Way back at the start of Uwe Rosler’s reign at Brentford I wrote a piece for the fanzine following a tip-off that all was not well behind the scenes.
The rumour was that Uwe felt his position as manager was being compromised by the presence of a Continental-style Sporting Director in the shape of Mark Warburton.
Beesotted’s Dave Lane asked me to check it out so rather than going round the houses, I spoke direct to Uwe.
“Nothing of the sort,” he assured me both on and off the record. There really were no issues and to be honest, not much of a story so, responsibly, Beesotted ran a piece saying all was well with the relationship purely to quell any internet rumours before they could gather pace.
Since then Mark Warburton has worked in the background, his only real public pronouncements the bi-weekly programme notes that give an insight into just how much the club is doing behind the scenes.
That was brought into sharp context for me last week with the Lionel Road presentation film which I have to admit brought a tear to the eye and an embarrassed admission that I was unaware of around a half of what the club did.
My wife was even impressed, which really is saying something given the fact that she hates football (a lapsed Derby fan) and has been a Brentford widow all our married life.
Much has been going on at the club in a relatively short space of time, most noticeably the style of football.
To change direction with a new manager – who would inevitably have wanted to stamp his own style on the side – could have been disastrous, which is why Mark Warburton’s appointment is sensible, calm and the right thing to do at the current time.
It may of course be risky too. He has no experience in English management, but then neither did Uwe. More important for me is that he is well regarded in the game and that doesn’t happen if you’re not half decent.
In terms of stability this is the right appointment as it will be business as usual for the players. I’m also pleased that the club haven’t deliberated and therefore sent out a message to fans, players and most importantly Warburton himself that there was any ever doubt over the next step.
We still have someone at the helm who understands the club, the players and the Brentford way. That may change depending on results, but Warburton has done enough to be the next manager on merit and I don’t suppose we will notice anything different in Saturday’s display against Oldham.
The only potential issue is hole left by his departure from the Sporting Director role, but the, again, sensible caveat that the manager’s job is at least until the end of the season, will give Matthew Benham some available wriggle room.
So it’s Mark Warburton’s red and white army come 3pm on Saturday… let’s get him off to a flyer and keep the league run going.
Jim Levack
This article was written prior to the appointment of McParland
