The New Owner Curse

A day after meeting with the new owners Steve Cotterill has been sacked as manager of Nottingham Forest.

The Al-Hasawi family have decided to dismiss Cotterill after just 9 months in charge at the City Ground.

Nottingham Forest released a statement: “After long deliberations the owners have decided to make a new appointment in a bid to deliver their long-term vision.”

“The club would like to acknowledge their gratitude to Mr Cotterill for guiding it through an extremely difficult period and for retaining the side’s Championship status last season.”

Steve Cotterill isn’t the only manager in the Championship to have been shown the exit door by new owners. Watford parted company with Sean Dyche a few days after the Pozzo family purchased the Vicarage Road club.

It is certainly understandable new owners have new visions of where to take the club but it always seems unfair for the manager making way having battled against financial restrictions to deliver their best when things are at their worst.

Both Dyche and Cotterill had their hard work recognised and appreciated by the new owners of their respective former clubs however that will be of no consolation to the two men departing for the job centre.

As we see more and more foreign owners and investors, particularly from the Arab States, heading for the English leagues we are going to be seeing more managers clearing their desks.

Mark Hughes and Neil Warnock have both been casualties of new owners wanting a new regime although both were given a chance to prove their worth under new owners you can only feel that their days at the helm were numbered.

In a cruel twist of irony Hughes was the man that QPR owner Tony Fernandes chose to replace Warnock at Loftus Road.

In the Championship new rich investors will always be welcomed to boost club’s hopes of heading upwards to the Premier League, therefore inevitably the managerial roundabout looks like it will spin faster than ever.

Sam Jewell

@sw_jewell

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Comments

[Martin]

Good article, but lets not forget the reality. The managers get paid off enormous amounts of money...
no tears here for ineptitude. If the managers cant motivate 11 men to kick the ball straight, then perhaps Arabs etc are the best thing to happen to English football

No excuses for average please. Football fans demand more