.

I’ve heard stories of Peter Jackson hunting a certain former blogger down in the Centre Spot Bar after an unfavourable review, Leigh Curtis talks of bust-ups with a certain manager over his articles and in some instances clubs now ban reporters from the ground. In the age of social media and instant news in is often easier for a club to whitewash their own news feed and keep out the rabble. Not Lincoln City, not Danny Cowley.

Firstly this was initially an ‘off the record’ chat. Danny is very open and honest about a number of issues, if you’ve dined with him or spoken face to face you’ll know this. There is an unwritten code, an understanding that what he shares isn’t all social media friendly or to be written about. However, at the end of our conversation I asked if I could put an article together covering the conversation and the message he wanted to get across to me and he was happy for that to happen. This is why there are no specific comments, I don’t record my phone conversations nor keep notes when chatting to people.

Danny wanted to talk about how I’d understood his comments after the game on Saturday. You might remember that he had said the club was still very much ‘non-league’ when competing against sides such as Cambridge or Notts County. I had pointed out whilst he was correct regarding training facilities, the rest of the club was taking great strides. Danny actually agrees very much with that.

His comments hadn’t been negative, nor had they been aimed purely at the training ground. This wasn’t a frustrated manager trying to hold the club to ransom after a ‘disappointing’ result, not one bit.

He went to great lengths to make sure that I knew the bar and catering guys, the ticket office girls and the general infrastructure of the club was very good, Football League all day long. Those involved with the fan experience do a great job and people such as Liam joining the club were further steps forward. His comments hadn’t been negative, nor had they been aimed purely at the training ground. This wasn’t a frustrated manager trying to hold the club to ransom after a ‘disappointing’ result, not one bit. A draw with Cambridge at home shouldn’t even be classed as a disappointing result, so there was certainly no reason for him to lash out. His comments had been factual and should have been taken as more complimentary to Cambridge than derogatory to Lincoln.

Cambridge are basically Lincoln in three years time, something I alluded to in my programme notes. They’re a team that have invested their cup money carefully and over a period of time. I’m not talking about cover for disabled fans or more bars in the ground here, I’m talking about bodies behind the scenes. They’ve got a Head of Recruitment for example, Alex Fraser. They’ve got a First Team Analyst as well as a Head of Performance. We’re championing our new CEO (and rightly so), they got a CEO, a Head of Football Operations, a Chief Operating Officer and a Head of Strategic Development.

I could go on. Our excellent Academy, growing all the time, currently has an Academy Manager listed as well as a Professional Development Lead Coach and a Head Scout. Cambridge has an Academy Manager, Academy Operations Manager, Head of Academy Coaching, Professional Development Phase Lead Coach, Youth Development Phase Lead Coach, Foundation Phase Lead Coach, Senior Academy Physiotherapist, Lead Sport Scientist, Head of Academy Recruitment, Head of Internal Recruitment, Head of Education and Performance Analyst. That isn’t me saying our academy isn’t up to scratch, absolutely not. It is saying we’re growing quickly and getting the right people in the right places takes time. It does colour in some of the blank picture Danny’s comments left though, does it not?

Now this is very important so listen up, and listen up good: Danny isn’t unhappy about the situation we’re in, he’s excited to be a part of it. If he had the interview back, doubtless he’d clarify the point but he’s in full view of the media glare, so often something may be interpreted wrong. He underlined to me the excitement at being central to this development and a key figure in the club regaining its place at the Football League table, not just to dine on the scraps but to be a central figure.

All these things are happening and taking time to fall into place. Every week there is another development, another person joining the back room staff or another role being proposed and filled. It isn’t a case of getting anyone in to do these jobs with fancy titles either, people need to be selected properly and with due diligence. Just like our recruitment on the field, the proper people are being found for roles off the field.

A 0-0 draw with Cambridge might keep a few quiet or set a couple off moaning on the internet, but 9,000 fans every week? Seriously? This is the fourth tier of the English Football League and we get more fans than all but six of the clubs in the league above us.

Danny’s fear, and I’m sure he won’t mind me sharing this part of our conversation, is losing something we have that these teams do not. One thing Cambridge do not have, Coventry do not have and Luton don’t have, is you. Our fans, this season, are the best in League Two. We travel in greater numbers, we have the highest home attendance which, frankly, is ridiculous when you look at who is in our league, and we’re vocal in our support. A 0-0 draw with Cambridge might keep a few quiet or set a couple off moaning on the internet, but 9,000 fans every week? Seriously? This is the fourth tier of the English Football League and we get more fans than all but six of the clubs in the league above us. Cambridge, a side that have all the structure and people in place that a modern-day Football League club need, they get 4,500.

Last season the change was instant, City were under achieving and our management were able to effect quick action to make us successful. Building a legacy, creating the sort of club that can thrive, not here but in League One or (dare I say it) higher, that will not happen overnight. The fear is the great support that we have begins to dwindle away if we stay tucked in the middle of the pack. I hope not, I’m sure it won’t but I think that is what our manager fears. If we go on a four match streak without a win, will some stop turning out for games? Will that wave of optimism and hope we rode all the way to the title last year break on a beach of indifference and dispassion?

There is a difference between being critical and managing expectation, people calling Matt Green or the tactics we use are just being critical, there’s no benefit in that for the club or manager. We shouldn’t be apathetic, shrugging our shoulders at a 0-0 draw because ‘we were non-league last year’, but at the same time we shouldn’t be pulling the club down for the exact same reason. We were non-league last year and Chesterfield were in League One. The FA Cup draw could have paired us together as it did with Oldham and we would have had the situation of being giant-killers in November but disappointed we’d ‘only’ won 2-1 ten months later in the league. Football fans, me included, are always judging matches on current form, current league place and things that are happening right now. I suppose sometimes we all need a little perspective, me included.

Last season we often needed to score three goals to make sure we won a game, this season we’re far less likely to concede and therefore should only need one or two goals to win a game. Yes, we’re more defensive but that is paying dividends is it not? We can’t massacre a side in the last twenty minutes in this division like we could last season because fitness levels are far higher. Our game has changed because it has needed to, it is tighter and at times it is a slower pace and perhaps a little less pleasing on the eye. We’re still within touching distance of the play-offs though aren’t we? We’re currently in our highest October position since John Schofield and John Deehan were in charge eleven years ago. Think on that.

Danny ended by saying ‘you can quote me on this’ and then promptly gave me something quotable that I didn’t write down or record. Look, when Danny speaks football you listen, occasionally dropping something in that lets him know you’re understanding his point of view or (more importantly) you know what you’re talking about. His quotable caught me without a pen, but he underlined his commitment to keeping fans on board, informed as much as protocol would allow, and entertained wherever possible. He is committed to building a legacy here and excited to be part of the journey and to helping shape to future of this great football club.

He is committed to building a legacy here and excited to be part of the journey and to helping shape to future of this great football club. 

This is a journey and we’re not even half way to our destination. It isn’t straight forward, there are some roads we’re going down that might be bumpy or seem to be out of the way to where we’re going, but stay with the club. We must keep Sincil Bank full, big crowds won’t win you every game, but you never know which one we will make a difference in.

After our conversation I thought about what he’d said. Imagine, we’re a team without proper training facilities and several steps behind almost all of the clubs we’re going to face in the league. We still drew 0-0 with Cambridge and in truth we still felt we should have beaten them. Yes, we’re a couple of players short and many have put that down to planning on Danny’s part. That isn’t true, we missed out on players in the summer for a host of reasons. I’m led to believe (not by Danny) that one or two asked to see our training facilities when being shown around Sincil Bank, you can imagine how that conversation went. Danny himself would admit we missed out on one or two because he won’t pay a player something he isn’t worth, nor will he pay a club more than his own valuation of a player. Off the field our CEO started after the start of the season, we’re still in the middle of bringing in a club secretary and we are still a ‘work in progress’. We have a threadbare squad of talent, proper talent, and as a squad we’re working well and holding our own. Bob Dorrian has already spoken of budgets in January, let’s not shout that about too much though, eh? We don’t want the clubs we intend to buy from to start bumping up transfer fees even more, do we? The FA Cup effect has doubtless also cost us players, clubs think we’ll pay more because we’ve got a bit of cash, clubs that obviously don’t know how good Danny is with money.

Cheers Danny for the chat, hopefully I’ve put our conversation across in a fair and accurate manner. I look forward to the next time one of my blogs causes you to pick up the phone, because there is no sweeter sight on my mobile phone than the words ‘Missed Call: Danny Cowley’ (other than a message from Fe, obviously. She reads this too).