The Top Ten Most Unfair Sackings in Football
Since I started watching football in 1990 there have been some disgraceful and downright absurd sackings by trigger-happy
owners and, in Europe, insane club presidents. Here are ten that stick in my mind. Before starting, I should give a
special mention here to Brian Clough who in 1973 (well before my time) was sacked by Derby County chairman Sam Longson
despite the remarkable feat of winning the league and reaching the Semi-Final of the European Cup with a two-bit club like
Derby. On with the list:
10. Sven-Goran Eriksson - Manchester City
Started: 06/07/07
Sacked: 02/06/08
After a bright start at City, Sven stumbled in the second half of the season. He finished a respectable ninth, which was a
marked improvement over Stuart Pearce's record. This wasn't good enough for former Thai Prime Minister/ Mafia boss Thaksin
Shinawatra who let it be known our favourite swede was going weeks before the end of the season. Fans protested as City lost
8-1 at the hands of Boro in Sven's last game.
9. Sam Allardyce - Newcastle United
Started: 15/05/07
Sacked: 09/01/08
For me, this is the example par excellence of not giving a talented manager enough time. Big Sam had been mecurial at Bolton guiding them to successive top ten finishes and qualifying for the UEFA Cup. At the time,
he must have seen Newcastle as a stepping stone to bigger and better things. If he could make a little club like Bolton a top
six side then who knows what he could have done at Newcastle. However, it wasn't to be because Football Idiot of the Century,
Mike Ashley, took over from the previous owner Freddy Shepherd a month after Allerdyce was appointed and sacked him in January
after he'd been in the job for less than eight months. Idiot.
8. Bobby Robson - Newcastle United
Started: 03/09/99
Sacked: 30/08/04
Not that Freddy Shepherd was any less insane than Mike Ashley! When Robson took over Newcastle were in a slump after two
dismal seasons under Kenny Daglish and Ruud Gullit respectively had left them a mediocre lower-mid-table side. Robson led
them to a fourth place league finish in 2001/2 and a third place finish in 2002/3. However, in 2003/4 -- during which Arsenal had
their "invincible" season and Roman Abarmovich bought Chelsea -- he could only manage fifth place, which wasn't good enough for
Shepherd. Newcastle haven't finished above seventh since.
7. Avram Grant - Chelsea
Started: 20/09/07
Sacked: 24/05/08
Poor poor Avram Grant. Immediately hated by the fans and the media alike for not being "The Special One", Grant was on the
back foot from day one -- no one wanted to give him a chance. The fact he looked like an undertaker who'd spent the last fifteen
years in a morgue didn't help. But Grant made quiet, steady progress. He didn't make any big changes to Mourinho's winning
formula but he got results. He finished the season an agonizing two points behind a very very good Manchester United side
(closer than Jose had got in 2006/7) and came within a penalty kick of winning the Champions League (Mourinho didn't even
reach the final with Chelsea). Grant is probably football's ultimate nearly-man -- he also lost in the League Cup
Final to Ramos's Spurs. Poor Avram.
6. Martin Jol - Tottenham Hotspur
Started: 05/11/04
Sacked: 25/10/07
The man who came within one dodgy lasagna of qualifying for the Champions League with Spurs and led them to two successive fifth place finishes. Famously, he was sacked after complaining that he was being overruled on transfer decisions by Director of Football Damien Comolli. He was replaced by Sevilla's overachieving manager Juande Ramos, who did win the League Cup before suffering the Tottentham's worst start to a campaign ever this season (2008/09). Almost a year to the day he was hired, Ramos was sacked and replaced by Harry Redknapp. Meanwhile, Jol has been busy challenging for the Bundesliga with HSV in Germany; they were topping the table at one point but at the time of writing (27/11/08) they are in -- you guessed it -- fifth place!
5. Gianluca Vialli - Chelsea
Started: 12/02/98
Sacked: 12/09/00
Back in the pre-Abramovich days, Chelsea were an ambitious upper mid-tier club on par with the likes of Villa, Spurs and Everton. Vialli
led Chelsea to third and fourth place finishes in the league and won them the FA Cup and the League Cup for the first time
since 1965. He also won the soon-to-be-disbanded Cup Winners Cup in 1998 as well as the European Super Cup (which seems to be
taken seriously by clubs like Real Madrid and AC Milan). None of this was enough to prevent Ken Bates from sacking him five
games into the 2000/01 season -- which goes to show that life at Stamford Bridge was no easier before Roman.
4. Fabio Capello - Real Madrid
Started: 06/07/06
Sacked: 28/06/07
Ah, Real Madrid -- arguably the biggest and definitely the craziest club in the world. Frank Rijkaard's Barcelona had
dominated La Liga since 2003, which was the last time Real won the league. Since then Real had seen Roman Calderon replace
Florentino Perez, five different managers and the failure of the much hyped Galacticos. Capello arrived to bring some
much needed discipline to proceedings, promptly won La Liga and just as promptly received his P45 as thanks -- which is
almost a carbon copy of what happened after he won the La Liga title for them in the 1996/7 season. He won the league title
for Real twice and both times they sacked him for it!
3. Jose Mourinho - Chelsea
Started: 02/06/04
Sacked: 20/09/07
The man who needs no introduction waltzed into English football fresh after winning the Champions League with FC Porto and
wasted no time in bringing stamford Bridge its first title since 1955. He also won the Premiership in 2005/6 the League Cup
twice and the FA Cup. But, after failing in Europe, struggling to accommodate Andriy Shevchenko and (admittedly) moaning about
anything and everything, Abramovich sent the most coolest manager England has ever seen packing. Like Avram Grant after
him, Mourinho was sacked despite remaining undefeated at home in the league.
2. Jupp Heynckes - Real Madrid
Started: 01/07/97
Sacked: 21/05/98
Heynckes, who replaced Capello after his first spell in Spain, guided Real to its first European Cup in thirty-two years and his
thanks? That's right: an immediate sacking! Yes, Rafa Benitez: winning the Champions League but coming fourth in the
league means nothing to Real Madrid presidents! Heynckes was sacked only hours after his greatest triumph. It makes
you wonder why anyone would actually want to become Real Madrid manager, but I guess money and prestige might have something
to do with it.
1. Vincente Del Bosque - Real Madrid
Started: 18/11/99
Sacked: 30/06/03
2000 - Champions League Winners, 2001 - La Liga Champions, 2002- Champions League Winners, 2003 - La Liga Champions. Games
played: 186, games won: 104. Result: sacked in 2003. Is this the most idiotic sacking of all time? Undoubedtly. That Real
Madrid side was everything they'd always wanted at the Bernabeu: they were stylish, attacking, packed full of world-class
internationals and won everything under the sun. Of course, none of that mattered to Florentino Perez: "Del Bosque was
showing signs of exhaustion. I want to be sincere about this -- our belief that he was not the right coach for the future."
What a complete and utter fool. The departure of Del Bosque marked the start of three trophyless seasons at Real until Capello
came in 06/07 and we already know what became of him. It's one of football's biggest mysteries how such a prestigious club
can be run like an absolute joke.
Since I started watching football in 1990 there have been some disgraceful and downright absurd sackings by trigger-happy owners and, in Europe, insane club presidents. Here are ten that stick in my mind. Before starting, I should give a special mention here to Brian Clough who in 1973 (well before my time) was sacked by Derby County chairman Sam Longson despite the remarkable feat of winning the league and reaching the Semi-Final of the European Cup with a two-bit club like Derby. On with the list:
10. Sven-Goran Eriksson - Manchester City
Started: 06/07/07
Sacked: 02/06/08
After a bright start at City, Sven stumbled in the second half of the season. He finished a respectable ninth, which was a marked improvement over Stuart Pearce's record. This wasn't good enough for former Thai Prime Minister/ Mafia boss Thaksin Shinawatra who let it be known our favourite swede was going weeks before the end of the season. Fans protested as City lost 8-1 at the hands of Boro in Sven's last game.
9. Sam Allardyce - Newcastle United
Started: 15/05/07
Sacked: 09/01/08
For me, this is the example par excellence of not giving a talented manager enough time. Big Sam had been mecurial at Bolton guiding them to successive top ten finishes and qualifying for the UEFA Cup. At the time, he must have seen Newcastle as a stepping stone to bigger and better things. If he could make a little club like Bolton a top six side then who knows what he could have done at Newcastle. However, it wasn't to be because Football Idiot of the Century, Mike Ashley, took over from the previous owner Freddy Shepherd a month after Allerdyce was appointed and sacked him in January after he'd been in the job for less than eight months. Idiot.
8. Bobby Robson - Newcastle United
Started: 03/09/99
Sacked: 30/08/04
Not that Freddy Shepherd was any less insane than Mike Ashley! When Robson took over Newcastle were in a slump after two dismal seasons under Kenny Daglish and Ruud Gullit respectively had left them a mediocre lower-mid-table side. Robson led them to a fourth place league finish in 2001/2 and a third place finish in 2002/3. However, in 2003/4 -- during which Arsenal had their "invincible" season and Roman Abarmovich bought Chelsea -- he could only manage fifth place, which wasn't good enough for Shepherd. Newcastle haven't finished above seventh since.
7. Avram Grant - Chelsea
Started: 20/09/07
Sacked: 24/05/08
Poor poor Avram Grant. Immediately hated by the fans and the media alike for not being "The Special One", Grant was on the back foot from day one -- no one wanted to give him a chance. The fact he looked like an undertaker who'd spent the last fifteen years in a morgue didn't help. But Grant made quiet, steady progress. He didn't make any big changes to Mourinho's winning formula but he got results. He finished the season an agonizing two points behind a very very good Manchester United side (closer than Jose had got in 2006/7) and came within a penalty kick of winning the Champions League (Mourinho didn't even reach the final with Chelsea). Grant is probably football's ultimate nearly-man -- he also lost in the League Cup Final to Ramos's Spurs. Poor Avram.
6. Martin Jol - Tottenham Hotspur
Started: 05/11/04
Sacked: 25/10/07
The man who came within one dodgy lasagna of qualifying for the Champions League with Spurs and led them to two successive fifth place finishes. Famously, he was sacked after complaining that he was being overruled on transfer decisions by Director of Football Damien Comolli. He was replaced by Sevilla's overachieving manager Juande Ramos, who did win the League Cup before suffering the Tottentham's worst start to a campaign ever this season (2008/09). Almost a year to the day he was hired, Ramos was sacked and replaced by Harry Redknapp. Meanwhile, Jol has been busy challenging for the Bundesliga with HSV in Germany; they were topping the table at one point but at the time of writing (27/11/08) they are in -- you guessed it -- fifth place!
5. Gianluca Vialli - Chelsea
Started: 12/02/98
Sacked: 12/09/00
Back in the pre-Abramovich days, Chelsea were an ambitious upper mid-tier club on par with the likes of Villa, Spurs and Everton. Vialli led Chelsea to third and fourth place finishes in the league and won them the FA Cup and the League Cup for the first time since 1965. He also won the soon-to-be-disbanded Cup Winners Cup in 1998 as well as the European Super Cup (which seems to be taken seriously by clubs like Real Madrid and AC Milan). None of this was enough to prevent Ken Bates from sacking him five games into the 2000/01 season -- which goes to show that life at Stamford Bridge was no easier before Roman.
4. Fabio Capello - Real Madrid
Started: 06/07/06
Sacked: 28/06/07
Ah, Real Madrid -- arguably the biggest and definitely the craziest club in the world. Frank Rijkaard's Barcelona had dominated La Liga since 2003, which was the last time Real won the league. Since then Real had seen Roman Calderon replace Florentino Perez, five different managers and the failure of the much hyped Galacticos. Capello arrived to bring some much needed discipline to proceedings, promptly won La Liga and just as promptly received his P45 as thanks -- which is almost a carbon copy of what happened after he won the La Liga title for them in the 1996/7 season. He won the league title for Real twice and both times they sacked him for it!
3. Jose Mourinho - Chelsea
Started: 02/06/04
Sacked: 20/09/07
The man who needs no introduction waltzed into English football fresh after winning the Champions League with FC Porto and wasted no time in bringing stamford Bridge its first title since 1955. He also won the Premiership in 2005/6 the League Cup twice and the FA Cup. But, after failing in Europe, struggling to accommodate Andriy Shevchenko and (admittedly) moaning about anything and everything, Abramovich sent the most coolest manager England has ever seen packing. Like Avram Grant after him, Mourinho was sacked despite remaining undefeated at home in the league.
2. Jupp Heynckes - Real Madrid
Started: 01/07/97
Sacked: 21/05/98
Heynckes, who replaced Capello after his first spell in Spain, guided Real to its first European Cup in thirty-two years and his thanks? That's right: an immediate sacking! Yes, Rafa Benitez: winning the Champions League but coming fourth in the league means nothing to Real Madrid presidents! Heynckes was sacked only hours after his greatest triumph. It makes you wonder why anyone would actually want to become Real Madrid manager, but I guess money and prestige might have something to do with it.
1. Vincente Del Bosque - Real Madrid
Started: 18/11/99
Sacked: 30/06/03
2000 - Champions League Winners, 2001 - La Liga Champions, 2002- Champions League Winners, 2003 - La Liga Champions. Games played: 186, games won: 104. Result: sacked in 2003. Is this the most idiotic sacking of all time? Undoubedtly. That Real Madrid side was everything they'd always wanted at the Bernabeu: they were stylish, attacking, packed full of world-class internationals and won everything under the sun. Of course, none of that mattered to Florentino Perez: "Del Bosque was showing signs of exhaustion. I want to be sincere about this -- our belief that he was not the right coach for the future." What a complete and utter fool. The departure of Del Bosque marked the start of three trophyless seasons at Real until Capello came in 06/07 and we already know what became of him. It's one of football's biggest mysteries how such a prestigious club can be run like an absolute joke.