 When Berwick Rangers recorded a 1-0 win at Central Park on Saturday, some two years after Glasgow Rangers were held to a 0-0 draw there in the Championship, the natives once again became restless down Cowdenbeath way as the Blue Brazil crashed back to the bottom of League 2.Social media and local pubs rang with discontent as fans of the Fife club once again wondered how a team could go from the second tier to the brink of Lowland League football in under 24 months. Fingers again are being pointed at young Cowden manager and ex-Hearts coach Liam Fox, appointed at the start of the season as a replacement for Colin Nish, while Fox's lack lustre side have been accused of playing for individual moves rather than the local jersey. Nobody is under any illusion Cowdenbeath and other Scottish League Two sides are a shop window for young players full of desire for better things but as one Fifer ranted on Saturday at the Kingdom Maracana: "If ye canny dae it here you'll no' dae it anywhere else!!'' Cowden Director David Allan tried to stem fears of the drop on Cowdenbeath FC social media but it is unlikely that continued explanations regarding difficulties surrounding ground ownership (the club now rent the ground they built 100 years ago), Bosman rules that mean it is harder to hang onto players these days and get fees for them and public apathy, all flagged up by the fan turned board member, will cut ice with the quick fix fan of 21st Century Scottish football, in fact 21st Century football anywhere these days! Mr Allan stopped short at answering the question: "will the board stick with the current manager until the end of the season?" as he was posting as an individual but with rumours abounding in Fife that the Jambos are paying Fox's wages and grooming him for a coaching role back at Tynecastle it would seen "project young boss" is still a long way from being a success at Cowdenbeath. The Blue Brazil have admitted it cuts deep into their budget to fund a new manager once an unsuccessful one goes past his dugout life. Could the solution be sitting on their board? Jimmy Calderwood was appointed as a Director at Cowden last season but so far there is no sign of the ex-Birmingham City Scot, who also played in Holland, pulling on the manager's jacket although surely the dreaded vote of confidence can't be far away for Liam Fox! We have said before on this page it is perm any one from five for the drop to non-league football this season from Scottish League Two and although there are local fears that Cowdenbeath FC might fold should they drop out of the Scottish League for the first time since entering in 1905 club officials have pointed to East Stirlingshire's successful regeneration in the Lowland League this season (currently 2nd) and there is an SPFL parachute payment to any club that drops down to Lowland or Highland League level via the end of season play off. Cowdenbeath are geographically fixed in Lowland League territory should they go out of Scottish League Two but 'Beath fans with still fresh memories of fixtures at Ibrox, Tynecastle and the Falkirk Stadium recoil in horror at the prospect of trips to Galashiels, Forthbank (but for games v Stirling University) and Selkirk etc. In many ways they are no worse than midweek games at Forfar, Annan or Berwick but Scottish League football is one of the few things that keeps Cowdenbeath, a town decimated by every recession since Margaret Thatcher was elected to power in 1979, on the map these days. Should Cowden remain bottom for the rest of the month one gets the feeling that after many years of Stock Car Racing in Cowdenbeath Fox Hunting may suddenly be an additional sport down Central Park way! |
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