Championship Sack-A-Thon: Forest and Blackburn wield the axe

27Dec 2012

England - The Championship

Mike Norman reports on the latest managerial casualties in the second tier of English football...

Winning! It gets you the sack these days, or at least it does if you are Sean O'Driscoll.

O'Driscoll's Christmas reward for leading Nottingham Forest to the brink of the Championship play-offs after beating in-form Leeds United on Boxing Day was to get the sack.

Blackburn boss Henning Berg took note, and thought if winning games got you the sack then he better lose at Middlesbrough. Rovers did lose, and Berg was sacked too just 57 days into his reign. I suppose you could say that his style of play lacked some variety!

For O'Driscoll his sacking must be a bitter pill to swallow. The former Doncaster boss was appointed in the summer and was handed the task of building a side capable of challenging for promotion. After yesterday's 4-2 win over Leeds, Forest moved to within one point of the play-off places with virtually half the season remaining.

Forest chairman Fawaz Al Hasawi himself stated that O'Driscoll was, "Unlucky to have lost his job with the team just one point away from the top six." Unlucky as in he walked under a ladder shortly after the game, or unlucky as in Forest already had a replacement lined-up?

The latter certainly seems the case with Al Hasawi later tweeting, "Made contact with PL manager tonight. Meeting Thursday."

Both Roy Keane and Roberto di Matteo are amongst the names being touted as that Premier League manager Al Hasawi is meeting with today; the former would be a popular appointment at the City Ground having started his career in England with Forest, whilst the latter, who guided Chelsea to Champions League glory just eight months ago, would seem the logical choice.

Nottm Forest are available to back at just 5.6 in the Promotion market, which does include being promoted via the play-offs.

Over in Lancashire, the sacking of Berg is only less surprising because of the owners at the club rather than the fact that the Norwegian had won just one of his 10 games in charge. Let's be honest, if Steve Kean can get the sack (ok, forced to resign if you want) for being just two points off the top of the table what chance did Berg stand after his slow start in his new role?

But what did Venky's expect of a man with little managerial experience and no transfer window to operate in? Just what could Berg have done differently in just 57 days, what could any manager have done in just 57 days under the same circumstances?

Rovers are now 21 points behind Championship leaders Cardiff though they are just eight points off a play-off place. They can be backed at 12.0 to be promoted and as short as 4.6to finish the season in the top six.

Mark Hughes is being mentioned in some quarters as the man to return to Ewood Park with the owners expecting to make a quick appointment.

These two latest sackings once again raise the question about foreign owners in English football. Do they expect success too early and are they too quick to act when results aren't going so well? Let us know your thoughts below.