Carlisle United’s Paul Simpson decision raises more questions than answers: View | OneFootball

The Blues decided to part ways with their legendary manager after their loss on Saturday.

After the defeat against Tranmere Rovers, sacking Paul Simpson started to feel like quite the likelihood, but his departure won't solve all of Carlisle United's issues.

Saturday was the sad end to what could have been an undoubtedly superb story. Simpson's second stint as Carlisle manager was brilliant for the first 18 months. Since then, the hero arc that he found himself on, once again, at Brunton Park started to plateau and then suddenly dipped, as did the Blues' form.

The only man to get Carlisle promoted in the 21st century was booed off in his final game as boss. What came before it - saving the club from relegation and then winning promotion at Wembley - certainly didn't allude to the eventual outcome, but that's how stories can be; you don't always get the perfect ending.

Even though things ended bitterly, Simpson should and will always be remembered as one of the greatest managers in the club's history, and there's a strong case to make that he sits at the top of that mountain.

Now a new chapter is upon us, one that supporters hope will see the full potential of the club finally unlocked. While getting rid of Simpson may have been the first of the keys required to unlock this figurative door, there are still a lot of mystery and questions to be asked about his sacking and what comes next.

Paul Simpson's sacking raises more questions than answers

Ultimately, the decision was made by the Piataks that the current situation at Brunton Park was untenable. It's quite hard to argue against that, but this one move won't be the swing of a magic wand that fixes everything.

Questions have to be asked about the timing of the decision. Simpson was given a lot of backing this summer. It was the first time that he'd had a real strong budget to work with, and they made some big moves, bringing in the likes of Charlie Wyke and Jordan Jones, who are likely to be on high wages.

He put the final touches on his team on deadline day by bringing in Shrewsbury Town midfielder Harrison Biggins on loan, and was then sacked the next day.

It's easy to fall into the trap of using hindsight in this situation, but the choice to pull the plug then feels like a bit of a strange thing to do, even with the woeful relegation campaign, turgid start to the season and the volatile reaction to the Tranmere loss.

The most obvious of all the questions to be asked is who will be next? Who will follow on from Simpson and take this team forward?

That remains to be seen. One thing we do know is who is going to make this decision: the Piataks.

Carlisle's American owners have admitted in the past that they aren't the most knowledgeable people when it comes to English football, and there aren't many other key figures left at the club to help them make that choice.

They should be able to lean on advice from some of their US-based friends in the game to help them make this crucial decision, but they are ultimately novices in this realm. It's a lot of pressure on those who haven't been in this position before, especially with the little help that they will have around them.

The style of manager that Carlisle should go for

Because of the new finances that are behind the club, and the players that are in the squad, United can afford to be quite aggressive and take some risks in their search for their next boss.

They made their feelings clear at the start of the season that promotion was the goal. That won't be achieved if they play it safe and appoint a steady pair of hands to get them through the remaining 42 games.

As much as it might not have shown itself much in the opening weeks of the season, there is a lot of quality in the dressing room at Brunton Park.

There is potential in this team, and the likely best way to go about unearthing it, based off other more recent successful EFL appointments, is to be aggressive and go after someone that could potentially be transformative.

Who could that person be? Well, it's now up to the Piataks to decide and answer that particular question.