As week’s go that’s one I wouldn’t want to repeat in a hurry. There was a feeling last week that I haven’t felt for a while, probably not since Gary Caldwell was so unceremoniously dumped in favour of Warren Joyce. A situation that made no sense then and makes even less sense now.
Now I’m not about to compare Leam Richardson’s eventual successor with the hapless Warren Joyce, but there are parallels with the situation and as a result, pitfalls that the board need to be aware of in the search for a successor.
Back in the autumn of 2016 a popular manager (at least with his players) was dispatched after winning the league title the previous season. Admittedly we were in a far worse position under Caldwell than we were under Leam Richardson, even though we found ourselves in the same position in the bottom three in recent weeks.
There was clearly a mistake made with Joyce’s appointment and that ruined any sort of chance for redemption that would have allowed Wigan Athletic to have a strong second half of the season and eventually stay up. So now that we finish reflecting on the departure of Leam Richardson and instead start to look towards the future it’s important that the board set a vision and get the right man (or woman) in place.
There have been some outlandish names in the betting markets so far, ranging from what seem like sensible options like Neil Critchley and Rob Edwards to Duncan Ferguson, Shaun Maloney and outlandishly Rafa Benitez. The BBC also reported on Tuesday evening that Ya Ya Toure had asked not to be considered for the position.
I’m sure it’s lots of fun across the social networks, and like the transfer window provides entertainment during a four week break due to the World Cup. But and it’s a big but are any of these names going to get more out of a limited squad than the manager and backroom team that were already in situ?
What equips Duncan Ferguson with the tools to get this squad playing again, playing with confidence and cutting out some of the individual mistakes we’ve seen in recent weeks? Would Duncan Ferguson manage to do better than Leam Richardson did? Maybe he would, and if he or any other manager does the decision of the board will be vindicated as a result.
But it’s a big risk, I also accept that things couldn’t continue indefinitely with Leam. We had a torrid October but as shown by the win on Saturday over Blackpool there’s still endeavour in this squad. What they looked desperately short of on Saturday afternoon was confidence, but hopefully that wonderful second half will have give them a boost.
Management changes, especially those enforced are always a risk – do the board stick with a similar formula or do they go for something completely different? I’m not sure the board are too sure what to go for either. As stated in the Wigan Post earlier this week, ‘a knowledge of the club, the budget and a positive brand of football’ will be central to that.
Will the managers linked be willing to work under those restrictive budgets as willingly as Leam Richardson was? Only time will tell.
I said earlier in the year to not write off this squad, and I remain committed to that. There’s more than enough in this squad to keep Wigan Athletic in the Championship. I hoped and expected that Leam Richardson would be the man to do that, but times change and even a manager with the list of achievements that Leam had. With a three year contract in hand and a stand named after him isn’t immune to the bullet.
The key now for Wigan Athletic is getting the right person in to preserve our Championship status. Over to Talal, Mal and the rest of the board for that.
Sean Livesey
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