If Sol is so smart, he would stay out of management

SOL CAMPBELL says he has one of the greatest minds in football. This may not actually be true, as he still wants to get into football management. Has he not heard of Uwe Rosler?

Last year, Rosler took Fleetwood Town into the League One play-offs, having finished fourth, four points off automatic promotion. They lost 1-0 to Bradford over two legs. It was an incredible feat, though, considering Fleetwood were the smallest team in the league, with the poorest average gate, 3,272. They have maintained that position in the attendance table this season — an even lower average gate, 3,096, which places them bottom of League One, would put them 17th in League Two and not even top four in the National League — but their standing in the league proper has collapsed. Between losing to Leicester in an FA Cup replay on January 16 and a 3-0 defeat at Doncaster on February 17, Rosler presided over a run of seven straight defeats, including five in the league. Hovering just above relegation, he was sacked.

No doubt it didn’t look good. Yet what did chairman Andy Pilley and his board expect? Fleetwood are small, even for League One. Form can be mercurial at that level.

The run before the slump included four wins and a draw against Premier League Leicester in six matches.

Did Rosler not merit some time to turn the slump around? This is the world Campbell is desperate to enter. If he was that smart, he’d run a mile.