When I wasn’t lounging round wasting tax payers money as a student, I was at the forefront of the “Swain Out” movement but with the benefit of hindsight, to call him our worst ever manager is a little unfair.
Yes he got us to our lowest ever football league position & I had Latics as nailed on for relegation to the conference in his 2nd season the club really didn’t have a pot to pish in at the time – sure I remember reading a story that at one point during his reign the club couldn’t even afford to buy paper for the fax machine. Bobby doesn’t know how good he’s got it budget wise compared to then.
True, Barrow got the same team performing better with a few tweaks here & there but then he couldn’t produce the goods when given a bigger budget by Whelan (the memory of him spending all summer haggling with Exeter over some fella with a surname like Cecere when he wouldn’t go higher than £10k despite having a substantial “warchest” springs to mind)
For me the worst manager would have to be John Deehan – got us promoted but with the budget he had he’d have been hard pressed not to but some of his tactics & team selections but Bobby’s against Bolton well & truly in the shade:
6 at the back away at Walsall
Completely changing his side for a good friday/easter saturday game away at bristol Rovers in the 2nd div when the club could still have made a (somewhat hopeful) late push for the play offs, getting whalloped 5-0 & then bringing them all back for a game a few days later against Burnley & winning & then saying his selection against Bristol had been justified coz he was no longer concerned abotu relegation
Dropping his top scorer (David Lowe) & Kevin Sharp (for Steve Morgan), playing Jones up front on his own and putting Smeets & Lee on opposite flanks to normal for a cup game at Blackburn. Going 4-0 down, bringing his top scorer on & switching his wingers back to their correct flanks, pulling 2 goals back & should have had a penalty – then saying after the game that his initial selection was justified coz we didn’t concede from any corners
Man i could go on all day about that clueless g!t. Makes me realise how good we’ve got it now with Bobby!!!! ;) ;) ;) goodpost
