League Two side Carlisle United have sacked manager Mike Williamson after just five months in charge following Saturday’s 5-1 home thrashing at the hands of fellow strugglers Swindon Town.
That run has left the club bottom of League Two with 21 points from 28 games, five adrift of safety and facing the prospect of back-to-back relegations having finished bottom of League One last season.
A club statement said: “Carlisle United Football Club can confirm that head coach Mike Williamson has this morning been relieved of his duties and has left the club with immediate effect.”
Arrival with promising reputation
Williamson was appointed Carlisle manager in September having built up a solid reputation with his work with National League side Gateshead and fellow League Two club Milton Keynes Dons over the last few seasons.
He was named National League North Manager of the Season in 2021-22 after Gateshead won the title, also reaching the FA Trophy final the following season, where they were only narrowly beaten by FC Halifax Town. When he left the club in October 2023 they were in the play-off places.
From there he joined MK Dons with the club in 16th, but in January 2024 he won Manager of the Month after four wins from four. That season they reached the play-offs after finishing sixth, although they were thrashed 8-1 on aggregate by Crawley Town in the semi-finals.
At the time of Williamson’s departure, they had won two and lost four in the league, with one of those wins being against Carlisle. His final game in charge proved to be a 3-0 defeat to rivals AFC Wimbledon.
Where did it go wrong for Williamson?
It was clear that Williamson was facing an uphill task when he was appointed on 19 September, with the club having lost five of their six games. However, he did manage to win his first game in charge, a 2-0 win at Swindon Town.
However, this proved to be a false dawn. They have only won three times since, with winless runs of seven and six games either side of a win at Salford City in November. Overall, Williamson won only three and drew six of 23 league games.
Goals have clearly been a problem, with their highest scorers being forward Luke Armstrong and defender Sam Lavelle- although both have only scored three times. Another five players have scored twice.
At the other end of the pitch, they have conceded 46 goals, only keeping six clean sheets- and three of them have been in goalless draws against Colchester United, Doncaster Rovers and Port Vale.
What’s next for Carlisle United?
Carlisle are next in action on Saturday when they travel to play-off chasing Grimsby Town, before travelling to Newport County three days later. Their next game at Brunton Park is on 15 February when they host Colchester United.
A busy February is then rounded off with a home match against Gillingham and a trip to Barrow. With three of those clubs between 17th and 19th in the table, Carlisle will see these as games where they need to pick up points to give themselves a chance of getting out of trouble.
Transfer Deadline Day may seem like unusual timing for a club to make a managerial change, but Williamson has been unable to generate any real momentum and the club have not won back-to-back games all season.
They have 17 games left of the season and with every point crucial, they surely cannot afford to lose much more ground on those above them if they are to avoid making the drop into the National League.