First Coaching Change of the Season

[kwik1980]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/s/southampton/3590316.stm

Well, we have the first coaching casualty of the season, and it comes after just two matches. Paul Sturrock has left Southampton "by mutual consent", and will be replaced by Steve Wigley. Sturrock was in charge for 13 matches, winning 5. He took over last season after Gordon Strachan left the team and won 3 of his first 4 matches. Since then he has only won 2 of 9, including a 3-2 win over Blackburn. Speculation begun after the 2-0 loss to Aston Villa to start the season that Sturrock might be in jeopardy.

Steve Wigley did run the club on a caretaker basis between Strachan and Sturrock last season, and his first match in charge is Wednesday against Bolton. The BBC article does raise the possibility of a "technical director" being appointed above Wigley, with Gerald Houllier's name mentioned.

[michaec]

This is mad. It makes you wonder whether the board were all agreed that Sturrock was really the man they wanted in the first place.

[Wide Boy]

I agree that this is daft. When you consider the turmoil and ill-feeling caused by luring Sturrock from Plymouth it makes no sense at all.

I can't believe the decision was made on the basis of results - after all, one win out of two is better than a lot of other teams have managed.

I can only think that something bad happened during the close season ....

.... But that in turn begs the question of why they waited until now.

[sendorange]

Lowe wanted Hoddle. The fans were in uproar over this though so he had to backtrack and Sturrock was the flavour of the month, so they went for him.

The stories are that when it came to training Sturrock preferred to sit on the sidelines eating fried egg sandwiches (!) rather than leading the sessions. Also he was supposed to be still obsessed with the longball game and using his time at Plymouth as an example of how to do everything, which left the ambitious players like Beattie less than happy.

Wigley is a permanent appointment as "Head Coach". That does seem to me like they have Hoddle or Houllier lined up to be a Technical Director. Houllier has had that role before with the France FA but would he want to do it with Southampton?? Hoddle I can't see as Technical Director, unless this is Lowe's idea to get him back involved as the power behind the throne without risking a fan outcry by making him outright manager.

[jumhed]

Hoddle is the bookies favourite. He might be mad, and is supposed to have treated Saints legend Le Tissier (who was by then not only fat and injury-prone, but looking like the bastard brother of Beardsley) badly, but he was taking the Saints in the right direction before he 'Messiahed' over to the Lane and gayed things up. The Saints were on a roll and could've qualified for Europe.

Hoddle is an ace technical coach, but does have man-management problems. Hopefully, he's got over them.

[Robert25]

Sturrock had his faults, but not all of them were his. This team has to improve its roster as well before they can make more dramatic leaps.