Beagrie Favourite to Succeed Rodger

By: Rob Sedgwick
Date: 25/10/2006

PETER Beagrie is the most popular choice of Mariners' fans to become caretaker manager of Grimsby Town should current boss Graham Rodger be sacked. In an exclusive poll for the Fishy Beagrie polled above assistant manager Stuart Watkiss, as well as senior players at the club.

Speculation that current Town boss Graham Rodger is on his way out of Blundell Park has been intense in recent weeks after a poor run of results culminating in Saturday's miserable performance at home to Notts County, where a 2-0 defeat left the Mariners fourth bottom of the Football League.

Assistant manager Stuart Watkiss, the most natural candidate to take over if Rodger is sacked, came fourth in the poll behind veteran defenders John McDermott and Justin Whittle. Although more fans said they would like to see an outsider take over as caretaker manager, that would be almost unprecedented in English football, leaving Beagrie as clear favourite to be handed the baton, according to our poll.

Beagrie, who is 41 this week, joined the Mariners in the summer after leaving Scunthorpe at the end of last season. At the end of a playing career spent with some of the most glamorous clubs in the country including Everton, Middlesbrough and Man Utd the Sky TV Pundit decided his swan song was to be at Blundell Park where Graham Rodger had recently taken up the reigns. It's fair to say that Beagrie's opportunities with the first team have been limited this season, through a combination of his age, being dropped from the side and his TV work.

On the plus side Beagrie is well known in football due to his Sky TV involvement and having played for many years in English football for a wide variety of high profile teams (with the exception in recent years of Scunthorpe). A well spoken and knowledgeable footballer Beagrie would have no problem in dealing with the media, and presumably has a great deal more contacts in the game than the other candidates. On the minus side Beagrie's TV work may cause a conflict of interest with becoming a manager, albeit only in a caretaker capacity.

Of course an even harder decision than who should be made caretaker is who gets the job on a full time basis.

Who do you think should take over temporarily should Graham Rodger be sacked? Answers on the Message Board.

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