Forest Green Rovers have sacked manager Troy Deeney just one day after Maxi Oyedele joined the struggling club on loan from Premier League giants Manchester United.
It’s certainly been a bad week for exponents of ‘tough love’.
Some 72 hours after ex-Red Devils boss Jose Mourinho paid the price for a dismal run of Serie A form and another Roma derby defeat to Lazio, Troy Deeney was handed his P45 too, bringing an immediate end to a short-lived managerial reign which will be remembered most for his bristling, fork-tongued, post-match lambasting of his Forest Green charges.
In truth, Maxi Oyedele may be better off without a manager who’s brutal savaging of his own players made Mourinho look comparatively genial.
Troy Deeney sacked by Forest Green Rovers
The Manchester United starlet joined the League Two strugglers on loan this week, just one day before Deeney’s sacking.
“Maxi is a wonderful talent. We’re extremely lucky to have him here,” former Watford captain Deeney told the Forest Green website after Oyedele arrived on loan.
“The fans will enjoy watching him. And we need to make sure we get him in a place where he can showcase his talents.”
Now in most cases, the departure of a manager who signed you in that very same week would be seen as a bad thing. Destabilising, at the very least. But not necessarily in Oyedele’s case.
Deeney obviously rated the fresh-faced forward highly. But, as poor Fankaty Dabo found out recently, the 35-year-old is not exactly the arm-around-the-shoulder type when things go belly-up. Maybe Oyedele, a player still with a lot to learn, will end up breathing a sigh of relief if Deeney is replaced at The New Lawn with a coach a little more in tune to the requirements of ‘man management’.
Maxi Oyedele leaves Manchester United on loan
Oyedele, a Salford-born Poland under-21 international, has been a Manchester United player since joining from Burnley over a decade ago. This is his first spell in the EFL. Oyedele scored four goals in 12 games on loan at non-league Altrincham last season.
“(United) got some top prospects,” Altrincham boss Phil Parkinson said. “With Maxi Oyedele, (a) real top, top player who will have a great career.”