Why City manager Todd had to go (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Why City manager Todd had to go

6:04am Tuesday 13th February 2007 in

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Bradford City manager Colin Todd was sacked to give the team a "spark" in their battle against relegation, the club's boss said today.Chairman Julian Rhodes said action had to be taken to reverse a slump that has seen City slip to within three points of the bottom four.Todd, City's longest-serving manager for 20 years, paid the price for an awful run of only three wins since September.Mr Rhodes said: "We are in a relegation dogfight and 16 points from 20 games is poor form by any standards. I'm not saying it's all Colin's fault by any stretch but something needed to change and unfortunately it's normally the manager who goes in this situation."It was always at the back of my mind and I just felt after losing at Gillingham on Saturday that we were in need of a spark."I don't think it came as a great surprise to Colin. He has been at the club for three years in which we've been through some difficult times. He has done a good job but unfortunately the last 20 games haven't gone our way and that was compounded because we did so well at the start of the season."Captain David Wetherall has been put in temporary charge for Saturday's game with Crewe as City look for their first home win for two months. Rhodes believes he will provide a "safe pair of hands" while he considers a permanent replacement."I thought he was the natural choice. I've always felt that David will make a good manager at some point and this will be good experience for him.We've got two crucial home games coming up against Crewe and Brentford and I'd like to think we will benefit from a short-term boost and get six points, which would lift us back into mid-table. I still think we are only four wins and a couple of draws away from safety."I don't want to be rushed into making a decision and hopefully I can take my time to choose the right man for the job while the team is in safe hands."Some sections of the City crowd had become increasingly frustrated with Todd and Rhodes hinted that their reaction had played a part in his decision.He added: "You will always get people booing, and we even had that in the Premier League, but supporters pay their money and are entitled to an opinion."When it gets to the stage where they stop coming then something has to be done. At the end of the day it's their club."

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