National League Managerial Change: Solihull Moors

Matt Taylor departed Solihull Moors after a 1-0 loss against Yeovil Town. Thoughts on why change has been made and what happens next.

For a period of time before COVID, I was a season ticket holder at Solihull Moors.

While I'm a Birmingham City fan and regularly attended St.Andrews, Solihull Moors is the club closest to me geographically and heading down gave me a love for non-league that continues to this day. I co-ran a Solihull Moors Vital Football page with a close friend, got to speak to a couple of the players (the recently jailed Shepherd Murombedzi was a big help), went to the awards evening and genuinely enjoyed my time going down regularly. It felt like I had a connection with a football club while my own was going through the kind of nonsense that pulled the place apart for over a decade.

In the years since, I've continued going down every so often but nowhere near as a regularly. Having a life, partner, house, kids, work - there's only so much you can fit in! However, my work with the National League means that I continue to keep a close eye on them. I still care, just not in the same way I used to. It therefore says plenty that the way their 2025 has played has legitimately angered me.

At the start of the year, Solihull Moors were in the top seven. There had been a little bit of inconsistency owing to availability, necessary shape changes, the loss of the excellent Michael Adu-Poku at the end of his loan spell but given their season ended late, they were returning after losing on penalties at Wembley twice and recruitment was mostly done late in the summer, they were getting by, were competitive and stood a chance of making the play-offs again.

Andy Whing has performed well and earns a move to Barrow. This is a guy who wasn't supposed to be appointed as manager when he was - the club were looking for a manager and Eales has promised Whing a coaching role within the new setup after leaving Banbury United. The timeframes were short (Neal Ardley was sacked with the season soon upon them), they couldn't find a suitable candidate to take on the job and Whing ended up being appointed manager, while Stephen Ward took the Director of Football job. Two Wembley trips, a decent start to season two, a friend of Eales, you would think the send off would be a nice one, right?

As supporters will know, we have been somewhat disappointed with our results and performances this season, especially given the quality of the squad. This unforeseen turn of events now provides the opportunity to appoint a high quality replacement who shares the club’s ambition and community ethos and can get the best out of an undoubtedly talented squad, as we seek to reach the playoffs once again.

Holy wow. I can only imagine Whing was fuming when he saw that.

In February, Eales released a statement of his own on the website, of which I will provide notes below:

- the club came into the new season full of optimism and expectation

- the budget was increased modestly

- Whingy had secured all the transfer target he wished for bar one, Gatlin O'Donkor

- our objective was a home play-off spot with a reasonabel shot at top 3, notwithstanding the bigger budgets of 3/4 clubs

Eales' assessment?

- a hangover from last season expressed by management and players

- not replacing Callum Maycock

- higher pressure

- constant battle with injuries

- cataclysmic level of individual errors

- failure to find a consistent solution at goalkeeper

- lacking the same fortune

Okay. So where have you gone? Presumably somebody with a high performance mindset, somebody that can improve the quality of the team, recruit well and communicate well and really get things moving.

Matt Taylor. Really? Interesting.

Now, I tend not to judge appointments too quickly these days. Just because somebody has struggled in one job, it doesn't mean they aren't cut out for a role elsewhere. Enzo Maresca was sacked at Parma in 2021 and will now manage Chelsea in the Champions League. Alex Revell found life tough at Stevenage and then did a really good job with, er, Stevenage. Sam Cox was sacked by Oxford City early into last season and is now doing a fine job at Wealdstone. Still, this was a bold call and one that wasn't going to get fans onside early doors. If I was being that type of person, I would suggest that Director of Football Stephen Ward had brought in a friend to take the job.

He wasn't helped losing six of his first seven matches in charge while his only win in the first 13 came against ten man, bottom of the table Ebbsfleet United. All the while, his interviews tended to follow the same pattern: too many players are injured and questioning desire. I was there live to watch them play Yeovil Town, a game where desire and injuries were blamed, and it couldn't have been further away from my belief of why they had struggled to perform. They looked a group completely lost with what they were being asked to do.

Solihull Moors had gone from the play-offs to needing to keep an eye on what happening beneath them. At one point, Wealdstone, who were in the relegation zone when Taylor left, went level on points with Moors. Three wins on the spin, against Southend United, Tamworth and Boston United, got them over the line with the returning Laurie Walker in inspired form while defenders were stepping up from set-pieces. Time to look forward to the summer where Ward and Taylor can work together to implement changes.

Before the season began, it was announced that Ward was stepping down, citing spending more time with his family and exploring new opportunities. On the pitch, well...

Seven matches. Zero wins. Three draws. Four defeats. Five goals scored. Thirteen conceded. Bottom of the table. Fans chanted consistently during the Yeovil Town game for Taylor to go and Eales obliged, the annoucement being made the following day.

This wasn't unfortunate. Solihull Moors were a poor football team. They weren't just winless, they had no discernible style of play, were one of two sides to give up at least 17 touches in their own box in every league game, are the only side to concede 12 or more shots in every league game, their xGD is the third worst in the division (behind Sutton United and Gateshead but not by much) and their threat was coming from individual brilliance or long throws. They left themselves short of options with Taylor regularly picking players in the 18 he had seemingly very little intention of playing and was playing players in new positions, such as defender James Clarke being selected in midfield ahead of Sam Bowen and Darius Lipsuic.

The frustration is that this isn't a situation like, say, Braintree Town, who have financial restrictions to work around. Solihull Moors have always had a healthy, competitive budget under Eales so there is no excuse for the club leaving themselves so short and having to sign somebody on a one-month contract. I find the whole situation so strange. Has Eales reined things in financially? Did Ward and Taylor think they knew better? Did they struggle to persuade their targets to join?

Whatever the reason, it's time for change at Solihull Moors.

So, what happens next?

For Matt Taylor, I would genuinely be surprised if he finds himself in the dugout again for a while. That's four jobs as a full-time manager that he has failed to last a year in and few supporters of any of those clubs have spoken positively about his time in charge. Having watched him manage two clubs at this level, I couldn't tell you with any conviction what he expects from his teams and his interviews haven't helped fill the gaps.

For Solihull Moors, it's important that they make a good appointment that aligns with the ethos of the club. When I think of Moors, I think of good characters and good people, hard workers and people that understand the ethos of this being a family and community club. It's less of a place to stamp down a complicated playing philosophy and more a place where humble attitudes and positive thinking thrive. It's why, under Darryl Eales, Mark Yates was able to gain success with the likes of Liam Daly, Kyle Storer and Danny Wright at the club, or why Neal Ardley and Andy Whing were able to lead the club to the play-offs with the likes of Callum Howe, Alex Gudger, Jamey Osborne, James Clarke and Kyle Morrison leading by example. In those scenarios, young players were able to thrive, learning to work hard, be humble and earn moves, which created a better environment for all involved.

I think the decision to bring back James Quinn as a caretaker manager is a positive step in terms of bringing in somebody that understands what the club is about and how certain players work.

I'm not particularly brilliant as choosing the right manager. There's a broad scope, particularly with so many development squad managers now getting opportunities more than ever. I'm not going to tell the world who I think the correct choice is.

However, I referenced in my York City and Yeovil Town piece that I had a club in mind for Mark Cooper and I've had this gut feeling since he departed the Southwest that he would be the guy to replace Matt Taylor at Solihull Moors. He is a vastly experienced manager, has experience overseeing things as a manager and head coach and has roots in the Midlands through his father, his playing career and his son. Darryl Eales is also a Birmingham City fan, and all three generations of Cooper have played for the club in some capacity so links are there.

We'll see whether that happens. I'm just pleased this 2025 experiment is over and I'm looking forward to Moors becoming a little bit serious again.