Alec Stewart - stepping down?

According to this TalkSPORT article he is going to step down at the end of the season.

talksport.com/sport/1798000/alec-stewart-quits-surrey/amp/

Confirmed now.

Suffice to say since he took the job it's been a resounding success. Replacing him will by no means be easy.

Would like to hope this gives the team a little more motivation ahead of the season for that 3rd title on the trot - let the gaffer go out in style

Obviously, I absolutely understand and respect his motivation and send all the best to him and his family.

But, oh, this makes me really uncomfortable.  We lose:
- A forthright champion of the red ball game
- Someone with contacts worldwide who can rustle up overseas talent
- A driving passion to see Surrey win

I cannot imagine finding someone half as good as he is.

VauxhallRey wrote:Obviously, I absolutely understand and respect his motivation and send all the best to him and his family.

The service this club has had from father and son is astounding.

Retirement well deserved.

I wish Alec and his family all the best for the future. He has done a great job and will be very difficult to replace, though the job is an attractive one. I imagine Alec will be consulted on his successor. My instinct is against Batty stepping up as I suspect his talents lie in managing the players, which he excels at, rather than an executive function.

Agreed. Plus we need someone with an outstanding network within the world game.

There'll be no end of top quality suitors who will want the job, just a case of who the right person is.

With the two Dicks at the ECB it only makes sense Stewie will end up there.

Very best of luck to him! He has served Surrey incredibly well.

Great guy, he will be greatly missed. And he may be retiring from Surrey, but he has a sick wife to look after. Believe me and I know, it's not retirement. Like all here I wish him and his family all the very best for the future.

Next Chelsea Manager.

Next Leader of Conservative Party.

VicNorth wrote:Next Leader of Conservative Party.

Unlikely he'll take any job, especially the ECB. I daresay he will stay close to Surrey in an advisory capacity.

As for Tory leader - well I doubt the Tory Party will survive post Election. Whoops sorry, wrong thread!

The appointment of Alec Stewart as Director of Cricket was one of the most important and influential appointments in SCCC history all those years ago when we were very much on the slide after the debacle years of Adams, Hamilton-Brown etc.However we must all accept that he has made the right decision now in making his family his number one priority.
He is going to be virtually impossible to replace. What he has done shows without doubt that his successor must bleed "Surrey" as Alec has always shown. I think this successor must also come from the Surrey family as AS has called it, and therefore I think it is not sensible to rule out someone like Gareth Batty. Obviously he would be young to take on the role but his love of our club can never be questioned. Like AS he hates it when we lose and I would imagine he would gladly devote his working life to the role of DOC. I accept that he may not yet have the same contacts as AS but they have worked together so long that I am convinced he would do an excellent job. If we retain the CC title again this summer, there should be a clear argument to continue with the management team as much as possible. We could get another good coach to replace Batty but under his overall leadership in the cricket area.

VicNorth wrote:Next Leader of Conservative Party.

What has the poor guy done to deserve that? Or Chelsea manager, which must be close to an oxymoron. Though I suppose either would probably only delay retirement by a few months.

He has put his life and soul into Surrey and England cricket and I can only wish him and his family the best of fortune in what I suspect is not going to be a complete retirement from working life.

I once heard Geoff Cooke, the man who dragged English rugby kicking and screaming into the 1950’s, proclaim that ‘the graveyard is full of indispensable people.’ Stewie is as close as you can get.