JOHN Still needs to take a long, hard look at himself. Unprompted, the Dagenham & Redbridge boss became the latest manager to take a petty swipe at Cherries’ financial predicament on Saturday.
The 59-year-old east Londoner has always come across as a personable character and, win, lose or draw, his opinions are generally fair and balanced.
Even in the heat of the moment, Still has managed to retain his dignity, as he did following a touchline spat with Cherries assistant boss Jason Tindall at Dean Court some 16 months ago.
However, and for no apparent reason, humility and respect deserted Still as he fielded questions put by the Daily Echo following Daggers’ victory over Cherries at Victoria Road.
Predictably, his beef – as it had been with Rochdale’s Keith Hill and Accrington’s John Coleman before him – concerned Cherries’ ongoing transfer embargo.
Specifically, Still questioned why the Football League had sanctioned Cherries’ request to draft in Rhoys Wiggins as an emergency loan signing.
Still made no secret of the fact he had also courted the Norwich City defender last month, ruling out the possibility of sour grapes being the cause of his ire.
Even when he was asked for his thoughts on Cherries, Still seemed almost apologetic at raising the emotive subject – but made sure he did.
“Bournemouth are a very strong side and I’m sure they will be working hard to keep in that top group,” he said. “I know they’ve had their problems.
“This isn’t a criticism of Bournemouth, but I find it a bit strange when teams have transfer embargoes for spending too much money and can then bring in loan players.
“We tried to loan the left-back and couldn’t afford it. I find it quite strange that they were allowed to bring in an emergency loan when they are having those problems.
“It’s nothing against the management or the team, it’s against the situation. I find it really strange but I can’t control that.”
For many reasons, his observations were ill informed.
Still is unlikely to know the finer details of the Wiggins deal or whether the player himself would have wanted to link up with the Daggers.
Compromises are often reached on the terms of a loan player’s agreement and it has been known in the past for the parent club to meet 100 per cent of their wages.
To this end, it would suggest Still is merely guessing at figures, particularly as the financial details of the Wiggins deal have not been made public.
Eddie Howe, probably fed up to the back teeth with rival managers poking their noses into Cherries’ business, declined to offer a response.
Three loan signings in a year is hardly exorbitant, as Howe has beaten the odds to keep Cherries competitive rather than gain an unfair advantage.
Wiggins, meanwhile, has already said he jumped at the chance to return to Dean Court having enjoyed a fruitful stay last season.
And if his choice between Cherries and Daggers was purely down to footballing reasons, it is unlikely to have taken him long to make up his mind.
Still took Maidstone United to the Football League in 1989 and repeated the feat with the Daggers in 2007. Having enjoyed a good deal of success in non-league, his footballing philosophy belongs there, especially on the evidence of Saturday’s fare.
Uncompromising if effective, Daggers’ route-one approach was certainly not for the purists. And judging by a paltry attendance of 2,215 – of which more than a third were visiting supporters – it has hardly encapsulated the locals.
The cultured Wiggins, it has to be said, would have been like a fish out of water at Victoria Road – and one with a very sore neck.
Unconfirmed rumours suggested the St John’s Ambulance brigade had been seen giving the match ball the kiss of life at half-time. Spoken in jest, they were, of course, wide of the mark, if indicative of a nondescript opening period.
Cherries defended resolutely as Daggers attacked with bovine predictability, the visitors fashioning the first opportunity of the first half when Brett Pitman caressed a right-foot effort over the crossbar.
A flimsy 39th-minute penalty ultimately did for Cherries, with Mark Arber dispatching emphatically past Shwan Jalal after Steve Fletcher had been deemed to have shoved Peter Gain.
In comparison, the second half was strewn with chances, the majority falling to the hosts. Jalal was Josh Scott’s nemesis on three different occasions, while the underside of the crossbar did well to withstand Paul Benson’s thunderous strike.
In truth, Daggers’ veteran goalkeeper Tony Roberts, 40, could probably play for at least another 10 years if every opponent offered as little in front of goal as Cherries at Victoria Road.
One of his reasons for playing up to the crowd?
“It gets a bit cold standing there doing nothing.”
