Club Statement

[David Holden]

Andy Ford has decided to step down as manager of Gravesend & Northfleet F.C..

 

The Board of Directors have issued the following statement:

 

We are extremely saddened by the departure of Andy Ford. This club has come a long way in recent years and the main driving force behind that has been Andy and the success he has brought on the pitch. We have the utmost respect for him both as a person and as a manager and would like to put on record our appreciation of all that he has done. He is the best manager the club has ever had.

[Harry J Allstars]

Quote:

He is the best manager the club has ever had.

Second that!

[Fleetbabe]

I agree too.

[Number 8]

A short n sweet statement. Looks sincere enough to me.. Not too buzzed up about the Macca twins taking the helm though, hope I'm very wrong...!!

 

Gotta say, Steve looked pretty cherpy last night, nott too ill, so should be fighting fit any time soon.

[Fleetbabe]

They'll do fine. Have faith in all things Macca!

 

They said he'll be out for 10 days, and that was from the Eastbourne tie at home, so that's......um...... today!

[Number 8]

Yeah but... You can't tell me that the other players will take them at all seriously, especially Paul, as he is a puppy in the team (as in new). You need someone in absolute authority to gee up the players and get them working HARD.. it's the only way to get the job done properly.

 

As I said previously, hope I'm very wrong. I guess it's a wait and see situation..

[Fleetbabe]

They'll no doubt listen to Steve, 'cause he's the captain, and they should listen to Paul, as he's very authoritave when it comes to commanding the back 4 during games.

[Number 8]

I agree with you in many respects but... who will be able to boost the moral of the team..? It will be tough for all who play to give a solid performance when they are all bewildered by recent events.. We lost focus when Andy was in charge, christ knows how we will adapt now he has left.. Just hope and pray we can hold onto our mid-table spot...!!

[Fleetbabe]

Well surely the team will pull together.

 

The morale can be kept up because a team can feed off of a positive attitude, so therefore if steve and paul stay positive, and the longer serving members of the team, such as skins, show their support, we should be alright.

[Stu M]

Steve and Paul are only a short-term solution, temporarily in charge while the club takes stock. I don't think we should worry too much - let's face it, we're going NOWHERE this season, so let's not panic (as long as we're not dragged into a relegation battle), and give everyone time to adjust.

[Fleetbabe]

Ok, they're only short term, but keeping the team morale up, and getting the squad playing well again now falls to them. A little bit of encouragement from the older members of the squad, (and I mean those who have been there the longest, as I said before), such as Skins and Jacko, will help make the transition as smooth as possible.

[Number 8]

Very philosophical FB, I suppose we all need to be upbeat about the whole situation, so excuse my past comments.... just worried we will lose the grip on our competition focus and fall desperately into the pits of Conf Sth footy...!

[American FLEET FAN No1]

I am not trying to start an arguement, but,the one thing that seems to be missing from the team lately is morale.How can you keep up what isn't there?

I know i have to listen from afar, but the one thing that comes over from everything that i read and hear is the team has lost confidence. If the team have no confidence with a manager like Andy Ford i don't think they will do very well with players acting as stop gap managers. The sooner the club appoint an experience manager, the better!

[Number 8]

Exactly my point AFF.. thought I was the only one who was worried bout this...!!

[AFF]

Oi!

 

There's only one AFF and I'm him.

 

Good luck to you Fleet fans from me.

[Number 8]

Allo AFF #1, cheers for your support.

[Big J R]

Quote:

Allo AFF #1, cheers for your support.

[color:"red"] He'll wear it all the time !! [color:"black"]

<img src="/forum/images/graemlins/bootyshake.gif" alt="" />

[ColtheJock]

Well it is a short and sweet statement from the club. Andy Ford was the best manager and has taken the club well towards what must be our ultimate short term goal of league football. I assume that the board were not totally shocked by his resignation last night, and it will be interesting to see how long it takes a replacement to materialise. I suppose putting McKimm and McCarthy in charge of team affairs was the only short term solution available given that we had no assistant manager. Could Pennock be tempted back from Welling???? Let's hope that team morale does not suffer, but we need to start winning soon or we could get sucked into a relegation fight which we don't deserve or need.

[Stu B]

Cheers for everything Andy,gutted you've gone <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />