Fulham sack Chris Coleman, hire Lawrie Sanchez. Cookie, we’ll miss you

Ollie Irish

11th, April 2007

4 Comments

_40948468_coleman300.jpgPies will miss Cookie Coleman. He has lovely shiny hair, big manly thighs and a finely tuned sense of humour. He’s also a damn good manager and despite Fulham’s poor form I didn’t get the feeling that his time at Craven Cottage – ten years of sterling service, as a player and manager – was coming to an end.
That said, I actually think Mo Al-Fayed and the Fulham board have made a brave decision. Despite Fayed’s critics, he has been very loyal to Coleman, but the bald fact is Fulham simply can’t afford to be relegated: the club doesn’t have a big enough fanbase/bankroll to challenge for promotion season after season. If they do go down, who knows how long it might take for them to play in the top flight again?


Lawrie Sanchez now has a five-game honeymoon period in which to pick up a couple of wins and I believe he is good enough to do that. Nothing less than survival is good enough; indeed, most Fulham fans would tear your hand off if you offered them 17th place right now. I think they will survive.
For Coleman, a new chapter in his career now begins. Plenty of clubs will be keen to employ him, and it will be interesting to see where he ends up next season. Leicester City, anyone?

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4 Comments

  1. Joe says:

    He should be made Wales boss.
    But I disagree with your comment on Fulham’s fanbase not being big enough to fight for promotion. Look at Blackburn: Least fans in England (probably) and it only took them a few seasons to go top, go down and come up again.
    As for Chris’s sacking, mixed feelings. On one hand it looked like his magic was wearing off and that it was time to call it a day, on the other hand I don’t think there’s a more loyal manager in the prem (maybe Ferguson).
    A sad day in West London, but a hopeful one.

  2. Dom says:

    We’ve more fans than people think, it’s just that nobody lives in Blackburn anymore if they can help it because it’s a repugnant craphole, hence our lacklustre attendances. Try finding a Wigan fan, they’re as rare as Dodo shit.
    As for Coleman, what a shit week for the guy. Finds out his missus is a psychopath, gets tanked by Man City at home AND gets sacked for no real reason.
    Sucks to be him.

  3. lee c says:

    Bottom line: no-one will look back at Coleman’s time at Fulham and think he did a bad job. You have to remember that this bloke was 32 when he took over, after a career ending injury.
    He’s done a great job with Fulham, and a long career beckons

  4. joe says:

    I don’t think he’s really had the resources lately. He signed Bullard which was a good piece of business only for him to get badly injured. I think a little more patience might have been advisable. Now Sanchez has been dropped in a relegation battle with 5 matches left which is hardly an ideal condition. I think they could have at least let him stay on til the summer.