I think everyone else did. But was the decision the correct one? Probably!
First and foremost I have to say that it doesn't come down to whether he was a nice man or whether he wasn't. He undoubtedly is one of the nicer people in football. But there is an irony here.
I've long wondered and puzzled over why so many managers get the sack and I've finally twigged why it is.
It's because, unlike you and me, employees in the game can't be sacked by the boss. It's called in any other profession, protectionism. In soccer it's called players contracts. Let's face it: players win games and players lose games and in any other walk of life if you are crap at your job you get fired after the appropriate warnings for poor performance (that's incompetence to you and me!)
But the PFA have got that all tied up and players are gods. I wonder if the industrial relation law that governs all of us, were to be enacted in football, how many managers would keep their jobs?
I mean, football managers can't get rid of players that don't do the business. If they could, then they would probably not have a leg to stand on, if they didn't show a few the door. But given that no player I can ever recall ever got the sack for playing badly whilst under contract, I suppose the boss has to be the fall guy. I can't think of any other walk of life where that would happen.
Yeah yeah, I've heard all that stuff that goes 'it's a short career' etc. but Brian Little has been let down by some his players. He carries the can ultimately and yes, he is paid a vast sum of money to achieve results - but he is not alone in not achieving what he should have. The larkers on the field must take their share of the blame.
So, in conclusion, Brian can have few complaints - but if it were me, some players would have gone as well.