How quickly anxiety can mount when speculation explodes about our Gaffer moving on. This is just the latest chapter. Brutally, not much we or our club can do if a bigger fish comes along. AFC Fylde, having pushed another manager out of the door, want ours according to the gossip. The advantages are obvious. Fylde are full time. Caddis could live at home instead of in an office and the salary would be much bigger. An outstanding 14-month balance on his contract is not much of a barrier for the Coasters. We can only shake his hand and wish him well if true. But think a little deeper.
The sticking point could be that Caddis lacks experience. Never managed a full-time team, unlikely to be too familiar with the level or available players yet must affect an immediate improvement. The incomer is stuck with someone else’s team. That’s a big ask, especially when having to pay compo. Are the club really that interested? Can they sell Caddis to their supporters? Traditionally, they’ve gone for big cv people.
The issue for Caddis is that the AFC Fylde owner is sack-happy. Far more experienced managers have come.. and gone very quickly. James Rowe (206 days). Andy Taylor (45 days – temp) Adam Murray (328 days), Chris Beech (330 days), Nathan Delfounso (23 days temp), Chris Neal (23 days), Kevin Phillips (134 days). All since 2022. The danger of moving now is to leave Hereford with nothing solid on his cv is a gamble. This time next year – or even sooner – he could be out of work with just a relegation to his name. That is a genuine risk. I’m arguing that Fylde might be right club but wrong time.,
From his perspective, if Caddis waited until May with hopefully something tangible on his cv, he’d be in a better position. Less compo required. Solid CV and being the close season, any new club can be moulded to suit his style and personality. It’s not a line that’s palatable to supporters I know but it is football reality.
Simon Wright
