There were six managerial casualties in October’s Sack Race spanning across all four leagues in English football. The Premier League lost a character in Ian Holloway, while Tony Mowbray’s time at Middlesbrough finally came to an end.
League One experienced three departures with Gillingham, Sheffield United and Notts County all making a change in the dugout, while in League Two, Bury called time on Kevin Blackwell’s tenure at the club.
Here’s a more in-depth look at each departure, together with those managers who could be feeling the heat during November.
David Weir, Sheffield United – sacked October 11
Eleven days into October and David Weir suffered the grizzly fate of the sack after Sheffield United opted to send him packing just four months after handing him the manager’s job at Bramhall Lane.
Weir got off to a perfect start by leading his new side to an opening day win against Notts County. But that proved to be his one and only league victory in charge of the Blades who went on a shocking run of nine League One matches without a single win.
The final straw proved to be a bitterly disappointing Johnstone’s Paint Trophy exit at home to League Two strugglers Hartlepool, with Weir shown the door a few days after.
At the time of his departure United were placed 22nd in the league with a pitiful five points from 10 games.
The Blades have turned to Nigel Clough, who was sacked himself by Derby County in September, to guide them out of the League One relegation zone. And after winning his first game in charge against Crewe, a 2-0 defeat to Shrewsbury Town acted to illustrate that there’s plenty of work to be done at the South Yorkshire club.
Martin Allen, Gillingham – sacked October 13
Martin Allen was shown the door by Gillingham after just over 12 months in charge at Priestfield and after guiding the club to promotion from League Two last season.
Despite this, the club decided that it was time for a change following their poor start to the new campaign, which consisted of just two wins from 11 league games.
Peter Taylor was quickly appointed as Allen’s replacement as the former Leicester, Brighton, Hull and England Under 21 boss begins his second spell at the Kent club where he guided the team to the Championship during his last spell in charge back in 2000.
Kevin Blackwell, Bury – sacked October 14
Bury axed the under-fire Kevin Blackwell on October 14 as the League Two strugglers were left hovering dangerously above the relegation zone with just two wins to show from their opening 11 League Two matches.
The Shakers’ lacklustre 2-0 defeat at home to Morecambe proved to be Blackwell’s final match in the dugout. It came just over a year after he arrived at Gigg Lane.
Blackwell suffered relegation with Bury last season and, despite making a plethora of changes, he failed to improve on results this term, which in the end cost him his job.
The club has still to appoint a permanent replacement for Blackwell with former player, Ronnie Jepson, currently occupying the caretaker role. But with just one win from his four games at the helm, it’s unlikely that he’ll be given the job long term.
Tony Mowbray, Middlesbrough – sacked October 21
There was a brief respite for a week in the ‘sack race’ before Tony Mowbray found himself out of work, becoming the second Championship casualty of the month.
Middlesbrough’s woeful run of two wins from 12 games was his undoing as he paid the price for their shocking start to the campaign. Up until his departure, Mowbray had in fact been the league’s longest-serving manager with three years service on Teesside. However, during that time, he failed to lead them to a top-6 finish and endured a torrid 2013, winning just five of their 33 league games up until his exit.
Mark Venus was handed the role of caretaker following Mowbray’s exit and a 4-0 win over Doncaster in his first game in charge saw him installed as the favourite to take hold of the reigns at the Riverside permanently. Defeat at Blackburn won’t have helped the application of the former Wolves and Ipswich player, who has no previous managerial experience to his name.
Other names in the frame include Stuart Pearce, Mike Phelan, Alex McLeish, Gary Megson and Fabrizio Ravanelli.
Ian Holloway, Crystal Palace – left by mutual consent October 23
Ian Holloway will be a huge loss to the Premier League after departing by mutual consent towards the end of the month. The charismatic and entertaining gaffer was left deflated and shattered following Crystal Palace’s shocking start to the campaign, which saw them lose seven of the first eight games on their return to the top-flight.
Their 4-1 defeat at home to Fulham a couple of weeks ago was the final straw, with Holloway exiting two days later. In total he won 14, drew 14 and lost 18 of his 46 games in charge and, of course, guided the Eagles to the Premier League via the Championship playoffs in the process.
Chris Coleman currently leads the way to be named as Holloway’s successor with Jose Mourinho’s former Real Madrid assistant, Aitor Karanka, also in the frame along with Tony Pulis, Avram Grant and former boss Neil Warnock.
Chris Kiwomya, Notts County – left by mutual consent October 27
The sixth and final casualty of October came near the end of the month when Notts County disposed of Chris Kiwomya. The sacking didn’t come as a huge surprise considering the League One side’s poor form, with a staggering 10 defeats from 13 games leaving them rooted to the bottom of the table.
Kiwomya was only appointed at Meadow Lane back in March but left with his tail in between his legs with a record of nine wins, nine draws and 16 defeats during his short time in charge
Shaun Derry has already been appointed as his replacement.
Who’s Next?
Of those managers currently still in work, there will be a few sweating of their futures, especially in the Premier League as November is traditionally the month when the axe is wielded by chairman and owners.
There have already been two departures in the top-flight so far this season and the jittery form of a couple of teams means there could be at least one more casualty over the coming month.
Fulham’s Martin Jol looks to be in the most danger of losing his job, which is refelcted by his position as the 10/11 favourite to be the next manger to face the chop in the ‘Premier League Sack Race’.
Elsewhere, Alan Pardew’s future at Newcastle has been questioned, with some reports even linking him to a shock move to former club Crystal Palace, and Norwich City’s Chris Houghton remains in the frame, while Malky Mackay is under pressure at Cardiff but the 1-0 over south Wales rivals, Swansea, at the weekend will have given him a stay of execution.
