Picture the scene

A provincial club with a history of much mediocrity, but which has also won two League Cups, played in Europe relatively recently, and for a time, was seen as THE club punching heaviest beyond its weight in the whole country, are relegated after one season in the Premiership. Just over a year later, this club, whose supporters consider it something of a sleeping giant, and have expectations of at the very least seriously challenging for a return to the top flight, appoint a young, intelligent Scottish manager, with interesting opinions and who is clearly a deep thinker on the game.

But the trouble is that the club in question has serious financial problems, and a team which has plainly reached the end of the line, and needs to be broken up. As a result, the manager has precious little to work with, and initially has little choice other than to replace quality with quantity. The fans never really take to him - he isn't the 'big name' they'd demanded - and although they are aware of what a difficult job the new man has taken on, they still can't really tolerate the mind-numbing mediocrity which follows.

Because of the manager's connections, and the fact that bringing in players from the SPL is relatively cheap, a succession of Scottish players are signed. But if anything, the supporters just become more and more frustrated: they can't see any progress being made, and the new players hardly seem to be adding real quality to the squad. A year on, the club finds itself in much the same position as it was when the manager took over: struggling near the foot of the Championship. And even though this is the first season without parachute payments, and despite the fact that it was clear when the manager was appointed just what a long haul was necessary to turn things round, he is dismissed: most fans not in the least bit sorry to see him go.

But at the club, very little changes. It continues to potter around in the lower reaches, just staves off relegation, and goes through three further managers, sacking the last one after he leads the team to a 4-1 thrashing of the likely Champions. And although a new owner has arrived, promising the world and apparently answering the fans' calls for a white knight to rescue them, he behaves like a lunatic, and has just described those fans understandably unhappy at the ludicrously quick demise of the previous coach as being guilty of "poisoning the club".

The thing is folks, it may seem bad now - but it could get an awful lot worse under someone else. Only if a manager with a proven record at getting teams out of this league was available and interested would sacking Peter Grant be the right thing to do - but would Paul Jewell be interested in Norwich? Hardly: he'll want a Premier League job when he returns to the game. Royle is too old, and past his best; Warnock just wouldn't be accepted by the fans. And who does that leave? Sacking Craig Levein didn't work for Leicester; why would getting rid of Grant this fast work for us?

Give him at least until Christmas - then let's see where we are. Oh, and Levein? Off he went to confirm what an impressive manager he actually is by being the first man in donkeys' years to haul Dundee United up off the canvas and back into contention. I'm not saying Grant would necessarily do something similar at his next club - but the problems go far, far deeper than just him, and he deserves time to be able to truly grapple with them.

Posted By: thebigfeller on September 23rd 2007 at 21:13:37

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