Chris Kamara sings the praises of Iain Dowie following Coventry City's fine start to the season.
Iain Dowie has been named the Championship's Manager of the Month for August and he certainly deserves it.
He is doing a wonderful job at Coventry City which is impressive given that when you look at all the money being spent in the Championship this year Dowie has hardly spent a penny.
He signed Demitrios Konstantopoulos for nothing in the summer, which was a wonderful signing as he is a good, dependable goalkeeper. He was totally underrated at Hartlepool and was responsible for at least 15 points during Pool's promotion push, maybe even more.
Maybe there aren't any stand-out players in their squad but they have some consistent performers in there. Particularly Jay Tabb who has done well since Mickey Adams signed him from Brentford last season. He has taken the step up to the Championship with relative ease.
There are some experienced players there also with Dele Adebola and Kevin Kyle who know how to score goals in the Championship.
When you're playing winning football like they are the fans are always going to enjoy it and with the Sky Blues unbeaten so far, with four wins out of five, it really has been a fantastic start. And the one game that they drew, against Hull, they played really well in and should've taken all three points.
There's no denying it, Dowie is a very good football manager. He did a decent job when he was at Oldham, did a cracking job at Crystal Palace - getting them into the Premiership. And although they couldn't sustain it, he got them into the play-offs the season after they went down to the Championship.
I felt that his sacking at Charlton was a knee-jerk reaction. Okay, he had lost eight matches in his dozen games in charge, but with a win against Man City, it looked as if he was just turning the corner when he was given the sack.
When you look at the problems he has had with the chairman at Crystal Palace he has certainly bounced back again, and long may it continue.
Astute
He is a good manager simply because he knows his job, he is a good motivator, he is living in the 21st century and is accustomed to the way that the game has moved on. He embraces all aspects of the game with new training methods, psychologists, diet etc.
Tactically he is spot on, he knows how to go out there and win a game and how, if needs to be, to defend a lead. He has it all. He was a little bit unfortunate with the way things worked out at Charlton and he has had to restore his reputation. He has done that by spending less money than any other manager in the Championship.
The fans can sniff the success and with a great stadium in the Ricoh Arena, which holds 32,000 the club will be hoping that the team can sustain this fine form so that more fans click through the turnstiles. 21,000 turned out for the last home match and if they carry on winning that number will certainly increase.
It's too early to say whether Coventry can sustain their form and stay at the top of the table. But if they are there or thereabouts come Christmas time and the potential takeover takes place then Dowie may have money to go out and strengthen the squad during the January transfer window.
The players that were at the club from the previous regime have been given new confidence since Dowie has taken charge and this season they have had seven different goalscorers already which shows that their play is all about the team ethic, with each player mucking in for one another.
Every dog has its day and Coventry will be hoping that their turn comes around again sooner rather than later. A lot depends on the takeover and I wouldn't be afraid to give Dowie money to spend.
Coventry v Preston, Saturday, 5.15pm, Sky Sports 1
Kammy answers your email...
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Hi Chris, I am a big Baggies fan and I am writing to you asking what you think our chances are of getting back to the Premier League this year. And if you were West Brom's manager what would you change? Yours, Lea Hammond, Boing Boing.
Kammy Replies: I still think that the one thing that Tony Mowbray has to sort out is the away form and until he does that then they will struggle to compete for promotion. They have lost both of their matches on their travels so far, against Burnley and Sheffield United, although they did beat Peterborough in the Carling Cup in midweek. Mowbray will have to address that as it may be their downfall once again, as it was last season, and Tony will want to make sure that doesn't happen this time around. At The Hawthorns they have such a passionate crowd and are really difficult to beat, but on their travels the just seem to cave in a little bit easily. They play such an open game away from The Hawthorns that teams like to get stuck into them and don't allow them to play. But Tony knows all about that. I have sat in his office and he has told me that that is one thing that he would set about changing this season. It is early days yet, but that is what needs to be changed if they are to be successful this season.
Hi Chris, The Premier League is obviously better quality but I believe that the Championship is much more exciting this season as it is almost impossible to predict who will get promoted. Do you think the Championship is the best division in the land in terms of excitement and has there been a stronger second tier in English football? Best, David Norris, Derby.
Kammy Replies: To answer your last question David, I would say that this is probably as strong as the Championship has been in terms of the number of quality players and teams we have in the division. I'm not into knocking the Premier League, that's for certain, but the Championship is more unpredictable which adds to its appeal. There is no 'big four' and that is the beauty of this league.
Hi Chris, I'm a Leicester City fan and I'm a little unsure what is going on. Why sack Martin Allen after only four games? Mandaric did a great job at Portsmouth and I am willing to give him a chance but is this sort of chopping and changing going to help us? Jeff, Leicester.
Kammy Replies: Well the one thing about Milan is that he wants to make sure he has a manager in there who he gets on with. He had a fantastic relationship with Harry Redknapp at Portsmouth and then it soured so he then got rid of him. He then brought Harry back and the relationship went back to how it was the first time around. Obviously, reading between the lines, that's not happened with Martin Allen. Milan probably didn't get that same feel that he had with Harry. Let's not forget that Milan has gone in there and put his money where his mouth is and that is the reason why he's saying 'look, believe in me'. He believes that he knows what's best for the club and he doesn't want to put his money in and then not get along with the manager. All you can do is trust him and hope that he brings in the right man. Time will tell. It was very harsh on Allen at such an early stage of the season and it will be interesting to find out exactly what has gone on. Leicester fans will be disappointed that he has gone as they will feel he is the right man for the job, but that is off the back of a wonderful result against Watford. In football you're only as good as your last game, but it doesn't surprise me anymore and the fans just need to put their trust in the chairman at this stage. Milan has invested in the club for one reason and that is to take them up to the Premiership, he hasn't put money in for them to wallow in the Championship and he simply believes that Allen just wasn't the man to take Leicester there.
