I know there is a bit of a cult around ex-players, but I found today’s comments by Keith Curle rather interesting.
He took Cian Bolger in the summer and made him captain of the Cobblers, but after the Irishman was booked for dissent lats night, Curle has chosen to lay into him in the media. I’m not sure I always like to see a player blasted openly by his manager, although almost all are guilty of it at some point.
Bolger was booked for an incident involving a drop ball in the first half of the Cobblers defeat at the hands of fellow strugglers Wigan last night, prompting Curle to hammer his captain publically.
“I think Cian paid the price for opening his mouth to the official early doors and getting a booking and unfortunately it’s not the first time he’s done it,” said the former Carlisle boss.
“It’s something that he needs to get out of his character and out of his game because, ultimately, it puts you in a precarious position for the rest of the game. If you make one slip or one mistimed tackle, potentially you could be sent off. It’s a cheap booking and I was more frustrated with that because, repeatedly, I keep telling him to keep his mouth shut.”
Bolger also made the error which led to Wigan’s goal, giving them a lifeline in their battle at the bottom of the table. When asked whether or not he would drop Bolger for the weekend’s crucial fixture with bottom club Burton Albion.
“That’s a risk Cian faces but it’s not only Cian. I will put out a team that is competitive.”
Sadly for Curle, he won’t. He was sacked as I released this article, the second League One manager of the day to lose his job. Paul Tisdale was let go by Bristol Rovers earlier today, after only taking over there in November.
Bolger joined the Imps from Fleetwood Town in the winter window of 2019, going on to help us secure promotion out of League Two. He was one of the few players from the old regime to impress last season, but was still allowed to leave in the summer as part of Michael’s remodelling.
It is interesting to see how the players who left the club in the summer have faired, given how many weren’t happy at the high squad churn. Bolger and Jack Payne were both under contract, but were allowed to leave and are no embroiled in relegation battles. Michael Bostwick wasn’t retained either and his Burton side are currently bottom, whilst Neal Eardley recently swapped the struggling Brewers for a relegation battle in League Two with Barrow.
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