Next Plymouth Manager Odds: Schumacher On Pole To Replace Rooney
A third successive defeat leaves Plymouth Argyle second from bottom in the Championship table and keeps the pressure on manager Wayne Rooney.
Rooney's side lost 2-1 at home to Swansea in the latest midweek round of fixtures in the EFL.
The loss raises questions about Rooney's future in charge of the Pilgrims, who could drop to 24th if Ruben Selles starts life as Hull City manager with a home win over Watford.
Betting sites are already looking at potential replacements for Rooney.
The loss to the Swans followed back-to-back away defeats at Norwich (6-1) and Bristol City (4-0).
In his post-match interview after the hammering by the Canaries, ex-Manchester United forward Rooney claimed the club’s youth team would not have capitulated as easily and that he was “angry, disappointed and frustrated” by his side’s under-par display.
He said: “We were nowhere near good enough – we are down to the bare bones with injuries but that is no excuse. But if players want to come in the team and stay in the team then they need to perform better than that.
"I could probably put the under-18 team out there and they wouldn't concede six goals. The next 24-48 hours are not going to be very nice for the players, but we need to get to the bottom of why this is happening."
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Rooney has only been in charge of Plymouth since August, when he replaced Ian Foster.
Will owner Simon Hallett remain patient with the former England and Manchester United striker?
The next two fixtures are as tough as they come. A trip to Sheffield United and a home game with Middlesbrough could be Rooney's final games in charge.
We look at potential candidates and the latest next Plymouth manager odds.
Schumacher Poised For Pilgrims Return
Many fans would have been angered by Steven Schumacher’s decision to leave Plymouth at the end of last year to take the Stoke job, but there are plenty of supporters who would welcome him back with open arms.
Schumacher was assistant manager to Ryan Lowe when the pair secured promotion to League One with a third-placed finish in the 2019/20 Covid-affected season.
When Lowe left the club to become Preston’s manager three years ago, the board immediately appointed Schumacher as head coach.
Heading into the final day of the season the Pilgrims were inside the play-off spots only for a 5-0 home defeat by MK Dons allowing Wycombe to sneak into sixth spot.
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However, Schumacher and the players dusted themselves down in the following 2022/23 season when the Green Army went up as champions with a remarkable 101 points, three clear of Ipswich, who are now in the Premier League.
Schumacher’s side made a reasonable start to life in the Championship but his head was turned by Stoke, who signed him on a three-and-a-half-year deal in December 2023 as a replacement for Alex Neil.
The Potters survived the threat of relegation and despite winning two of their five games of the current season which left them in mid-table, Schumacher was sacked – a decision which he later admitted he “failed to understand”.
Schumacher is now the 6/4 favourite with football betting sites to make a dramatic return to Home Park.
Next Plymouth Manager Odds
Manager | Odds | Probability |
Steven Schumacher | 6/4 | 40% |
Mark Robins | 7/4 | 36.4% |
Robbie Keane | 5/2 | 28.6% |
Gary Rowett | 3/1 | 25% |
Krisztian Timar | 3/1 | 25% |
Alex Neil | 5/1 | 16.7% |
Javi Gracia | 11/2 | 15.4% |
Aitor Karanka | 6/1 | 14.3% |
Brian Barry-Murphy | 13/2 | 13.3% |
Michael Skubala | 7/1 | 12.5% |
David Wagner | 8/1 | 11.1% |
Graham Coughlan | 12/1 | 7.7% |
Robins Has Successful CV
If Plymouth’s owner is looking for someone with plenty of experience and proven success, then he could do a lot worse than appoint Mark Robins while he is still available.
Robins guided Coventry to promotion from League Two to the second tier over the course of three seasons and was a penalty shoot-out away from leading the club to the Premier League in the 2022/23 campaign.
Despite their heartbreaking Championship play-off final loss to Luton, Robins led the team to the FA Cup semi-final in the following season for the first time since 1987, losing to Manchester United on penalties.
However, a disappointing start to the current campaign saw the end of Robins’ reign, but he catches the eye at 7/4 to take up a new role in Devon.
Keane Drifts In Odds To Replace Rooney
Robbie Keane is in the early stages of his coaching career, but tasted double success in Israel last season.
The Irishman won the league and Toto Cup with Maccabi Tel Aviv, only to leave the club after just one year without giving an explanation, although the conflict in the region probably played a part in his decision.
Despite never being a head coach in England, Keane was assistant manager of both Middlesbrough and the Republic of Ireland in 2019 under former Tottenham team-mate Jonathan Woodgate and Mick McCarthy respectively.
Last year, Keane joined Sam Allardyce in a coaching capacity at Leeds, but the pair were unable to save United from relegation and both men left the club at the end of the 2022/23 campaign.
However, his record in the Middle East, where he won 38 and drew nine of his 53 matches, makes impressive reading and his long association with the English game means he is a potential replacement for Rooney, although his odds recently drifted from 11/10 favourite to 5/2.
Would Pilgrims Progress Under Gary Rowett?
Gary Rowett has plenty of Championship experience and enhanced his reputation when placed in caretaker charge of Birmingham in March following Tony Mowbray’s decision to take medical leave.
Despite winning three of his last eight games in charge, Rowett failed to save the Blues from the drop into League One and the club ultimately went on to appoint Chris Davies as manager.
Rowett enjoyed an excellent couple of years in charge of Birmingham between 2014-16 but was surprisingly sacked when City were in the promotion mix.
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Three months later he joined Derby and took the club to the Championship play-offs, but resigned to join Stoke in 2018, although he only lasted eight months.
In many ways his best period came in a four-year spell at Millwall, who finished no lower than 11th under his stewardship.
Rowett left the club on October 2023 before heading to St Andrew's and is 3/1 with betting apps to become the next Plymouth manager.
Former Pilgrim Timar One To Watch
Krisztian Timar spent five seasons with Plymouth between 2007-11 and was named player of the year in his first full campaign with the club following a successful loan spell from Ferencvaros.
However, the former centre-back, affectionately known as ‘The Beast’ or ‘The Timarnator’ during his spell at Home Park, is now making a name for himself as a coach in his native Hungary.
After gaining the coveted UEFA Pro Licence qualification, Timar was appointed head coach of Nyiregyhaza after they had finished 18th in the Hungarian second division, only beating the drop via a relegation play-off.
However, it has been unbridled success all the way since Timar took the reins in July 2023, leading Nyiregyhaza to the top flight as champions and they are more than holding their own in Nemzeti Bajnoksag 1.
Timar’s remarkable success means he is 3/1 to make a return to Home Park.
Neil And Barry-Murphy In The Mix
Few current managers have more experience of the Championship than Alex Neil, who is available following his dismissal by Stoke at the end of December.
The Scot led Norwich to the Premier League via the 2014-15 play-offs and seven years later he achieved similar success with Sunderland in League One.
Neil also spent almost four seasons with Preston between 2017-21 and is 5/1 to join the ambitious Devon club next.
Irishman Brian Barry-Murphy has only ever managed one club, Rochdale, where he spent two seasons.
Barry-Murphy resigned in the summer of 2021 to take over as the manager of Manchester City’s Elite Development Squad where he spent three successful seasons.
However, he left the role in July, saying he felt “ready for a new challenge”.
Could that be with Plymouth if the club’s owner decides to part ways with Rooney? Barry-Murphy is priced at 13/2 for the Pilgrims gig should it become available.
Could Pilgrims Pick Spanish Option?
Spanish duo Javi Gracia and Aitor Karanka both have experience of managing in the Championship and are available for work.
Gracia was Watford manager in the 2018/19 season and in 2023 had an ill-fated spell in charge of Leeds which lasted less than three months, continuing his run of not coaching a club for more than one season.
The former Valencia coach is 11/2 for the Pilgrims job, while ex-Middlesbrough manager Karanka is available at 6/1.
Karanka led Boro to the Premier League in the 2015/16 season and did pretty well at Nottingham Forest in the 2018/19 campaign only for a fall-out with the club’s chief executive resulting in his departure.
After 18 months out of work, Karanka joined Birmingham only to be shown the door by the Championship club after winning just three of his 19 games in charge.
Skubala In The Reckoning
Michel Skubala was the man who took temporary charge of Leeds when Jesse Marsch was sacked in February 2023 only for the club to appoint Gracia as manager.
Although Skubala was subsequently promoted to first-team coach at Elland Road, he left the club last November to manage League One side Lincoln where he just missed out on the play-offs.
The Red Imps are on the fringe of the top six again, so it's no surprise to see Skubala available at 7/1 to be the next permanent appointment at Plymouth.
Wagner And Coughlan Outsiders
David Wagner has experience of coaching in the Championship with Huddersfield and more recently Norwich, leading the latter to the play-offs only to lose to Leeds in the semi-finals, after which he was sacked.
Wagner’s biggest success, though, was steering the Terriers to the Premier league in the 2015/16 season and the German is 8/1 to coach his third Championship club.
Former Plymouth defender Graham Coughlan would be a popular appointment, having spent four seasons with the club as a player at the start of the century.
The Irishman has had managerial spells in charge of Bristol Rovers, Mansfield and a two-year stint with Newport which ended in June.
Coughlan took over as manager of National League strugglers Boston United in November with the aim of keeping the club safe from relegation, but he is 12/1 to rejoin his former club in a coaching capacity.
* Reminder: These are hypothetical odds provided by industry experts.
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