Coleman Leaves Real Sociedad

By: Martha | January 17th, 2008

An angry, angry man way down on the left. Welshman Chris Coleman’s adventures in the Spanish second division are at an end, as he resigned from his position in charge of Real Sociedad yesterday. In finest managerial tradition, his departure comes less than a week after a firm announcement of his decision to stay which, in turn, came shortly after he’d threatened to leave. Got all that?

Coleman took over at freshly relegated Sociedad six months ago, after being recommended by John Toshack, who had three stints the club. Things were rocky at the start, but under Coleman’s guidance, the club has lost only once in their last 11 matches, and are fifth in the Segunda División table, just a single point from a promotion spot. Thing were never smooth, though, despite his recent success, because in November, the person who had brought Coleman to Sociedad, Chairwoman (Chairperson?) Maria de la Pena, resigned, and he offered to follow her out (his offer was politely refused). Then, after elections at the start of this month, a new chairman came in, bringing with him different goals and new processes.

According to Coleman himself, he first met that chairman, Inaki Badiola, late last year when, as a candidate for the job, he sat down with Coleman to inform him of his plans. Since Badiola wanted to bring in as many as eight new players in the January transfer window, as well as a more continental management style — namely that the coach coaches, while someone else (a Sporting Director, for example) makes personnel decisions, and decides what transfer go in and out — Coleman was immediately uneasy. While this system is the norm in a lot of European leagues, it’s obviously not how things are done in England, and the Welshman made it known even before the election that he might leave if Badiola was elected.

Then, when he was elected, there was an Important Meeting between Coleman, his assistant Steve Kean and the senior players in the team. Coleman explained to them what changes were likely in the next six months and, as recently as three days ago, decided to stay on. The only catch, obviously, is that by “on” he meant “for a few more days, thank you,” and a 37-year-old with five years of damn good head coaching experience is now available for anyone who wants to take a chance. (I wonder if Mike Ashley is kicking himself for not waiting just a few more hours … )