Reaction to the appointment of David Holdsworth
By Nathan Jackson
October 27 2011
I've waited a few days to consider my opinion on the appointment of David Holdsworth, which is more than I can say about some fans who's comments I have seen. My initial ambivalence about the appointment has changed in recent day, that's for sure.
It was Monday, roughly 11am if memory serves me correctly, I'm there browsing Facebook and a new notification comes up that Lincoln have announced their new manager, it's David Holdsworth, former Mansfield manager.
At first I didn't really know what to think, I had gotten extremely enthusiastic about the appointments of Peter Tilson in 2007 and Steve Tilson in 2010, so I was very cautious about jumping the gun on the appointment because both of those failed to live up to the hype. I liked Jackson's enthusiasm and maybe I did call for his head far, far too early, but inevitably he was probably never going to get us above midtable. Steve Tilson on the other hand was a man who I rarely publicly defended but rarely slagged off because up until mid-April, he wasn't doing a bad job overall.....then he just fell apart.
So yeah, I didn't really want to make an opinion either way until I heard what Holdsworth had to say. I listened to the press conference and I certainly liked what I heard. Although he didn't directly slag off Steve Tilson's methods, what he said made you realise where Steve Tilson had started to cause the downfall of this club last March/April. Holdsworth specifically said that the club felt like a holiday camp when he turned up to his first training session and he made the players aware in no uncertain terms that he won't put up with anyone's shit.
That will certainly be a wake up call to some of the players who have clearly been enjoying themselves without putting the hard work in. I am not going to list the players who I think have not been putting the effort so far this season, but I think that the next few weeks will sort out the people who are willing to try and those that have no desire, and the ones I am thinking will probably fall into the latter.
One thing that this club has suffered in recent years is players who haven't tried hard enough, or haven't tried full stop. That is one of the main reasons why we haven't only been relegated, but why we are also in the mess we are in.
Whether Holdsworth is here long term or whether we see the back of him come the season ends in April, I think that this club will be in the Blue Square Premier next season, unforunately that won't be enough for some fans.
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One thing about David Holdsworth is that he is coming in with both his eyes wide open,and knows what he has let himself in for.
I do not think the football will be pretty but i think the majority of supporters will stand for that if we stay in the BSP this year.
As for someone with a local feel,well i watched City under Steve Thompson and the football was good,and successful,and i was amazed at the time he was sacked.
I think what swung it in Holdsworth's favour was the simple fact that he has gotten Mansfield out of a similar problem before, whereas Foyle took over a York side with a large(ish) budget and did well.
At the end of the day we weren't going to get a breathtaking appointment were we? Tommo was and is still my favoured choice and I agree he shouldn't have been let go but maybe his out spoken nature did not sit well with Mr Reames!!??
I think Holdsworth is a good solid appointment and at the end of the day I don't think he will be that financially dependant on working. He was a good player who apparently is wise with his money both personally and for the club (if you read Mazza's comments). I think as always time will tell but he has my full 100% support and I hope he still does in May when time to review his contract comes up.
UTI and good luck David, it is a tough one son!!
If he keeps us in this godforsaken league he has done a job in my eyes....