I suggested Sinnott (I wish I’d kept my mouth shut)
In his latest blog posting, former Vale player and chief scout Ray Williams reflects on his role in Vale’s appointment of Lee Sinnott as manager back in 2007.
Ray Williams writes…
The truth is we had had thirteen applications for the job but none were suitable for one reason or another.
Strange things happen in football, but this story is truly amazing. I was at Huddersfield on scouting duties where I bumped into an old university friend of mine. He was responsible for part of the construction of the Galpharm Stadium and he asked me which of their players I was interested in.
I said that we needed a manager before we could sign players. He said that we could have their manager(Andy Ritchie) as Huddersfield were interested in Lee Sinnott, who apparently talked a good game on BBC Radio Leeds and was also doing well at Farsley Celtic.
The following Monday, I relayed this conversation to Vale chairman Bill Bratt. Bratt was keen to employ Mark Stimson, who was supposed to be the best manager in non-league but history tells us that Stimson went to Gillingham instead.
So, Bill promptly chased Lee Sinnott, who apparently gave a great interview and got the job. Port Vale paid compensation to Farsley Celtic and in a whirlwind week, Sinnott arrived, complete with the tag of “a future England manager.”
To repay me, Lee tried to get rid of me on day one.
Such is football.
The truth is we had had thirteen applications for the job but none were suitable for one reason or another. Sinnott took the job on the understanding that he would work with the existing backroom staff but he made his “root and branch” statement within the first week, making it clear to me that Dean Glover, Mark Grew and myself were on borrowed time.
I am sure Bill made the appointment for good reasons, but how I wished I had kept my mouth shut.