Annus Horribilis Stagus comes to an end!

Tomorrow brings the end of 2008 thank God!

As far as football has been concerned it has been an ‘annus horribilis’ with Stags sinking faster than the Titanic and England not even being at the Euro party in the summer.

Thankfully the board have a new manager in place to start 2009 and we all enter the New Year with high hopes.

Despite six different people at the helm over the 12 months, four of them on a full-time basis, Stags have sunk to their lowest ebb since before joining the Football League.

I can still remember being summoned upstairs by Stephen Booth after the 4-0 home defeat by Rochdale in March when we knew it was the end of the road for Billy Dearden.

Since then we have had the heroic efforts of Paul Holland, the bristling aggression of Billy McEwan and the stop-gap of caretakers Stallard/Moses whose six point haul could prove crucial at the end of the season.

We have suffered the pits of relegation from the League, the brief high of the takeover and going top of the BSP, the anguish of being docked four points and seeing the club plummet down the table and the uncertainty of the finalisation of that takeover deal.

Hopefully two wins have now seen the slump bottom out and hope the completion of the takeover, the removal of the disliked McEwan and the installation of what seems a bright, young manager full of fresh ideas can revive the club’s fortunes.

We should have known what to expect when, with the New Year less than 24 hours old, we saw top scorer Mickey Boulding limp off at MK Dons and his replacement John McAliskey follow him off injured soon after!

Then we began that ridiculous spell where we kept winning every away game and losing every home game.

We also had the brief TV glory of the FA Cup match with Middlesbrough which saw yours truly make his Match of the Day TV debut. I will be in my trailer darling – don’t disturb me!

Also etched on my memory is my gearstick getting stuck in fourth going over the Woodhead Pass in the small hours after an away defeat at Stockport in which both sides scored own goals.

I had to zip across roundabouts, past terrified sheep and huge lorries at full pelt until I reached civilisation where I could find a place to brake and stall the car before waiting for help, shivering on the back seat wrapped in a blanket.

I will never ever forget that final home defeat by Rotherham which all but consigned us to the drop, the freak wining goal and the mini-riot at the end which even spread into the press box where those who had lost their heads were throwing stuff at us and threatening us as well.

Then there was that final sad farewell at Dagenham and Redbridge (whose ground proved so hard to find) where fans donned fancy dress and put on a brave face for the last League hurrah – but it was all empty, meaningless gestures. Life had already been pronounced extinct, despite the final twitches of that day.

Then it really sank in when the Football League fixtures came out and we were not part of it.

No one could even say for sure when the BSP fixtures were due out!

It screamed ‘Micky Mouse League’ at us and sadly there have been other examples of that since which have underlined that.

The four point deduction farce was one and also learning that the BSP’s flagship League cup – the Setanta Shield – was being made up as it went along with no specified dates for rounds available and even the final being played at one of the finalists’ grounds on the toss of a coin and not at a neutral venue! Incredible.

The early games in the BSP didn’t feel too bad though and arriving at Crawley Town with the hot sun in our faces and top of the league actually felt really good. I even put out a hand to help haul their manager Steve Evans over the last row of seats to the press box when one or two were encouraging me to let go! And he is a big lad!

But the real culture shock set in one week in September when we visited Altrincham and Salisbury within five days of each other – two lovely little clubs but real non-League arenas where the reality of the situation began to sink in.

Amazingly the FA Trophy didn’t send us back to York for a fourth time and plans to ask the Chad to rent me a flat in the city were shelved.

Having removed them from the FA Cup we were sent to Chesterfield for what we always knew would probably be a defeat to the auld enemy. But it was nice to leave the rotting Saltergate knowing that was probably the last time we would ever have to go there again.

The cold really began to bite at Forest Green where we seemed to be playing on a pitch set in the middle of nowhere with the smoke coming from the chimney of the one visible house the best entertainment of the day. Their bangers and mash clubhouse special was delicious though.

Somehow it was even colder down on the south cast as we hit Weymouth for the first time. But, as a seaside town, I was really impressed as I was with one the best B&Bs I have ever stayed in. And we got a point!

I finished work for my annual two-weeks hols on the night we played Oxford and while I was away the texts came thick and fast about the takeover being completed and then McEwan’s sacking as well as the death of a football-loving friend of mine in his early 40s which always puts everything into perspective.

So here we are with another Auld Lang Syne ahead of us and another New Year to fear or savour.

Let’s be honest, there are no guarantees with David Holdsworth.

Billy McEwan’s CV looked good but his three-year plan was torn up inside five months.

While clubs expect managers to build strong foundations and a good youth policy, three and five year plans are not a realistic proposition.

It is a results business and fans have less patience than boards of directors.

So unless Stags start producing on the field, the new boss will follow the rest out of the door.

But my first impressions are that his man-management skills may be better than hardliner McEwan and you only have to look how the players have responded to Stallard and Moses to see they play better happier!

So let’s all enjoy this unexpected mid-season break and not think too hard about those successive long hauls to Lewes and Eastbourne next month.

Let’s think instead about that pint of real ale with an Irish whiskey chaser for midnight tomorrow!

Happy New Year Stags fans one and all – here’s to brighter memories in 12 months time.

PS – why not add your best and worst memories of 2008 below?

Relying on Stags’ three wise men at Christmas!

Having just returned from a two week holiday, it’s like a whole new world at Field Mill.

Gone is the spectre of Keith Haslam after the prolonged and painful takeover was finally completed by the ‘Three Musketeers’.

Gone is manager Billy McEwan and his glorious three year plan which imploded after just five months.

Gone is assistant Neil Richardson who was barely back here long enough to get his feet under a desk.

Gone are any hopes of any silverware after the FA trophy exit at Wrexham.

And, from the things I have read, almost gone it would seem are any hopes of getting Richie Barker back into the building – the fans’ dream boss.

But the new club owners now have a huge decision to make if we are not to see the Stags continue to flounder and flirt with a second successive relegation.

So, at Christmas time, how appropriate it is that we are all relying on our own ‘three wise men’ to bring us some Festive joy. Even if they don’t have much gold to throw around!

McEwan’s firm, old school style of management was selected as the way forward but, after that dream start, simply failed to yield results.

It didn’t help that, as results went against him, he had a pop at fans who had booed him.

None of us would liked to be booed and jeered at work. But sometimes a little diplomacy is called for and having a go back at the fans was something he maybe should have thought twice about.

But he did warn everyone on his arrival that if he needed to say something he would always say it – that was how he was.

He also stuck by his 4-3-3 system, despite much criticism of it from the stands with a 4-4-2 formation bringing him the early success. Even players have said following his departure that they wanted to go back to 4-4-2.

I must admit I do have some sympathy for Billy with his late arrival and lack of time to bring in the players he wanted. It was a thankless task.

But this is a results-based business and no board would stand by their manager for too long, no matter what they had promised him, if the side was losing so regularly.

The reality of football management was underlined when Billy said that after 12 games he was the best thing since sliced bread and just 10 games later he was out of work. It is a brutal business.

It is still too early to be talking about a real relegation battle with Christmas not yet been and gone. But the current situation needs sorting quickly and whoever comes in must be armed with a list of realistic January targets that can quickly pull this club clear of stormy waters.

A fan asked this week if I still stood by my comment that there were enough worse clubs in this league below us for us to stay up.

Well I have to admit that I am starting to sweat a little harder than I was. But that statement still remains true as we are not – and have never yet been – in the BSP relegation zone.

Lewes and Weymouth are struggling financially below us and Grays and Salisbury also have their troubles, Forest Green are not pulling up any trees and Northwich are rooted to the bottom nine points behind us.

So, yes, there are worse-off clubs in a worse position and we are only a couple of wins from mid-table safety/obscurity but need to do it soon.

The ‘Three Musketeers’ are keeping the identity of the managerial candidates close to their chests though the rumour mill has spat out a huge who’s who of former bosses as candidates.

They have to make the right choice and can’t just jump in feet first. But, at the same time, the new man needs to be in place to make an impact in the transfer window. Let’s hope they can pull it off and follow the right star. Over to you three wise men . . .

The sinking Stags’ ship needs to be stopped…and quickly

by Stephen Thirkill

Well it had to happen didn’t it? Billy McEwan had lost his players, he’d certainly lost the fans, and now he’s lost the dressing room.

Under McEwan’s leadership Mansfield Town were playing with no belief, you could almost say no ability, and couldn’t buy a win for love nor money.

Sadly they were drifting aimlessly in the league. Actually that’s a lie, they were drifting somewhere and that was to a second successive relegation and the lowly depths of Blue Square North football.

Andy Perry and the board have made a very tough decision, they have made the right call and it’s a decision they deserve a lot of credit for.

The sinking Stags’ ship needs to be stopped…and quickly.

They now have three men at the helm of the club with the vision, ideas and determination to drive this once proud club back into the Football League.

But it will be a long hard road back. Stags have been used and abused for far too long under the previous Haslam regime.

It takes time to turn an oil tanker …and it is the same for Mansfield Town.

The fans need to give the board time to show what they can do and the players also need to give those loyal supporters some Christmas cheer with a few wins.

Perry and co now need to get the right man in charge of the team as the first part of their Mansfield Town rebuild.

Is ‘crisis’ too strong a word?

I’ve only ever been to Kidderminster’s tidy little ground twice . . . and both times I have left bitterly disappointed after a 2-0 defeat. The first occasion was at the climax of the 2003-04 season. I entered the town as a Huddersfield Town fan with high hopes – but I left close to tears.

And last night was no better, as faltering Stags turned in another poor performance on the road. It was in fact woeful for the small band of Stags fans and media who braved the freezing cold and late night to see the latest heartbreaking defeat.

This season I’ve had the pleasure of covering Stags four times . . .  and I have yet to see them play well. Last night Mansfield sadly looked like nothing more than a struggling team drifting to the lowly depths of Blue Square League football.  They looked toothless up front, and lacking any creativity in midfield. In short, they barely looked like winning the game or even scoring. Sadly all they seemed capable of doing was hanging on until the bitter end for a 0-0 bore-draw.

Why the season has gone so badly wrong at Field Mill is perhaps open to debate. Is it Billy McEwan’s fault? Or is he doing a valiant job under extremely difficult circumstances? Perhaps the off-field takeover has destabilised the club, but one thing not up for debate is that Stags are at an all-time low. Perhaps crisis may be too strong a word, but by now it is not far short of that.

Unless the new owners make funds immediately available, whether in the form of wages or transfer fees for the upcoming january transfer window, then nothing will change on the field. And sadly if there are no changes, I can see nothing ahead but an aimless season in which Stags escape a second successive relegation by the skin of their teeth.

(Stephen Thirkill is standing in for John Lomas)