Wednesday 17 October 2007

Sammy Lee gone...Will Sanchez be next?

In the last few minutes it has just been announced that Bolton have parted company with manager Sammy Lee "by mutual consent". Apart from the fact that the phrase is utterly ludicrous (how many managers do you really think say: "Ok boss, fair enough, I think it's best that I go as well") it prompted me to compare Lee's record at Bolton with Sanchez as the two have been at their respective helms for a similar period of time.

According to Sky Sports, Lee has been in charge for 14 competitive games. Of these Bolton have won just three, drawn four and lost seven which gives a win percentage of just 21%. Pretty poor eh? Winning just a fifth of all your games certainly enough to warrant the sack right?

Well, my records show that Sanchez has been in charge for 16 competitive matches - five last season and 11 this term - not including the Asia Cup or whatever tournament it was that we played against Pompey, Liverpool, etc.

Of these he has recorded just three victories (one of which was against Shrewsbury), drawn five and lost eight, giving a miserable win percentage of almost 19%. He actually has a poorer record than Lee so should be a pretty worried man in my book.

Now, I'm not calling for his head. On the contrary, I think bringing in someone new at this stage would be ridiculous. I buy the argument that this is virtually a completely new team and needs time to bed down. I also agree that we have shown - at times - what an exciting force we can be.

However, it's vital for the sake of the club - and for Sanchez's job prospects - that we convert these decent performances into points...starting with Derby County this weekend. If it all unravels again on Saturday like it did against Portsmouth, I may have to revisit my opinion.

Make no mistake this is a MUST WIN game for us. I don't mean any disrespect to our visitors who are a decent side - as they proved against Newcastle - but the fact remains that survival in the Premiership is dependent on a side winning the vast majority of its home matches, particularly one that hasn't one away for more than a year.

I would be very interested to hear people's views so please feel free to add a comment and vote in my poll on the left hand side of the page.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

The situation with Sanchez is different. Little Sam inherited a squad and a philosophy, Sanchez completely made over the squad into his image. Sacking him now would put the NEXT boss in Little Sam's shoes - or -- the next boss would have to completely make over this side in HIS image.

Like it or not, we should be resigned to Lawrie for the rest of the season at least.

COYW

Rob said...

True but the new squad has had two months to deliver - and hasn't yet. Manchester City, on the other hand, have had a string of changes but these have gelled almost instantly. Let's just hope that we win comfortably on Saturday then hopefully this will all be academic!

Anonymous said...

I agree with your general point, but I frequently wonder why people use win percentage?

If we look at total points, using your numbers (and assuming my math is up to snuff), Lee had 13 of a possible 42 points, or 31%.

LS has 14 of a possible 48, or 29%.

Like I said, this proves your point, especially considering the squad makeover. But it also

Rob said...

Actually I think you're right. Looking at the overall points and working out the percentage from that is a better indication of how a manager has performed. Thanks for posting.