Had an interesting discussion with a mate the other week, when David Unsworth took over at Everton. We were trying to think if there had ever been an assistant manager, or a coach, at a top-flight club, who had been given the manager's job when the incumbent resigned or was sacked, and had gone on to make a long-term success of it. Here are a few of the failures which spring to mind: Mike Phelan here Craig Shakespeare at Leicester John Carver at Newcastle Neil Adams at Norwich Ricky Sbragia at Sunderland Sammy Lee at Bolton And now Unsworth I'm sure there must be loads more to go at, but can anyone think of a successful example?
Iain Dowie gets stuck right on the failures list. Though he wasn't an assistant he had an equivalent bollocks title.
Phil Brown didn't do bad with us, and was unlucky to lose his job IMO He's done OK at Southend since going there.
Brownie did well until his ego got the better of him .. they had to extend the naughty step cos he fell out with that many players.
Rafa won the CL with Chelsea didn't he? Chelsea kept hiring Guus Hiddink as the interim manager and he kept them ticking over.
He did well in the first season, but he didn't consolidate and bought players that weren't good enough. Southend are currently 16th in League 1, he's not done that well. By chance, I saw that Will Atkinson is playing for Mansfield now. What shocked me was that he's now 29. Christ almighty.
It is all conjecture and opinion I guess, but I always felt that if Browny had stayed until the end of the season we would have had a better chance of survival than under Dowie. Moreover the 2nd season Browny was victim of a similar situation, after Turner was sold for peanuts to pay the wage bill he got left by taking Sonko on loan from Stoke who was awful, as was Garner who was forever injured. Always felt that he never had a squad that was good enough to stay up, and so it proved. Having said all that he didn't help himself hen he got wrapped up in his own hype, and of cause the Bullard situation didn't help.
I don't get how Phil Brown isn't universally adored by our fans. He took us to Wembley for the first time in our history and gave us the best day of our lives. The year before he came in and changed us around and kept us up. Then our first season in the Premier League was amazing some of the best away days of my life. I think some fans have become a bit used to success and don't appreciate how flippin brilliant those years where under Brown. He was a character but I loved all four seasons under him. Also Southend fans love him and thought he would get poached in the summer as he guided them to seventh well above their financial means.
Shakespeare kept them in the Premier League which counts as a success. Malcolm Crosby came in for Dennis Smith as Caretaker Manager at Sunderland and took them to the FA Cup final in the same season, losing 2-0 to Liverpool. Stayed for a couple of seasons before getting the tin-tack.
So they are, even so, I don't think that's really 'doing well', he's done alright. He got them out of League 2. I wouldn't want him back here.
The Phil Brown enigma is a tough one. His achievement with City has to be His and our highlight. For this we owe him a great deal. Promo and the first 3 months may be the best we ever achieve. Definitely got found out but thats maybe not a surprise in the Prem. Must admit im surprised no Championship team has looked at Brown.And there lies the enigma. Why not??
Good point. At this stage what would we lose. He seems to be in the wilderness. From his achievements here surely he would of had a stab at a club higher than Southend.
