Change not always the best way forward

TEAMtalk's Matty Briggs feels Hull City should have kept faith with Phil Brown, saying chopping and changing managers is not the way forward. When Hull put Phil Brown 'in the garden' and replaced him with Iain Dowie, I dare say the hoards on the Humber thought survival was assured.But with just five games remaining, the Tigers, under Dowie, appear doomed and the decision to axe Brown looks to have backfired.Brown certainly wasn't tearing up any trees with his results at The KC (Hull were in the bottom three when he left) but the decision to replace him with Dowie was a shock, and results certainly haven't improved. The weekend's 4-1 home mauling by fellow relegation 'certs' Burnley has left Hull deep in trouble with only Portsmouth below them.All too often, managers of the strugglers are given the boot in the hope of a 'quick fix' and a 'honeymoon period' coming to the rescue. It has certainly not paid off at The KC and despite my dislike for Brown - remember his on-the-pitch teamtalk, and karaoke antics on the last day of last season - I genuinely believe he would have made a better fist of keeping Hull in the big time.Burnley are also another side who have changed managers, and they too look like relegation fodder. However their circumstances were a little different, because Owen Coyle decided to leave for Bolton and the Clarets were forced to look for a replacement. The man coming in was Brian Laws and he, despite having more time to impose his ideas, looks destined to take the Clarets back down after one season in the top flight.Elsewhere, Portsmouth have already been relegated - mainly due to their nine-point penalty - but I dare say their chopping and changing hasn't helped their cause. If you take a look at West Ham, Wigan and Wolves - who all look likely to survive - you can certainly make a case for teams sticking by their man. The Hammers could easily have given Gianfranco Zola the boot, and he might even go in the summer, but you have to give credit to the owners for sticking with the Italian through tough times. Zola looks like guiding the Hammers to safety and David Sullivan and David Gold probably realised that a change so late in the season would be counter-productive. A change might well happen in the close season, but then the new man would get time to introduce his own players and ideas without the added pressure of a relegation battle.Roberto Martinez and Mick McCarthy have also been giving breathing space at Wigan and Wolves respectively and ultimately the patience of their chairmen looks like paying off.

Source: Team_Talk