UF Quick Throw: Ince is Out at Blackburn

In Happier Times...

In news that should shock precisely no one, Blackburn sacked manager Paul Ince this morning. The Rovers have played 17 games this year, winning only three. They've lost five on the hop and sit 5 points below sea level. A 3-0 loss to Wigan this weekend sealed his fate. In all, Ince spent six months at Ewood Park.

He's the sixth manager to lose his job in that period. The decision comes about 10 days after old United teammate Roy Keane walked out on Sunderland. No word yet on a successor—early odds favor a return for former Liverpool, Rangers, Southhampton, Benfica, Newcastle, Torino, Galatasaray, and Rovers boss Graeme Souness. Ince was the Premier League's first black manager.

Read more on "UF Quick Throw: Ince is Out at Blackburn"...

Why can't Iain Dowie keep a job?

The news has filtered out today that Iain Dowie has been sacked as boss of Queen's Park Rangers after barely five months on the job. It's the third job Dowie has lost since lying his way out of a successful stint at Crystal Palace. Why is Dowie having such a hard time keeping a job lately?


Interestingly, his stint in charge of QPR lasted just as long as his time in charge of Charlton in 2006--15 games. However, where Dowie was pretty bad at Charlton--17 points in those 15 games--at QPR he totaled 28 points in his tenure. In between, Dowie toiled at Coventry City for just under a year. There he earned 68 points in 49 games. (All totals include cup ties which have been given the standard three points for a win and 1 point for a draw)

So, is he a toxic personality? His sacking at Charlton was pretty much a given. The team was struggling early to stay up in the Prem, a goal it eventually failed to reach. At Coventry City, he was able to light an early fire under a poorly-positioned squad, but was eventually released due to differences of opinion between the board and Dowie. Which, if I remember my Queen's to American English translation correctly, means that he's a dick.

As for the QPR job, well, Dowie did not have a playoff place (at the very least) standing. As Bigus pointed out in his season preview, this was a team that was looking to buy its way back into the Premiership. Being in ninth place at the quarter-season pole did not make the bosses happy. Bigus should also be congratulated for stating the obvious--that Dowie is overrated as a manager and has done nothing to keep getting hired.

So, to summarize for the tl;dr crowd: Dowie is shit as a manger, and possibly an ass to boot. Also, he will have a new job by Christmas. The man must give a great interview to overcome that CV.

Read more on "Why can't Iain Dowie keep a job?"...

Of Ye Go My Son?

According to the BBC, Rangers manager Walter Smith and his Ibrox assistant Ally McCoist found out that they had lost 'old firm' goal hero Daniel Cousin's to Hull while watching TV last night!

Yesterday Smith told Sky Sports that he had no plans to offload Cousin's stating...

"He's not going anywhere as far as I know, I haven't had any enquiries for any of our players and if he plays the way he played against Celtic then we will obviously be delighted."


Well higher up the Rangers hierarchy they had other ideas. Cousin's moved to Hull for a rumored 3.5 million last night (the fee was undisclosed by Rangers) and he could make his debut for the Tigers away to Newcastle on the 13th.

At most clubs the manager is the one who makes decisions on the comings and goings of players. Smith should be concerned about his future, as a manager who does not control the team will not be managing for long!

After all this is not the Baseball world of 'general managers', this is association football where the gaffer is the gaffer and the ball stops at his feet...Most of the time.

-Bigus

Read more on "Of Ye Go My Son?"...