Simon Houghton’s sacking as Shaw Lane Aquaforce manager is very harsh
Football never fails to surprise anymore. This season alone, managers have been sacked and then reinstated a day or two later so Simon Houghton’s departure at third-placed Shaw Lane Aquaforce isn’t a huge shock.
But, the real truth is that it is very harsh. Late Sunday morning – less than 24 hours after Lane’s 1-0 defeat to strugglers to Dinnington, an announcement on the club’s Twitter account states: “@NCEL disappointing results @SLAquaFC mean that Doug O’Connor will take temporary charge of 1st team following the departure of the manager.”
No website announcement and the writer of the ‘statement’ didn’t even have the decency to name the manager or publicly thank him for putting a potential promotion-winning squad together.
For a club that wants to rise up the leagues quickly, they’re going to need learn fast about how to handle their public relations.
Going back to the decision, Lane may have lost four out of their last six games, but the club still have a fantastic chance of promotion and have some very winnable matches coming up.
It has to also taken into account that Lane have not played at home since December 21st and have only played three times at all in 2014. Those facts alone can’t have helped Houghton or his team.
Ultimately concern that Aquaforce may not make the top two has swayed chairman Craig Wood’s decision. A lot of money has been outlaid to fire Lane into the Premier Division and the recent defeats have worried him.
Who takes over remains to be seen. Out of work managers – and probably some in work – will have already emailed their CVs in a bid to get one of the most prized NCEL jobs.
For Houghton, he deserves to be back in the dugout soon. Any club who wants a manager that can put a strong and decent team together with or without funds should give him a call. His work at Shaw Lane, despite the budget, deserves huge credit. His record at Pontefract and then as an assistant at Glasshoughton and Athersley still stand the testament of time.
He didn’t deserve what has happened at Shaw Lane. He put a good side together and one that was in contention for glory, but he has been another victim of owners wanting success and quickly.