King cannot lose during vital spell (From Worcester News)

King cannot lose during vital spell

9:00am Tuesday 26th January 2010 in

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WHATEVER Carl Heeley does as caretaker manager of Worcester City, he is assured of his place in the history books at St George’s Lane.

Eleven battle-scarred years and more than 500 appearances made certain of that, earning himself the nickname ‘King Carl’.

But now he is leading the club at the most crucial point in their history.

His task is to keep City in the second tier of non-league football, a level they have been at for more than 20 years.

If he does, his hero status will be increased. If he doesn’t, player quality and a lack of money will get the blame.

Of course, it is also distinctly possible the Royal Bank of Scotland will intervene before any of that can happen.

Heeley may have been assistant to Dryden and therefore be perceived as culpable in the run of poor results but he is his own man now. This is his chance to prove he has got what it takes.

But before we go any further, let’s get one thing clear. Dryden’s departure was not by mutual consent.

It always riles me when that phrase is pedalled by clubs to, in most cases, avoid using the term ‘sacked’. Why not just say it as it is?

For it to be mutual, both parties must want to go their separate ways — City would have wanted Dryden to leave and he would have been happy to vacate his post.

Yet Dryden, who acted with honesty and integrity throughout his tenure, didn’t want to go. He wanted the chance to try and drag the team up the Blue Square South table.

However, both groups have still parted amicably.

The decision may have been overdue, given City had won just four times in the league this season, but there was nothing mutual about it.

That tally of wins has already been increased under King Carl’s leadership following Saturday’s 3-1 win over Weymouth.

Tonight, he has the chance to earn the club much-needed money through the FA Trophy at Carshalton Athletic and a shot at Kidderminster Harriers in the next round.

If he can do that, things might start to look a bit brighter for City.