Standing between Darlington and the third round of the FA Cup, with all the possibilities which come with that, is Bristol Rovers. Like Swindon their League 1 form has been unsatisfying so far this season, but unlike Town, Darlington will face a side with a new manager in charge rather than one who’d just lost theirs.
The vastly experienced Paul Tisdale (over 700 matches managed in the Football League) was appointed as the new Rovers boss on Thursday (November 19). CEO Martin Starnes telling Bristol Live they’ve “established a DNA and strategy for this football club, which is we want to play attractive, entertaining football, give young players a chance and develop them, and win some football matches at the same time”. In short, the sort of things most clubs dream of, but only some commit to.
Tisdale is certainly the man for such a task. He developed a reputation for doing just this sort of thing at Exeter, setting a teenage Olly Watkins on the path to the Premier League via Brentford.
The Bristol Live article quotes words such as “sustainable” and “long term”. The financial state of large numbers of EFL clubs is a topic which bubbles away under the surface, Covid has forced it up the agenda of our Premier League obsessed media.
Realising the ambition of player development as a key part of club sustainability is about much more than who the first team manager is. Journalist David Byrom, who covered Exeter City while Paul Tisdale was in charge, believes he’s a good fit for Rovers but makes this interesting point:
“Like Rome, the Grecians’ academy was not built in a day, and cannot solely be credited to Tisdale, with numerous people behind the scenes also deserving praise – although, at the end of the day, the manager is the one who ultimately gives the players a chance in the first-team. One of the most interesting talks I saw Tisdale give was at a fans’ forum, when he praised Exeter’s patience at making their academy work, arguing that some clubs spend just a couple of seasons investing into their youth set-up before writing it off when it does not immediately bear fruit.”
Tisdale is joining a club with track record in youth development, Scott Sinclair perhaps the best known former graduate currently playing elsewhere. The announcement of a London-based extension to their academy is an interesting move.
“Our aim is to create a sustainable (that word again), high performing and highly productive academy to produce home-grown talent for our First Team,” academy manager Chris Hargreaves told the club’s website in June of this year.
“This is a fantastic initiative and we are striving to make sure that it supports our Academy. The pathway to the first team is in place for high performing young players, and the performance academy will further nurture player’s skills, as well as develop players who may have slipped through the net.”
Short term thinking and professional football go hand-in-hand. I’ve read reports suggesting there is some concern amongst the Rovers support that Paul Tisdale’s record in League 1 hasn’t reached the same heights as in lower divisions. Will fans, club executives and local media all buy into the “strategy” if it looks like they’re dangerously near the trap door to League 2 in a few months’ time? Defeat to a team from National League North, who’ve already dispatched near-neighbours Swindon, won’t help.
Glory Hunting 