Return Of The Mick

With Mick Wadsworth confirmed as Hartlepool boss until the end of the season, Nobes looks at other managers who've made a return to the game after a long absence.

Mick Wadsworth was last in charge of a League club back in 2003

The longer you're gone, the harder it is to return. So goes the theory when it comes to football management.

Stay on the sidelines rather than the touchline, and you'll soon disappear altogether - doomed to some kind of coaching or scouting role or, even worse, a TV pundit.

However, seven years after leaving his last League manager's job at Huddersfield - albeit he had a brief spell in charge at Non League Chester - Mick Wadsworth is back in management at Hartlepool.

After a successful spell as caretaker following the resignation of Chris Turner, the 60-year-old has been handed the reins until the end of the season with the, long-overdue realistic, brief of keeping Pools in League One.

It's an unexpected opportunity for the Yorkshireman, who has never managed to follow up initial success at Carlisle in the '90s at the likes of Colchester, Oldham, and Scarborough.

However, he's not the only manager to make a return after time away. Here's my top-10 rundown of some of football's returnees - and how successful they were on their comeback.


10. Nigel Spackman

Spackman was fired from his job at Barnsley in 2001 with the Reds struggling towards the foot of the Championship.

He spent the next five years working as a TV pundit but, in 2006, was the surprise choice as new boss at Millwall.

The Lions had been relegated to League One and Spackman rebuilt the squad during the summer.

A slow start saw the 49-year-old sacked with the Londoners near the foot of the table.

Verdict: A long time out of the game was followed by a brief and hugely unsuccessful return to the dugout. Best to stick to the TV studio in the future.


9. Gary Peters

The Londoner led the renaissance of Preston North End when the Lancashire club had been toiling in the basement division.

However, he was exiled from management for five years after leaving Deepdale in 1998.

On his return he walked into the mess at Exeter City - fighting for survival in the Football League.

Despite an almost miraculous end of season run, he was unable to save the Grecians from the drop and departed weeks later.

Verdict: Did extremely well to almost save Exeter and then went on to guide Shrewsbury to within 90 minutes of League One in 2007 before being harshly sacked soon after. A proven lower league manager.


8. Bryan Hamilton

After ending a second spell in charge at Wigan in 1993, Hamilton took over as national team manager of Northern Ireland.

He spent four years in that role and was out of the game for another couple until gaining a surprise return at Norwich in 2000.

The Canaries were struggling in the Championship and Hamilton steadied the ship. However, before the end of the year he had resigned his position.

Verdict: Instantly forgettable return to club management following an undistinguished spell in the international game. Management days are well behind now, which is why he's working in the media.


7. Gary Johnson

Johnson earned his reputation leading Yeovil from the Conference to League One at the start of the last decade.

However, he had first sampled League management at Cambridge United before departing in 1995.

After a brief spell at Kettering he then moved abroad - taking charge of the Latvian national team and laying the foundations that saw them qualify for Euro 2004.

He returned to England at Yeovil in 2001, winning promotion with them in 2003 - and managing in the League again a full eight years after his last crack.

Verdict: The time away worked. He thrived on his return and after leaving Yeovil he subsequently guided Bristol City to promotion from League One and the Championship play off final. Now at Peterborough.


6. Kenny Jackett

First as a player and then later a coach, Jackett served under Graham Taylor at Watford before assuming the top job in 1996.

However, a poor League One campaign saw him relegated back to Taylor's assistant and he later had a spell as Ian Holloway's right hand man at QPR.

He returned to try his hand as the main man at Swansea in 2004 - and took the Welsh club to promotion in his first full season.

Twelve months later, he secured the Johnstone's Paint Trophy and only a penalty shoot out in the League One play off final prevented the Swans from making it successive promotions.

Verdict: Watching Millwall, it's not hard to see the influence of Taylor and Holloway on Jackett's style. However, he has proved successful in guiding both the Lions and Swansea to promotion as a manager. Deserves respect.


5. Brian Talbot

Talbot began the 1991/2 campaign as Aldershot boss - he was gone after a few months, and the club were as well not long after.

After time overseas in Malta he returned home to join the coaching staff at ambitious Rushden & Diamonds - eventually becoming manager in 1999.

Maybe it was those eight years away, or maybe it was the ridiculous money being spent, but he led Diamonds into the Football League in 2001 and two years later they were in the third tier.

Verdict: It was the money. Talbot's subsequent struggles at Oldham and Oxford were more illustrative of his managerial capabilities. In truth, he landed on his feet gaining the Rushden job when he did.


4. Nigel Pearson

Along with the help of one Jimmy Glass, Pearson helped rescue Carlisle from relegation to the Conference in 1999.

However, he didn't stay on at Brunton Park and instead spent the next nine years on the coaching staff at the likes of Stoke, West Brom, and Newcastle.

Once his next managerial role came along though - he once again found himself in a relegation scrap.

However, a final day escape act at Southampton in 2008 proved he hadn't lost his skills in brinkmanship.

Verdict: Left Saints that summer and then took Leicester to League One glory followed by the Championship play offs last season. Now at Hull, he seems to have benefited from learning his trade as an assistant.


3. John Barnes

Okay, I'll hold my hands up, Tranmere's appointment of Barnes last summer was not technically a Football League management return.

However, any chance to recount that hilarious decision - as well his legendary Soccer AM/MW status - must be taken.

Barnes was, of course, installed as part of a dream managerial ticket alongside Kenny Dalglish at Glasgow Celtic in 1999.

It turned into more of a nightmare, albeit a short-lived one. Much like his time at Prenton Park nine years later.

Verdict: First place in the 2008 Caribbean Championships as Jamaica coach will, you feel, always be the pinnacle of Barnes's managerial career. Tranmere's gamble was always doomed to fail - they were lucky it didn't cost them their League One spot.


2. Paul Hart

The proverbial London Bus boss, at one point Hart had to wait a full decade between managerial jobs but then got through three just last season.

Hart was fired from basement division Chesterfield in 1991 and reverted to youth team football at Leeds and then Nottingham Forest.

He got his chance at the top job at the City Ground in 2001 after the departure of David Platt and, after a slow start, guided Forest to the Championship play offs in 2003.

There, they lost to Sheffield United, and a dreadful sequence of results that left them fighting relegation the next season saw him dismissed.

Verdict: After Forest came Barnsley, then Rushden, then Portsmouth, QPR, and finally Crystal Palace. Hart has the dubious honour of being sacked from a club in each of the top five tiers. Best to stick to bringing through the youngsters.


1. Richard Money

When Richard Money left his job as Scunthorpe boss in 1994 he still had a full head of hair.

In-between then and his return to English football in 2006 at Walsall it had mostly gone.

Those 12 years away saw him work at Aston Villa and Coventry before moving abroad to Sweden and then Australia.

His appointment at the Saddlers was out of the blue - but, thanks to a resolute defence, he led the Black Country outfit to the League Two title in his first season.

Verdict: A stunning return to League management. More than a decade away, but Money instantly turned around Walsall's fortunes. Now at the helm of Conference side Luton, where he is once again plotting a promotion push.

Conference Play Offs

Four sides hoping for a return to the Football League meet tomorrow evening as the play-offs in the Conference Premier begin.

Champions Stevenage Borough have already sealed their place in next season's League Two. Which one of Luton Town, Oxford United, Rushden & Diamonds, and York City will join them though?

Nobes takes a look ahead to the showdown in Non League's top division.

Final table:

.....................................P....GD....PTS
1. Stevenage..................44....55......99
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2. Luton Town................44.....44.....88
3. Oxford United.............44.....33.......86
4. Rushden & Diamonds....44.....38......79
5. York City...................44.....27......78
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6. Kettering Town...........44....10.......66


Ties:

Luton Town vs. York City



Luton are hoping to become only the fifth team to instantly bounce back from relegation to the Conference. York are looking to end a six-year spell outside the Football League.

First leg: Thursday April 29, 19:45, Bootham Crescent
Second leg: Monday May 3, 15:00, Kenilworth Road


Luton Town

Pre-season favourites for the title, Luton struggled to adapt to life in the Conference and parted company with manager Mick Harford in October.

Since then, they've been on a tremendous run of form under new boss Richard Money [right]. He's won 17 and lost just four of his 27 games in charge at Kenilworth Road.

That run helped propel them up to second, and push local rivals Stevenage almost all the way for the title.

The play-offs represent a second chance to claim an instant return to the Football League.


York City

It's been a much better campaign for the Minstermen this term after coming close to relegation last season. Boss Martin Foyle helped them to avoid the drop and has set about re-building their fortunes this season.

After a slow start, they were consistently in the race for the play-offs and, at one stage, looked like being outside contenders for the title.

A poor run dashed any hopes of an automatic return to the Football League, which they dropped out of in 2004.

They will be hoping for better luck in the play-offs than in 2007 though - where they lost to eventual winners Morecambe in the semi finals.


Key players:

Play-offs are notoriously tight and close encounters - so having a man who can nick a goal from limited opportunities is crucial.

Both York and Luton have two of the Conference's top strikers in their respective ranks. Richard Brodie [left], with 26 goals to his name, is the division's top marksmen, and City hopes will rest on his shoulders.

Tom Craddock has been in similiarly good form for the Hatters this season, and has found the back of the net 23 times to date.

Both sides will hope their leading men will be able to add to their tallies - possibly with a promotion winning strike.


Form Guide (last six games):

Luton Town: DDWDWW
York City: LDWLWW


Previous meetings:

York City 0-0 Luton Town, February 16, Bootham Crescent
Luton Town 1-1 York City, October 20, Kenilworth Road


Prediction:

The games between the two teams this season are an indication of how evenly matched this ecounter could be.

Both have, at stages this season, been in title winning form, but also have gone through poor spells.

However, it's hard to argue against Luton just shading this over two legs. They have been in great form in 2010 and have the crucial home advantage in the second leg.

York's best bet will be if they can go to Bedfordshire with a lead to protect. If not, then expect Luton to progress to Wembley for a second successive season.

Prediction: Luton Town



Oxford United vs. Rushden & Diamonds



These two teams were relegated with one another from League Two in 2006. Since then, Oxford have looked the more likely to return, but Diamonds have experience of winning promotion from the Conference in 2001.

First leg: Thursday April 29, 19:45, Nene Park
Second leg: Monday May 3, 15:00, Kassam Stadium


Oxford United

For a long time, it seemed as though Oxford were going to gain promotion back to the Football League as Conference winners.

However, the long time leaders saw the wheels well and truly came off their title challenge in March. Five games without a win allowed Stevenage to seize top spot and leave the Oxen trailing behind.

They managed to regain their form and finished the season with four wins and draw in their last six matches - including keeping five clean sheets.

This is their second appearance in the Conference play-offs. In 2007 they squandered a first leg lead to lose to Exeter City on penalties in the semi final.

Boss Chris Wilder [right ]was also a Conference play-off final loser with Halifax in 2006.


Rushden & Diamonds

Arguably the surprise package in this season's Conference, Diamonds have been born-again under the management of Justin Edinburgh.

They raced out of the blocks and hit second place before suffering a dip in form. However, they came on strong in the second half of the campaign - emphasised by the fact they've lost just twice in the league in 2010.

That included a run of 11 unbeaten matches that helped cement their place in the top five and a first ever crack at promotion via the Conference play-offs.

They'll be aware though that one of their two defeats this calendar year was at the hands of play-off opponents Oxford.


Key players:

With 22 goals, James Constable is Oxford's top scorer this season and could play a crucial part in their hopes of winning the play-offs. With 64 goals, only York in the top five have scored fewer than United.

By contrast, Rushden's success has been more of a team effort. Despite their leading scorer, Lee Tomlin [left], only finding the back of the net on 14 occasions this term, they've scored 13 goals more than the Oxen.

Defences may well come out on top over the two legs and someone like Oxford keeper - and former Diamond - Billy Turley, could play an essential role. Particularly if penalties are involved.


Form Guide (last six games):

Oxford United: LWWDWW
Rushden & Diamonds: DWLWDD


Previous meetings:

Rushden & Diamonds 1-1 Oxford United, March 24, Nene Park
Oxford United 1-0 Rushden & Diamonds, February 16, Kassam Stadium


Prediction:

It's difficult to know who the momentum is with in this tie - and momentum can often play an important part.

Rushden have certainly been more impressive in 2010 and have made themselves very difficult to beat.

However, but for their wobble in March, Oxford have been very consistent all season and are almost invincible on home soil - where they will play the second leg.

They have also managed to get themselves back on form, barring a last day loss at Eastbourne.

I don't envisage many goals over the two games, but Oxford's home advantage in the deciding leg and the experience of their boss Chris Wilder might just edge it their way.

Prediction: Oxford United

Fan Files: Rushden & Diamonds

The latest interview with real football fans turns the spotlight on Conference Premier side Rushden & Diamonds.

James Fairney has been supporting the Northamptonshire club for the last 10 years.

He rates the drama of the play-offs in their debut season in the Football League and winning the League Two title in 2003 as the highlights.

Relegation from the Football League in 2006 rates as an obvious, but understandable, low point of following Diamonds's fortunes.

James, you’re sitting in the top five and in the race for the play-offs – are you surprised at how well you’re doing this season, and can you get promoted?

Surprised? Tremendously. I knew we had a decent team, but I never thought we would make the top five. Some other fans optimistically said we would, but I never thought so.

Our squad was just too young and inexperienced in my opinion but, while we still lack the goalscorer up front that all the other teams up here seem to have, the midfield is chipping in and doing its part.

Justin Edinburgh [left] and assistant Michael Stone have turned around Rushden's fortunes

Can we get promoted? Well, if we make the play-offs there is always the lottery, and we have had decent results for the most part against the other sides in the mix.

I am not confident though that we could beat most of the other teams over two legs and therefore make the final, which would be a one off where anything could happen.

Tell us about the impact Justin Edinburgh has had? How much of your success this season has been down to the manager?

The impact has been huge. He came in to become our assistant manager under [former boss] Garry Hill before he got the caretaker job and eventually the full time role as manager.

From his first moment at the club the willingness to pass the ball rather than aimlessly hoof it in the Hill manner was evident.

Hoofing wasn't cut out as the primary tactic until Hill left, but as soon as he did, pretty football on the deck ensued. Justin has had a reduced budget and his results have been far better.

Consensus seems to be if he had the budget or the squad that Hill had then the expectations could or maybe would have been lived up to, rather than a season of mid-table nothingness.

The success this season has been mostly down to Edinburgh. He had to choose who to get rid of and who to keep. A couple of players were allowed to move on having been offered reduced terms to stay, but this allowed others to come in.

A large number of the squad are young but are now surprisingly consistent players.

It is no surprise that eyes of bigger clubs have been on some of our players as Justin isn't just good tactically, but he is also good at getting the best out of his players, this helps them develop.

A case-in-point is Lee Tomlin, a player who has been touted by fans to finally make it for a long time, but it wasn't until Edinburgh took over that Tomlin began to show his ability, and develop it, consistently, and now he is our star player.

Lee Tomlin [left] is Rushden's top scorer this season with 12 goals

The race for the title appears to be a three horse race. Of what you know and have seen, who do you fancy will win it – Oxford, Stevenage, or York?

Having just seen all three I would almost fancy - should Chester's results be expunged - that Luton would catch the lot of them, gaining one to four points on those teams.

York are unspectacular, they grind out results rather than anything else. Graham Westley's Stevenage team are as ugly as you would expect if you know anything about Westley.

Oxford susprised me with how poor they were, maybe we just caught them on an off day despite losing.

Out of the three though, barring strange goings-on, the smart money has to be on Oxford to finally make the title with Chris Wilder, an expereinced manager at this level, at the helm.

What about the gap between Football and Non Leagues. Some people argue that it is getting smaller? Is there much of a difference?

In previous seasons I would have argued it however, this season, I am not so sure.

I think there is an overlap of the top few teams in the Conference and the bottom few in the League due to bottle-necking with only two-up and two-down.

There are League sides that lose a lot of games, get little money, and can't afford to keep a good side, who just hover above the relegation places season after season.

Relegation rejuvinates a number of clubs though and now you have Oxford, York, Mansfield, and Luton all vying for promotion back to the League with squads that would probably finish in solid mid-table positions in the division above.

It's no accident that no team has ever been relegated straight back to the Conference.

Could Richard Money's Luton make a late charge for automatic promotion if Chester go out of business?

This season, maybe as evidenced by us being up there, the top teams just don't seem that good.

Luton were the only side in or around the play-off area where I sat back and thought that they were clearly a side that could end up near the top of the table.

Maybe teams are just following the Burton lead of being solid and consistent against the poorer sides - by doing that it doesn't matter so much if you drop points to your rivals who don't manage to beat them.

The Conference had 22 teams when Rushden were originally in it. Do you think since it's been expanded to 24 teams the division is of a higher standard than before?

I think it is certainly of a higher standard. However, I don't think that the extra two sides has much to do with it personally.

The two sides are theoretically two extra sides from the divisions below and, whilst some come up with money, they haven't really changed the look of this league, as they spend the money then disappear.

I think it has improved with the addition of the second promotion spot and the play-offs.

With winner-takes-all there used to be about four clubs in it by the middle of each season - it wasn't worth anyone further behind keeping their better players who went off relatively cheaply in the past.

Now, with 5th place giving a play-off spot, hardly anyone thinks like that.

Diamonds used to be thought of as the money-bags of Non League football who were ‘buying’ their way to promotion. What do you think the image of the club is now? Have you managed to shed that tag?

I don't think we will ever shed that tag in some peoples eyes.

It was great while it happened, and bandwagoners attached themselves to the club and lorded it over the teams we were passing - many of whom are now enjoying being in the same league as us again.

Rushden's purpose-built Nene Park is one of the smartest stadiums in Non League

They have long since left and it's only the loyal ones who have stayed for the most part. Newer fans of opposition clubs will only hear about it and the tag will fade over time, but it is something that will always be with the club.

However, we are thankful for it, as the legacies left behind of the stadium and facilities enable us to sustain a club at a good level.

Rushden made it all the way to League One in your years in the Football League. Could that feat realistically ever be repeated in the future?

People might laugh, but I think it could. However, the key to the success is, as always, money.

The fact that we pulled in a 4,000 average gate in a 6,500 seater stadium in that division shows that the fans are potentially there to support the club, but football based income cannot deliver success.

If you survive on football based income at this level then you either need a ridiculously good youth system to constantly sell and replace good players, or a top notch manager, who would probably get picked off eventually anyway.

We have great facilities both for training and for the youth set-up - facilities which deserve the funding League clubs get.

The club has a small amount of land which there are plans to develop, the success of a hotel project, and a patnership with Milton Keynes Dons for a training ground for the 2012 World Cup bid.

These are all factors which could help the club become, for the use of a massive cliche, a larger club. A club with more clout to keep the better players bring in the fans and climb the divisions.

Diamonds made it into League One in 2003 under Brian Talbot

Finally, what’s the best thing about being a Rushden & Diamonds supporter?

There are good things about being a Diamonds fan? Well, these days there is the success! I for one can tell you it is much sweeter when it is earned like this than when it was bought.

The best thing at the moment though is the closeness of the squad, and the appreciation they are showing the fans.

It really is a two way street that when explored by those at both ends helps cement the bonds between fans and club and players.

James, thanks for talking to Soccer AM/MW.