WHAT is it they say about buses? You wait ages for one and then three turn up at once? You could apply that to the Tameside area’s managerial situation over the last few days.
In this part of the world, bosses get hired and fired much less regularly than they once did. But in the space of a week three clubs parted company with their manager: Hyde, Glossop North End and Mossley. While, of course, Gary Lowe announced his intention to quit Curzon Ashton back in February. You have to go back to 1993 for such a mass turnover.
The interesting thing about Tols’s departure from Ewen Fields is not so much the decision as the terms used to describe it. These days it’s very rare for a club to admit to sacking a manager – that’s why I italicised “parted company”. It’s like saying “passed on” rather than “died”. Doesn’t sound so brutal but amounts to the same thing.
I can understand the Hyde board’s reasons for firing Tols, nevertheless I was sad to see him go. He was a great bloke to work with, clearly loved football not money, and I was very impressed with the way he conducted himself on 103.6FM Tameside Radio. There was no bitterness or rancour, just a plea to everyone at Hyde to get behind the club in the fight to avoid relegation.
 And the fans, officials and players certainly responded. There was a great atmosphere at the Hinckley game – no doubt helped by the good weather. If Scot McNiven and Steve Halford can conjour up so more victories I’m sure the Tigers will quickly put recent upheavals behind them and embrace a better future.
After Tols, the next domino to fall was Steve Young who resigned after being told he no longer figured in Glossop’s plans. It must have been a difficult pill for him to swallow when you consider that he led the Hillmen to their greatest success since promotion to the Footbal League first division – the FA Vase final at Wembley in 2009.
Ironically, that achievement may have led to Young’s undoing. National coverage and a few bob in the bank has given Glossop ambition. They see themselves in the Evo-stik first division north. They didn’t see Steve Young as the man to take them there.
Shaun Higgins quit as Mossley manager after less than a season in charge at Seel Park. It’s 30 years since the Bob Murphy glory days and no one has yet come close to matching him – not even Bob himself in follow-up spells as manager.
Speaking to Shaun – albeit very soon after his resignation – the tone of his voice suggested that he had simply had enough. He was much more cheerful the next day, and assured me the job hadn’t been too much for him. He was keen to have another go. Possibly he struggled to cope within the financial constraints he faced.
Were the Lilywhites wrong to put their faith in a youth policy? Over the years I’ve known lots of talk about all sorts of policies. I suppose they were all worth a try but I never knew one to fully succeed.
In 1994 Richard Dawson was in charge at Mossley. He was going to bring in players from Yorkshire and one, Craig Heseltine, used to travel all the way from Bridlington. Dawson lasted less than two months. Taffy Jones was a man with a superb record in Sunday football but I think he would agree that when he took over at Curzon Ashton in 1993 a lot of his young Sunday stars were unable to make the leap to the Northern Premier League first division.
Taff once told me that he was appointed to the Mossley job – in 1988 - only to get a phone call the following morning that the committee (or was that secretary Brian Cowburn?) had changed its mind.
From a journalist’s point of view, dealing with a sacked manager can be almost emotional. The man who’s lost his job may be angry, because he feels he was badly dealt with; or he may be bitterly upset.
 The first sacking I covered was Jimmy O’Connor. who was dismissed by Mossley in early 1987. He was sad not to have done better. Next came Dave Noble at Curzon (September). The Blues had joined the new formed NPL first division and quickly realised their traditional policy of promoting from within and running as an amateur outfit wasn’t working. Nobby was not impressed with the way he was treated.
And how do clubs feel about sacking the boss? Hyde chief executive Ted Davies told me he hated every minute of firing Neil Tolson. I’d like to know Dave Pace’s opinion. In the Nineties he got rid of something line ten managers in four years.