Four Four Two · Oct 26, 2016
Losing the dressing room: empty cliché or a real-life phenomenon?
It’s a phrase you’ll hear any time a manager is struggling to get results from his team, but is it really a thing? FFT's Chris Flanagan investigates
He'd won three league titles and established himself as the greatest manager in the club’s history, but none of that mattered any more. Even if the supporters still adored him, player power prevailed.
“I’ll never leave unless I’m sacked,” he had said, weeks before the axe fell. For their part, the board were almost apologetic. “In view of his distinguished record, the directors were reluctant to take such action,” they said in a statement. “But the manager no longer had the confidence and respect of the players.”