Paul Robinson, a former coach at Millwall and Birmingham City, has reportedly been added to Port Vale’s shortlist of potential Andy Crosby replacements.
The Valiants have only won once in their last nine games, which is a terrible run of play in recent weeks. After less than a year on the job at Vale Park, the club announced that Crosby had been let go after Saturday’s disastrous 3-0 loss away at relegation-threatened Fleetwood Town.
When the news broke on Monday, first-team coach David Dunn and assistant manager John Schofield also announced their departures from Port Vale, making Crosby not the only person to leave the team.
Will Ryder, Matt Done, and Danny Lloyd, the trio from the academy, have assumed interim leadership of the League One underdogs. They led the team to a loss at home against a strong Leyton Orient team on Tuesday night, and they are anticipated to be in the dugout again later today when the Staffordshire team takes on Stevenage.
Since Reading’s victory over Steve Evans’ Boro in midweek put them in the relegation zone, efforts have been made to find a long-term replacement for Crosby in the dugout as the team looks to avoid dropping back to League Two.
Robinson has been added to Port Vale’s shortlist of names, per Football Insider. The 45-year-old had a distinguished career in English football, spending seven seasons in the Premier League before quitting to coach the U23 and U18 teams of Birmingham City.
Robinson most recently worked for Millwall as a member of Gary Rowett’s backroom staff, but he departed in November upon the appointment of Joe Edwards as head coach, and he hasn’t had a position since. According to the outlet, Port Vale may extend an offer to the former defender to take on his first managerial role in men’s football.
Author’s Perspective
Unquestionably, Robinson is a superb coach who gained experience at the youth level with Birmingham City before taking over the first team at The Den alongside his former boss, Gary Rowett. He had never held a managerial position before, so the appointment would be risky because he would be entering a challenging environment.
However, clubs that have placed inexperienced coaches in charge—like John Mousinho at Portsmouth and Ruben Selles at Reading—have had some success stories in England’s third division thus far this season. If Charlie Adam decides to keep Fleetwood in the division, he might even make this list. Maybe the Valiants should take the chance.
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