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CET Article 6 - 07/8
By CovSid67
February 17 2008
I have to confess, Iain Dowie's sacking came as quite a shock to me! I'm not sure why though, as this business is all about results, and he wasn't getting them (That and he's almost done his twelve months anyway!). And in this business, that means 'goodbye' a lot quicker than it used to. That and not sharing the same vision as your boss!

As a consequence, the article I've had written in my head for around ten days has disappeared, to be replaced by this....

New owners rarely seem happy with the manager in charge when they take over (Mr. Benitez at Liverpool, for instance!), and the rumours that Dowie was leaving have been around since SISU first said 'hello' to the club. So no surprise really.

If the players were as upset about Dowie's departure as has been claimed, meaning they backed him all the way and were playing to the best of their ability, then they clearly are not good enough. They've certainly made it easier for the new owners to justify any decision to get rid. Let's hope a few of them will be part of the almost inevitable summer clear-out that will happen.

Whoever the next boss is, I hope he decides to re-build the centre of our midfield. How many managers have tried the Michael Doyle-Stephen Hughes partnership? It hasn't worked well enough, and it won't, so get rid of one or both of them. It's time for something new. Something that protects the back four better, and helps create far more for the attacking side of our play too.

Each time I write for this column I seem to be complaining about the amount of sloppy goals we're conceding, and nothing has changed. I was a fan of Dowie, but was concerned that he didn't seem capable of stamping out the basic defensive errors that have cost us so dearly this season (And last, and....). Unless, of course, Fox and Dann were his answer to the problem, but he didn't have time to prove it!

While most will point to one of not enough victories on the pitch as a highlight of Dowie's years with us, something he did off the pitch gave me greater joy. I suppose it shows how success starved we've been that I regard getting rid of Adebola and Kyle on the same day as one of our best days since relegation. Neither of them would ever have taken us where we want to go, unless League One was our aim.

Kyle was quite simply one of the worst strikers I've seen in a Coventry City shirt, and we've had more than our fair share of those!

I don't agree with all this 'hated Kyle from day one' nonsense. He scored on his debut and made a nuisance of himself, which was more than most would have expected after reading opinions from Sunderland fans. It wasn't even, as he seems to think, that he earned so much money. My dislike of him (As a player!) was simply because he wasn't good enough. I've seen pygmies wearing concrete socks jump higher and run faster, and his goal-scoring record was second to everybody!

I hope he enjoys a few decent displays for Wolves though, because I would hate to think we might have to take him back!

From the little time Ray Ranson has been in charge, I have to admit, I like what I've seen. He seems to be the sort of 'sometimes seen, but rarely heard' style of chairman from the 'good old days' (Fairly sure we enjoyed a few of those once!), with a very professional manner. There is, according to Mr. Ranson, no rush to appoint a new manager (If he says so, I agree!), though whoever the options are, the message coming through loud and clear from supporters is: 'please not Bryan Robson'!

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