John ends love affair with Stan

Arsene Wenger, Sir Alex Ferguson, John Coleman. The latter may not be a household name like the first two, but he shares common ground with them in being the only managers in England to have been at the helm of the same club for over a decade.

Sadly for Accrington Stanley supporters, the scouser has finally decided to call it a day at The Crown Ground, after accepting the offer of near neighbours Rochdale to test himself in League One. 

In this age where the average stint of a Football League manager is 19 months, the 49 year-old is something of a rarity and perhaps the last of his kind. 

What makes his tenure at the club even more astonishing is that despite Stanley’s much publicised financial worrys he has made them the only professional club in the entire world to have improved their league record in the past 12 consecutive seasons. 

Realising that he’s taken the club possibly as far as they can go, don’t bet against Coleman being a success in the third tier. ‘Dale supporters must be more than happy. 

@paulhill3

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