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Worcester City sack manager

11:13pm Monday 18th January 2010 in News Photograph of the Author By Steve Carley, @stevecarleyWN #WENsport

AXED: Richard Dryden was fired by Worcester City after tonight’s 1-1 FA trophy second round 1-1 draw with Carshalton Athletic at the Lane. AXED: Richard Dryden was fired by Worcester City after tonight’s 1-1 FA trophy second round 1-1 draw with Carshalton Athletic at the Lane.

RICHARD Dryden has been fired as manager of Worcester City Football Club.

The announcement was made following tonight’s disappointing 1-1 draw against Carshalton Athletic in the FA Trophy second round at St George’s Lane.

City chairman Anthony Hampson made his mind up before the match but with the trophy clash taken to a replay it hastened his decision.

Assistant manager Carl Heeley, who played more than 500 games for the club, will take charge until the end of the season.

Dryden’s contract was due to expire at the end of the campaign and a pay-off deal has been agreed between the two parties.

The cash-strapped club are currently pushing their overdraft to the limit after going nearly five weeks without income as a result of postponements due to the wintry weather.

Skipper Tom Kemp is set to leave to trim the wage bill and Dryden’s exit is likely to spark a player exodus due to their loyalty to the manager.

The manner of the announcement leaves a lot to be desired. Dryden tonight conducted his post-match interviews before being called to the boardroom to learn his fate, even though his body language suggested he knew what was coming.

Dryden was appointed as Andy Preece’s successor in December 2007, taking his first role in management following a stint as assistant to Mark Cooper at Tamworth, while City were in Blue Square North.

A mid-table finish that season was followed by a switch to Blue Square South and a whole host of changes in personnel as players came and went.

Chairman Anthony Hampson said: “We’re not happy with the results we’ve been getting. We have also looked at the general morale of the team and frankly we have had to make some very tough decisions.

“Richard has put his heart and soul into the club but as managers and business people we need to consider the future of the whole club and we have asked him to leave.

“He is prepared to take his severance pay over a period of time which we have yet to disucss with him but he understands with what we have told him.

“We are prepared to negotiate and make the payments to him over a short period of time.”

Comments(14)

scottleecraig says...
2:23am Tue 19 Jan 10

oh what timing. Should have waited till the end of the season really, but, i hope im proved wrong.

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stargazer says...
9:23am Tue 19 Jan 10

Chairman Anthony Hampson said "We're not happy with the results,and have also looked at the morale of the team.The morale of the team might have something to do with the boards problems .R.D is a manager who has had to work with little or no budget,the player's are on his side (some will now depart for other clubs) we have been unlucky in some games, so if we had won last night Richard would still have been sacked.These problems (with the directors )started years ago ,we have always been in debt and this could/should have been sorted out a long time ago.Now could be to late.Good luck Richard in your new job,prove the board wrong just like Andy Preece has at Northwich.

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Spetchley Dave says...
9:40am Tue 19 Jan 10

I feel a bit sorry for Richard. He is a likeable guy who has done his very best to bring the results in very difficult circumstances.

He has had to put up with all the off-field c*ck ups and has watched his budget dwindle before his eyes.

That said, results have been very poor and the decision is no surprise to me.

Good luck for the future Richard, I hope that you can have more success elsewhere.

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scottleecraig says...
9:44am Tue 19 Jan 10

Yes , correctly put Stargazer. Good luck Richard. Probably a cost cutting decision again i think too

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fairly sober says...
12:56pm Tue 19 Jan 10

King Carl will need all the support he can get. See you all Saturday !!
Judging from the crowd last night the stay away "fans" were a myth.
Good luck Richard - you deserved better than this.

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Avante says...
3:11pm Tue 19 Jan 10

No, the stay away fans have other things to do now, as I said, people don't just hang around doing nothing instead of watching football, they find alternatives. And people who used to plan work around WCFC no longer do it, I know that as I'm one of them. I was in a meeting in Birmingham yesterday evening which was far more important. Thats the way it is.
The only certainty in football management is that it'll end with the sack, the only surprise considering the results is that it hasnt happened sooner. C'est la vie!

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daltonwr3 says...
4:00pm Tue 19 Jan 10

one word.....Rooney

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randc says...
4:46pm Tue 19 Jan 10

Shouldn't a manager be judged by their results? This isn't just about Richard but for managers to hide behind "the budget" as a reason for poor results is terrible. Is this saying that they can only be sucessful when they have money to spend? And if the are sucessful having spent money, where is the achievement in that? Whatever happened to good coaching making a difference? I think it's also an insult to the current batch of players at the club. If there was more money, would they be gone? Maybe they just haven't been given the correct tools to do the business!!!

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GrahamParker says...
4:50pm Tue 19 Jan 10

Says it all about the club that they had the gall to try and spread the severance pay out!!!! LMA for you RD, and the very best of luck for the future.

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GrahamParker says...
4:50pm Tue 19 Jan 10

Says it all about the club that they had the gall to try and spread the severance pay out!!!! LMA for you RD, and the very best of luck for the future.

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Dogofwar says...
6:09pm Tue 19 Jan 10

I feel sorry for RD as he seems a nice chap,but football is a ruthless game and nice people do not always come out on top,that said i think our football at home has at times been too cautious(perhaps thats because richard was a defender)ultimately if we had gone for the jugular at 1-0 last night i think we would or could have won easily.

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Toma677 says...
6:38pm Tue 19 Jan 10

R D is unlucky

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zx12r says...
8:26pm Tue 19 Jan 10

This isn't just 'the begining of the end' or 'the end of the begining'.
It's quite simply 'THE END'.

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CJH says...
4:54pm Sun 24 Jan 10

We have a football team?

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