Championship Tip: Next manager to leave

The next manager to leave market is a notoriously competitive one with so few bosses ever feeling 100% secure in their jobs. In the Championship, almost everybody starts off with one eye on promotion, with a top six finish potentially leading to the dream of top flight football. The problem is that everybody’s ludicrous expectation levels can’t possibly be met and chairmen are liable to lose patience pretty quickly if things aren’t going to plan.

VictorChandler already has all the managers priced up and they make Coventry’s new boss Andy Thorn favourite for the chop at 11/2. I don’t think this is particularly fair for a man who inherited a troubled side yet only lost once in eight games after getting the position full-time. Surely he will be given a chance.

Another name in the frame is Keith Millen, at 8/1 to be first out the door at Ashton Gate. The Bristol City manager has a problem. The side having been getting worse ever since Gary Johnson led them to fourth spot in 2008. The fans lost patience with him even after the success he had undeniably brought to the club. Two finishes in 10th followed the 2008 high, and then Millen brought the team home in 15th last campaign. There is a big dependence on Nicky Maynard to score the goals and if he stays fit (and stays put) this time round, Millen may be ok for a while.

With this in mind I think the man under greatest threat may be Nigel Clough, also at 8/1 with Victor. The Derby boss may have got the job partly because of his surname, but his father’s legacy may not help him hang onto it. The Pride Park faithful demand top flight football, but at the moment the Rams look more likely to leave the division at the wrong end.

The statistical evidence has to be a concern. Derby simply collapsed in the second half of the season, collecting just four wins from their final 28 Championship matches. The club’s return of 49 points was its lowest ever from a 46-game programme, and its worst in the second tier since 1984. It’s fair to say that without Kris Commons’ 13 league goals before he left for Celtic, relegation would have been a real prospect. Quite simply, a poor start to 2011-12, will surely signal the end for Clough junior. At odds of 8/1, and with the lack of more endangered candidates, he is worth the punt.