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 been a bad week for “tough love” advocates.
Some 72 hours after former Red Devils manager Jose Mourinho paid the value of a dismal run in Serie A and another defeat in Roma’s derby against Lazio, Troy Deeney also surpassed his P45, quickly ending a short-lived managerial reign that will be most remembered for his bristling, forked post-match complaint against his Forest Green wards.
In truth, Maxi Oyedele might be better off without a coach who savagely, brutally, made Mourinho brilliant.
The Manchester United starlet joined the League Two strugglers on loan this week, just one day before Deeney’s sacking.
“Maxi is a glorious talent. We are incredibly lucky to have him here,” former Watford captain Deeney told Forest Green after Oyedele joined on loan.
“Enthusiasts will see it. And we want to make sure we put him in a position where he can showcase his talent. “
Now, in most cases, the departure of a manager who recruited you in the same week would be a bad thing. Unsettling, to say the least. But not necessarily in the case of Oyedele.
Deeney was very fond of the fresh-faced striker. But, as the deficient Fankaty Dabo recently discovered, the 35-year-old is precisely the one who puts his arms around his shoulders when things go wrong. Perhaps Oyedele, a player who still has a lot to learn, will eventually breathe a sigh of relief if Deeney is replaced at The New Lawn by a coach a little more in keeping with the demands of “men’s management. “
Oyedele, a Salford-born Polish under-21 international, has been a Manchester United player since joining from Burnley more than a decade ago. This is his first stint in the EFL. Oyedele scored four goals in 12 loan games at non-league side Altrincham last season.
“(United) were given high hopes,” Altrincham manager Phil Parkinson said. “With Maxi Oyedele, (a) genuine player, the most sensible, who will have a wonderful career. “