Alex McLeish leaves Nottingham Forest by mutual catapult
Wednesday 06 February 2013 11:48
Back of the Net's John Foster reports on another unhappy ending for the put-upon Scotsman...
Alex McLeish’s brief and unsuccessful spell at Nottingham Forest is over, after club chairman Fawaz al-Hasawi announced the former Aston Villa boss had agreed to leave the Championship side by being catapulted into the River Trent.
McLeish was parachuted in to consolidate Forest’s promotion push, but his reign got off to a bad start when he collided with the City Ground roof upon landing, breaking his collarbone. An early run of defeats and a small gas leak saw the Forest hotseat quickly turn into a firefighting job, with McLeish suffering first-degree burns while putting out the blaze.
In the wake of last weekend’s 2-1 defeat to Birmingham City, many observers believed McLeish had dug himself into a hole, after the 54-year old retreated into a freshly-constructed bunker in his garden with just a blanket and some cheese straws.
"A helmet? No, I'm not really sure there's much point..."
Al-Hasawi assumed the chairmanship of Forest in mid-December, promising fans a new broom. However, his promised January investment did not materialise, leaving the struggling McLeish "dismayed and sooty".
"We appreciate the great efforts of Alex and his staff," Hasawi said in a statement. "But looking at the league table, it is clear to the board that the best course of action is to strap Alex into a trebuchet, weigh him down with stones, and hurl him into the freezing water. We would like to wish him the best of luck."
McLeish had been brought in just 40 days ago to replace Sean O’Driscoll, who took Forest to within a point of the play-offs before being fired from a cannon into Bridgford Park. O’Driscoll’s predecessor, Steve Cotterill, lasted just two days following Hasawi’s takeover before he was seized from his bed by masked men and strapped to the front of a Virgin Pendolino train heading north.
Al-Hasawi refused to comment on reports linking former Southampton boss Nigel Adkins with the vacancy, but did confirm that the club want to have both a new manager and a state-of-the-art snake pit in place before the next home game against Bolton Wanderers.
More from Back of the Net
New edition of Lovers' Guide contains copious Berbatov references
Man City target revealed to be Renaissance philosopher
Tragedy as Man Utd unravel Zaha, instead of unveiling him
Pardew forced to admit Newcastle new boy has melted
QPR new boy Loïc Rémy promises “some kind of spree”
Pep Guardiola joins every club in the world but Chelsea
Sneijder not selected for backyard kickabout with own son
All Back of the Net blogs >>