Monday 23 May 2011

Departing Managers

Thank You and Goodbye
So here comes the time of year when many managers lose their jobs. Many sacked after relegation, underachieving and the others of course who leave by "mutual consent."
Since the start of May we have seen 6 managers in the English leagues lose their jobs. Long serving Sammy McIlroy was sacked as Morcambe manager, followed the day after by Mickey Adams of Sheffield Utd, Mark Robins of Barnsley, Nicky Forster of Brentford, Avram Grant of West Ham and most notably and many feel unfairly, Carlo Ancelotti of Chelsea.
Two out of the six sacked here must feel hard done by, especially Sammy McIlroy who has done fantastically at Morecambe in his 6 years there, including taking them to the Football League. Carlo Ancelotti might have underachieved but are Chelsea really going to find someone better? The Premier League is now getting so competitive, many clubs are going to feel like they could have done better. Liverpool are now coming back into the mix, Manchester City are leaving their mark whereas Arsenal are getting fed up with not winning any silverware and are set to spend, and there are Manchester United and Tottenham looking to finish in the top four. If Chelsea don't get it right, they might be the team to fall out of the top four.


So, with a month of close season now for the players, which Chairmen are going to get power happy and sack their managers in the next month, or who will walk out? Here's who I think:


Dave Jones - After several years of close sniffs of the premier league and several play-off disappointments, I think Cardiff City's board will be fed up with Jones' inability to motivate his players for the second half of the season and in those big games.


Alex McLeish - No doubt he will be in high demand, he is a good manager and with Mark Hughes' contract still not sorted at Fulham and West Ham being interested, he may be pried away from his post.


Steve Kean - After a poor league finish and Steve Kean's obvious lack of experience, and with the chance of major summer Investment, I think Blackburn will want someone with more experience, maybe Mark Hughes could make a return.


Gerard Houllier - with his illness and Aston Villa's poor end of season finish, Villa may look for someone they are sure they can rely on and will be able to get them back up the table. After the massive £24m spent on Darren Bent, Villa will be disappointed with Houllier's impact.


Billy Davies - Like Dave Jones, Billy Davies is a man riddled with play-off misery. With his constant banging on about getting more money, he does himself no favours with the board and he in my opinion already has one of the strongest teams in the championship. I think his time could be running out.


Nigel Clough - Derby may look to replace Nigel Clough after his 2 seasons at the club have failed to get them anywhere near the play-offs. Last season saw them nearly in a relegation battle and lets face it, Derby County are a big club with a big fan base.


SURPRISE DEPARTURE - Mark Hughes
After a good first season I can't understand why Fulham have yet to extend Mark Hughes' contract. With only a year left to run, he can leave without compensation in January. I think a surprise return to Blackburn may be on the cards.


What do you think? Will your team lose its manager? Leave a comment.

2 comments:

  1. Definitely think Steve Kean will be leaving blackburn.

    ReplyDelete
  2. def gonna follow this alot of poeple creating some buzz around chelsea

    ReplyDelete