Soccer Portal

With all the pressure on Premier League managers and with managerial departures and sackings as high as ever, sometimes it’s important to look behind the headlines and appreciate just what a difference can be made had a match finished differently. Take Danny Wilson at Swindon Town and Northampton Town’s Ian Sampson – both have left their jobs; one resigned (Wilson) and one sacked (Sampson) but turn the clock back to 2010 and their fortunes were much brighter.

Wilson had led the Robins to the play-off final at Wembley after disposing of Charlton Athletic in the semi-finals and stood just 90 minutes away from bringing Championship football to the County Ground and maybe, just maybe, dreams of elevation to the Premier League once more. In the end his team lost 3-2 to Millwall and another season of fighting tooth and nail to escape the increasingly competitive League One beckoned.

Except that Wilson would attempt the escape without his captain Gordon Greer who moved on to Brighton and one half of a prolific strike-force as Billy Paynter left for Leeds United. His hand was further weakened in January when former brickie turned hitman Charlie Austin headed north to Burnley. Had he won in May, they may all have stayed and tried their hand at Championship football with Swindon, they didn’t, the Robins struggled to find a lofty perch and in the end it was Wilson who decided to leave the nest.

Sampson has a different tale to tell, none of it Cobblers I can assure you. The caretaker after Stuart Gray was sacked, Sampson was handed the reigns last year and presided over survival for the team and began the new campaign with a mixture of youth and experience. Then came a night at Anfield which every Northampton fan is still pinching themselves about even now. After standing toe-to-toe with Liverpool in a 2-2 draw, the Cobblers showed true grit to seal a famous penalty shoot-out triumph and a run in the competition which was only ended by Ipswich.

But they didn’t kick on and after a run of six draws in a row, Sampson was shown the door following a 3-2 defeat against Burton, a team with a staggering SIX games in hand on everyone else!. While they left their posts in very different ways, both men have suffered for raising expectations and then not achieving them.

For Wilson a day at Wembley needed to end in promotion or at least a place in the promotion shake up this campaign – failure was not an option. For Sampson, a win at Anfield provoked thoughts of perhaps a push up the table and maybe a sniff at the play-offs, not bobbing along in League Two, not going up but not going down. Both have suffered from the short-termism in football now where fear of relegation dominates a chairman’s mind and makes them make changes.

So, any of you brave souls in the play-off zone, good luck and if you do reach Wembley remember: Winning has never been so important!