Steve Eyre Sacked

4 wins in 21 games. That`s what got Steve Eyre sacked. He and Frankie Bunn leave Rochdale in the bottom four and 2 points from safety and with the biggest squad in the club`s history. 28 players are registered for the first team, but none of those were able to help on Saturday as Dale found it impossible to score past a Yeovil team that had decided that progressing past the half way line would amount to treason, and so, like an office worker waiting for the last train home after Christmas drinks, they just sat back and waited for 90 minutes to pass.

Chairman Chris Dunphy felt he had no other option: “Unfortunately we’re in a results-driven industry and four wins out of 21 is not acceptable. We’re also on the biggest budget we’ve ever done at Rochdale, which is not a fortune but it is a big clump.

You add them all together and I feel that I’ve done everything I can as chairman to support the management team, and if we’re not getting results the only thing I can do is change the management team.”

To use the budget as a criticism of Eyre does seem a little harsh. Considering the club sold Chris O`Grady for £350K in the summer, and received a healthy compensation package for Keith Hill, Eyre`s spending has limited, with the majority of his signings being either free or loanees.



Signings though, seem to have acted as the prompt for Eyre to go. With the January transfer window coming up, Dunphy clearly felt that if Eyre had to go, it had to be now to give his replacement time to improve the squad. Eyre, it would seem, wasn`t trusted to make the right calls.



People who might not be so pleased that Eyre has left are the backroom staff. After years of task master Keith Hill prowling the halls, Eyre`s affable and personable style didn`t go unnoticed by staff, or indeed the chairman.



This has been a very difficult decision because Steve and Frankie are really nice people and we have enjoyed working with them.”

Whether you think this is a good decision depends largely on what expectations you have for this season. Here at Vital Rochdale, considering the staff upheaval and the loss of key players, coupled with an average gate of no higher than 3,000, we feel staying in League One this year would have represented success.

With the club a win away from being out of the relegation spots, and Eyre`s track record of improving players the longer he works with them, that`s not unfathomable.



Dunphy though disagrees, and feels somebody else can do a lot better. Here`s hoping he`s right.



Do you agree with the sacking? Why / Why not? Join the debate below.