Sanchez gone to Fulham

**DonO'Bate** · 10/04/2007, 11:17 PM

Just heard on the BBC Radio Five Live that Lawrie Sanchez has been appointed caretaker boss of Fulham until the end of the season to replace the sacked Chris Coleman. What now for Fulham's chances of staying up and NI's Euro qualifying hopes. Hopefully Sanchez can keep Fulham up with just five games left.

**Maynard** · 10/04/2007, 11:33 PM

Why would anyone want Fulham to stay up? Anyway, seems like Lawrie is putting himself in the picture. Guess he's heard that the quality of local radio/print journalism in London is much better than in Norn Iron...

**galwayhoop** · 10/04/2007, 11:39 PM

Originally Posted by Maynard

Why would anyone want Fulham to stay up?

exactly

they are utter tedium

**TheBoss** · 10/04/2007, 11:46 PM

A very poor decision to sack Coleman, he did the best he could with the players he had, a disgraceful sacking.

Why bring a new manager now, he has to get used to the new players in the middle of a relegation crisis, just awful by Fulham.

**A face** · 11/04/2007, 12:32 AM

Serious kick in the teeth for ye lads up north. He had really got you blazing a trail.

**dcfcsteve** · 11/04/2007, 1:14 AM

Fulham are lost in the Premiership. They're genuinely not a club of that size - the Championship is about right for them instead.

Bad news for Norn Iron - but Sanchez has left them in a good position.

Yees might be able to get Pat Fenlon instead in a few weeks time.....

**DmanDmythDledge** · 11/04/2007, 1:17 AM

Don't know what Sanchez is thinking taking over a club that's going to be relegated. Serious dent in his reputation...

**Steve Bruce** · 11/04/2007, 8:10 AM

He is still the Northern Ireland manager. It is a temporary role untill the end of the season.

**galwayhoop** · 11/04/2007, 9:30 AM

strange one this. i reckon if fulham stay up he will take the job on full time. maybe staying on as NI manager also, but i don't think you can do the 2 jobs. can't see him walk away from NI either as they do have a serious chance of qualifing at the moment although one or 2 bad results could really burst the bubble. maybe he is looking to cash in his chips while his stock is high.

**Steve Bruce** · 11/04/2007, 11:01 AM

Originally Posted by galwayhoop

strange one this. i reckon if fulham stay up he will take the job on full time. maybe staying on as NI manager also, but i don't think you can do the 2 jobs. can't see him walk away from NI either as they do have a serious chance of qualifing at the moment although one or 2 bad results could really burst the bubble. maybe he is looking to cash in his chips while his stock is high.

Well if you really think about it, managing a country is only 6-8 games a calender year.

So I think he could manage NI part-time and he can send his assistants out to scout NI talent.

Already in the Belfast Telegraph, if he gets made permanent, Fulham will be singing Aaron Hughes, Steve Davis & David Healy.

So maybe he'll sign the NI team and then he will be working with them full-time

**SwiftsSupporter** · 11/04/2007, 1:04 PM

Sanchez is staying and I'm not sure he'll take over there and he'll be in charge for the rest of Euro 2008. It's actually pretty good as he'll learn alot there and we don't have an international between now and the end of the season.

**galwayhoop** · 11/04/2007, 1:51 PM

Originally Posted by Steve Bruce

Well if you really think about it, managing a country is only 6-8 games a calender year.

yeah true but it is hard to think of any manager who has combined 2 roles successifully in recent times. also the 6-8 games a year involve 5 days each time. so it becomes 30/40 days in the year. during international breaks club managers don't take a holiday either but stay at their clubs to work with non-international, improve their tactics, go to coaching workshops and seminars and work with injured/returning players.

Originally Posted by Steve Bruce

So I think he could manage NI part-time and he can send his assistants out to scout NI talent..

is he then committing fully on the job at hand? as i said i feel that while it may seem acceptable to mix roles it may be less so in reality.

Originally Posted by Steve Bruce

Already in the Belfast Telegraph, if he gets made permanent, Fulham will be singing Aaron Hughes, Steve Davis & David Healy..

sounds like newspaper talk to me. but if not, can a manager deal fairly with a player (or be seen to deal fairly) when he is involved with him at both club and international level? is there the possibility that the manager has the temptation to play a player for reasons more benefical to the managers other role?

Originally Posted by Steve Bruce

So maybe he'll sign the NI team and then he will be working with them full-time

maybe...... but i doubt it

anyway, i think that while at this current time the situation may be crystal clear i.e. he is doing a care-taker job for 5 games as NI have no competitive games till august. if he lands the fulham job full-time i just think it will be unfeasible for him to hold onto both roles and unfortunately, for NI, the lesser profile job* will go. he would be a big loss and if i were a NI fan i would be now hoping that Fulham get relegated!

*this is in no way a dig but international football management is now much less profile than even middling EPL teams. espically outside about 4 or 5 international teams.

**Steve Bruce** · 11/04/2007, 4:05 PM

Originally Posted by galwayhoop

yeah true but it is hard to think of any manager who has combined 2 roles successifully in recent times. also the 6-8 games a year involve 5 days each time. so it becomes 30/40 days in the year. during international breaks club managers don't take a holiday either but stay at their clubs to work with non-international, improve their tactics, go to coaching workshops and seminars and work with injured/returning players.

True, but with two small concerns(Fulham are a small concern in EL football and NI are a small concern in World Football) I would think he could balance them both.

is he then committing fully on the job at hand? as i said i feel that while it may seem acceptable to mix roles it may be less so in reality.
Well I don't think he is able to check up on all the players now anyway, so one or two extra people scouting for him, shouldnt make much difference I would hope.

sounds like newspaper talk to me. but if not, can a manager deal fairly with a player (or be seen to deal fairly) when he is involved with him at both club and international level? is there the possibility that the manager has the temptation to play a player for reasons more benefical to the managers other role?
It is 100% paper talk and I don't think Lawrie would put him in a position where he could lose credibility by doing such things. His job would soon become unatainable if that sort of thing happened.

maybe...... but i doubt it
It was a tongue in cheek remark

anyway, i think that while at this current time the situation may be crystal clear i.e. he is doing a care-taker job for 5 games as NI have no competitive games till august. if he lands the fulham job full-time i just think it will be unfeasible for him to hold onto both roles and unfortunately, for NI, the lesser profile job* will go. he would be a big loss and if i were a NI fan i would be now hoping that Fulham get relegated!

*this is in no way a dig but international football management is now much less profile than even middling EPL teams. espically outside about 4 or 5 international teams.
I know exactly what your saying and your right we are minnows of European and World football(also probably the most successfull minnows in the World)

Also I would hope that Lawrie can't save Fulham as they are a two bit club with very little support. I would be happier if he got the Everton or Man City job or the likes. Although he would be a huge loss to NI, I respect what he has done for us and has brought some pride back into our national team. Who would have thought when he took over that we would be in front of the ROI in the rankings. I'm not rubbing anyones face in it, but the ROI where streets ahead, they had(still do) a better team on paper and regulary got good results. Now the tide has turned a bit and it is NI who are beating the big teams with limited players.

Responses in bold

**AnnaghRed** · 11/04/2007, 6:20 PM

Hopefully Fulham will get relegated and we get to keep Sanchez till the end of the qualifying campaign. Be a crying shame if he left under a cloud now.

Hope i'm wrong but Sanchez or not, cant see us finishing higher than fourth in the group anyway.

**Steve Bruce** · 12/04/2007, 9:14 AM

Originally Posted by AnnaghRed

Hopefully Fulham will get relegated and we get to keep Sanchez till the end of the qualifying campaign. Be a crying shame if he left under a cloud now.

Hope i'm wrong but Sanchez or not, cant see us finishing higher than fourth in the group anyway.

I don't know if it is paper talk(I think the truth is stretched slightly) but they claim that he could get up to 10 times his current wage if he keeps Fulham up.

**galwayhoop** · 12/04/2007, 12:04 PM

Originally Posted by Steve Bruce

I don't know if it is paper talk(I think the truth is stretched slightly) but they claim that he could get up to 10 times his current wage if he keeps Fulham up.

thats what i am getting at really. we have all seen in the past where a manager refuses a 'big' job to stay put at a smaller club or international team. when he decides to move he may not get the 'big' job offer again. sanchez is on record as saying he wants to return to club management after this campaign but i fear, for ye, that if offered something, like what you are saying, the move may come sooner.

just look to scotland for a recent example of a manager leaving his international team when all seemed to be going swimmingly - could walter smith not have done both jobs like is being suggested above about sanchez?

perhaps NI will qualify for euro08, but in reality are likely to fall just short so as i said above he may cash in his chips now and get a massive salary with a mid-level premiership outfit.

if NI went on a bad run from now until the end of the campaign do you think he would be so high profile or would the next great white hope take his place? remember how popular stuart pierce was about a year or so ago and how he is just clinging to his job now! football is a here and now industry and there are very few second chances!

bottom line is if i were a NI supporter i would be more hopeful than confident that sanchez will be able to combine both roles, and if he can it will be untill november at the very, very latest.

presume theres no chance that mcIlroy will come back?

**Steve Bruce** · 12/04/2007, 1:20 PM

Originally Posted by galwayhoop

thats what i am getting at really. we have all seen in the past where a manager refuses a 'big' job to stay put at a smaller club or international team. when he decides to move he may not get the 'big' job offer again. sanchez is on record as saying he wants to return to club management after this campaign but i fear, for ye, that if offered something, like what you are saying, the move may come sooner.

just look to scotland for a recent example of a manager leaving his international team when all seemed to be going swimmingly - could walter smith not have done both jobs like is being suggested above about sanchez?

perhaps NI will qualify for euro08, but in reality are likely to fall just short so as i said above he may cash in his chips now and get a massive salary with a mid-level premiership outfit.

if NI went on a bad run from now until the end of the campaign do you think he would be so high profile or would the next great white hope take his place? remember how popular stuart pierce was about a year or so ago and how he is just clinging to his job now! football is a here and now industry and there are very few second chances!

bottom line is if i were a NI supporter i would be more hopeful than confident that sanchez will be able to combine both roles, and if he can it will be untill november at the very, very latest.

presume theres no chance that mcIlroy will come back?

On regards to NI qualifying. It is quite conceivable that we could win our next 3 games. That would give us a nice wee tally and I would expect to collect atleast 3 points between Sweden, Denmark and Spain.

**Risteard** · 12/04/2007, 2:04 PM

Feck, i just looked there and you're right.
Though, they might have to beat either Sweden or Spain.
Could then probably affor to lose to the other of the pair + denmark

**Steve Bruce** · 12/04/2007, 3:21 PM

Originally Posted by Risteard

Feck, i just looked there and you're right.
Though, they might have to beat either Sweden or Spain.
Could then probably affor to lose to the other of the pair + denmark

Well my hope is to win our next 3 games, then beat Denmark at Windsor and hopefully get a draw from either Swedan or Spain, I am hoping though that Swedan will hammer Spain and Denmark and I Hope Denmark and Spain cut there won throats and draw.