Buckle: Sacked by the Pirates
Stop smirking now Torquay United fans, it's not very dignified!
Paul Buckle joined Bristol Rovers last summer after narrowly failing to take the Gulls into League One when they lost out in the play-off final to Stevenage.
The 41-year-old brought a host of new faces to the club, including former Shrimper Matt Harrold, but, after a promising start, had seen his side lose six of their last eight league matches and plummet to 19th in the League Two table.
Monday's 2-0 defeat at Barnet proved the final straw for the Pirates board who relieved Buckle of his duties on Tuesday.
Rovers Chairman Nick Higgs said: "We are all very disappointed that this appointment has not worked out. Although we are aware that we need to find stability at the club, we felt we could not go any further with the current situation as the threat of relegation was becoming too real. We started the season with a great deal of hope for a successful campaign, but this has not been the case so far, despite promising early form. Our aim this season was to strive for promotion, and that has obviously not happened, so we felt we needed to make a change."
Assistant manager Shaun North will take temporary charge while the other Bristol side look for a successor.
The Shrimpers drew 1-1 with Bristol Rovers at Roots Hall on November 26th, 2011, and will play the return at the Memorial Stadium on Saturday, March 24th, but who will be the new boss of the Gas?
The Buckle Files
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Paul John Buckle | ||
| Date of birth | 16 December 1970 | ||
| Place of birth | Welwyn Garden City, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Brentford | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1989–1994 | Brentford | 57 | (1) |
| 1993 | → Wycombe Wanderers (loan) | 3 | (0) |
| 1994–1995 | Torquay United | 59 | (9) |
| 1995–1996 | Exeter City | 22 | (2) |
| 1996 | Northampton Town | 0 | (0) |
| 1996 | Wycombe Wanderers | 0 | (0) |
| 1996–1999 | Colchester United | 106 | (7) |
| 1999–2002 | Exeter City | 93 | (5) |
| 2002–2003 | Aldershot Town | 29 | (5) |
| 2003–2004 | Weymouth | 37 | (9) |
| 2004–2007 | Exeter City | 39 | (4) |
| 2004–2005 | → Tiverton Town (loan) | 12 | (1) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 2007–2011 | Torquay United | ||
| 2011–2012 | Bristol Rovers | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 30 May 2011. † Appearances (Goals). |
|||
(Full manager info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Buckle)
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