Wednesday, May 3, 2017

Just how rotten is Richie Foran's record?

It's five days since Caley Thistle's Highland Derby disaster.  Seven points adrift with four games to go, relegation is pretty much a certainty.  The performance in Dingwall was simply dreadful, with the side completely devoid of confidence, discipline or leadership.  Commentator Derek Rae later stated it reminded him of Dundee United at the end of last season, which is a pretty good comparison.

But despite that nightmare, which follows on from conceding four at Motherwell and three at home to St. Johnstone, and the current run of just one win in twenty-three league games since the end of October, Richie Foran seems to be remarkably immune.  Either the board have remarkable faith in him, or they are simply paralyzed by the horror of it all; regardless, it seems that he will remain in the dugout at least until safety is mathematically impossible.

But just for the record, how rotten has Foran's tenure been?  And how many other managers with such a poor record have lasted so long in a job?  Well, here's some food for thought.

Here are the twenty managers with the worst win percentage in Scotland's top flight since 1998-99, when the SPL era (and therefore all football) started.


PWDLFAPTSWin %Pts/gameFate
1Gerry CollinsPartick Thistle 2003140212123120.00%0.14Sacked
2Franck SauzeeHibernian 2001-021105681950.00%0.45Sacked
3Craig BrewsterDundee United 2006-0728211152756177.14%0.61Sacked
4Paul LambertLivingston 2005-062626181355127.69%0.46Resigned
5Barry SmithDundee 2012-1326351814461411.54%0.54Sacked
6Richie ForanInverness CT 2016-17344131736662511.76%0.74?
7Davie IronsGretna 2007-0825341822571312.00%0.52Resigned
8Eddie MayFalkirk 2009-1023381217361713.04%0.74Sacked
9Tommy CraigSt. Mirren 20141522111026813.33%0.53Sacked
10Allan PrestonLivingston 20041523101227913.33%0.60Sacked
11Jim McIntyreDunfermline 2011-1230471930661913.33%0.63Sacked
12Mick WadsworthGretna 20081324710261015.38%0.77Club went bust
13Terry ButcherHibernian 2013-1425481322372016.00%0.80Sacked
14John RobertsonLivingston 20061220101224616.67%0.50Managed club in division 1
15Billy StarkSt. Johnstone 2001-0230532219461816.67%0.60Managed club in division 1
16David HayDunfermline 2004-05356101928562817.14%0.80Sacked
17Steven PressleyFalkirk 20101535714211420.00%0.93Managed club in division 1
18Tom HendrieSt. Mirren 2000-0138862432723021.05%0.79Managed club in division 1
19John LambiePartick Thistle 2002-03388111937583521.05%0.92Retired
20Stephen KennyDunfermline 2006-0727661518392422.22%0.89Managed club in division 1

Some of those names bring back memories, and not good ones.  Gerry Collins and Franck Sauzee have become synonymous with failure, while it took a special level of incompetence to achieve what Brewster managed with Dundee United.  Paul Lambert of course went on to much better things in management but his spell with Livi was a disaster.  Barry Smith was on a hiding to nothing with a Dundee side who only ended up in the SPL because Rangers were chucked out.

Foran ranks sixth-worst.  Among those with better win percentages are Eddie May, Tommy Craig and Allan Preston.  Both the guys who managed Gretna during their march to liquidation have a better win percentage.  Even Terry Butcher's spell at Hibs wasn't as bad than this.

It's worth noting the Irishman is the only manager in the top 14 to last more than 30 Premiership games in charge.


What if we look at points per game instead?  Well, here's what we get.

PWDLFAPTSWin %Pts/gameFate
1Gerry CollinsPartick Thistle 2003140212123120.00%0.14Sacked
2Franck SauzeeHibernian 2001-021105681950.00%0.45Sacked
3Paul LambertLivingston 2005-062626181355127.69%0.46Resigned
4John RobertsonLivingston 20061220101224616.67%0.50Managed club in division 1
5Davie IronsGretna 2007-0825341822571312.00%0.52Resigned
6Tommy CraigSt. Mirren 20141522111026813.33%0.53Sacked
7Barry SmithDundee 2012-1326351814461411.54%0.54Sacked
8Allan PrestonLivingston 20041523101227913.33%0.60Sacked
9Billy StarkSt. Johnstone 2001-0230532219461816.67%0.60Managed club in division 1
10Craig BrewsterDundee United 2006-0728211152756177.14%0.61Sacked
11Jim McIntyreDunfermline 2011-1230471930661913.33%0.63Sacked
12Richie ForanInverness CT 2016-17344131736662511.76%0.74?
13Eddie MayFalkirk 2009-1023381217361713.04%0.74Sacked
14Mick WadsworthGretna 20081324710261015.38%0.77Club went bust
15Tom HendrieSt. Mirren 2000-0138862432723021.05%0.79Managed club in division 1
16Terry ButcherHibernian 2013-1425481322372016.00%0.80Sacked
17David HayDunfermline 2004-05356101928562817.14%0.80Sacked
18Stephen KennyDunfermline 2006-0727661518392422.22%0.89Managed club in division 1
19Jim LeishmanDunfermline 2005-065212112947884723.08%0.90Became General Manager
20John LambiePartick Thistle 2002-03388111937583521.05%0.92Retired


Aye, so it's not much better reading.  A high number of draws means that Foran 'improves' to twelfth, but look at the names above him.  It's still grim.  And again, no-one else with such a bad record lasted as long.

So, as regards the question "just how bad has Richie Foran's spell in charge of Caley Thistle been?", I think the answer is pretty obvious.


Lawrie Spence (LS) has ranted and spouted his ill-informed opinions on Narey's Toepoker since September 2007.  He has a life outside this blog.  Honestly.

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