Lennie Lawrence - The Low-down!

The name John Toshack being called up yet again as our possible next boss was what prompted me to do this article. How well as Lawrence done since he came to Ninian Park?

The chants of "We want Corky out" as City slumped to a 4-0 defeat at the JJB Stadium in the latter parts of the 2001/2002 season were enough for the current Leicester City assistant Alan Cork, who resigned the following Monday. The pressure had been on Cork for several months as he failed to lead the squad towards the promotion despite the millions invested. Lennie Lawrence, a manager with great managerial experience in the Football League, had been appointed Director of Football at Ninian Park earlier in the season, and chairman Sam Hammam showed little hesitation in handing him the place at the helm.

Lawrence then took the club on an incredible run of 14 games unbeaten and the season looked almost certain to end with promotion through the playoffs after City went from mid-table to just missing out on promotion. However, Stoke broke City's hearts in a shocking second leg of the semi-finals, and Bluebird supporters endured another season of third flight football.

However, Lawrence did the business the next season. City finished in an underachieving 6th after an woeful run towards the end of the season, however victories over rivals Bristol City and Queens Park Rangers in the play-offs sent City to the promised land; the dizzy heights of First Division football!

Still, despite gaining promotion it is clear Lennie Lawrence is not exactly one of the Sir Alex Ferguson's of this world. His team selections are predictable to say the least, and his negotiating skills on the transfer market have come under scrutiny after three players were allowed to slip away from the clutches of Cardiff City after being only minutes away from putting pen-to-paper.

City's biggest ambition is to earn a place in the Premiership, and although most supporters would be happy with the club consolidating itself as a First Division outfit for the next few seasons, the general consensus is that Lawrence is not the man to lead the club forward another division. Perhaps the statistics below will prove how good at his job Lennie 'the Lion' Lawrence really is:

Cardiff City Record:

Lawrence has been victorious in over half of his matches since arriving at the helm of Wales' top club, but you can take impressive record in two minds. The 2002/2003 season saw City labelled as Second Division favourites by a country mile and expectation amongst supporters and the board was huge, but as it was City finished the table 19 points behind run-away leaders Wigan Athletic and only managed to scrape a play-off place despite the millions of pounds invested by owner Sam Hammam.

Still, despite the underachieving season the City still gained promotion to the First Division for the first time in eighteen years, giving many younger supporters their first taste of football in the higher regions of the Football League. The recent dip in form has hazed over the season some what, but Lawrence still had an excellent and surprising campaign and looks set to secure First Division football for another season.

Lawrence is a manager with excellent experience which is perhaps the main factor to how he has developed to life in England's second flight so quickly. He has been at the helm of clubs at all four levels of the Football League and has always been assistant manager, coach and reserve team boss at clubs. To judge how good a manager Lawrence is I have created a table which basically looks at his record at every club he has managed.

Career Record:

This record is a little lesser impressive! However, it is clear that in Lawrence we have a manager of great experience, who has managed some struggling clubs in his past. In my opinion although he is not the kind of manager who is going to end his career and remembered for winning any trophies, he is a decent manager at this level and one who should be able to help the club consolidate in the second flight. I'm not one of these people who says we shouldn't criticise or 'boo' the players and staff because as fans who pay to watch the team play, that is our divine right. Still, I think it's important the supporters don't get on Lawrence's' back to quickly.

All of the above statistics are correct as of Friday January 9th 2003, and will obviously change when more matches are played. If you would like to give and feedback on this article, or fancy doing a similar one yourself for another manager of a totally different topic then please don't hesitate to e-mail me.

Do you think Lawrence is the right man for the job at Ninian Park? Leave your thoughts on the messageboard and vote on the BTTB Web-Poll.

Contact the Author