The world of football can be very strange sometimes and non-league football even more so. But I can’t recall a case before where a manager has left a club having won promotion because he was dissatisfied with the quality of car he was offered. Admittedly, there were other issues at stake as well, but the car seems to have been a major grievance.
The world of football can be very strange sometimes and non-league football even more so. But I can’t recall a case before where a manager has left a club having won promotion because he was dissatisfied with the quality of car he was offered. Admittedly, there were other issues at stake as well, but the car seems to have been a major grievance.
Braintree manager Rod Stringer led the club to the Blue Square Bet South championship, but was offended by the offer of a second-hand car to be bought at auction and with a value of £4,000. Stringer’s complaint was that the car offered would not be a reliable one.
He complained, ‘I’m sure it is suitable for a 65-year old woman to and from the shops but not a football manager from ground to ground.’ He argued that he needed the tools to do the job ‘and not spend half my life on the hard shoulder on the phone to the RAC.’
One might think that the car being offered was a Reliant Robin, but it was a Kia C’eed. Admittedly this is not in the same class as Stringer’s Mercedes S-Class. However, Jason Westwood, the indignant MD of local Kia dealership Westdrive, who have sponsored the club for seven seasons, responded: ‘This is a clear case of badge snobbery. I can tell you that the Kia has won the Parker’s Choice award for best value and most reliable car. We sell 600 a year and Kia is the world’s fourth biggest manufacturer. It’s a superb vehicle.’
It would seem that Stringer was also not too happy with the new playing budget of £220,000. Iron chairman Lee Harding insists that he refuses to jeopardise the club with frivolous spending and put into debt. Prudence clearly comes with a price.