By KJ
October 19 2003

Today Kidderminster Harriers revealed that former boss Jan Molby was to return to the club. Before we talk about Jan lets pay tribute to outgoing boss, Ian Britton. Jan Molby has been installed as Kidderminster Harriers Director of Football, according to Harriers official website. Jan will work alongside Gary Barnett until the end of the current season.
THANKS BRITT
Before I go into the Molby situation, can I just spend a little time to thank Ian Britton for his hard work for KHFC. I will now recall my views on Britt’s reign at the club.
When Britt first took over in a caretaker role, I, like many others didn’t really think he would get the job full time. However after a few good results, most notably the 2-0 win at Rushden, he was certainly worth considering. Eventually he was installed as Manager, just after the Worcestershire Senior Cup Final. My initial reaction was one of disappointment. This was no slur on Britt, after all, he was unknown. It was probably because we had been spoilt by Molby and his profile. For a small club like Kidder, Jan did give us a bit of exposure.
So after this initial disappointment I did start to warm to the idea during the summer. After all, it appeared we had little choice in some ways, with our financial situation not the greatest. Another point to bear in mind was the fact that, Richie Appleby apart, we had got virtually the same set of players for the 2002/3 season. Early results were good in a way with some solid draws at Bournemouth and Orient as Britt started to make his mark with a new 3-5-2 system. He then made a superb loan swoop for JJ Melligan and Mark Clyde from Wolves and then we started winning. Last October was a super month for Kidder and Britton. We started with a 1-0 win over Jan Molby’s Hull City (seems very weird thinking about that now !) and after some great wins over Shrewsbury, Cambridge and Swansea, we were 3rd in the League and Britt was Manager of the month.
From then on I suppose we were a little too expectant of success but the season carried along nicely really. Britt continued to tinker with the loan system, bringing in Andy Bishop amongst others and we continued to be on the verge of the play offs right up until the last weeks of the season. So all in all, a great debut season for Britt. Now the difficult bit, keeping it up.
Before a ball was even kicked this term, I was worried. The pre season was ok, but after the departure of Drewe Broughton in the summer we hadn’t really signed a replacement. I don’t know what it was but I felt worried. I kept thinking of Glenn Roeder at West Ham. He had a fantastic debut season and then got the Hammers relegated in his second season. I did hear some terrace rumours that Britt and the players didn’t get on, and that was at the Hereford pre season friendly. My paranoid outlook wasn’t just down to Britt, it just seemed like we were very small. Us Kiddykats can only arch our backs in an attempt to look big so many times before it starts to hurt.
However, my doom and gloom were lifted by two fantastic wins and a valiant defeat at Ipswich in the first week of the season. Since that great start, things haven’t really worked out for us. The 3-5-2 wasn’t working well, the defence looked vunerable and the forward line failed miserably. At the time I did think Britt needed an assistant, to bridge the gap between players and management. Then came the falling out with Flynn, I have heard some of the ins and outs and in my view, Flynn was definitely in the wrong. But with the poor results at the time, it was the last thing we needed. Things went from bad to worse with the 6-1 drubbing at Hull and by now the knives were out, as many fans called for his head. a defeat at Huddersfield and we were 2nd from bottom.
Then, a bit of respite, as JJ Melligan returned on loan from Wolves. JJ seemed to give everyone a lift and we managed to beat Carlisle and things did start to look up. Unfortunately we failed to build on that success with a truly dismal defeat against Southend. The truth is, that was one of the worst displays I have ever seen from a Kiddy team. The writing was on the wall really but Britt remained in charge for the LDV defeat to QPR, which we weren’t expecting much really and of course his final game, yesterdays battling draw at Swansea.
So Ian Britton has left Harriers, after over 10 years at the club. Of course, he was in charge of the youth and reserves, part time, for most of those years. I do feel bad that he’s gone. He was a true Harrier. Not that means that he shouldn’t have gone, some Managers would have gone earlier. It just that Ian Britton is someone who came through the ranks so to speak. The same as Lee Hughes, Paul Jones and Richard Forsyth, they will always be highly regarded at Aggboro. So I thank Britt for his hard work over those years. Unfortunately that’s football, and my main concern is success for Harriers. It just would have been nice to get that success under Britt, but it wasn’t to be. Thanks again Britt and good luck.