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| Sean O'Driscoll did a fantastic job at Doncaster |
To sack manager Sean O'Driscoll is plain madness and it will only end in tears for all those associated with the Yorkshire club.
Donny may be bottom of the Championship but firing O'Driscoll is not the answer.
This is a man who led them out of the wilderness of League One playing attractive football and kept them in the Championship against all the odds.
And who is to say he wasn't about to turn this situation around?
Doncaster's poor start - one point from seven league games - can largely be attributed to the injuries of key players, in particular striker Billy Sharp.
Sharp is arguably one of the top strikers in the division and scored 15 times last season, yet was stretchered off on the opening day of this campaign at Cardiff and that was always going to hamper O'Driscoll's side.
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| Any team at Championship level would struggle without a player of Sharp's quality |
O'Driscoll has been nicknamed the Arsene Wenger of the Football League due to his attractive style of football but it was more than that which he brought to the Keepmoat Stadium.
He brought them success beyond most fans' wildest dreams.
They were in the Conference just eight years ago so simply surviving in the Championship must be their equivalent of winning the Champions League.
Every team of Doncaster's size is going to struggle at some point in a season and so it is important for chairmen like Ryan to stay patient and remember just what their manager has achieved.
It could be said that no-one, not even Jose Mourinho or Sir Alex Ferguson, could have done a better job than O'Driscoll on the limited resources and small crowds Doncaster have.
Just two days ago, Ryan publically backed his manager and said there was nobody better equipped for the job, and that is an attitude he should have stuck with. Any statements he makes in future will now be worthless as he has proved himself to be a liar and a backstabber.
He has done an unbelievable job as chairman - seeing the side progress all the way from non-league to the Championship and acquiring them a state-of-the-art new stadium - but this could turn out to be a major own goal.
He has gambled and appointed Dean Saunders as his new manager. Saunders may turn out to be an excellent young boss and save Doncaster from relegation but Ryan cannot claim there is any proof he is any better equipped than O'Driscoll.
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| Ryan (left) has taken a major gamble appointing Saunders (right) as O'Driscoll's replacement |
O'Driscoll kept them in the Championship for three years and once almost led them to the play-offs, while he has turned around situations like this in the past.
Sacking him could just compound the problems the club already have and will make the survival task even tougher.
The irony is that O'Driscoll could have left Doncaster for more fashionable clubs at numerous points over the last couple of years.
Burnley and Sheffield United are just two of the clubs he could have joined but each time he stayed with Doncaster to carry on his project. This is a manager who should have been virtually unsackable.
There is little doubt he will not be out of the game for long.
The minute another Championship job comes available - and plenty of them will - O'Driscoll will be sought after.
He would be an asset for any club and deserves the chance of taking a team to the Premier League, never mind saving them from Championship relegation.
O'Driscoll simply couldn't have done any more at the Keepmoat Stadium and there may be many regrets from those in charge when this season is over.
Keeping Doncaster Rovers in the Championship is a minor miracle in itself and it is just a shame their board do not see it like that.
The best Saunders can hope for is survival and it would be nice to see him succeed, but he will have his work cut out and struggle to follow the excellent job of O'Driscoll.
Doncaster are punching above their weight and by sacking O'Driscoll, they have arguably put themselves on the ropes.
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