As the midterm in Championship is coming closer, the clubs that failed to live up to the expectations can see their owners and presidents swarming in their chairs. Some sacks occurred unexpectedly early (Darren Ferguson in Peterborough and Gareth Southgate in Middlesbrough) and these days some other managers had to pack their bags too…
Brian Laws is no longer the boss of Sheffield Wednesday, after the humiliating 0:3 defeat in Leicester. Popular Owls have gone since October 17th without winning – nine straight matches and thanks to the latest defeat and Ipswich’s triumph they slipped down to the relegation zone. The respectable midtable team that were predicted to attack the play-off zone, turned into sitting ducks in the last two months. Ambitious club president Lee Stafford (who assumed the post in January this year when the ownership structure somewhat changed) lost his patience. Brian Laws, the idol of the fans and the players at Hillsborough stadium will have to look for a new job…
Even though the situation is more than difficult, I must repeat that this move is probably another hasty decision. In the past three years that Laws has been at the helm, he has done a great job with quite poor means at his disposal. The losing side he took over from Paul Sturrock in November 2006. almost made it to the play-off by the end of that season. By the beginning of the next season they lost first six league games but rose to their feet and ended up safe in the midtable. This season they got off to a good start, well-coordinated with the unchanged squad (striker Marcus Tudgay and excellent keeper Lee Grant stayed in the team) boosted by interesting summer signings (Darren Purse, for example…). Still, we will never know if Laws could get them ahead again and create the familiar team spirit and ever-offensive play that adorned blue-white Owls from Hillsborough. Another premature sack…
The second “victim” that fell these days is Paul Sturrock, Plymouth boss. Sturrock is probably the best manager in the history of the club but that was the case with his first reign in the club. He is the man who lead the club twice to the Championship, against the Coca Cola Championship betting odds, in the period from 2000. to 2004. The second mandate, from November 2007. to date is a contrast to the previous success. When he took over in 2007. the team was fourth and had hidden play-off ambitions. In the end of the season they dropped to ninth and last season barely managed to survive (21st on the standings). Now, the agony continues…
The biggest cause of Sturrock’s failure is the lack of money and the budget that is a laughing stock compared to some other clubs. The players that gained some reputation had to be sold fast. Only in January 2008. they sold Sylvan Ebanks-Blake, David Norris, Dan Gosling, Peter Halmosi and Akosz Buszaky. Acquisitions like Emil Mpenza or Simon Walton turned out to be failures, so they had to rely on youngsters. This summer the Japanese consortium took over the club, but it brought no progress, as they signed average new players, the performance is vague and unconvincing, the relegation zone is the reality since August 2009. Still, his earlier contributions left Sturrock in the team but he was moved to another position. As a manager he left a devastating record: popular Pilgrims have recorded only four home wins in 2009 and in the last 47 league games they won only nine times. Therefore, this sack was completely justified, unlike the previous one…
These days Plymouth Argyle will face the embargo on transfers in the next transfer window, because they, as you may suppose, don’t have money. They didn’t pay for the previous transfers…
The worst of times for football in lower ranks…
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