Thursday, November 29, 2007

MANAGERIAL MERRY-GO-ROUND

No less than three high profile managers have either lost or changed jobs in the past two weeks. With the European Championship qualifiers now complete the Republic of Ireland; Scotland and England are all in the hunt to appoint a new manager or coach. The FAI, FA and SFA have some serious deliberation to make in the coming weeks to decide who will be given the task of guiding the various nations to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

The Republic of Ireland
There isn't enough space on the Internet to cover all the shenanigans that have been going on in recent weeks surrounding the identity of the panel that are being charged with the task of finding a new Irish coach. Speculation is rife that Terry Venables will be offered the job but going by Eamon Dunphy's wild rant on RTE last night, that appointment would not be met with the wide-spread approval of Irish football fans. Venables is still clearly the current front-runner for the post since Paul Jewell moved to Derby County. The only other real contenders at the present time include Liam Brady - though not favoured by many in the FAI - or Graeme Souness, whose background in managing Rangers would stupidly be used as a reason to prohibit him from taking the job.

One thing is for certain, the decision as to who is going to eventually be offered the job will involve many more twists and turns before a final decision is reached. At the time of writing there is no apparent obstacle or reason as to why Terry Venables shouldn't be offered the post along with an Irish-born Number two to coach alongside him. As long as Venables is 100% focused on the job, why not give him a shot?


England
If you thought the tabloid frenzy in Ireland surrounding a new manager was bad then just take one look across the water. Every decent manager in either club or International football is being associated with the vacant English post. Respected names in the game such as Jose Mourinho, Louis VanGaal, Fabio Capello and Guus Hiddink have all been mentioned as well as bizarre suggestions such as Steve Coppell and even Harry Redknapp.

There is little doubt that the man who should be offered the job to replace the hapless Steve McLaren (probably the next Middlesbrough manager) is Martin O'Neill. Two reasons why this will not happen are (a) the F.A. chose McLaren head of O'Neill the last time around and (b) O'Neill is too committed to his new job at restoring Aston Villa to their former glory. The Northern Irish native would be perfect for the job such has been his success at getting the best out of average players at every club he has previously managed.

If it is not to be O'Neill then who should take over the poison chalice of the second most important job (just behind the Prime Minister) in England? Mourinho looks the most likely candidate from the names mentioned thus far but I believe the F.A. are too afraid to give the highest profile job in English football to such an outspoken and volatile character. Fabio Capello may come into the reckoning having just organised a major media interview in Italy to stake his claim for the job. The Italian task master would be a sensible appointment with his history of handling big ego's and even more difficult Chairmen. My money is on Guus Hiddink as he is currently stalling on signing a lucrative extended contract with the Russian football federation with a view to throwing his name into the hat for the English post.



Scotland
First Walter Smith and now Alex McLeish have substituted the Scottish international team's revival for the hot seats at Rangers and Birmingham respectively. Scottish football owes a huge debt to both managers for their recent upturn in fortunes on the international stage. Both Smith and McLeish have been instrumental in creating a club-like atmosphere off the pitch and a determined revival on the playing field which has seen Scotland record a string of impressive result over the past two years. Ironically, both men's success is the Scottish international side's loss as the Tartan Army goes in search of a new manager for the 2010 World Cup qualifiers. Billy Davies, George Graham and Graeme Souness have been the most prominent names bandied about in recent days as potential replacements for McLeish. I think the Scottish FA should cast their net over a wider range of candidates and not just native, experienced managers who are currently out of work.

Despite the disappointment of the Berti Vogts reign someone with the experience and calibre of Martin Jol should be sounded out about possibly taking over. The most likely outcome will be a Scottish native with ex-Derby boss, Davies, the current favourite.


There are almost 10 months until England, Scotland and the Republic of Ireland's next competitive matches but a new manager is needed by each country as soon as possible to begin planning for that campaign. With the merry-go-round of managers currently swapping seats in the Premiership each country's association will have to act fast and not be afraid to offer a substantial contract to their new managers.