Who should replace Luke Garrard at Boreham Wood?

At the start of April, Boreham Wood announced that manager Luke Garrard would be leaving the club at the end of the season.

It brings to an end his nine-year stint as manager of the club that has seen multiple play-off campaigns, a trip to Wembley and a famous FA Cup run.

Boreham Wood currently find themselves sitting in the bottom four, but they have won both games since the announcement of Garrard’s impending exit upon the season’s conclusion.

The focus at the moment will be in trying to ensure their survival in the fifth tier, but attentions will have no doubt already turned – at least at boardroom level – to who they may look to as a replacement for Luke Garrard.

I take a look at some possible candidates for the role, as well as identify who I feel Boreham Wood should indeed appoint next.

Possible Candidates

Darren Sarll is one name who has been throw into the mix for the vacancy, with his geographical location, National League experience, style of play and recent track record in the fifth tier perhaps making him a worthy candidate for the role. I feel, however, that there is scope in the summer to opt for a different type of manager and bring in one with a longer-term view; the cyclical nature of Sarll’s career perhaps may not be the best fit.

Lee Allinson is another manager that has been mentioned, and there are a lot of plaudits as to why he could be a good fit for Boreham Wood. His dad – Ian – is a former Boreham Wood manager and is part of Lee’s coaching staff, and so the familiarity of surrounding could prove beneficial. Lee has shown himself to be a hugely talented coach that has worked wonders at Hendon, and so while this is a step-up, with more resource that he would likely get he could flourish.

Lee Bradbury – formerly of Eastleigh – will no doubt put his hat in the ring and with reason, too. The former Spitfire managed to steer Eastleigh towards the play-offs last term and has promotion experience with Havant and Waterlooville from the National League South. Bradbury is closely-aligned to the blueprint that has served Garrard well in recent years, and so he may well provide the stylistic similarity – and all the while fresh message – to re-galvanise this Wood side.

Further candidates for the role include Oxford City’s Ross Jenkins (who has gained praise for his work in charge of The Hoops despite their relegation this term); Neal Ardley (who has extensive experience in the National League and leading sides to the play-offs); and Lloyd Doyley (who may well have personal ambitions to step-up from being assistant to take the managerial role).

Number One Option

Long-term project

Luke Garrard will call time on his reign as Boreham Wood manager at the end of this season, and it marks a new chapter in Boreham Wood’s history. Of course, there is no guarantee as to the security of Garrard’s successor in terms of how much time they will be given to make their mark, but if I know Danny Hunter, the chances are he will give the new manager time.

As such, Danny Hunter will want to pick a manager who he can put time and trust in to build a long-term project, taking over – hopefully – in the event that they stay up in the National League; ultimately looking towards building back to being a play-off side, and then eventual promotion out of the fifth tier.

Ultimately, that could well take – even at the earliest – three to four years to happen, especially when you consider the strength of the National League and how difficult it is to be promoted out of the fifth tier; Boreham Wood fans don’t need to be told that. However, in general they need to find someone who in the first instance is able to improve them into a mid-table outfit, before pushing for the play-offs, and then getting promoted; Matt Gray fits that mould.

National League experience

While it may not be a vital prerequisite of a replacement for Luke Garrard, one factor that may be set out when choosing a successor is someone who is akin to the demands of the National League and first-hand experience of the division.

Matt Gray indeed has extensive experience of the National League, both in a managerial capacity with Sutton United, as well as in various supporting roles as a coach at Gander Green Lane. Prior to that, Gray spent time on the books of Eastleigh in a coaching capacity, and so he is familiar with the fifth tier.

Promoted to the EFL before

For all of the plaudits that Luke Garrard got for the job he did at Boreham Wood, and the relative success that he had, one thing that he was never able to do in charge was to lead Boreham Wood into the Football League.

Regardless of who comes in, Boreham Wood chairman Danny Hunter is a very ambitious person and he is someone who always backs his managers well to go and put together a competitive squad. Thus, while the expectation in the more immediate term (i.e. next season) won’t be to go and get promoted, once the new manager gets his feet under the carpet, there will be an expectation from Hunter that they can go and achieve promotion.

That is one thing that Matt Gray has done before, leading Sutton United to the National League title in 2020-21; indeed, he did so with a lower backing and with less infrastructure than The Wood have had during Garrard’s time as boss. Thus, if they want to indeed scale similar heights going forward, putting their trust in a manager who has indeed scaled them before makes a whole lot of sense.

Given his coaching background, Matt Gray has retained that fascination with a more hands-on, meticulous approach in his work, and that will always be of use when trying to negotiate what promises to be a rather important – and maybe tricky – summer of adaptation and new beginnings after what has been such a constant for many years in Luke Garrard at the helm. Indeed, if Boreham Wood do retain the bulk of this squad, the players are going to have to be receptive to a likely new – or slightly adapted – style of play, and once again Gray’s quality as a coach will help.

Hands-on manager

There are different types of managers; some will be hands-on, and some will perhaps be more of a stand-off type that will rely on an enthusiastic number two to impart their message. Matt Gray is one who falls very much into the former category, and I think that makes him a prime candidate for this job.

Given the ever-increasing age profile of this Boreham Wood squad, there will likely be a high turnover of players in the summer; indeed, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the Boreham Wood team that takes to the field on the opening day of next season is very different to the one that has been taking to the field for the last few season under Luke Garrard.

As such, that is going to require a top level coach who is able to come in and knit together a new fabric for Boreham Wood going forward, with different personnel and perhaps a new style of play. This is where Gray has a number of ticks against his name, with a strong track record of coaching at this level in helping guide Sutton United to the play-offs under Paul Doswell as a first-team coach and then winning the league as the full-blown manager.

Personable and engaging

There is by no means “one size fits all” approach when it comes management. Indeed, there are plenty of successful managers who aren’t bothered about personality wars or being the “flavour of the month”. However, I think that after there is value in opting for someone who retains the same ethos and principles as Luke Garrard.

Matt Gray is someone who is humble, honest and engaging, with his managerial style galvanising Sutton United in their promotion campaign to enable them to harness an energy and mindset that allowed them to go and achieve over the odds. Meanwhile, Gray is the type of character that lends itself to the supporter base in getting behind him from the off.

Capable of managing the handover

One of the trickiest things that Boreham Wood may have to overcome during the changeover from Luke Garrard to a successor is getting the fanbase on board from the outset. Garrard will rightly go down as a legend for the work that he has done – with play-off finishes and FA Cup runs – and so it is only right that there may be a degree of trepidation in how a new manager is taken to.

Whilst not the same extent, I feel that there could be a bit of “Luke Williams Syndrome” about the next steps for Boreham Wood, in that whoever takes over from Luke Garrard is going to find it tough to begin with to follow in his shoes.

However, in the same way that Stuart Maynard has been able to go into Notts County and slowly but surely win around the fans who still retained loyalties to their former boss, I think Matt Gray has the same humility and class as Stuart Maynard in being appreciative of the man who has come before him, making use of the solid foundations that are already in place, and going about trying to implement his ideas in the right way. Think the opposite of what Ian Foster did at Plymouth Argyle.

Indeed, Matt Gray is well-versed in having to deal with taking the reigns after the departure of a much-revered managerial figure. The situation that he would walk into at Meadow Park is somewhat similar to the one that he during his time at Sutton United. Paul Doswell had real success at Gander Green Lane, getting them promoted into the National League and having FA Cup success, as well as qualifying for the fifth tier play-offs; almost a carbon copy of Luke Garrard with Boreham Wood.

As such, I don’t think there is anyone better-suited than Matt Gray to handle what could potentially be a delicate transition during the summer. I expect him to come in, remain open minded to his own ideas while being appreciative of what has served them so well in previous years; all while slowly implementing his style of play and progressing the club forward.