Fulham Football Club took the decision to sack manager Rene Meulensteen last night after their absymal run showed no signs of improving, and despite lasting only 74-days, surprisingly there have been manager reigns even shorter than that.
The former-Manchester United coach came in to replace Martin Jol, who didn’t have the greatest campaign at the Cottage and was finally sacked at the beginning of December, and by mid-February, Fulham have now sacked Jol’s replacement.
Meulensteen only guided Fulham to three victories in his 13 Premier League games in charge, but these managers below can boast an even shorter reign at the clubs.
Brian Clough – Leeds United (44 days, 1974)
Probably one of the most famous managers of all-time was also known for one of the most famous firings of all time.
Brian Clough, who worked wonders at Derby County, was finally appointed as the new Leeds United manager, who were a real footballing force back in the 70s, but his previous comments about the club came back to bite him as the players and the board never really took to him.
Over time, Clough had slaughtered Leeds’ style in the press and after 44 days in charge, he finally lost his job.
Although it was Clough who had the last laugh when he guided Nottingham Forest to a mega-force in the footballing world.
Alex McLeish – Nottingham Forrest (40 days, 2012-13)
The former-Birmingham City and Aston Villa manager only spent five weeks at Nottingham Forest before he decided to walk out on the club after feeling betrayed by the club’s board.
McLeish was lead to believe that funds would be at his disposal to spend on strengthening the side, but when he went to sign George Boyd from Peterborough United, the club cancelled the deal without the boss knowing.
This decision eventually lead to him resigning from his position.
Steve Coppell – Manchester City (33 days, 1996)
Probably more famous for his time at Reading, Steve Coppell was manager at Manchester City before they had unlimited funds to spend, but he only lasted 33 days before he took the decision to walk out of the club.
Coppell claimed that the job was too stressful for him due to him being a former-Manchester United player.
Martin Ling – Cambridge United (9 days, 2009)
George Rolls was the chairman at Cambridge United and he took the decision to sack one of his managers due to differences in opinion and then replaced him with Martin Ling, however, just nine days later, it happened again.
Ling walked out of the club after disagreeing with the chairman and claimed that there was no way he could work with Rolls.
Eventually after the chairman left the club, Ling actually returned to Cambridge United, and that time around, it lasted a lot longer than just 9 days.
Leroy Rosenior – Torquay (10 minutes, 2007)
Probably the most ridiculous manager saga to ever take place in football.
Leroy Rosenior took over at Torquay United just as they were in the process of being taken over, and after he signed the deal to become the new boss, the new owner came in and immediately fired him to bring in his own choice.
Rosenior lasted just 600 seconds at the club.
So if you are reading this Rene, you don’t have to feel too bad.
Written by Alex Batt – @AlexBatt – @AlexsArticles
