RoverAndOut 4,746 Posted October 9, 2023 While I'm here, marking your cards for a few recent developments in the top 2 tiers that would have a significant impact given multiple picks: Andoni Iraola (Bournemouth) will now face the boss he replaced Gary O'Neill (now at Wolves) having not won a game since he replaced him in the summer. The pressure is surely mounting. Watford swung from one extreme to the other this week, as their appalling start to the season saw them offer Valerien Ismael a new contract rather than the usual marching orders at this time of the year. Since then, they've lost again and then drawn this weekend, to sit 20th in the table, sitting 2 points above the drop zone. Given Watford's history, don't expect a new contract to stop them pulling the trigger before Christmas if things don't improve soon. Gareth Ainsworth (QPR) oversaw a 0-4 defeat to Blackburn at the weekend, which was roundly booed by the home support. They have now won 1 of 20 home games in a year, and have taken just 2 points from their last 6 games and dropped into the bottom 3 on Saturday. Half expected the axe to fall over the weekend, but he's hanging on for now.... 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Old Crem 3,583 Posted October 9, 2023 I just can’t believe Wayne Rooney as a manager. I would I never expected him to go into it and it makes me feel old. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BuffaloPhil 926 Posted October 10, 2023 I think I might get sacked from this game if results don't pick up soon! 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bibliogryphon 9,573 Posted October 10, 2023 3 hours ago, BuffaloPhil said: I think I might get sacked from this game if results don't pick up soon! The good news is you have the full confidence of the board..... 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BuffaloPhil 926 Posted October 11, 2023 On 10/10/2023 at 15:43, Bibliogryphon said: The good news is you have the full confidence of the board..... It's my team so I am the board... sadly I have rapidly decreasing confidence in myself 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bibliogryphon 9,573 Posted October 16, 2023 MK Dons part company with my pick Graham Alexander 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RoverAndOut 4,746 Posted October 16, 2023 An international break means a reprieve for the top two divisions with no matches to lose! But no such luck in the lower divisions and Graham Alexander pays the price for MK Dons leading 2-0 in injury time and only drawing 2-2 at the weekend, leaving them 8 games without a win and 16th in the League 2 table. He was only appointed in May, after their relegation from League 1 was confirmed, and has only taken charge for 16 games. A unique pick for Bibliogryphon, this puts him in joint-2nd position on 5 hits, one behind leader Sly Ronnie! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
maryportfuncity 10,646 Posted October 16, 2023 On 10/10/2023 at 12:28, BuffaloPhil said: I think I might get sacked from this game if results don't pick up soon! Nah, this is the kind of irony we can all enjoy, it doesn't matter how shite we are - we're unsackable and can't be relegated. That's why I bother 2 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
six feet blunder 161 Posted October 18, 2023 Two managers leaving clubs today Mark Kennedy from Lilcoln City and Gary Rowett leaving Millwall 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RoverAndOut 4,746 Posted October 19, 2023 Yes, a slightly odd one this time, with Gary Rowett leaving Millwall by mutual consent 11 matches into the season, with the club 15th in the table. Never really recovered from letting a 3-1 lead in the final match of the season (securing a play off spot) slip to a 3-4 loss in the second half (leading to them finishing 8th) against Blackburn. I suspected that may be a death knell, which is why I picked him, alongside @ladyfiona and @Sly Ronnie! This is my 3rd hit, putting me in outright 4th, with Lady Fiona moving into a three-way tie for second on 5 hits, behind leader Ronnie who moves onto 7. Mark Kennedy is a miss, as nobody picked the Lincoln manager in this game! Up to date leaderboard: Sly Ronnie - 7 Great Uncle Bulgaria, Bibliogryphon, Lady Fiona - 5 Wannamaker - 4 Rover and Out - 3 MariNisia, Commtech Sio Bibble, Diego - 2 Maryportfuncity, Buffalo Phil - 1 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
six feet blunder 161 Posted October 22, 2023 Ben Garner of Colchester the latest sacking.Somehow Ainsworth of Qpr outlasts another manager he is becoming the Jimmy Carter of football management 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
justonecornetto 949 Posted October 23, 2023 Brian McLean leaves Scottish League 2 side Clyde. A hit for @maryportfuncity https://spfl.co.uk/news/brian-mclean-leaves-clyde 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BuffaloPhil 926 Posted October 23, 2023 19 hours ago, six feet blunder said: Somehow Ainsworth of Qpr outlasts another manager he is becoming the Jimmy Carter of football management I picked him, which seems to be a guarantee of a job for life! 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RoverAndOut 4,746 Posted October 24, 2023 Former Clyde captain, promoted to manager Brian McLean has been sacked by second bottom Clyde giving @maryportfuncity his second hit in the game and lifting him off the bottom of the pile! Nobody had Colchester's Ben Garner, and I'm going to compile a list of the misses as they seem to be racking up just as quickly as the hits at the moment! Scoreboard Sly Ronnie - 7 Great Uncle Bulgaria, Bibliogryphon, Lady Fiona - 5 Wannamaker - 4 Rover and Out - 3 MariNisia, Commtech Sio Bibble, Diego, Maryportfuncity - 2 Buffalo Phil - 1 Buffalo Phil's perennial bad luck continues, and looking at his list there's not a huge number of likely sackings immediately - in fact, I think some of them seem to be doing very well just now! But you know how quickly things can change in this game - lose 4 in a row, drop from 2nd to 8th and the axe falls! 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RoverAndOut 4,746 Posted October 26, 2023 @BuffaloPhil THIS IS NOT A DRILL!!!! Cuddly everyman Joey Barton has been let go by Bristol Rovers after a disappointing start to the season sees them lying 16th in the League One table. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/67230075 2 teams had picked the convicted thug and are dutifully rewarded. @Sly Ronnie gets his 8th hit - and is already closing in on the halfway point! - while Buffalo Phil finally gets hit #2 to join a 5-way tie in last position - safety in numbers, Phil! Updated scoreboard below. Sly Ronnie - 8 Great Uncle Bulgaria, Bibliogryphon, Lady Fiona - 5 Wannamaker - 4 Rover and Out - 3 MariNisia, Commtech Sio Bibble, Diego, Maryportfuncity, Buffalo Phil - 2 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RoverAndOut 4,746 Posted October 26, 2023 Looking at Sly Ronnie's team, there's not a huge number that feel unattainable this season. I'd say the last 4 standing could be: David Moyes - solid enough start to the season and plenty of credit in the bag. Rob Edwards - beloved at Luton and I don't see them being hasty unless there's a genuine chance of survival that they feel may be squandered. Roy Hodgson - likely to retire if the going gets tough, but good start to the season. Jon Dahl Tomasson - best chance is getting poached by someone, we don't want to lose him, but the project's changed and it's how long he's prepared to make do with what he's got. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
maryportfuncity 10,646 Posted October 26, 2023 Moyes is in the top ten longest servants, and may well climb the order a few places this season. Klopp and Pep seem safe enough, not sure about a few other highly placed ones. Was discussing with my usual footy mates how soon it'll be before Paul Simpson hits the top 20. We're hard to beat but pushing a budget that'd challenge League Two managers. Also Simmo's fairly honest about the fact he doesn't want to go anywhere, his missus basically saying a couple short of 30 is enough house moves for one marriage! Carlisle offered him a way back after he'd had cancer treatment and it's been win/win so far. One thing not obvious unless you're there is how young and loud the crowds are now, not that young and loud since the mid-90s, so we're selling tickets and making money, just coming from a long way back financially and also feeling the weight of a debt hanging over us from pandemic times when Edinburgh Woolen Mill (main sponsors at the time) went bust and their receivers called in the money they'd lent us. Takeover, with more dosh, apparently going through slowly.So, I'll jinx this and say Simmo's safe and will be something like the 17th longest serving manager by close of season. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sly Ronnie 879 Posted October 28, 2023 Gareth Ainsworth is Sacked. 2 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bibliogryphon 9,573 Posted October 28, 2023 10 minutes ago, Sly Ronnie said: Gareth Ainsworth is Sacked. I was listening to this game on local radio and the Leicester based commentary team were quite complimentary about how QPR played. It was not the walkover it looked like it should be based on the respective positions of the two teams. Having said that the poor performance from the bottom three teams should buy some time for other struggling managers in the Championship but after Christmas thoughts will turn to the play-off places and those that aren't there but feel they should be 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BuffaloPhil 926 Posted October 28, 2023 Two hits in three days! I'm starting to look like the Harry Kane of this game! 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
justonecornetto 949 Posted October 29, 2023 Steven McLean leaves manager's post at St Johnstone another hit for @RoverAndOut 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
justonecornetto 949 Posted October 29, 2023 Nigel Pearson sacked by Bristol City hit for @wannamaker 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RoverAndOut 4,746 Posted October 29, 2023 Another busy weekend on the managerial merry-go-round, seems to be at least a couple a weekend at the moment! The big news in this game was that Gareth Ainsworth was finally put out of his misery at QPR after a 6th defeat in a row and 9 games without a win left them 22nd in the Championship table and 6 points from safety. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/67043438 As @Bibliogryphon says, seems a little bit harsh after they gave the all-dominant Leicester a scare, only losing by a single goal despite being down to 10 men for a significant portion of the game. But, that said, they had very little possession and were apparently outplayed for the majority and the writing's felt on the wall since the mighty Blackburn walloped them 4-0 in their own backyard earlier in the month. Ainsworth's demise was a hit for 4 players, with me (@RoverAndOut), @wannamaker @BuffaloPhil and @Sly Ronnie all scoring! This is yet another hit for the managerial assassin that is Sly Ronnie, who moves onto 9 hits and is just one away from halfway - and we're not even into November yet! Wannamaker gets a 5th hit, I get a 4th hit and Buffalo Phil gets a second hit in a row to move out of last place with his 3rd hit!!! Told you it can turn around quickly! Elsewhere, Steven MacLean was sacked by winless St Johnstone, who find themselves 5 points adrift at the bottom of the SPL. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/67246397 MacLean probably didn't help his case when he said his players should be "ashamed of their performance" after their 4-0 loss to St Mirren on Saturday (although he probably wasn't wrong!). He provides me with a second hit of the weekend, and a unique one at that, which moves me onto 5 as well! But, not so fast, because today has seen Nigel Pearson rather harshly done away with by Bristol City, with the side 15th in the Championship having lost 2-0 to Cardiff on Saturday. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/67256945 This is despite him overseeing a slashing in the wage bill, selling players on for significant sums of money that haven't been reinvested into the squad, struggling with his health due to an undiagnosed neurological issue, which is causing him to use crutches at the moment AND having the backing of the fans, which is arguably the most difficult thing to manage of all! Nevertheless, the demise of the second-longest serving manager in the Championship gives Wannamaker his second hit of the weekend and moves him into second place outright on 6! There was also a missed opportunity this weekend, as Grimsby Town parted company with Paul Hurst after their defeat to Doncaster left them 21st in League 2, with only 1 win in their past 10 matches.https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/67251624 He becomes the 6th manager of the 92 EPL and EFL clubs to be sacked not to be picked in this game. Updated Scoreboard Sly Ronnie - 9 Wannamaker - 6 Great Uncle Bulgaria, Bibliogryphon, Lady Fiona, Rover and Out - 5 Buffalo Phil - 3 MariNisia, Commtech Sio Bibble, Diego, Maryportfuncity - 2 1 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
maryportfuncity 10,646 Posted October 30, 2023 On 28/10/2023 at 20:46, Sly Ronnie said: Gareth Ainsworth is Sacked. I'm thinking he won't be jobless for long. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
