Thanks to everyone for the positive feedback on my earlier post.
The second part of the book concerns Dunc’s experiences as a coach and latterly, albeit briefly, as a manager. The central content stretches from being let go by the club in to his resignation as a coach at the end of Lampard’s first season. After a spectacular fall out with Moyes as he exits, Dunc retreats to foreign climes were he continues his dissolute lifestyle before cleaning up his act, getting bored and returning to make up with Moyes and somehow emerge with the role of working with younger players, though it appeared to be initially only remunerated in a token way. As we know, he then goes on to survive Moyes, Martinez, Silva, Koeman, Benitez and Allardyce. The narrative is one of a gradual emergence of Dunc as an actual coach, eventually with first-team responsibilities and there is enough evidence to indicate that this is not mere self-delusion. Compared to Dunc as player we do learn more about the club because it is dealing with events at a higher level than how he is playing or being treated. He appears to like or admire all the managers, except Silva, who he thinks is negative and tactically rigid (though he does say thatBenitez should never have been appointed). He does appear to have built strong bonds with Carlo. If all or most of these managers were so good, why were our performances so bad? Dunc’s explanation is essentially poor quality players, either through limited money or bad recruitment. My favourite line in the book is when Carlo turns to him watching one game and says ‘why can’t they pass to one another’? The person he really disliked was Marcel Brands and there are some entertaining accounts of disputes about recruitment and players.

Ultimately, Dunc couldn’t accept being passed over for the manager job after his short, successful caretaker role and then when Lampard was appointed, despite being somewhat chaotically interviewed. He sat around waiting for managerial offers, which didn’t come despite various interviews. Eventually, he takes the Forest Green Rovers job, doesn’t last and then ends up at Inverness. Neither is successful and by this stage of the book, Dunc is fully back in blaming everyone but himself mode. He has a point. FGR wherein a hopeless position when he took over and he did ok at ICT until financial woes sunk the whole enterprise. He may be waiting a while for the next phone call. Whilst this book may have been a success, I’m not sure it will have done his reputation much good as a man who can bring the qualities of sound judgement, financial acumen and ability to get along with colleagues and players to the realms of management.