The Crazy World of Football?

Goodbye Deano

At first sight, it could be said that the fates of Doncaster Rovers' last two managers over the last few days exemplifies how detached football is from the real world. Wolves dismiss their manager and so are in search of an able replacement. They find themselves, through quite extraordinary chance choosing between the last and the current Rovers' managers.

On the one hand there is Sean O'Driscoll. Drizzy was sacked by Forest while the team was in a position for which Wolves would currently give their eye-teeth, just one point from the play-off places in the championship. With Doncaster Rovers he achieved promotion before exceeding all expectations for two seasons in the championship and has one of the best reputations for playing attractive football in the league. And for a cherry on the cake, the man is a life-long Wolves fan.

Then there's Dean Saunders. Deano would have achieved promotion from the conference with Wrexham had he not been tempted by the bright lights of the championship and Donny. He would have achieved promotion back to the championship had he not been tempted by the bright lights of Wolverhampton. In the end, the only league finish that he has on his CV is a last place in the championship. His football nous is limited to a tactic that works very well away from home but not at home.

So who do you choose? Dean Saunders of course!

And of course in what I have written so far, I have missed some salient points that explain the decision. First of all that relegation can be explained. Rovers had made an appauling start to the relegation season while O'Driscoll was in charge and then there was the hair-brained Willy McKay scheme that put paid to the development of the team spirit Dean would need to get out of the relegation places. But wasn't Dean all for the scheme at the time? Of course he was, but the Wolves chairman is looking for justification to appoint, not justification to reject.

This season, Deano has reincarnated the Phoenix from the ashes of last season. Ironically, having joined the club backing a scheme that would obviously destroy team-spirit, he has created a team with bucket-loads of it. Just two points dropped from winning positions; a creditable nine points recovered from losing positions and on the verge of achieving a club-record 12 match unbeaten run away from home. This is just what a team needs to get out of relegation trouble.

And then there's the most important thing of all. Personal recommendation, and here the real world and the football world coincide. A CEO is much more likely to appoint on a personal recommendation than any other way as it saves a lot of hassle interpreting CVs and interviews and at the same time psychologically removes some responsibility.

So a crazy decision? Not at all, just a bad decision for both Wolves, Rovers and I fear Dean Saunders.

Deano's tactics of getting the ball forwards and into the box quickly are statistically proven to be the most effective way to win football matches. That may sound a good thing, but it isn't necessarily. The problem is that everyone knows that these tactics are the most effective so the majority of managers play this way out of preference. So, to win consistently this way, you need a team that is better at applying the tactic than your opponents.

I haven't seen Wolves this season, but their league position would suggest that they do not have a team who can do this. The alternative is to have other strings to your bow such as possession football or playing on the counter. For me, Deano has yet to show that he has these weapons in his armoury and I think this is in part the cause of Rovers' disappointing home record.

Dean may give Wolves the spirit they need, but I don't think his tactical ability is developed enough for the championship. I can't see him powering Wolves up the table and even if the chairman settles for survival this season, I can't see him settling for anything less than play-offs next season. In other words, Dean has a great deal to learn and achieve to avoid not being sacked by this time next year.

Doncaster currently have a team that is on course for the league one title. While Dean was in charge, I would not have bet against them achieving exactly this but now he's gone, everything is thrown into the balance. Hopefully a new manager will be able to quickly rectify the dip in morale that Dean's departure will inevitably bring. But I would rather not have had to take the risk.

I wish Wolves and Dean Saunders the best of luck of course but fear that within a year both will be regretting their decisions.

Posted with Blogsy