"When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die. There is no middle ground."

Six and a half years and 302 games is the final figures as Ian Allinson's tenure at St Albans City comes to an end.

It was a decision that has been postulated for a while and I even asked him if he feared the sack after the FA Cup exit to AFC Sudbury last week.

His reply was "I never worried about that because it is beyond my control. If the club feel it is the right thing to do then that is their decision."

The chop was announced on Thursday night and while the statement was pretty much a bog-standard one, there were a couple of telling phrases and one glaring omission.

The latter was that no reason for the sacking was given. Not 'it was a bad run of results' or 'the owners wanted to take the club in a different direction', nothing. Simply Allinson was at a meeting with the owners and he subsequently "agreed to to step down with immediate effect".

That was the first of the telling phrases. This screamed sacking rather than quitting and the reason why "mutual consent" was mentioned was probably more to do with his position as commercial manager, that contract was separate to his one as manager.

The second phrase that caught my eye was "the club will now look to embark on the recruitment of a head coach for the first team".

By saying head coach rather than manager, it is hinting very bluntly that there is going to be a change in the managerial structure at the club.

It is well-known, not just around Saints but across the non-league football scene in the area, that Ian Allinson and director of football Dean Austin did not get along.

A head coach would imply having someone involved in tactics, training and all the other parts of a coaches life but transfers, direction, promotion from youth team etc, would be led from above.

It was mooted that this has been an issue. Who actually had final say, or even first say, over new signings during the last year of Allinson's reign may come out in the next few weeks and months but it does appear that the club are getting their ducks in a row, and it might be a new and different-looking one.

The decision also comes in at the start of a fairly big gap without games. Saints have no game on Saturday with their next match at home to London Colney in the Herts Senior Cup on Tuesday.

It might be that the owners and director of football want to use this period to get a new man in before the home league game with Chippenham Town. They may already have one in mind, maybe one of those I will guess at in a following column. They may already have him in.

The players don't come out of this with any credit either. While the Forest Green game was one rightly lauded by all, their performances since have been shocking. There has been no drive, no fight with far too many just coasting through matches.

I overheard a giggling group of them at Harpenden in the first pre-season game of the season which rang alarm bells. A fan was welcoming Munashe Sundire back to the club, with the former King's Lynn man replying "thanks, it is nice to be back".

"No it isn't" came the response for the chuckling cohort. Not exactly a socks rolled up and ready for battle response.

They now have to come to the table. If they were happy to take their money and just drift along this season, then the removal of the boss should galvanise them into action.

A new manager would normally want to bring in his own players, a new head coach might be so inclined too if the green light comes from above.

The decision to remove Allinson came just as I was contemplating producing a column saying why he shouldn't be sacked.

I do get that the results have been poor over the last 12 months. I saw 10 City games since the win over Forest Green and saw just two wins, the first of them the Herts Senior Cup tie against Hertford Town, classed as a first-team game but containing the reserve squad, while the other was the 2-1 victory over Tonbridge Angels in August.

In total Saints won just 12 of the 47 games since that famous night but perhaps more worryingly was the lack of performance.

That said, is a position of 15th in the table after nine games, with the results spread equally among the three outcomes, really a surprise?

The squad was not strengthened in the summer and isn't good enough for much more than a mid-table finish. That may be not what the owners want but it is a footballing reality.

This is a story that will pack in a lot of different twists and turns before it is settled, even if that is only a few days.

The truth of the matter is I will miss my chats with Ian. He came into the club a few months after I started covering the club and I never found him anything other than honest, polite, passionate and knowledgeable.

He never once ducked a question or denied me an interview and for that I am grateful.

Don't think he is done either. 2024 will signal 50 years in the game since signing as a junior at Colchester and I know he wants to reach that milestone.

Six and a half years as a manager is a very long time in the modern game. I joked that the four managers I interviewed just last season at Stevenage was more than the sum total of bosses I had spoken to at Clarence Park in seven years.

Can't say that any more and I, like the rest of you, wait with baited breath to see what comes next.