Deehan; last seen at the Mariners two years ago
The veteran John Deehan, originally from Birmingham, has previously been employed as coach, manager, chief scout and director of football as well as a player, where he helped win League Cups with both Villa and Canaries.
An England Under-21 international, he turned out for West Brom, Ipswich Town and Barnsley, scoring 120 goals in 379 career appearances.
Deehan decided to try out management in 1988, when he became player-coach at Manchester City.
He returned to Carrow Road in 1992 as assistant manager to Mike Walker and the pair guided Norwich through the club's most successful ever period, where after finishing third in the 1992-93 Carling Premiership, the Canaries qualified for the UEFA Cup.
Deehan even took over at Norwich for a while before going up north to Sheffield United as assistant boss then Wigan as the main man.
He then became Director of Football at Northampton Town folllowed by Lincoln City, chief scout back in Norfolk for eight months and head of recruitment at Grimsby for two months.
It has believed he may be possible replacement for Mariners boss Neil Woods when the club were relegated from the Football League, however after the conclusion of the 2009/10 season, Deehan's contract was not renewed and he left the club on May 20th 2010.
And Plymouth certainly need all the help they can get, though the Daggers defeat at Torquay last night would have helped.
Southend United take on Blues boss Paul Sturrock's old club on Saturday, February 4th.
Bottom of League Two
| 22 | Plymouth Argyle | 27 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 15 | 19 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 14 | 30 | 5 | 7 | 15 | 29 | 49 | 22 | -20 | ||||
| 23 | Dagenham & Redbridge | 27 | 4 | 1 | 9 | 17 | 24 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 9 | 23 | 6 | 3 | 18 | 26 | 47 | 21 | -21 | ||||
| 24 | Northampton Town | 27 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 15 | 31 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 18 | 25 | 5 | 6 | 16 | 33 | 56 | 21 | -23 | ||||
Brent, whose takeover of Argyle in October saved the Devon outfit from almost certain liquidation, said he could understand the mentality behind pumping money into the Pilgrims in an effort to keep them in the Championship before back to back relegation crippled Plymouth financially.
He said: "It's not my job to stand judgement. Football clubs as a business are staggeringly difficult to get right and incredibly easy to get wrong. Going from Championship to League One halves your revenues, going from Championship to Premiership improves your revenues four-fold. If you've got somebody desperate to get to the Premiership and believes that they will do if they spend enough then I can see the mindset. But if they end up being relegated from Championship to League One then it writes its own story and those aspirations to get to the Premiership and that expensive Championship cost-base can go the wrong way. The consequences are well documented."
In League One news Stevenage have confirmed the appointment of Gary Smith as their new manager.
The third tier club, who strengthened their play-off position with a 4-2 win over MK Dons on Tuesday night under the guidance of caretaker boss Mark Roberts, turned to former Colorado Rapids coach Smith following Graham Westley's departure for Preston earlier this month.
Smith has coached at both Barnet and Watford in the past.
The Deehan Files
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | John Matthew Deehan | ||
| Date of birth | 6 August 1957 | ||
| Place of birth | Solihull, England | ||
| Playing position | Striker | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1975–1979 | Aston Villa | 110 | (40) |
| 1979–1981 | West Bromwich Albion | 47 | (5) |
| 1981–1986 | Norwich City | 162 | (62) |
| 1986–1988 | Ipswich Town | 49 | (11) |
| 1988–1990 | Manchester City | 0 | (0) |
| 1990 | Barnsley | 11 | (2) |
| Total | 379 | (120) | |
| National team | |||
| 1977–1979 | England U21 | 7 | (6) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 1994–1995 | Norwich City | ||
| 1995–1998 | Wigan Athletic | ||
| 2002 | Aston Villa (caretaker) | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). |
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(Photo supplied by: http://connect.in.com/)