Worst-ever manager: The Portsmouth numbers crunch that added up to a Perrin disaster
The Frenchman’s eight-month reign at Pompey can only be described as bizarre – and it was left to Harry Redknapp to return and pick up the pieces
From less than a point per game to the nine foreign flops he purchased in pre-season, here are some figures to show why Alain Perrin’s short reign at Portsmouth qualifies him as is the worst Premier League manager ever:
0.9 – Average points earned by Perrin’s Pompey per game.
1 - On his first return to the training session after Perrin’s exit, Hary Redknapp is said to have been told by Dejan Stefanovic: “You’ve got no chance here. This is the worst team I’ve ever seen. You must be mad.” High praise indeed for Perrin.
2 – Chairman Milan Mandaric told journalists he would double his blood pressure pills the week before he sacked Perrin, such was the trauma he was experiencing at the club!
3 – A 3-3-3-1 was the bizarre formation used by Perrin. We had never seen it before and will we ever see it again?
4 – The number of games he won out of 20 at Portsmouth.
5 - The number of players who survived Perrin’s eight-month managerial stint: Stefanovic, Linvoy Primus, Gary O’Neil, Matthew Taylor and Richard Hughes. Perrin replaced many of Redknapp’s proven Premiership players with imports such as Collins Mbesuma who never started a game for Portsmouth.
6 – The number of seasons it took Perrin to guide Troyes through three divisions into the French top-flight and the UEFA Cup, managing to catch the eye of chairmen across Europe at the same time. Would he have taken Portsmouth down three divisions in six seasons given the chance?
7 (:30am) – One of Perrin’s training routines, which has upset many of the players at his current club Lyon, is for players to report for duty at 7:30am on a match day. Whilst at Portsmouth he also alienated many of the first-team squad with his various routines. They then went to chairman Mandaric and demanded Perrin be sacked.
8 – The number of months Perrin’s disastrous spell at the club lasted – from April until November 2005.
9 – The number of foreign signings Perrin made at the beginning of the 2005-06 season, including Zvonimir Vukic, Azar Karadas, Salif Diao and Gregory Vignal. They were to be his downfall with many players unable to speak English, a fact that only came to light after the arrival of Redknapp. He told Five Live in December: “It’s a crazy situation. We’ve got three people who can’t speak English. What is the good when you have got people and you cannot even tell them what to do?”
10 – The number of points Portsmouth had when Perrin was sacked. Many critics were already writing off any hope of the club staying up.
12 – Pompey’s position in the league when Redknapp left for Southampton.
15 – On his return to Portsmouth Redknapp believed there were 15 players at the club under Perrin not good enough to play for Portsmouth. Perrin later defended his signings, telling journalists that the poor recruits were not his fault. “You can talk about the signings but there were four people in charge of recruitment, not just me. My role was to indicate the positions I thought needed strengthening and the only players I signed were Laurent Robert and Brian Priske.”
16 - Portsmouth’s position in the Premiership when Perrin was dismissed.
500,000 – The number of great British pounds it cost Pompey to tear up the contract of one of Perrin’s flops, Dario Silva.
This article also appeared on Sportingo
Leave a Reply