Monday 18 March 2019 14:06, UK
Paul Scholes' 31-day stint at Oldham was an "utter shambles" but could have been foreseen, the Sunday Supplement panel said.
Scholes resigned by WhatsApp message to club chairman Abdallah Lemsagam last week, saying it had "become clear I would not be able to operate as I intended and was led to believe".
The former Manchester United and England midfield lasted barely a calendar month after taking over at Boundary Park in February, winning his first game in charge but three draws and three defeats followed in his next six games before his resignation.
But Daily Star chief sports writer Jonathan Cross told the Sunday Supplement there was a case to say Scholes should have seen the situation coming.
He said: "From what I hear and read, it sounds like it's been an utter shambles from the start.
"He arrived to much fanfare, one of the game's greats, a great footballing mind who always wanted a chance in management, at the club he's always supported; it sounded like a fairy-tale, but it's been a nightmare by the sounds of it.
"There's been numerous instances of the team bus not turning up, players told to wash their own kit, the electric getting turned off, the bailiffs being involved. You could argue that Scholes must have known the full picture of that club and how it's run, its ambition, when he took the job.
"But clearly it must have been, for him to leave after a month, pretty drastic. The very fact he didn't even ring the chairman to tell him he was quitting tells you everything you need to know about their relationship."
Times chief football correspondent Oliver Kay added that there were a dwindling number of opportunities for young managers to prove their worth in English football, with results and club "chaos" behind the scenes both stumbling blocks.
He said: "I think in the right environment, maybe he could flourish and learn on the job, but how many clubs - especially in the lower divisions - have the right environment, structure, ownership model and patience?
"There are a lot of clubs who are absolutely chaotic, a shameful number. Oldham seems to be one of those, there's other ones in the Championship, who might be reasonably well-run but you lose three or four games and you're sacked.
"We saw Darren Moore get sacked, and there's so many examples of young managers getting appointed but just not getting time.
"It's all about results yesterday, really, and Scholes never struck me as one who was cut out for management and I'd be surprised if he ever fancies coming back to it, but there is a broader thing about managers not being given the environment to develop."