Our unbeaten run remains intact, but finally, we’ve missed out on awards and had to be gracious in defeat.
Michael Skubala has missed out on a remarkable three Manager of the Month awards in a row, having been passed over in March in favour of Plymouth Argyle boss, Tom Cleverley. Sonny Bradley, up for Player of the Month, has also missed out, with Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan of Reading taking the award.
In fairness, Ehibhatiomhan did score six times in March, including his first senior hat trick at Luton Town, a crucial late goal at Burton Albion and a brace against Wigan Athletic. While we can moan about Sonny being robbed if we wish, it would be a harsh man who denied the 22-year-old his award. Besides, if Sonny had won it, there would be claims of bias towards the darlings of the EFL, Lincoln City.
I’m also going to put forward a compelling argument for Cleverley. In March, Plymouth beat fellow promotion contenders Stevenage and Huddersfield, as well as grabbing a resounding 3-0 win at Wigan. Their draw came away at Reading, another promotion contender, and their form in March saw them play six games and lose three, including a 4-1 humbling at home against us.
Cleverley has had a strong season, but early doors, he was closer to the sack than anyone. He was booed off by his own supporters, but Argyle kept faith. He’s turned it around, with the help of Derek Adams, and therefore by matching the League One pacesetters, he has surely achieved more than being the League One pacesetters. Of course, we’re great. Our record matched theirs, and included a win at the leaders, and a resounding 3-1 win against Stockport County. On paper, Michael did better, marginally, as the teams we beat were probably marginally better than the teams Plymouth beat, but that was expected.
It would have been great to see Michael lift the award for a third month in a row, a modern-day record, but there is probably a reason we’ve only seen back-to-back wins for managers since 2004: a desire to recognise other managers. You might not realise it from the coverage this week, but there are 23 other teams in League One.
They’re not as good as us, but if you have 24 kids, and one is brilliant, it doesn’t hurt to pat a couple of the others on the back from time to time, right?
Part of me is even chuffed for Plymouth and Cleverley. They were such great hosts in February, good fans with a good ground and superb staff. They stuck with their manager when others (I’m looking at you, Huddersfield) would have pulled the trigger, and now they’re getting some rewards. It doesn’t hurt at all that a club protecting a manager and giving him time is reaping the rewards.
Even if we all know Michael Skubala was still the best in March.