We may have only just completed the first week in September but already two Football League managers have been relieved of their duties. Peterborough United and Doncaster Rovers have decided to make changes and undoubtedly many more will follow suit.
The first casualty was Posh boss Dave Robertson, who was dismissed by owner Darragh MacAnthony after one win in six games at the start of this season. Over the summer he was handed a three-year deal after impressing in caretaker charge. Yesterday Doncaster showed Paul Dickov (pictured above) the door following another disappointing start. Their aim is promotion and clearly felt the Scot wasn’t taking them in that direction.
Last season the average tenure of sacked managers was at its lowest for 23 years according to The Guardian at just 1.23 years. 20 of the 47 sackings last season came in the pressurised Championship. We take a look at three Football League bosses who could nervously fear the chop.
Gary Bowyer (Blackburn Rovers)
There is no doubt that Blackburn Rovers are a big club at Championship level, any side that has won the Premier League in the relatively recent history would also fit into that bracket. Regardless of finances, the Ewood Park faithful will expect their team to be competitive and looking to push towards the top of the table. 9th place was a decent finish for Blackburn last season but there was always still a few disgruntled mumblings coming out of the club. It has been a slow start to this season for Rovers, and there were heavy rumours a few weeks ago that Bowyer had indeed been sacked. This has been dismissed as speculation, but nevertheless, those rumours don’t materialise if things are going well. Bowyer’s record isn’t dismal but it largely consistently inconsistent. Having been in charge since May 2013, he has already bypassed the average time in management at present. Chairman and owners are prone to panic, perhaps a change isn’t too far away.
Tony Humes (Colchester United)
Fresh in the memory is the final day of the League One season, when Colchester secured a 1-0 win over Preston to ensure they avoided relegation. Manager Tony Humes said after that game that he wanted to add experience to his squad over the summer, to try and avoid a similar relegation struggle in this campaign. The likes of George Elokobi, Darren Ambrose, Owen Garven and Joe Edwards have all come into the club, however it has still been a poor start to the season. As mentioned with Bowyer, chairmen are prone to panicking and making rash decisions. The warning signs are already there for Colchester and Humes, so the easy decision would be to make a change. Hopefully he is given the time to really stamp his authority on the team, he still technically hasn’t had one full season in charge yet. There are currently without a victory and the next four games read Chesterfield, Sheffield United, Gillingham and Swindon. They sit 8th, 4th, 1st and 7th in the league so this next month could be crucial for Colchester and the future of their manager.
Martin Allen (Barnet)
It has been a challenging start to the season for last season’s National League winners and Barnet find themselves just outside the relegation zone after six games. Whilst it is natural to think that promoted sides coming into the next level can struggle occasionally, it is well-known that the jump from National League into League Two isn’t as big of a gap as it used to be. Barnet are used to winning and will be disappointed not to continue that into the next season. They were promoted with Bristol Rovers, who sit in 10th place after their strong start to the season. Allen is a manager that isn’t known for extending his stay longer than he has to. Throughout his career, his longest spell in management has been just over two years whilst at Brentford. This spell at Barnet is already his second longest in terms of games managed. Barnet as a club has struggled in League Two when plying their trade in that league for some time now. Allen will be hoping results change fast, otherwise he too will find himself out of work. He’ll believe he can turn it around, but once again it remains to be seen if Mr Chairman presses the panic button.
