Nobes' Trivia Question Three - solution

Two weeks ago, we asked the question:

WHERE'S NOBES?

Here's what he told you.

This week I'm at a football ground. This stadium was opened in this Millennium, and the first team to win a league game here played in blue.

This ground, which isn't in the Football League, saw its record attendance in a game against Leyton Orient. Oh, and there's a big bronze statue outside this ground too.

Did you get the answer?

Nobes was at Oxford United's Kassam Stadium!


The ground was opened in 2001, and Rochdale, playing in blue, beat the home side 2-1 in the first Football League game there.

The U's now play in the Conference, a division they were relegated to after a final day loss against Leyton Orient, where they had their record attendance. The big bronze statue outside the ground is of an Ox.

Well done if you got the answer right, and Nobes will have another poser for you shortly.

Back To The Future?

As Ronnie Moore prepares to take the reins at Rotherham United for a second time, Nobes considers that old adage in football that you should never return.

There's something about football fans that, every time they have a vacancy in the managerial chair, it makes them look to the past. Through misty eyed glasses, looking back warmly on days gone by, they petition for a former manager to once more take on team affairs.

Of course, it goes against all beliefs that, in football, you should never return. Just don't go back. So why do managers do it all the time? If you've had success somewhere, why go back? Why risk spoiling things? Why take the chance of tarnishing the the high-regard you are held in?

We'll never know for sure. Perhaps their own arrogance or self-confidence that they will be a success wherever they go, and really won't be putting their reputation at a club at risk.

Either way, it's just one of those elements of football that we'll never understand. However, perhaps we're the wrong ones. Maybe going back isn't always the disaster it's cracked up to be. So let's consider the evidence.

Jan Molby

The Dane was appointed manager at Conference club Kidderminster in 1999, and won promotion to the Football League in his first season at Aggborough. There, he helped establish the Worcestershire club in the fourth tier, before getting the call from ambitious Hull City.

His tenure at the Tigers was a short and unsuccessful one, and with Harriers struggling towards the bottom of League Two, Mobly returned to help keep the club up.

However, with Kiddy once again struggling the following season, Molby departed for a second time. Harriers were relegated at the end of the season and are still in the Conference today.

Verdict: Should never have returned. Fans felt betrayed when he left to Hull, and despite keeping them up when he first returned, he left them staring the Conference in the face.


Graham Taylor

Former England boss Taylor made his name at Watford when, after taking charge in 1977, he led the club from the Fourth to the First Division in just five seasons. He established the Hornets at that level and took them to an FA Cup final.

Left for Aston Villa after a decade in Hertfordshire, but returned via England and an unsuccessful spell at Wolves. Won the League One title in his first season back, and then took the club up to the Premier League the following year.

Couldn't prevent an instant return to the second tier though, and retired from the game in 2001.

Verdict: An unqualified success. Taylor once again weaved his magic at Vicarage Road, taking the club into the Premier League for the first time in their history. Man and football club went together perfectly.


Steve Parkin

Parkin took over at struggling Rochdale in 1999, and led the club to 9th in his first season. The next year they finished 8th, missing out on the play-offs by a point, and were riding high the following season when he left for Barnsley in 2001.

He failed to keep the Oakwell club up, and after a poor start the subsequent year, he left the Reds before returning to Spotland 14 months later. He helped stave off relegation, and led the club to 9th again in 2005.

A mid-table finish was secured the next season but, with Dale struggling, he was sacked in 2006 and replacement Keith Hill has enjoyed great success.

Verdict: Take away his final few months, and Parkin didn't do too badly on returning. Things had become stale before he left the club, but not a disastrous second spell.


Tony Pulis

Welshman Pulis joined Stoke City in 2002 with the club battling relegation from the Championship. He took them to successive top half finishes before parting company with the Potters in the summer of 2005.

Joined struggling Plymouth and turned around their fortunes before being persuaded back to the Britannia Stadium. Narrowly missed out on the play-offs in his first season back, before securing automatic promotion in 2008.

Kept City in the Premier League last season, where he continues to establish them.

Verdict: Pulis's departure first time around was controversial, and his return was greeted with a mixed response from fans. However he's worked wonders since and made the right decision to return.


Micky Adams

The current Port Vale manager took over at basement division Brighton in 1999 and, after finishing mid-table in his first campaign, won the league the next.

Albion were top of League One when he left to become assistant manager at Premier League Leicester, and the side Adams left won promotion at the end of the season.

He returned to the Withdean in 2008, but took a side who finished in the top half of League One the previous season into a relegation battle and he left after less than a year back with the Seagulls.

Verdict: A prime example of why managers should never go back. Adams enjoyed great success in his first spell, and was it always going to be hard to repeat that.


Steve Bruce

Bruce's first spell at Wigan Athletic came in 2001, when he helped the club into the League One play-offs. However, after losing in the semi finals to Reading, he walked out on the Greater Manchester club to join Crystal Palace.

Six years later, and he returned to the JJB Stadium with Wigan a Premier League outfit. Staved off the drop and then consolidated the Latics in mid-table before departing for Sunderland this summer.

Verdict: A difficult one to judge. His first spell was very short, and the club were transformed once he returned.


Paul Sturrock

Sturrock was appointed Plymouth manager in 2000 with the club struggling in the basement division. After a mid-table finish in his first season, the Pilgrims stormed to the League Two title with 102 points.

Two years later, the club were on the brink of promotion to the Championship when the Scot left for Southampton, but Argyle went on to win another title and promotion.

Re-joined the club in November 2007 from Swindon, and maintained the Pilgrims battle for the play-offs before eventually finishing the season in 10th.

However, last season the Devon side finished 21st, just a few points off relegation, after sliding down the table in the New Year. Sturrock remains at Home Park, but Plymouth currently prop up the Championship with just two points from eight games.

Verdict: If reports are to be believed, Sturrock is close to getting the axe at Argyle. Should it happen, it will confirm what was a mistake to return to a club where he was once so revered. Past success counts for little when relegation is in the offing.

So then, what does all that tell us? Well, perhaps unsurprisingly with the beautiful game, it's unpredictable and a mixed bag.

Interestingly though, all the managers who won promotion or a title with their club in the first spell, failed in their second coming. Those who didn't achieve as much first time around fared better on their return though.

Perhaps that's the problem. A successful manager returning raises hopes and expectation levels and it's always unlikely that lightning will strike twice. It just makes it all the more painful where a former hero ends up getting the sack.

So, unless you've some unfinished business and something to prove, let the good times and memories live on, and please, don't go back.

Millers go back for Moore

The managerial merry-go round came around full circle yesterday as Ronnie Moore returned as boss at Rotherham United.

The 56-year-old spent eight years with the South Yorkshire club, taking them from the basement division to the Championship and keeping them there before his departure in 2005.

Now, with the Millers back in the fourth tier, he has been lured back by the task of taking them up the pyramid once again.

It's a return to the game that won't surprise many though.

Despite leaving the club bottom of the Championship with relegation inevitable, fans recognised Moore's efforts in first getting them there, and then making a small club punch above their weight for so long.

So, when Mark Robins, who played under Moore, departed to Barnsley, he was the overwhelming choice amongst fans to return. However, whilst United are third in the division and looking strong promotion contenders, it remains a risky move for the Liverpudlian.

Failure to win a promotion most expected Robins would have delivered would tarnish his reputation at the club. Golden memories count for little at 5pm on a Saturday when three points have been lost.

It would also fuel the critics who believe that managers should never return to a club where they've enjoyed previous sucess. For a manager whose teams play the percentage game, Moore is taking a bit of a gamble.

Indeed, his reputation has been built on producing hard-working, uncompromising sides - difficult to play against, and sometimes difficult to watch. His departure from Oldham in the summer of 2006 was blamed on fans not taking to him and poor season ticket sales, despite a 10th placed finish.

Then a return to his spiritual home, Tranmere, saw Rovers secure top half finishes for three successive seasons, only missing out on the play-offs on the final day of last season.

His shock sacking in June was met with incredulity from those in the game. The current failure of his replacement, John Barnes, only serving to confirm what many believed to have been a poor decision on the Wirral.

Moore won successive promotions with Rotherham in his first spell at the club

However, Moore's return to Rotherham is not wholly straightforward. He has always been a manager who has preferred to build his own side. Will he be smart enough to sacrifice his preferred 4-3-3 system and direct football to continue the good work Robins was doing with the current crop of players at Rotherham?

A quick glance towards Prenton Park and his old club should be enough to convince him that a style that suits the players, not the manager, is the way to success.

Moore, a typically old-fashioned manager, should place faith in that old adage about not fixing unbroken things. Instead, a passionate and infusive character, he should be able to inspire a honeymoon period for the Millers as he settles back into things.

If the team who currently play at Sheffield's Don Valley athletics stadium can hit the ground running under their new manager, then their promising early form and promotion hopes can be further strengthened.

On leaving the club four years ago he declared that Rotherham "would always have a place in my heart." When he leaves a second time, he must hope they'll still have a place in theirs for him.

Nobes.