Why keeping Kevin Blackwell in ANY capacity is the 'smart play' for Crawley Town
By Joe·
After dispensing of boss Colin Kazim-Richards, the decision to go with Kevin Blackwell was wildly left-field. Yet, for a club that have got a habit of making some 'strange' decisions, I feel that the decision was a surprisingly clever one.
It is still very early days for Blackwell at Crawley Town, and it remains to be seen whether or not he has got the credentials - or willing - to get the job on a long-term basis beyond just an interim capacity.
That said, the mood music so far is positive; he seems to have got a bit of a reaction out of the players that he has got available to him at present. A draw against Tranmere Rovers and a win away at 9-man Oldham Athletic is by no means 'ground-breaking' stuff, but that is a bit of an olive branch for what has otherwise been a dismal start to the campaign.
News regarding a potential long-term replacement for Kazim-Richards has understandably been quite slow at present, and I have got no doubt that Town are doing their due diligence in the background. You feel as if this is the most important managerial decision that they are going to make. Get it wrong: welcome to the National League.
To that end, there are two key questions that need answering:
Is Kevin Blackwell the right man to succeed Colin Kazim-Richards long-term?
If not, who is?
Regardless of the answer for either question, I think that Town should be making sure they try everything can to try and convince Kevin Blackwell to remain with the club beyond simply just an interim managerial capacity. Whether it be as the permanent manager or to be part of the new managerial set-up, I feel Blackwell's arrival represents a 'Golden Opportunity' for Town.
It allows Crawley Town to explore a 'riskier, left-field' appointment
It is clear that Town want to try and do things a bit differently. In this regard, their approach has worked both good and bad in the recent years.
I am absolutely not against Town going for a younger coach, and trying to build a bit more of a 'project'. The fact that Crawley Town went for the idea of a Colin Kazim-Richards was not the issue; the problem - I feel - was that they went for Colin Kazim-Richards. There wasn't an inkling of a CV or a track record whereby you could hang your hat on him having the makings of being a manager. Deciding to go for an 'up-and-comer' is fine. You've got to make sure a) you get the right one and b) you get the right structure around.
For this reason, I think that having Kevin Blackwell as part of the management team would make for a really sensible decision by Town. He might not be the one to get the job as a #1, but as the smart, savvy, experienced #2 then I feel he could be a good candidate.
In short: I think Blackwell could be the right 'conduit' for a younger manager to succeed. I use the example of Scott Parker and the levels of success he has had at Burnley and Fulham, and the role that Stuart Gray played in the operation.
Do I think Scott Parker was the best tactical mind or the finished article? Not at all. I do like Scott Parker, and feel that he has developed into being a good manager. However, I think Gary is the 'glue' for that which allows him to perform. Act as a sounding board. Help in the key moments of decision-making. Offer their knowledge.
I would argue: why can't Kevin Blackwell be that to a younger coach? Maybe a younger option that is just starting out in their career and could develop into being a decent manager.
Blackwell provides an experienced Footballing Brain for the club
In the position that Crawley Town find themselves in the league, one thing is absolutely evident: they need experience. They can't afford to go with another left-field name that is just starting out in coaching - certainly not without an experienced backroom team - and so the club have got to make sure that whatever they do brings in extra experience to the club. Preferably of League Two, but as far as having a track record and CV in the game it's an absolute must.
If they want experience, they can't look much further than Kevin Blackwell. He has managed 369 games as a manager in his own right in addition to an envious amount of games under Neil Warnock at QPR, Rotherham United, Cardiff City and Middlesbrough.
More recently, he spent time out in Poland working as part of the off-field footballing operations at Lechia Gdansk, and prior to that was coaching out in Thailand.
He first went into coaching 1999, and so he has carved out a career spanning nearly 30 years in the game. They couldn't get much more in the way of experienced if they tried.
Crucially, that is what Crawley Town need.
They can't make any more mistakes. Mistakes are costly at any football club, but any more mistakes at this football club will likely mean that Crawley Town start 2027-28 as a National League team. They have got to make sure they give themselves a fitting chance of staying in the EFL.
Indeed, I think that having experience is key to that. Of course, experience is by no means a guarantee of doing well or getting success at Crawley Town - I can name many examples whereby experienced managers have gone into clubs and not done well - but if I have got to pick a horse to back in the race when it comes to giving themselves a chance of staying up then I wouldn't be leaning towards picking a 'newbie'. You would always - in the situation Town are - try and get experience.
I feel that an appointment like Blackwell would - and the signs are it already has - bring a level of 'calm' to the football club. They have a tough road ahead of them in League Two this season if they are to stay up, and so having someone leading the team and that is part of a set-up that knows what to do in different situation, a track record of making decisions and experience of when to make those under the pressure they'll face is vitally important.
It would be a bit 'un-Crawley like'
Sensible decisions at Crawley Town. That isn't the norm of late, is it?
I suppose you could argue that pulling the trigger on Colin Kazim-Richards was a sensible one given the predicament they are in, but I'm definitely not getting the bunting out to hail Town as the great decision-makers in League Two. Far from it.
For that reason alone, I think Kevin Blackwell is the smart play. Sometimes, the best solutions are the ones that may seem a bit boring or 'straight forward'. At this moment in time, Town should love boring. If boring keeps them up, they will love it even more.
Going forward, The Red Devils have got to start making better decisions on and off the pitch. Bringing in Blackwell is - touch wood - the type of decision that makes a lot of sense, and so the next follow-on from that is to keep him around the place.
They'd do well to get better: realise the value of what you have got
I am a big advocate for the motto "Appreciate the value of what you have got".
As hard as it can be to get good players into the football club, I think that you should work even harder to ensure that you can keep them at the football club. The same caveat should - I feel - apply to managers and coaching staff.
If you get a good'un that knows their stuff, I think that every effort should be made to try and keep them at the football club. Blackwell is someone that I feel ticks this box.
In terms of experience of the game, success in the EFL, knowledge of coaching, contacts, etc - you name it - Kevin Blackwell has got one of the best CV's of any coach or manager that they've had at the football club for many a year. In many ways, it was a major coup for the club to be able to tempt him there in the first place, and so I feel they should realise that.
Regardless of who they go for as their next manager, I don't think that they are likely to get in someone with a better track record of the leagues than Kevin Blackwell. He has been there, done it, got many T-Shirts and represents a very capable pair of hands to help lead the football club forward.
As such, I feel that Town should try and tempt him to stay at the football club as part of the new management team and find a role that is suited to him. Be it in an off-field capacity 'upstairs' in more of a strategy role. Be it as coach in support of a manager, or as the manager himself.
He ticks a lot of boxes for what I feel Town should have, and what they have lacked in recent years. As such, I feel he could represent an ambitious appointment if they can extend his stay beyond just an interim role.
It may well ruffle a few feathers
One of the reasons as to why I particularly like Kevin Blackwell as an option 'around the place' as part of the set-up in a capacity is that he is a little bit old-school and cut from the Neil Warnock cloth of being a tough task master. I feel they've missed that type of manager, and he might be the type of character that could go down well with this group.
I feel that in all successful managerial teams you need to have a 'ying and yang'. You can't always have 'wall flowers' that are going to be mates with the players, and say the right things. There's a certain amount of tough love which I think is needed. While I don't think that Kevin Blackwell should be reduced to being simply a task master that can enforce discipline and standards through the group, I do feel that having someone at the club of a slightly more industriously speaking nature may be welcomed.
I can force a situation whereby you've got a younger, more forward-thinking, 'modern' coach that is perhaps slightly more laid back and measured in the way they go about things, and having a #2 such as Blackwell as the contrast for that.
He smacks as being no-nonsense, straight-talking, deeply professional, knows his onions, and the type of personality that I think they've been crying out for.
So, there we have it.
He has only been in the door for a short while, but I think Crawley Town should make an effort to try and keep Kevin Blackwell with the club for the long-term. It's not quite Rio Ferdinand, 'get the contract on the table' style GIF, but I definitely feel that there is merit to that decision.
Don't drop the ball, Town.