| Brazil returns as his own successor's successor |
| Tuesday 01 March 2011 |
 by Mark PitmanIN one of the Principality Welsh Premier League's most bizarre twists, Haverfordwest County have re-appointed Derek Brazil as manager following the surprise resignation of Gavin Chesterfield after just three months and 10 competitive games in charge at the New Bridge Meadow. Brazil now replaces the man who replaced him, with the club in an almost identically awful position in the league but with less games to turn things around than before, and with an inherited squad of players still adjusting to the changes made by the temporary incumbent who has put his own managerial future in doubt with his latest and last decision at the club. Derek Brazil was sacked by Haverfordwest County in November after a four-goal defeat at Neath. The established and respected Welsh Premier League club found themselves three points adrift at the bottom of the table and addressed the situation. Brazil had been a player, and subsequent manager, at the club for several years, but admitted that he had probably taken the club as far as he could and that he had the lost the respect of the dressing room in recent weeks. The club made a surprise choice by appointing Barry Town manager Gavin Chesterfield (pictured above) who arrived as an ambitious young manager relishing the opportunity of moving forward in his career and the challenge that Haverfordwest offered in their precarious position at the bottom of the Welsh Premier League. After just 10 games and two victories however, one of the shortest managerial reigns in the history of the league came to an end as the club confirmed his resignation in a press release and the reasons behind it. "Unfortunately Gavin felt that due to the travelling commitments involved with working in Gloucester and living in Cardiff, he was unable to give the job his entire commitment and felt that, whilst enjoying the challenge of staving off relegation, it was only fair to the club, its players and supporters that he resigns and gives the club and any new manager, the best possible chance of staying in the Welsh Premier." Haverfordwest has not relocated itself since Chesterfield took charge. He knew exactly where it was when he took on the job in November, and although a run of seven defeats during his 10-game tenure would have made the tiresome journey home all the more difficult, to take such drastic action and blame the travelling involved for it is a feeble excuse for his failure to turn things around at the club. His appointment was a risk at the time. Unproven outside of the Welsh League, Chesterfield rightly embraced the opportunity that the club offered to him, but he has now put his whole reputation as a manager at Welsh Premier League level in serious doubt and his credentials for any future position will be in question after his farcical reign at the New Bridge Meadow. It is a feeling that Derek Brazil, his predecessor and successor, will be familiar with. With Haverfordwest marooned at the bottom of the table at the time of his sacking, few clubs would have targetted Brazil as the man to resurrect their season. Despite his professional playing experience and Welsh Premier League knowledge, Brazil admitted that he had struggled to hold onto the respect of his players during their poor form and his exit was not met with the same amount of surprise as his return has been. But the Irishman appears to have had the luck of his native country on his side, and now has the opportunity to resurrect his reputation without the risk of the burden of blame should the club find themselves relegated from the Welsh Premier League at the end of the season. Brazil may not have been away for too long, but things have changed at the Meadow in his absence. One of his key summer signings was to bring former Swansea City and Wales midfielder Matty Collins to the Welsh Premier League as well as to retain the services of highly rated young goalkeeper Lee Idzi. Since his sacking, both players have been swayed away from Haverfordwest by the bright-lights and heavy pay-packets of Neath and, in their place, Brazil inherits an untried mix of Welsh League youngsters, a veteran goalkeeper and an old-pro brought out of Football League retirement.
With nine games remaining Haverfordwest simply have to improve and improve drastically. If Brazil can mastermind what would be a great escape with his inherited ensemble then the doubters that failed to raise an eyebrow when he was sacked by the club in November will quickly forget his failings. Should he fail in the short-term project he has been brought back to the club to oversee, the finger will be firmly pointed at both Chesterfield and those that took the chance in appointing him for the demise of this established Welsh Premier League club. Brazil meanwhile can enjoy and look forward to retaining his newfound popularity at Haverfordwest County. A man with a genuine passion for the club that he has served as both player and manager over the last seven years, he has shown professionalism for the cause by agreeing to come back, despite being dismissed just three months before. The task in front of him and the club is huge. The board must now back the man they recently sacked, and the players must respect and work with the man that signed the players that they replaced. Available points are in short supply but the league is competitive and anyone can beat anyone on their day. Providing opposition for Brazil for the remainder of the season will not be the champions, cup winners, league leaders or European competitors, his side are in the bottom group of teams and can therefore be confident in their approach to their upcoming vital games. Rumours of problems off the field at The New Bridge Meadow have been rife in South Wales football circles throughout the campaign, but they now have in charge a manager with a genuine passion for his club, and his desire to keep them in the Welsh Premier League for a gain not just of his own. During his time away from Haverfordwest, Brazil has been closely linked with ambitious Welsh League side Bridgend Town. He fits in with the profile of the Brewery Field club with his professional background and Welsh Premier League experience as they look to take the next step in their development with promotion. If he can keep Haverfordwest in the league it will be against the odds and his stock will rise as a result, even if he cannot retain their place in the league, any impact or improvement that he can make in this second-chance appointment will only improve a reputation that had little attraction to prospective employers just three months ago. As for Gavin Chesterfield, a return to the Welsh League seems likely, his efforts with Barry Town remain well-respected in the feeder league but his brief attempt at Welsh Premier League management and subsequent failure when he was already a risk waiting to be taken mean the Welsh League is where he is destined to remain for the foreseeable future at least. All three parties will have learned valuable lessons from this eventful season, but the only one guaranteed a positive return is Brazil, it is a sign of how quickly things can change in football. This latest new era at Haverfordwest County for Derek Brazil begins on Friday night with a West Wales derby against Carmarthen Town. The long drive to Haverfordwest from Cardiff will be met with far more enthusiasm than ever before by Brazil this weekend, and with far more enthusiasm than it appears it ever was by Gavin Chesterfield. |
