A Review of Cousins Galway tenure

Tony Cousins' reign as Galway Utd manager ended earlier today as the club's Executive Board took a unanimous decision to terminate the Dubliner's contract. A disappointing return of one point from their opening fixtures was obviously a contributing factor, but the manner in which his side lost to Shamrock Rovers may have sealed Cousins fate.

The home crowd left in droves well before the final whistle on Saturday night, clearly not impressed by the efforts on display. The Board will have surely noted this, as it hasn't been the first time the fans have been disgruntled by sub-par performances.

The club is now in its second season as a professional outfit, and while not on the budget of the bigger clubs in the league, chairman John Fallon obviously feels that their stated ambition of a Top 6 finish is beyond the capacity of the former Liverpool man. Whether their next appointment brings them to this level remains to be seen.

Those who haven't been watching the evolution of this side under Cousins have been quick to slate the timing of this announcement,but with three teams facing the trap door down into the abyss of Division 1 football, maybe it will turn out to be the correct decision in time.

Cousins arrived in Galway in June 2006, leaving his position as assistant to Paul Doolin at Drogheda Utd. The rookie boss spoke at the time of "the ambition and talent that is in the club". Unfortunately the talent was only able to secure a 3rd place finish that season, following an absorbing end of season tussle with Dundalk and Shamrock Rovers.

A club record run of nine consecutive victories during that campaign masked the fact that the team ultimately failed to push on for automatic promotion when well placed.

Luckily for Cousins, IAG and their selection criteria for entry into the new Premier Division were on hand to give Galway a lifeline. The diligent work of those behind the scenes had paid off in the biggest way possible and plans for a full-time squad were drawn up.

A battle with relegation was always on the cards in their first year back in the Premier, full-time or not. On a limited budget, recruitment of talented free agents was essential, and in this regard Cousins had mixed success.

Seven players have come and gone since the beginning of last season. Admittedly, the arrival of Gary Rogers, John Fitzgerald and Regillio Nootimeer added strength at the back, but in finding a proven goalscorer in his own image, Cousins struggled to find the right man.

Chris Amstrong and Patrick Mensah arrived and departed quickly, both having pocketed large cheques as injuries cut short their stay in the west. Some might say this was just bad luck, but Armstrong had a history of bad injuries while Mensah was an unknown entity.

Derek Glynn offered a ray of hope, but there was little support in the scoring stakes. While results on the road were impressive, supporters who braved the elements on the way up the Dyke Road were starved of any performances to cheer.

Finally, on August 24th,nearly six months into the season, Cousins steered his side to a merited 2-0 success over Sligo Rovers, but the wait had taken its toll on the home faithful.

Galway eventually finished eighth, and Fallon today stated that a similar position was agreed upon to be the minimum requirement this season.

Cousins must have known that a good start was required, ambitiously stating that a top 6 finish was his aim for the year. One point, one goal and three defeats later, Galway Utd are now managerless, and whoever the next incumbent may be, there is much work to be done on the banks of the Corrib.