A new era begins at Cheltenham Town this week, with Darrell Clarke officially being unveiled to the media after his appointment as the club’s new manager.
The 45-year-old former Bristol Rovers, Walsall and Port Vale manager takes on his biggest challenge yet, replacing Wade Elliott at a club who are in disarray after an embarrassing start to the new campaign, with one point picked up from 10 games, and are 90 minutes away from equaling the EFL all-time record of games without scoring a league goal – 11.
In this article, we take a look at why Darrell Clarke is the man to turn Cheltenham’s season around after their dismal start.
Experience At This Level
Darrell Clarke was easily the best appointment the Robins could have made following the sacking of Wade Elliott. Clarke took Bristol Rovers from the National League to League One football in back-to-back seasons with a double promotion and also took Port Vale from near the bottom of League Two back to the third tier via their triumphant Play-Off Final victory over Mansfield Town.
He is a manager that is tactically astute and knows how to win football matches which is absolutely crucial at this stage for Cheltenham who are yet to even score a goal this season let alone win a game, yet somehow were able to take a point from current league leaders Portsmouth earlier in the campaign.
The 45-year-old was in the directors’ box on Saturday as he watched his new side slip to a 2-0 defeat to Lincoln City, with the Robins severely lacking leaders on the pitch as well as hardly creating any given chance during the whole 90 minutes of the game at the LNER Stadium. Clarke has the ability to get his sides playing attractive football and that is what he needs to do to get this lacklustre Robins side purring again.
Adored By Previous Clubs
What makes Cheltenham fans excited by the appointment of Clarke as the new boss is how adored and revered he is by his previous sides. Bristol Rovers and Port Vale fans speak very highly of him given his success with each club. Even Walsall fans are able to say that Clarke is an incredible appointment, despite his stay at the Saddlers being cut short due to him being poached by Port Vale.
Nevertheless, Clarke has the mammoth task of keeping the Robins in League One and there is slight optimism that given the two-year contract he has signed, he will stay put if they drop back into League Two which is massive for the club. If the 45-year-old can get the Robins to start scoring, play decent football and have a go at the opposition, Cheltenham fans will be added to the list of fanbases who adore his management style.
He is also not afraid to say what he thinks to the media, which will be completely refreshing to see instead of the usual Wade Elliott “we gave everything” quotes.
Sorting Out Cheltenham Itself
This is the biggest factor. There has been a lot of criticism from the Robins fanbase at what has happened since the start of the season: Alfie May being sold on the cheap, the recruitment not being up to the standard of a League One club, and the board lacking any ambition to keep Cheltenham at this level for longer than three seasons.
A lot of factors have gone against Cheltenham this summer and have contributed to one of the worst starts to a season in English Football history. It is criticism that is valid, but fans must also remember that the Robins will always be punching above their weight unless anyone contributes some serious investment into the football club.
The squad that Darrell has to inherit makes his challenge of keeping the Robins up even more difficult. There are, of course, players who were fantastic last season still here, the likes of Luke Southwood, Lewis Freestone and Elliot Bonds will be looking to rediscover their form from last term. Interestingly, both Liam Sercombe and George Lloyd will be relishing the challenge of reuniting with Clarke, with Sercombe having played under him at Bristol Rovers. Meanwhile, George Lloyd was signed by Darrell on loan during his time at Port Vale. Expect to see those two feature heavily going forward.
The new man also has to deal with the fact the club have seven loan players currently on the books. The likes of Luciano D’Auria Henry, Owen Bevan, Jovan Malcolm, Cameron Peupion, Oli Hammond, Josh Williams and Nathan Butler-Oyedeji will be hoping to impress in training, particularly when a team is only allowed five loanees in the matchday squad.
It will be interesting to see whether or not Darrell will stick with the 3-5-2 system that the Robins have used since Michael Duff and Micky Moore first came to the club or whether or not he will try a different formation. A diamond midfield is not the way forward, as interim manager Kevin Russell tried this and it was not working. Interestingly, Clarke did use a 3-5-2 during his time at Port Vale, so it remains to be seen whether he sticks with it or changes the system entirely to get Cheltenham playing the football that he wants.
Nevertheless, Darrell Clarke has a monumental task on his hands.
Writers’ View
As a Cheltenham fan and having travelled to Lincoln on Saturday, Darrell Clarke has a lot of work to do with this current squad. There are players in the squad who Darrell will love to work with and will rely on the experience of having coached Liam Sercombe and George Lloyd before to try and get Cheltenham to play good football.
It will be interesting to see if the new man brings his own football staff in, and how his relationship with Russell Milton will work, considering he worked with a director of football in former manager David Flitcroft at Port Vale. He also left Bristol Rovers due to a lack of ambition in the transfer market.
The Cheltenham board have delivered by getting one of the best available managers to the club. They now have to back him if he is to be successful in keeping Cheltenham Town in the third tier of English football.
