SOD sacked by DRFC following comment at Middlesbrough?

[bobjimwilly]

http://www.doncasterfreepress.co.uk/sport/doncaster-rovers/rovers-news/doncaster-rovers-that-got-me-the-sack-by-the-way-o-driscoll-1-7721709

I recalled a post-match press conference at Middlesbrough, following a 3-0 defeat on the final of the day of the 2010/11 season, that has always stuck with me.

Rovers had just limped to Championship safety, winning just two games out of their last 26 in all competitions.

They finished the season one place above the drop zone and O’Driscoll made the point that the club, given their resources, might eventually have to accept relegation to League One in order to put in place a viable long term plan for future success and sustainability.

At the time I remember thinking it might set off a few alarm bells in the boardroom. And as I recalled that press conference, O’Driscoll smiled wryly.

“That got me the sack by the way,” he interjected tellingly.

[The Red Baron]

Very interesting. Although I thought it was a combination of results and the fact that he'd never have bought into the experiment that sealed his fate.

[MachoMadness]

Realism has no place in football interviews. He might well have been right, looking back. Although the cynic in me is tempted to put it down as blame-shifting on the back of a truly dismal run of performances. "Of course we're playing shit, we just need to go down and rebuild and I'm the man to do it!"

[silent majority]

“When somebody comes in and says they can get you in the Premier League and you haven’t got to spend any money, if you believe that then you’re stupid.”

Yep! Spot on.

[The L J Monk]

What's Goodwin going on about here:

He praised Walsall’s owners for doing exactly that with his predecessor Dean Smith, before adding: “Quite a lot of the players here have developed. Probably in another scenario they would have been jettisoned and had to ply their trade somewhere else.”

Was that a thinly-veiled reference to Rovers cashing in on Matt Mills and Richie Wellens in 2009, after initially acclimatising to the Championship? Quite possibly.

SOD is talking about working with players to improve them, rather than releasing them straightaway. Mills and Wellens both wanted to leave because they were good enough to play higher and get paid more.

[The Red Baron]

I agree. I think all SO'D was saying that Walsall's way of doing things under Dean Smith was an approach that he favoured. Probably why he took the job there.

[BillyStubbsTears]

Rather a bitter piece.

O'Driscoll himself said at the start of 11/12 that we had a decent budget.

And he doesn't seem to reflect on the fact that he had a least three spells of form that would have got any other manager the sack.

He had (by usual football standards) quite exceptional support from the Board during his tenure. It is unseemly to focus on the moment when that support broke, without reflecting on the context of the previous 5 years.

[The L J Monk]

It strikes me as a very confused piece from Goodwin.

[bobjimwilly]

It is unseemly to focus on the moment when that support broke, without reflecting on the context of the previous 5 years.

agree with that. unseemly and bitter. DFP in looking to create controversy shocker?

[MachoMadness]

It strikes me as a very confused piece from Goodwin.

I don't know, I'd say he went into the interview with a story in mind - that SO'D is still somehow upset with Rovers - and he's made the quotes fit the story, as most journos seem to do. Certainly the one you pointed out earlier, supposedly about the sale of Mills and Wellens, is a massive stretch.

Anyone can take any quote and write "is that a thinly-veiled reference to x?" after it to create virtually any story they want.

[Lipsy]

I'm not saying that I agree with it, but I'm afraid that's how it all works these days. The piece is being discussed on here and has no doubt garnered more clicks than it would have done if hadn't had this 'bitter' angle. 'Tis the way it is, I'm afraid. When I did similar, it was all about making sure the most people bought/read what was written. And it's got much worse thanks to the rise and ubiquity of social media.

[ss1953]

Funny, but I always thought that Wellens and Stocky had a big fallout. One had to leave and given that Stocky is SOD's son in law, Wellens left. Our midfield was never the same again.

Correct me if I'm wrong.

[The L J Monk]

Wellens left because Leicester got their chequebook out. We couldn't compete. Richie has said since he wanted to stay but the money was too good to turn down.

[Alickismyhero]

BST... How many managers say “I am not happy with the budget the Board has given me” and stay in their job?

MM and Lipsy,

 I  would think Sean was genuinely upset by a number of things during  his end game at Donny and he may well have shown his feelings to the reporter. Sean is the kind of bloke who lets things build up on him and then he explodes hence the explosive interview he gave at Bristol, also when he was on the verge of the sack.

I feel Sean probably does have a number grievances against the club for a number of reasons:

1. The manner in which he was sacked.

2. 5 Months with no pay until he threatened to sue Donny.

3. The comments made by the clowns brought in with the PL mission fiasco. The adverse comments were directed at Sean and how they were having to correct things at the club now he had gone. That really hurt him.

The jerno's job is to get people to read his paper but on this occasion he may well have got the right vibes but not able to get the meat on the bone from a very quiet dignified man.

[RedJ]

f**king hell here we go...

[DonnyBazR0ver]

Seems to be making alot from very few words exchanged. It's all history now and nothing can change the events at that time.

[The L J Monk]

Bit more meat on the bone:

Me: "your reference to Mills/Wellens is odd Paul. SOD is talking about developing players & not releasing them too early."

He: "Just a hunch, considering he talked about them keeping a team together - and also their recent stance on Bradshaw."

https://twitter.com/paulgoodwinDFP

[Lipsy]

Alickismyhero - I tend to think that adults can pretty much express what they want without a journo having to second-guess. Moreover, said journo has the ability to present many sides of an argument and put in balance and editorial. However, what was presented was a couple of comments and a guess at an implication or possible sub-text. Personally, I think SO'D is above thinly-veiled comments, so it comes across as a bit poor, tbh.

Once again, summat's been written to generate hits and a bit of grumpiness. It happens such a lot and, frankly, I blummin' hate the way some parts of the press work these days.

[Lipsy]

"Just a hunch." I was having an argument with someone the other day and they used the line "I'm calling it as I see it," which was his way of skewing the scant "facts" he had at his disposal to justify the BS he was spouting. Same thing here, then.

[i_ateallthepies]

Rather a bitter piece.

O'Driscoll himself said at the start of 11/12 that we had a decent budget.

And he doesn't seem to reflect on the fact that he had a least three spells of form that would have got any other manager the sack.

He had (by usual football standards) quite exceptional support from the Board during his tenure. It is unseemly to focus on the moment when that support broke, without reflecting on the context of the previous 5 years.

Bit surprised that you of all people BST would take a piece written by a journalist without question.

O'Driscoll acknowledged that he had a decent budget, doesn't every manager hoping to keep the job says the same?

Perhaps he deserves to be judged as you say in the context of his whole tenure, the one in which after getting us promoted (admittedly on the back of a strong budget), he kept us in the Championship for five seasons in a position higher than the budget ever deserved.

You call it exceptional support during his tenure, that support only lasted as long as the belief that there was nobody around who could do more with the resources at his disposal.
He was only able to keep the results positive whilst his strongest eleven were on the pitch, it all started to fall apart when the club was unable to retain/attract the players - Wellens, Mills, Shackle - needed to give us a chance.
Even through that protracted spell of poor results, he remained the best prospect of keeping us up and did so, we were never relegated under O'Driscoll.

The very fact that he was dismissed to make way for a way of getting better players in is proof enough that the Board recognised the existing players weren't good enough, and as it turned out, neither were those far more talented and costly players.

Come on BST, you usually like to deal in facts, that post is a bit light in that respect.


Apologies Alickismyhero, started writing my piece and finished it after my tea.

[Sad-Rovers]

I'm with Lipsy (not like that, although he's a good looking lad) Paul Goodwin is stretching what little meat there is in SOD's comments to fill out an article. Not the first time it's happened and it'll not be the last. Could be worse, the DFP could have stretched it into yet another shitty "top ten" article as they're want to do.

More to the point, who actually cares about SOD? His time here and sacking have been done to death on every conceivable medium. I wish the bloke well but I've as much interest in his comments as I do in any other L1 manager who isn't Fergie (PBUH).

[BillyStubbsTears]

Pies

Poor use of word from me. (Slap on wrist for posting whilst not concentrating 100%).

The piece itself is irrelevant and pretty speculative.

It's the direct quotes from O'Driscoll that are not really fair. They ignore the context of the almost unique level of indulgence that the club had given him over the previous 5 years. I'd have thought he'd have had time to reflect on that by now.

[drfchound]

We may not have been relegated under SoD but twice we were lucky to get away with it.
His last seven games left us in a position of almost no return that season.
Has a team with one point from the first seven games ever stayed up?

[CrippyCooke]

We may not have been relegated under SoD but twice we were lucky to get away with it.
His last seven games left us in a position of almost no return that season.
Has a team with one point from the first seven games ever stayed up?

Regardless of which side of this argument you're on it is madness to suggest we were all but relegated after just 7 games.

[drfchound]

So, has any team ever stayed up after such a bad start?

[RedJ]

We may not have been relegated under SoD but twice we were lucky to get away with it.
His last seven games left us in a position of almost no return that season.
Has a team with one point from the first seven games ever stayed up?

Regardless of which side of this argument you're on it is madness to suggest we were all but relegated after just 7 games.

One point from 21 makes it f**king difficult to survive, though.

[drfchound]

So Red J, you are a realist too then.

[Jonathan]

So, has any team ever stayed up after such a bad start?

Didn't Leicester City have less points at this stage last season than 'dead and buried' Aston Villa have now?

Strange old game eh, speculating on matters of fact.

As for the whole O'Driscoll thing, there's nothing that needs saying that hasn't already been said. Best manager we've ever had as far as I'm concerned, but these topics rarely end well.

[BillyStubbsTears]

More to the point, has any side ever stayed up after gaining 1 point from the first 21, and with only two squad members in the defence/keeper positions who was of a standard better than mid-way up the league below?

O'Driscoll's biggest failure in the end was taking us into 2011/12 with the back five selected from
Sullivan
Woods
Dumbuya
Lockwood
Spurr
Hird
Martis
Naylor
Friend.

[drfchound]

Johnathan, i agree that SoD was overall. our best manager but the fact remains that he had gone as far as he could with us and was lucky twice not to have that relegation stat on his CV.
The Aston Villa - Leicester analagy doesn't answer my question though.