There has never been a season without controversial decision from the football clubs when they sack a manager for losing a league match or appoint some foreigner from the far east as the new one. Here is a small compilation of 5 of the most Strangest managerial appointments and sackings over the years.
Being a professional football coach is one of the really high responsibility, high stress occupations in the world of sport. Nobody goes into it for the job security. Coaches are held responsible for the results of the team, and when it is under-performing the guy in the dugout is usually the first to go so that a new guy can come on and take a fresh look at the problems. Fans have become quite accustomed to frequent managerial changes and new faces at the helm of their favorite teams. However, a few appointments and sackings have really raised eyebrows and in some cases anger among supporters. Here is a selection of the five most interesting.
1. Leroy Rosenior lasts all of 10 minutes as manager of Torquay
In 2007, Leroy Rosenior was appointed manager at Torquay. But in less time that it takes to drink a nice cup of tea, he was out of a job again. It was busy times at Torquay at the time and the club was undergoing takeover. The new owners wanted to put a manager close to them at the helm, and just 10 minutes after Rosenior was announced as manager, he was formally sacked. Surely, that is a world record that will be hard to be broken.
2. Harry Redknapp from Portsmouth to Southampton back to Portsmouth
Transfers between rival clubs are always met with fuzzy feeling from fans. So when in late 2004 Harry Redknapp moved from Portsmouth to their bitter southern rivals Southamption, both sets of fans were keenly upset. The insult to Pompey was especially severe, as had publicly declared that out of respect to the fans, he would never manage Southampton. “Judas” was the nicest thing he has called at Fratton Park. At Southampton, he was brought in with the one and only task to save the team from relegation. He failed and sent the Saints down after 27 years in the top flight. After that, he casually returned to Portsmouth. Apparently running the bitter rival into the ground had appeased the fans. In any event Harry performed probably the most famous flip-flopping between football rivals in history.
3. Avram Grant succeeds Jose Mourinho at Chelsea
To Chelsea fans, Jose Mourinho was really the “Special One”. They loved him both for the success he brought to the club and the charismatic style with which he achieved it. So when was dismissed from the club in September of 2007, they were shocked. But it was a double shock when they found out that instead of another big name in European football, the largely unknown Avram Grant, Director of Football at the club, will take over. Unlike Jose, he was mostly dull and uninspiring. Allegedly, he got the job due to his close friendship with owner Roman Abramovich. Granted (no pun intended), he did bring Chelsea one John-Terry-slip-up close to the Champions League title, much closer than Mourinho ever could.
4. Brian Clough leads the club he hates
Brian Clough is protagonist in one of the most famous short spells in English football. He was recognized as one of the most talented managers in England in the early 1970s. During his times at Derby County and Brighton, he was a very vocal critic of the playing style of Leeds United, denouncing their rough, physical style and calling them “dirty cheats”. So it was a shocker to the whole football community in England when he was appointed as manager of Leeds. He lasted only 44 days after failing to build rapport with the players. Apparently, starting the first day of training with telling them that they should through away their medals because they were won unfairly did not help his cause.
5. Guy Roux quits at halftime
Guy Roux is a legendary coach in French football. He was in charge at Auxerre from 1961 to 2005; a 44 year spell that even Sir Alex Ferguson will agree is remarkably long. He built the club from a small amateur side to a team of national and international prominence. Roux is credited with finding and nurturing some of the great talents in modern French football, including Eric Cantona and Laurent Blanc. In 2007 Roux came out of retirement to take the reign at RC Lens. After three games without a win, his team was down to Strasbourg at half-time. That’s when he decided he has had enough and simply walked away, making a strange end to his famed coaching career.
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