It was a case of ‘Roger and Out’ at Brackley Town over the Easter weekend, as former Premier League defender Roger Johnson and his coaching team were shown the door at the Vanarama National League North club.
The circumstances around Johnson’s exit, one described as ‘by mutual agreement’ were the kind that you think sometimes only football can produce.
Trouble had been brewing at the Northamptonshire club in the build-up to their Good Friday meeting with AFC Telford United, and the NL Full Time podcast’s Dickie Worton was present to witness the events.
Brackley is a small market town and can feel decidedly sleepy; however, the locals were restless at seeing their team falter under Johnson’s leadership. Having once looked like play-off certainties, the Saints no longer looked like marching into the post-season promotion battle and had just 1 win in 10 matches before Telford arrived in town.
Brackley’s defeat at Farsley Celtic a few days earlier had rubber-stamped Telford’s relegation to Step 3, so they should have presented a perfect opportunity for Brackley to get a much-needed win… shouldn’t they?
They should, but fate decreed otherwise, and Johnson was to learn first-hand about the harsh side of football management, delivered by the very man who had suffered the same fate to give Johnson his first managerial job.
Kevin Wilkin’s dismissal from Brackley in late September had sent shockwaves through the division. After seven years at St. James Park, Wilkin appeared to have lost the confidence of the club’s hierarchy, and a slow but by no means awful start ended his tenure.
Wilkin had made Brackley into a perennial playoff contender; their inability to take the final step and earn a promotion was the elephant in the room for many, but an FA Trophy win in 2018 had given the club and the town the biggest day in its history, so the feeling was Wilkin had credit in the bank.
Not so.
Wilkin was dismissed, Johnson took over and the availability of Wilkin meant he was quickly installed at struggling AFC Telford United, but ultimately wasn’t able to turn their season around.
Wilkin’s first return to Brackley was expected to be an emotional occasion and would have been under any circumstances. Many fans felt they’d been unable to bid him farewell and were keen to show their appreciation; however, although unintentional on Wilkin’s part, his presence heaped more pressure on Johnson.
A stuttering Brackley display in a 2-1 defeat by the Bucks meant that even before the final whistle, groups of fans were chanting ‘Kevin Wilkin’s Red and White Army’ in praise of their former manager, rather than backing Johnson and his team.
We can only imagine what Johnson must have felt as he walked from the dugouts to the dressing room at the end of the game.
Had he lost the backing of the fans? Despite putting together a terrific run of form at the start of his tenure, you couldn’t get past the feeling that rather than losing the fanbase, Johnson had never really had them.
It was rather like seeing the ex you dumped walking past on the arm of someone else for the first time. Brackley fans might long for Wilkin still, but having committed his future to Telford only a couple of days earlier, a reunion isn’t on the cards.
The Saints will now wait until summer, with club captain and linchpin Gareth Dean in temporary charge, but seemingly adamant that he doesn’t want the position, at least not yet. There should be no shortage of applicants…
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