We seem to be on a decent run with managers, although I’m sure the Mark Kennedy and Michael Appleton argument will see everyone think we’ve had at least one below-par boss over the last decade.
Recently, I collated all of the managers we’d had and added some new columns such as points per game, total points etc. Points per game threw up some interesting results, one of which was highlighting seven managers of the club who didn’t get to one point per game. I used 3 points for a win for every manager, to give a fairer comparison.
Technically, the PPG is a bit misleading as these figures include cup games, which you obviously do not get points for, but it only really affected those who managed for short periods, such as Steve Wicks and Allan Clarke. Seven of the names had an average of less than a point per game. Interested to know who they were? Then read on.
In the interest of making this a relevant list, I’ve actually stretched it to a top ten, planning to gloss over managers whom perhaps even Malcolm Johnson is too young to remember. That’s George Fraser, whose record on the site I used didn’t include his Midland League spell in 1921, and Jack Strawson, who helped found the club and held positions as ambiguous as ‘coach secretary’.
With that in mind, here is the countdown of the top ten.
10: Steve Tilson 1.08 Points Per Game
Do I really have to delve deeply into how he made the list? His win average (wins to games played) was actually better than the seven managers below him on the list (including Holdsworth, Sutton, Willie Bell, George Kerr’s second spell and Keith’s first spell), but a lack of draws puts him firmly in the worst 10. If only he’d converted a couple of those defeats to draws he would have escaped being on the list and we’d have escaped relegation.
I can’t go into the things he did badly, although he did assemble a half-decent side I felt in the summer of 2011, including Jamie Taylor, Alan Power, Josh Gowling and Sam Smith. Sadly, he had no idea how to play them and lost his job after Tamworth thumped us 4-0, which actually made the result worth it.