Ritchie goes at Barnsley

Just four weeks ago, South Yorkshire rivals Sheffield Wednesday, having sacked their manager Paul Sturrock, approached Barnsley for permission to speak to Ritchie. Permission was flatly removed and at the time Barnsley Chairman Gordon Shepherd who said that he was in talks with Ritchie and that the manager could have a deal for whatever duration he wanted.

It seemed that everything in the garden was rosy, and two days later Shepherd revealed that the manager could sign his new deal within days. A week later both Chairman and manager said talks were going well, but it still wasn't signed.

Then at weekend Ritchie was said to be concerned that there hadn't been a contract offer, you suspected that the parting of the ways might not be too far away, and today that day came with the club suggesting that he didn't strengthened the squad adequately during the summer and also suggesting that fans will be aware that he has given preference to players who won promotion last season.

It would be incredible in any other industry, but this is football, but to have a Chairman insistent that his manager would stay just a month ago and then sack him for not strengthening the squad four and five months ago doesn't ring true. Whether Barnsley would have stopped up or not this season no one knows, I suspect their prospects are less favourable now after this decision.

Barnsley have become the seventh club in this division to change manager since the start of the season. Niall Quinn was first to go at Sunderland, and since then we've seen changes at West Brom, QPR, Norwich, Leeds, Sheffield Wednesday and now Barnsley.