Only in football eh?
Former Republic of Ireland star Simon Cox was once in a peculiar situation where three clubs wanted to buy him, but none of them had managers.
You would think that having manager is imperative for a club before they can go and buy players, but in this modern age when Football Directors have just as much power, they aren’t actually always a requirement.
In 2009 the Irish striker was in limbo about where to go next in his career, with Celtic, West Brom and Newcastle all interested in getting his signature.
However, as he explains on the latest episode of House of Football, the flying forward had to deal with things that were outside of his control.
“The three teams that were interested in me were West Brom, Celtic and Newcastle, so three teams, that were all in a bit of a transition phase as well at the time.
“So this is how my move to West Brom came about in a real quick form. Celtic didn’t have a manager. West Brom just had Tony Mowbray as a manager and Newcastle just got relegated and Alan Shearer was the manager and he obviously wasn’t taken over.
“So Newcastle didn’t have a manager, but both of these teams wanted me, so I had to wait for one of those two to appoint a manager.
House of Football ⚽️
🗣️ "I would've loved to play there." @SCoxy31Real chats with Eric Lalor and @enda_coll about his club career, Ireland under Trap and how he nearly signed for Celtic. 👀
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— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) December 12, 2023
“Tony Mowbray was the only person out of the West Brom hierarchy staff who didn’t want me at West Brom. So then when he went to Celtic, that was my Celtic move out the window.
“Then it was a race between Newcastle and West Brom, and I got a phone call from Dan Ashworth, who was the director for West Brom at the time, and he said, ‘We’re picking our manager in the next couple of days, he’s on board and he wants to bring you in as well.’
“He wouldn’t tell me who it was and then Newcastle didn’t appoint Chris Hughton until about four or five weeks later – so that’s how my move to West Brom came about.”
Related links:
- HOUSE OF FOOTBALL: Love Island, FAI funding and the life of a League of Ireland manager
- Gabby Agbonlahor gives savage take on Roy Keane becoming Ireland manager
- Lazio fans unfurl disgusting anti-Irish banners at Celtic game in Rome
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