Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Silly Season


This man has four lungs apparently

Okay - your starter for ten. What do the following football managers have in common? Roberto DiMatteo, Roberto Mancini, Kenny Dalglish and Brian McDermott? That's right, they were the winners in 2011-12 of, respectively, the Champions League, F.A Cup, Premier League, Carling Cup and Championship and all were sacked in the following season.

Okay, first bonus question: What do Steve Kean, Henning Berg and Michael Appleton have in common? Easy wasn't it, all were sacked by Blackburn Rovers during the 2012-13 season.

Right, final question: What do Rolland Corubis, Vladmir Pektovic, Sebastien Fournier, Michel Descatel, Pierre-Andre Schumann, Victor Munoz and Gennaro 'four lungs' Gattuso have in common? I know it is slightly tougher but they have all managed and been sacked by Swiss club FC Sion since April 2012, in fact all of them except Corbuis and Pektovic have actually managed FC Sion this season. If you are a fan of the Swiss club you must look at Blackburn with their four managers a season with some sort of envy at their policy of stability.

Pity poor Kyle Lafferty, decided not to stay with Rangers and enjoy the delights of Elgin and Berwick (among others) and went to FC Sion.  Now given that Lafferty had only played under Walter Smith and Ally McCosit in his four years at Ibrox his first eleven months in Switzerland must have come as something as a culture shock.

FC Sion are the bad boys of Swiss football and the subject of regular investigations not only by the football authorities but by footballing journalists. They have signed players who were under contract to other clubs at the time (2008 - Essam El-Hadary), fielded illegible players in domestic and European competitions and had 36 points deducted at the start of the 2011-12 for FIFA and UEFA violations.

The directors seem to employ the 'Constable Savage' approach to hiring and firing, and although nobody has been fired for looking at the chairman in a strange way or for wearing a bright coloured shirt during the hours of darkness the sackings have been premature to say the least.  Pektovic was only officially temporarily in charge for 18 days before getting the slightly better gig at Lazio. Fournier was a strange appointment in the first place, he was a former Sion player but was asked to become their manager just a week after gaining his UEFA Pro Licence, he was given the job because, ironically, the Chairman was impressed by the job Roberto DiMatteo had done at Chelsea. He lasted three months before falling out with the players (sounds familiar).  Munoz is still at the club as a scout, he was sacked as manager after the club lost a match 0-4.

Gattuso was only in Switzerland in the first place because his move from Milan to Rangers in the summer had to be cancelled due to the Scottish club's ongoing financial meltdown.  He was sacked on Monday after just three months, his replacement was announced on Wednesday and is none other than Michel Descatel, you know the manager who the club sacked back in October.

The footballing genius responsible for this merry-go-round that has more peaks and troughs than a giant Toblerone is the club chairman Christian Constantin. Constantin was a goalkeeper during his younger days, which may explain some of his madness, and is an architect whose practice has designed some stunning office buildings, he just seems to have a problem putting together a management team that lasts longer than four months. He has actually appointed himself manager twice since he bought the club, in 2003, and in keeping with his own strict rotation policy was only in charge for one month  on both occasions, the reappointment of Descatel means that thirty different names have appeared on the board next to the word manager since 2002.

FC Sion currently sit, with five games remaining, in fifth place in the Swiss Super League, some 18 points behind probable champions FC Basel.

7 comments:

Span Ows said...

So how many managers have FC Sion had since Ferguson arrived at Manchester United?

Paul said...

Exactly 50.

Span Ows said...

Incredible...

oakleyses said...

north face, nike air max uk, sac hermes, hollister uk, nike air force, louboutin pas cher, michael kors, oakley pas cher, converse pas cher, abercrombie and fitch uk, hollister pas cher, nike free run, jordan pas cher, nike tn, burberry pas cher, longchamp pas cher, timberland pas cher, nike air max, polo ralph lauren, nike roshe, lululemon canada, ralph lauren uk, true religion outlet, guess pas cher, vans pas cher, sac longchamp pas cher, nike air max uk, true religion jeans, hogan outlet, north face uk, new balance, air max, ray ban pas cher, nike free uk, true religion outlet, nike blazer pas cher, sac vanessa bruno, michael kors pas cher, ray ban uk, polo lacoste, michael kors outlet, mulberry uk

oakleyses said...

hollister clothing, giuseppe zanotti outlet, lululemon, wedding dresses, abercrombie and fitch, hermes belt, asics running shoes, bottega veneta, celine handbags, soccer shoes, valentino shoes, ferragamo shoes, vans outlet, mcm handbags, timberland boots, nike roshe run uk, longchamp uk, nike air max, north face outlet, p90x workout, new balance shoes, insanity workout, iphone 6 cases, herve leger, instyler, oakley, hollister, nike huaraches, soccer jerseys, nike trainers uk, babyliss, chi flat iron, ghd hair, baseball bats, jimmy choo outlet, mont blanc pens, north face outlet, mac cosmetics, beats by dre, nfl jerseys, reebok outlet, nike roshe run

oakleyses said...

ralph lauren, vans, gucci, pandora jewelry, ray ban, hollister, ugg, swarovski crystal, links of london, lancel, toms shoes, juicy couture outlet, montre pas cher, pandora uk, replica watches, converse outlet, ugg,ugg australia,ugg italia, coach outlet, ugg uk, hollister, ugg pas cher, uggs outlet, ugg boots, supra shoes, pandora charms, marc jacobs, louboutin, thomas sabo, juicy couture outlet, ugg boots, karen millen uk, uggs outlet, converse, swarovski, uggs on sale, nike air max, ugg,uggs,uggs canada, wedding dresses

oakleyses said...

michael kors outlet store, coach purses, prada outlet, nike air max, michael kors outlet online, chanel handbags, ray ban sunglasses, longchamp outlet, coach outlet, replica watches, tiffany and co, oakley sunglasses wholesale, longchamp outlet, christian louboutin uk, michael kors outlet online, kate spade outlet, burberry handbags, ray ban sunglasses, coach outlet, tiffany jewelry, oakley sunglasses, nike free, nike air max, christian louboutin, kate spade, nike outlet, christian louboutin outlet, christian louboutin shoes, oakley sunglasses, jordan shoes, polo outlet, burberry outlet, polo ralph lauren outlet online, tory burch outlet, michael kors outlet, longchamp outlet, michael kors outlet, true religion outlet, gucci handbags, coach outlet store online, prada handbags, michael kors outlet online