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DREAM TEAM#2 IN LOCAL MEDIA (Friday 3rd December 2004) 
In stark contrast to Tony Adams' appointment 12 months earlier, the announcement of John Gorman as the new Wycombe Manager passed by without more than few column inches in the national media. Gorman was confirmed as the man to succeed Adams in a press conference on Tuesday (30th November) and was paraded alongside Keith Ryan and Steve Brown as his new assistants. The talk over the weekend had been that Danny Wilson had been offered the job but COTN understands that Gorman had been told as early as the previous Friday of the Board's decision and the Wilson story looks to have been an attempted smokescreen to fool the press.Gorman, alongside Wycombe legends Ryan and Brown, will be seen as a generally crowd pleasing appointment while Gorman himself sees this as the chance of finishing a job he curtailed when he quit as assistant under Tony Adams. He said to the Bucks Free Press "There has hardly been a day when I haven't regretted it. It has been a hard year. I was getting pretty frustrated. But I've got the job now and I can wait to get started. I've got unfinished business to take care of here." Fears that the new boss may jump ship to rejoin Glenn Hoddle as assistant at some stage were jumped on by the media and some supporters but have been dispelled by Gorman who has apparently given assurances to the Board that he won't be following Hoddle. He told BBC Three Counties Radio "He (Glenn Hoddle) knows that I've got to work. I'm a man who's got ambition of my own as well. I've been on my own, I've been with Glenn, I've been with many other Managers as well, not just with Glenn, people don't always realise that. I've been with people like George Burley, Joe Jordan Dennis Smith and Brian Little. Also Alan Pardew, I've helped him all along the way and he's helped me."  Meanwhile, Club Chairman Ivor Beeks sees this as new start following a 13 month period where Lawrie Sanchez was sacked and then his replacement quit without even first telling his Chairman. The Chairman will hope he has got it right this time, and said to BFP "I'm extremely pleased and excited. I think we have got a great new management team. It's a clean sheet of paper. We've turned it over and we start again. I think we've appointed a management team that can take us back up and take us on to the next level again. It has been a dream of mine to see Wycombe playing in the Championship and I desperately hope these three can be the men to take us there."The Adams/Gorman combination had been described as the 'Dream Team' by the Chairman twelve months previous but former Club Director Alan Parry has admitted to the BFP that Adams appointment had been a high risk, saying "I felt all along we were taking a gamble with Tony Adams. He had no managerial or coaching experience. He got into the Arsenal first team when he was 17 and stayed there all his career. By his own admission he never had an inkling about what football is like at this level. It was a shock to the system for him to discover how different it is down here." However, Parry was still unsure why Adams quit so soon, adding "I don't know where it went wrong or why. Results deteriorated and he decided to walk." Parry, now described as a 'Club Advisor' after being shunted out in the PLC conversion, believes the Gorman appointment is a safer bet, concluding "I think John Gorman is the man to take us back to where we were. He has got enthusiasm, warmth, character, a strong personality and he can bash the table when he needs to and his coaching skills are beyond question."  The appointment of Keith Ryan and Steve Brown in the assistant roles has been seen as a masterstroke by many onlookers in returning some stability to the managerial set-up at the Club. Ryan was initially moved in as Caretaker following the shock departure of Tony Adams and the subsequent sacking of assistant Peter Cawley. It was a move into the unknown for Ryan but he says he has enjoyed the responsibility and is looking forward to working under Gorman. He told the BFP "The beauty of being in the assistant's role means that I still can be a part of the dressing room and the link between the manager and the players. I want to be involved with Wycombe Wanderers Football Club. To be given this chance is a wonderful opportunity for me and I'm thrilled to bits to take it. As soon as the Chairman told me that John wanted to involve me in a management role I was over the moon. I'm really privileged that John wants me involved in his managerial team. I've had a little taste of it and I would like to do my apprenticeship under John Gorman because I don't think there is anyone better to learn from." Steve Brown has also expressed his delight at securing a more permanent role back at Wycombe, saying "I've been here ten years and I love the Club and to come back as assistant manager is a dream come true. We are lying a league below where we should be and it is up to the three of us to get up straight back up there. The first job is to get the club back to where it belongs and then we have got to look to take it further." 38 year old Brown has been helping out with coaching of the Wanderers' Under 15 and 16 sides since retiring from the playing side at the end of last season and is already working on taking his UEFA B coaching badge. He added "I'm here to help with the coaching and to make sure the players are right and ready. I will be straight talking with the players whether they like it or not." John Gorman was the man behind bringing back the sure to popular duo as his assistants and commented to BBC Three Counties Radio "I'm delighted to have Steve Brown and Keith Ryan working with me. It was something I felt strongly about when I was with them here before. They have got potential and have got Wycombe at heart. They can only help bring something new to the party as well. They help young players as well. That to me is coaching. It's not all about badges and things like that. I've been through it all and I've got enough badges to help them along and let's just hope they have a great career in coaching."However, it will be the on the pitch matters that supporters will now be looking out for and whether Gorman gets the financial backing of the PLC Board that has slashed the playing budget. Gorman is sensibly steering clear of money talk at the moment while remaining positive about Wycombe's chances in 'League Two' this season, commenting to the BFP "Our aim is to get into the play-offs, and we are in a good position only one point adrift in the table. I will play it the John Gorman way. I know the fans the like to see the ball on the deck. I want to play winning football and attractive football. I don't mind being direct but if we do that I want it to be quality direct football. It is a nonsense to say you can't play football in this division. You can play football in the non-league. The pitches these days are very good, particularly here, so there is no excuse." Click here for all the latest from chairboys.co.uk |
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