It’s now or never…
The hire and fire theory rumbles on. Ian Baraclough has left my beloved Scunthorpe United after a mere six months in charge of the club. You cannot argue with the decision however after crumbling to a 3-0 defeat against woeful Preston.
I could see what the Scunthorpe board were going for at the time of appointing Bara. It was always going to be difficult to replace Nigel Adkins who was arguably the best manager in the club’s history; he’d certainly brought the most success. Continuity was the easy key at the time and by appointing within the club, i.e. Baraclough from coach to gaffer, it was hoped the bandwagon would roll on. I was one of those fans whose optimism wasn’t so sparkly though.
It concerned me at the weekend when I saw a ‘A day in the life of the Scunthorpe Manager’ pop up on BBC Football. Is it really appropriate for a manager in the depths of a relegation battle to be making documentaries and filling oddball media commitments? It just didn’t seem like the wisest of moves to me, as much as I like to see my club get recognition.
January was the key time for Bara. He had to get the right men in and retain those key players if he would have any hope of keeping the Iron up and proving the continuity theory correct. A vast amount of loan signings arrived at Glanford Park but arguably the key signing was Bristol City’s, when they snatched Martin Woolford from our thin-looking team. Wooly offered a spark and although he had games where he was ineffective and missing, he also had games where he’d be the difference for us.
So what now? Well… it’s not often I’m proved right if I’m being honest, but I called for a new, fresh approach when Adkins left. I wanted an Paul Ince or Eddie Howe. Somebody who had something to prove and with a reputation for motivating mediocre players to overachieve. Ince in particular was on the market at the time and what he achieved at Macclesfield/Mk Dons was exactly what we needed.
If this was the approach now we could look at Paolo Sousa who has something to prove, Phil Parkinson, Roy Keane or Andy Scott. They’ve all been dismissed having had relative success in the past. But this time round thought it’s now or never. We need someone to come in and have an immediate impact. We need someone with experience who will automatically command the dressing room and install some confidence. The thought of rebuilding the club structure isn’t too important right now. We just need to stay up…
Peter Reid, Peter Taylor, George Burley… I’m not convinced by either but they all have a rich history and have experience in survival. Burley in particular would have a keen eye for revenge having been sacked by our nearest rivals and likely replacement in the drop zone, Crystal Palace.
The debate could go on and on but the truth is all of the above probably won’t get past the C.V and letter stage. I figure the club will have lined up their replacement already and it’s a name that most Iron fans will be familiar with. Brian Laws was sacked by Sheffield Wednesday prior to his dismissal at Burnley. He’s had an up and down four years since he left the club. He’s got a clear understanding of the club and brought a decent amount of success over a ten year stint in charge at Scunny. But I beg the question… is he going to have the ability to keep us up?
Ask a Wednesday or Burnley fan…
Up the Iron.
Simon Bourne
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