It comes as no surprise to many I am sure, but the managerial team of Sammy Lee and Frank McParland have parted company with Bolton Wanderers. In his five and a half months as boss at the Reebok, Liverpool legend Lee hardly set the footballing world on fire, winning just a single Premier League game.

He was always fighting a losing battle, coming as he did in the shadow of ‘Big’ Sam Allardyce whose achievements would have been practically impossible to live up to. In his first managerial post, Lee seemed out of his depth. After decades in the game from player to coach, he finally got the call to manage and within 30 minutes of his debut his side was 3-0 down to struggling West Ham. Since then Lee has had his work cut out to make fans and critics alike take him seriously.

After finishing in a UEFA Cup spot last season, Wanderers fans would have hoped for a similar showing but many predicted the new boss would fail, and fail he did. Some would argue that such a short spell in the post makes it hard to make a judgment as to how he may have fared, but it was evident just how difficult it was becoming for the 48-year-old Scouser.

‘After finishing in a UEFA Cup spot last season, Wanderers fans would have hoped for a similar showing but many predicted the new boss would fail, and fail he did.’


No doubt many top names will be linked with the vacant post, but in the short term it seems that first-team coach Ricky Sbragia is more than likely to be placed in temporary charge, and what a way to start – an away trip to table-topping Arsenal.

Recent issues concerning veteran midfielder Gary Speed will no doubt add fuel to speculation that the Welshman may be favourite to take over the post, although the 38-year-old has insisted in recent weeks that the only reason he stepped down from his coaching post earlier in the season was so that he could concentrate on the playing.

Chairman Phil Gartside, who was only recently promising that Lee would be given time to succeed, told Bolton’s official website today: "This has been a difficult decision for all parties but we have agreed the time is right."

Remember, this is the same Phil Gartside who had ludicrously insisted Lee was a "better" manager than Allardyce and that it was Lee, not Big Sam, who had attracted star names Nicolas Anelka and El Hadji Diouf to the club.

So Little Sam is consigned to the dustbin of  managerial No.2s who just could not hack it as the main man – Les Reed, John Gorman, Brian Kidd, Roy Evans among them.

We're just waiting now for the chairman to stab him in the back, as he did with Allardyce, and for a new manager who has the thankless task of preventing Wanderers slipping out of the Premier League.

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