So, it finally happened. The love affair that most Hereford fans had with Paul Caddis has come to an end. For what it’s worth, here are my thoughts.
When he was appointed, I was prepared to put aside my natural antipathy towards someone who had Celtic connections!
If memory serves me correctly, he was appointed a couple of weeks before the end of the season and one of his first actions was to look at our current squad and make the decision on our retained list for the following season. The final match of the season saw us hammered by Blyth Spartans, who had already been relegated. That took some guts. Over the next two seasons he improved the club beyond all recognition, to the extent that at the end of last season, we actually had a chance of making the playoffs until the penultimate match of the season.
The perceived wisdom is that things began to unravel during the close season, when he was in the frame for both the Fylde and Patrick Thistle managers’ jobs. I don’t think anyone can blame him for expressing an interest in either job, because he was born in the Glasgow area and lives in the north west. However, this has had the effect that our recruitment for this season was delayed due to the uncertainty over who was going to be in charge. Any player with half a brain would probably have done some research on what was happening behind the scenes, and possibly even asked the interviewing team what their plans were for the season ahead. It is that which seems to be the root cause of most of our problems this season.
Thinking about the season as a whole, there have been few highlights. However, I think Caddis’s finest moment came in our darkest moment of the season. His response to the racist abuse aimed at the Sporting Khalsa goalkeeper was exemplary, and he made his point in no uncertain terms. When all is said and done, though, it’s the performance on the pitch that dictates whether a manager is a success or not. It is clear that our performances this season have not been good enough, and at the moment our future in the National League North is extremely precarious. There are some who felt that he should have been sacked after the capitulation at home to Southport in November, and at any point since.
There has been a lot of water under the bridge (and on our pitch, but that’s another issue) over the past few weeks. All in all, I would give Caddis 7/10. He gave us hope and belief again, even if it didn’t end well.
Chris Jones
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