I think performance starts at the very top of the tree. Unfortunately for us, we have an SLT that have been under performing in their roles as stewards for the club for 2 years now.
I think Des would have a case to say that he has been hung out to dry to a certain extent. He wanted an assistant but the club failed to offer his preferred candidate terms that were to be deemed acceptable. That isn't on Des - that is his bosses responsibility to negotiate the contracts that will see deals get done.
He waited weeks and weeks for an analyst, before acquiring the chap from Arsenal, only to then realise he had an extended period of garden leave to go through. Again, that is not Des's fault.
The club knew that this was DB's first number 1 role in a Senior Management capacity in the UK. He has been tasked with cracking on with it all, despite not having a full suite of staff in place from the get go and without the day to day support of the Chairman who is roughly 10,000 miles and a different time zone away!
We had Buckingham fielding questions in the media in reference to Hackett becoming his assistant, all a result of Williams's poor attempt at 'communication'.
Meanwhile, behind the scenes there have been more and more staff departures and rumblings of discontent at how the club is being run at SLT level.
I am not making excuses for Buckingham but i do think there needs to be a level of criticism levelled at the SLT, as leadership of the club has been extremely poor.
On Des, i am so very keen for it to work for him. My concerns are that the fanbase have been lost and when that happens, it is very difficult to turn it around, especially when you don't have evidence of previous success in the league (or country) that you are being asked to perform in.
If i were him on Saturday, i'd be looking to make a statement with my selection. He needs to pick the players that he believes will be willing to run that bit harder for him. Get players in the side that that are willing to roll their sleeves up and work like buggery for the manager AND us!
It was clear last night that there were players that just didn't fancy it: RR, Brown, McGuane etc. Don't play them. Sit them out. It is high time that Des gets this group by the gonads and manages them with a bit more of an iron fist.
RR has no god given right to play in our side. He should feel privileged to be here after we plucked him out of non-league and gave him a platform to progress his career. Last night he was embarrassing. He had no fight, no desire to track runners and was absolutely dire on the ball. If he doesn't fancy it when the going isn't all on his terms and he has to earn the right, then Des needs to call him out (I sure will be at Vale on Saturday if he performs like he did last night!). He has been rubbish for months.
McGuane is far far to comfortable in this team. He is another that I'd be looking to leave out on Saturday.
I sincerely hope Des is given the summer to build his own squad of players, regardless of what some might have you believe, it isn't possible to overhaul a squad in January and the club have invested in him.
Unfortunately, it appears that some of the current group have not got the mental aptitude to adapt to different ideas and ways of working, and to a large extent that is as much about their characters as it is the Manager. I'd love to see a major overhaul in the playing group as soon as this season finishes. Meanwhile, also ensuring the Board act decisively to get the Manager his assistant that he really wants to work with.
I'd be looking to dispose of the following:
Eastwood
Brown
Long
McGuane
Bodin
Browne
Edwards
Murphy
Thorniley
Findlay
Seddon
McEachran
Henry
If we were to be offered £1,000,000+ for CB, i'd be happy to do that deal, too. His £12k a week can be put to better use on multiple players.
All of the existing loans can go back, too. Thanks but no thanks.
A number of those to go have had multiple opportunities to achieve here over the course of the last 2-4 years, or so. When it has really mattered, they haven't managed to get it done. With that in mind, i would be wishing them all the best and looking to start next year with fresh, hungry players that will buy into the methods of the manager and who understand what it means to represent our football club and those that spend their hard earned every week, up and down the country supporting them.
While most certainly writing off this season, I don't think all is lost with Buckingham if he is sufficiently supported in the close season. Unfortunately for him and the long suffering supporters, I'd wager that it is a big IF!