Good luck Tumble

The return of Richie Goddard from his annual winter retreat to South East Asia brought news that he'd been in contact with former Maidenhead manager John "Tumble" Dreyer about his move from Stevenage to Preston North End as assistant to new manager Graham Westley. Richie was keen to pass on John's best wishes to everyone at the club which reflects his conscientious attitude whilst he was at York Road and doubtless has led him to an increasingly successful career off the pitch. Likewise I'm really happy that he's continued his move up the English football ladder, which began when he led the Magpies into the Alliance South in 2004.

Having said that it looks like he's in for a hell of a job at Deepdale, a club deep in debt and seriously underachieving. My view on the appointment of Westley and his team is that it has parallels with  that of  John Beck in the early 90s when he replaced caretaker Sam Allardyce (wonder what happened to him).  Both had great success in the lower divisions gaining a reputation as a tough operator playing no nonsense football. Hopefully there will be the same transformative effect at a club for which I have a great affection. If  history repeats itself Westley won't quite win promotion and he will be replaced by Tumble who will go on and win the title!