For a lot of people, the New Year is a time for new beginnings…and it seems many football clubs have decided to take the same approach.
Despite the festivity that engulfs the country this time of year, many managers find themselves out of a job. Since Christmas Day, a little over two weeks ago, 11 managers across the four leagues have left their club. But what is it that has lead Chairmen to get rid of their managers at such a vital part of the season? What reasons have they given for deciding to go with a ‘different approach’? I’ve ‘bolded-up’ the reasons so it’s easier to compare each departure.
The mass exodus began on December 29th when Brian Laws was shown the door by Burnley. The reason for his departure was that the club wanted ‘a different direction’ as they looked for a return to the Premier League. However, it is worth pointing out that Burnley are ninth in the league, two points off the play-offs and lost just once this season.
Just a couple of hours later, ‘sacking fever’ reached neighbours Preston, who said farewell to Darren Ferguson. With the club bottom of the league, five points adrift of safety, the board felt a new manager ‘might bring better fortune’. ‘Fergie Jr’ took charge in January last year, but had only won 13 out of 49 games. Former Hull boss Phil Brown has been hand the task of avoiding relegation.
New Year’s Day was the scene of the next sacking, when Crystal Palace boss George Burley left the club following their 3-0 defeat to rivals Millwall. Despite only seven months in charge, Burley was unable to steer Palace clear of the relegation zone. The reason for his departure – simply ‘things didn’t work out’.
Another New Year hangover that was worsened was that of Mark Stimson, who was relieved of his duties by Barnet. The club is in danger of slipping out of the Football League after they slipped to 23rd in League Two. Chairman Tony Kleanthous says he was left with ‘no alternative’. To be fair, he probably has a point. 91st in the Football League isn’t exactly a great place to be.
After having a few days to recover from New Year hangovers, the departure lounge reopened on the January 4th. First to leave was Walsall boss Chris Hutchings. Sitting bottom of League One, eight points adrift of safety, it’s fair to see why he is now jobless. Chairman Jeff Bonser praised his professionalism, but said football is a ‘results business’ and they simply ‘weren’t achieving’.
Just a few hours later, fellow League One side Charlton decided that Phil Parkinson’s time was up. Now, this is a sacking I can’t fully understand. The club stated that ‘clearly improvement is needed on the field’. OK, Charlton haven’t won in the league since November, but they are still fifth in the league, just five points off automatic promotion. It just seems a little harsh to me.
The trio of departures was completed when Paul Simpson was sacked by Stockport. Simpson, who only took charge six months ago, had won just three times in 19 games – a run which had seen the side slip towards the bottom of League Two. The club said that although they were thankful for his services, a change was ‘necessary’. Fair enough.
Roy Keane’s time at Ipswich ended on January 7th. Chief Executive Simon Clegg said ‘the club had not made the expected progress’ with Keane in charge. You can see his point, with the club languishing in 19th in the Championship this year. Paul Jewell, who has won promotion twice, has been handed the reigns.
The biggest departure without doubt came on January 8th, when Roy Hodgson left Liverpool, an exit that had been predicted by many. A season spent mainly in the lower half of the table, has seen Hodgson popularity nose-dive dramatically. Owner John W. Henry said that ‘both parties thought it in the best interests of the club’ if he left, but Hodgson himself said he was ‘very sad’ at not being able to continue to help the team. Will ‘King Kenny’ bring anything different to a demoralised Liverpool side?
Kevin Dillon was next to go when he left Aldershot on January 10th. Sitting 20th in League Two, many feel the club are underachieving – a belief shared by the board. Dillon left – by mutual consent, of course.
The sackings were rounded up by the 11th on the 11/1/11 when Gary Johnson left Peterborough United by ‘mutual consent’. With the club sitting seventh in League One, most would say there were on target for a decent season, so why would he want to leave? It has emerged that Johnson and the Chairman ‘did not see eye-to-eye’ and were unable to work together any more.
So there we have it, 11 sackings in just over two weeks. Most of them do seem fair enough, with a change at the helm inevitable if the clubs are to fight their way out of relegation trouble. However, there are the unlucky ones like Parkinson, who was dismissed possibly harshly, and Johnson, who can count himself unfortunate that his relationship with his Chairman wasn’t ‘pally’ enough.
I think it’s time to end this article now – by mutual consent.
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