Craig Levein

Dundee Utd manager Craig Levein

The bookies favourite and my personal number one choice. Levein has proved successful throughout his managerial career, building a strong team at Heart then Leicester and now on a limited budget, he has produced a Dundee United team that look capable of upsetting the Old Firm for the title. He would bring a fresh new look to the squad and starting XI where players are selected on merit, rather than the usual reputation based picks, which usually means an Rangers or Celtic player. We have for too long now deployed the dull 4-5-1 system and Dundee United have filled their team with young Scots and a reject, ageing Everton reject and are somehow playing stylish 4-4-2 football. Beats me how he’s done it, but let’s hope he can do it with Scotland.

David Moyes

 Yes, I know he is Everton manager, and I know that means he’s unlikely to take it, but this is my outside shout. Everton have enjoyed very little about their start to the season and after midweek defeat to lowly Hull City, they now sit 14^th in the table. 8 years in the job, has Moyes done all he can with the Merseyside club. Now that Liverpool have given them a doing, lets hope Moyes gets the boot and fancies a go at the Scotland job. Unlikely, but you never know.

                                                                                                                                                                      Graeme Souness

Please, no. Just no. Scotland will become a Rangers B side if he takes over. Thought by many to be one of the players of his generation but now a managerial duffer. When trying to spot a player he couldn’t tell an arse from an elbow as he expertly proved at Newcastle. Been out of a job now for almost 4 years and hasn’t budged from his seat in the sky sports studio. Doubt he’s watched anything but a Rangers game in this time and probably couldn’t name you all 12 SPL clubs. If my tone here seems short, it because I’m getting pissed off even thinking about the possibility. I’ve never prayed before, but I will now. If there is anyone up there, God…Buddha…whoever, please don’t let it be Souness.

Jim Jeffries

 The longest serving manager in the SPL currently with Kilmarnock but would be another daft appointment. Has achieved bugger all with them in his 8 years apart from mid-table mediocrity, fair enough on a budget of £50 or so, and has a board who sell at the first sniff from Rangers, but even still I think he’d struggle. We often talk about players being bigger than a club, but with the inflamed ego’s some of our national team seem to be sporting, they seem to think they are bigger than the country and as much as I’d love to see some of them get dropped, we need them, and I don’t know if Jeffries would be up to the task of managing them.

Jimmy Calderwood

Another no-no. Out of a job currently which will be appealing to cash stricken SFA but they must look beyond this. Part of the laughing stock of Scottish football on Only an Excuse, he’s more famous for his ‘Bernie Winters’ lookalike skills than any of his managerial achievements. Lacking in experience of dealing with real pressure would be  another major negative and he doesn’t appear to be a strong enough character not to fold under the pressure from the SFA to edge towards the Old Firm players. I really hope he doesn’t get it, but it wouldn’t at all surprise me if he did.

Walter Smith

January is fast approaching and Rangers appear to be showing no signs of offering him a new contract. He has already ruled himself out, but with a little persuasion and a decent wage, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him change his mind. I think even if the Ibrox club do offer him a new deal, he will probably decline it and pass over the reins to his apprentice in waiting, Ally McCoist. This leaves him with two options really – either get this job back, a job he had relative success with before quitting, or retire. Whatever he chooses to do, I won’t really be bothered, unless Souness gets picked ahead of him.

Gordon Strachan

If Burley had been sacked a game earlier, the job would have probably been his. But he’s Middlesborough manager now. So it won’t be him. End of.

John Collins

Another man not in a job so he’ll not cost very much but another lacking in managerial experience. He was in the squad the last time we qualified so he knows what it takes but brief spells with Hibs and Charleroi isn’t exactly the CV you would expect a Scotland national manager to have.

Other candidates have come forward such as Dan Petrescu and Csaba Laszlo and are thought to be amongst the 20 managers the SFA revealed have applied for the job. They are however unlikely to choose a foreign manager after the Berti Vogts saga.

That’s the list. If they aren’t on the list then they aren’t in with a shout. If there is someone I’ve forgotten about and the SFA come out with a surprise choice, I’ll apologise if it’s a good one, and I’ll slate them.

Photo courtesy Andrew Dolan (via Wikimedia Commons)

With his Ipswich Town club holding the dubious title of being the only Coca-Cola Football League team yet to win this season, it’s hard to blame manager Roy Keane for one of the tactics he’s using these days: Prayer.

One reporter had asked the Irishman if the Ipswich boss had tried asking for a favor from a higher power, as captured on film this week by BBC Sport, and Keane gave confirmation that he has indeed given it a go.    “I pray all the time,” the ex-Manchester United and Celtic star said.  “Obviously, the man upstairs is busy at the moment, though, as he’s got bigger issues to deal with than (Ipswich Town’s) problems.

“Listen, I’ve got great faith that things will change for us.  As I’ve said, of course, when you’re not winning games, you analyze, and the danger is (that) you can overanalyze it.”

Indeed, Keane and his charges at Ipswich have been under the microscope all season long, and the further the Championship season goes along without the Tractor Boys picking up a win – they’ve drawn seven and lost six from their first 13 league matches – the heavier the pressure on Keane to turn things around.

The Ipswich faithful will hope that happens this Saturday, though, when the Tractor Boys travels down to Devon to play against Plymouth Argyle, which sits in 23rd place in the Championship – still in the relegation zone, but at least it’s one step above dead last – on account of having won two more games than its visitor this weekend.

Argyle’s only home win of the season came in its previous game at Home Park, a 2-1 win over Scunthorpe United on Oct. 3, but England’s southernmost and westernmost Football League club has lost its last two matches – a 2-0 defeat at Blackpool on Oct. 17, followed by a 3-1 loss at Bristol City on Tuesday -  and Keane will be desperate to get his first win as Ipswich boss and thereby hand the Pilgrims their third consecutive loss.

If nothing else, though, Ipswich does have history on its side as it visits Home Park.  The Tractor Boys are unbeaten in six matches against Plymouth, and the Greens have only won one of twelve league and cup matches against the Suffolkians.

That’s good news for Keane, then, and he’s confident that his players’ hard work will finally pay off on Saturday.

“As a manager, I look at our staff and my players, and I think that we’re doing a lot of good stuff,” he said.  “We’re out on the training pitch (for purposes of) preparation, but you also need a little bit of a break, and hopefully that might come tomorrow.”

For division-by-division analysis of the weekend’s other action in the Football League, keep reading after the jump.

Championship: Graeme Souness is expected to be named as the next Middlesbrough manager after the sacking of Gareth Southgate earlier this week, but before that happens, caretaker coach Colin Cooper will be given a chance to see what he can do with the team as it travels to Deepdale to take on sixth-place Preston North End.  Boro currently sits in fourth place in the Championship, but it’s only one point behind the three-way logjam for the top spot, which is occupied by West Bromwich Albion, Newcastle United and Cardiff City.  While Collins and the Smoggies are playing against PNE in the first league meeting between the two teams for 35 years, West Brom will be playing away to Coventry City, Newcastle will host Doncaster Rovers, and will lock proverbials with Sheffield United up in South Yorkshire.

League One: As ever – or so it seems – Leeds United and Charlton Athletic sit one-two in the league table, but both sides would do well to keep a close eye on a Milton Keynes Dons team that is within striking distance of upsetting the hegemony that we’ve seen at the top of the division.  On Saturday, MK Dons is away to second-bottom Southampton, and a win there could put manager Paul Ince’s side ahead of Charlton should the Addicks fall on the road against Gillingham.  Leeds’s lead will stay safe through the weekend regardless of the result of their match on Saturday away to Millwall – oh, goody… – but the Yorkshire club will want to earn all three points from what’s sure to be a heated affair both on and off the pitch, thereby remaining at the top of the League One table.

League Two: Hope Powell, the coach of England’s women’s national team, dismissed rumors this week that she had been approached by someone from Grimbsby Town with designs of her taking over the managerial reigns at the Lincolnshire club, but they could probably use somebody with her recent track record this week as the lowly Mariners travel to first-place Bournemouth.  The homestanding Cherries will certainly want to win, though, considering that Dagenham & Redbridge, Rochdale and Rotherham United are all still within three points of catching the division leader.

Matthew Semisch

Rolando Bianchi, Massimo Maccarone, Michele Padovano, Corrado Grabbi, Andrea Silenzi: cos’hanno in comune? Un passato in Premier League inglese, certo, ma ora soprattutto, proprio in virtù di quel passato, un posto nella top 50 dei peggiori attaccanti che abbiano mai giocato nel massimo campionato inglese. È questo, almeno, il parere del Daily Mail che, questa settimana, ha stilato la lista dei “Worst strikers to have played in the Premier League”.

Folta, come detto, la comunità italiana: il peggiore della compagnia, secondo il giornale, è Andrea Silenzi, che in assoluto si colloca al 13mo posto tra i flop. Fu il primo italiano a giocare in Premier, nel 1995 al Nottingham Forest. Un disastro: 12 presenze in campionato senza reti in poco più di una stagione, due gol giusto in FA cup e League cup, prima del mesto ritorno in prestito al Venezia.

Poi Corrado Grabbi, posizione numero 23 per le sue due stagioni e mezzo al Blackburn di Graeme Souness: 30 presenze e 2 reti in Premier tra il 2001 e il 2004, inframmezzate da un prestito al Messina, per un costo di quasi sette milioni di sterline, uno dei peggiori affari del calcio inglese.

Poca gloria anche per Michele Padovano, che con 12 presenze e un gol nel 1997 con la maglia del Crystal Palace si colloca al 28mo posto, e per Massimo Maccarone, ventinovesimo più che altro a causa del rapporto qualità-prezzo:nel 2002 fu l’acquisto più pagato della storia del Middlesbrough (12,7 milioni di euro), fortemente voluto da Steve McClaren, peraltro predecessore di Capello sulla panchina dell’Inghilterra. Dopo un inizio confortante, le cose andarono tutte per il verso sbagliato, per “Big Mac”: le panchine, i prestiti a Parma e Siena, il ritorno. Alla fine, 18 gol in Premier, in 80 presenze.

Buon ultimo, tra gli italiani, Rolando Bianchi, 38esimo, che nel 2007 costò 13 milioni al Manchester City – allora la proprietà dei Citizens era del magnate thailandese Thaksin Shinawatra – ma non lasciò grandi tracce, nonostante la rete all’esordio, e fece ritorno in Italia dopo sei mesi.

Ma, italiani a parte, sono molti i volti noti in questa flop 50: tra coloro che hanno giocato in serie A l’ex juventino Kovacevic (49esimo), gli ex rossoneri Tomasson, Kluivert e Raducioiu (rispettivamente ai posti numero 34, 22 e 19) e Mario Jardel (11esimo, ma ad Ancona fece peggio che al Bolton).

Due vecchie conoscenze anche fra i primi 10: lo svedese ex Parma Thomas Brolin, settimo per la sua esperienza al Leeds, e soprattutto Andriy Shevchenko, ottavo, «una barzelletta» per il suo periodo al Chelsea. Il peggiore in assoluto? Stephane Guivarc’h, per cui il Daily Mail non ha pietà: campione del mondo con la Francia nel ’98 – ma senza mai segnare – venne acquistato dal Newcastle in estate. Durò appena il tempo di quattro partite.

Onze held Matthew Le Tissier die vertelt over de slechtste speler ooit in het Engelse betaalde voetbal. Ali Dia is de naam, een neefje van George Weah, zo werd Southampton trainer Graeme Souness destijds verteld. Binnen een week stond Ali van het trainingsveld op het wedstrijdformullier.

En vervolgens viel Dia ook daadwerkelijk in: Le Tissier moest het veld geblesseerd verlaten en de Senegalese verrassing kwam erin. Na 50 minuten ‘bambi on ice’ (aldus Le Tissier) zag Souness zich gedwongen de man er weer uit te halen. Zie boven de lezing van ‘Le God’.

Voetblah kan zich herinneren ooit beelden te hebben gezien van deze saga. Op Youtube is echter niets te vinden. Help!

ps Nog een lezing van ‘Le Gok’…

Blackburn Rovers: Overgiv jer eller vi tackler!

Stiftet: 1875

Stadion: Ewood Park (Kapacitet: 31.367)

Kælenavn: Rovers, Blue and whites, Riversiders

Seneste tre ligaplaceringer (07/08/09): 10/7/15

Første fem kampe: 15/8 Man City (H), 18/8 Fulham (U), 22/8 Sunderland (U), 29/8 West Ham (H), 12/9 Wolverhampton (H)

Manager: Sam Allardyce (Siden december 2008)

Kun 4 hold har vundet den fornemmeste engelske fodboldrække siden den i 1992 ændrede format og navn til det vi i dag kender som Premier League. Det drejer sig naturligvis om Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea – og Blackburn Rovers. Sidstnævnte snuppede et enkelt mesterskab i 1995. Det var der Blackburn slog Liverpool ude på sidste spilledag, og the Kop brød ud i “Always look on the bright side of life” da nyheden tikkede ind om at Blackburn blev mestre idet Manchester United kun havde formået at få 1-1 hos West Ham. Det var også dengang Kenny Dalglish var træner på Ewood Park, og frem for alt dengang Blackburn havde stålmillionæren Jack Walkers penge til at signere stjernespillere som Graeme Le-Saux, Alan Shearer, David Batty, Tim Flowers og Chris Sutton. (Det var virkelig en anden tid dengang…)

Siden er der løbet meget vand under broen i Blackburn. Mesterskabssæsonen blev ikke fulgt succesfuldt op, og blot fire år efter – i 1999 – var holdet nede i den næstbedste række efter en Ray Hartford og Roy Hodgson ikke havde formået at løfte arven efter Dalglish. Mens holdet rodede rundt i den næstbedste række døde Jack Walker ydermere, men alligevel fik Graeme Souness holdet tilbage i den bedste række i 2001. Siden fulgte endnu en indkøbstur, en ligacup triumf og et par ligaplaceringer på det jævne, inden Mark Hughes tog over fra Souness som ville til Newcastle.

I sine fire år på Ewood Park formåede Hughes at skabe et stærkt Blackburn-mandskab, som hurtigt blev et af de hold som alle hadede at møde på grund af deres fysiske og pågående spillestil. Endvidere fik holdet under Hughes såvel en sjette som en syvendeplads, og formåede i vidt omfang at etablere sig i Premier League. I maj 2008 ville Hughes dog hellere til Manchester City, og trænerkarusselen foresatte og smed Paul Ince af hos Blackburn efter et succesfuldt ophold hos Milton Keynes Dons. Ince viste sig imidlertid ikke at kunne klare presset, og han blev fyret efter en serie af elleve kampe uden sejre i november. 

Ind trådte i stedet Sam Allardyce, som var blevet fyret i Newcastle, og som hurtigt fik genfundet de gamle dyder fra Hughes – og som han selv blev berømt og berygtet for i Bolton; fysisk, effektiv fodbold, hvor modstanderens teknikere virkelig får lov til at mærke, at de er i live. Blackburn tabte ikke i Allardyces første syv kampe som træner, og sluttede sæsonen på en – alt taget i betragtning – respektabel 15. plads.

Truppen generelt: Av for satan!

Paul Robinson, som gik gruelig meget igennem omkring Englands kiksede kvalifikation til EM 2008. Robinson droppede flere fælt på landsholdet, og på klubholdet, Tottenham, lignede det tidligere Leeds-talent mere og mere en slagen mand. Robinson blev Inces første indkøb i Blackburn, og har fået gang i karrieren igen.

I forsvaret er Ryan Nelsen fra New Zeeland styrmand, og er blevet en vigtigere og vigtigere mand for holdet de senere år. Han gøres selskab af kæmpestore Christopher Samba, som dominerer luftrummet, men til gengæld kan virke temmelig tung mod teknisk stærke spillere. Ikke desto mindre fuldender det tidligere Liverpool-talent Stephen Warnock et stærkt forsvar på venstrebacken. Georgiske Zurab Khizanishvili agerer backup for centerforsvarne med albuer, film og generel pisseirriterende optræden.

På midtbanen var Blackburn hårdt ramt af skader, og følgelig endte Keith Andrews, som Ince tog med fra MK Dons, lidt pudsigt med at være et næsten fast indslag på den defensive midtbane. Han får konkurrence af australske Vince Grella, mens en anden australier, Brett Emerton, står for et mere offensivt islæt. Ellers er norske Morten Gamst Pedersen den store stjerne på kanten. Ikke blot bidrager nordmanden med indkast som er i Rory-Delap-klassen længdemæssigt; han kan også både drible, udfordre og score mål. Han gør det bare umanerlig sjældent, og har det med at forsvinde i store dele af sæsonen. På kanten kan også El Hadji Diouf – som Allardyce hentede til Bolton i sin tid, og igen hentede til Blackburn i januar – spille, ligesom han  kan bruges helt på toppen. Her huserer også Benedict Mccarthy og Jason Roberts, som begge er angribere lige efter Big Sams hjerte, med fysisk styrke og målnæse.

Væsentlige transfere: Ungt og spændende

Forsvaret er blevet styrket af sidste sæsons lejesvend Gaël Givet, som er kommet til på en permanent kontrakt. Han kan spille både centralt og på venstrebacken. Lars Jakobsen er kommet til højrebacken transferfrit fra Everton, og kan oplagt ses som en direkte erstatning for de seneste års faste mand på pladsen i Blackburn, hollandske Andre Oijer som er taget hjem. Den populære midtbanetyrker Tugay har indstillet karrieren, mens Aaron Mokoena er taget på fri transfer til Portsmouth. Midtbanen er til gengæld blevet styrket af den tidligere FCK’er Elrio Van Heerden, og det 20-årige franske talent Steven N’Zonzi som startede sæsonens første kamp på den defensive midtbane.

Klubbens store stjerne de seneste år, angriberen Roque Santa Cruz, blev efter en længere transfersaga hentet til Manchester City af Mark Hughes som i første omgang lokkede ham fra Bayern Munchen til Blackburn med stor succes. Alt imens er evighedstalentet Matt Derbyshire blevet solgt til græske Olympiakos. Ny i angrebet er til gengæld det 21-årige kroatiske stortalent Nikola Kalinic, som spås en stor fremtid i hjemlandet efter nogle succesfulde år i Hajduk Split. Man venter i øjeblikket ængsteligt på at de sidste papirer falder på plads, så Blackburns nye nummer 22 kan komme på banen. Han menes at have kostet i omegnen af £ 6 millioner. Ligeledes er den argentinske angriber Franco Di Santo blevet lånt i Chelsea.

Forventninger: En ubehagelig overraskelse

Sam Allardyce er en modbydeligt dygtig træner. Han råder i Blackburn over en stor del spillere, som fungerer rigtig godt med den type modbydelige fodbold som den tidligere Bolton-boss gerne vil spille. Derfor bliver møderne med Blackburn et rigtig ubehageligt bekendtskab for alle hold i denne sæson.

Siden jeg oprindeligt nørklede med mit udkast til de endelige placeringer har en række hold forstærket sig, og derfor virker det nu lidt voldsomt at have Blackburn i top-10. Ok, indrømmet: Det virker voldsomt ligegyldig hvad. Ikke desto mindre vil holdet kunne opnå ganske meget, og det tror jeg også de gør; de er fint besat på alle pladser, og især Ryan Nelsen holder højt niveau defensiven. Hvis Mccarthy ydermere forløser sit naturlige talent for at lave mål med alle kropsdele, og han eventuelt kan udvikle et godt makkerskab med den nye unge Kalinic, så er sky’s the limit for Blackburn Rovers. Eller i virkeligheden er 8. pladsen the limit. Men det ville også være udtryk for en hamrende god sæson for Blackburn efter sidste sæsons flirt med nedrykningspladserne.

Tip: Forventet placering: Nummer 9 Supersæson: Nummer 8.

By the end of this campaign we will be reeling out the excuses again. After we lost to Italy, lots of fans looked to blame the referee. Conspiracy theories abounded of an enraged Manuel Mejuto Gonzalez promising revenge against the Scots after a debacle at Glasgow Airport. Or reports of him dining at the Gattuso family restaurant after the match as a reward for his collusion in Scotland’s downfall. No mention of the listless performance against Georgia a month previously, which ultimately cost us qualification.

The real issues were handily side stepped. The referee didn’t have much involvement in Italy’s first goal, which resulted from Scottish defenders not marking Luca Toni, who had scored twice in the earlier match between the two teams. It was easier to blame others than accept our own shortcomings.

This is partly why expectations for World Cup qualification were unusually high. After an unfortunate defeat to Macedonia, again due to some defensive ineptitude and an agonising goalless draw with Norway at Hampden, most fans and the media have been brought back to earth.

Cue the lowering of the Saltire and the sharpening of knives. Scotland manager George Burley has been the target for much criticism. Picking a proven goal scorer Chris Iwelumo, over a striker who at that time, couldn’t get a game for Rangers makes sense on paper, but when this backfired, and Kris Boyd’s resultant petulance in retiring from Scotland duty brought blind anger towards Burley, who was never a popular choice for the manager’s job (read: he never played for the Old Firm).

With the return fixture against Norway due this week. Not much seems to have changed. His decision not to include David Weir in the squad prompted outrage from a Scottish newspaper which baulked at the suggestion that Steven Caldwell, captain of newly promoted Burnley, should take his place. Not that there is much logic to this, but if Scotland fail in Norway the unnamed paper will be able to point the finger and say ‘I told you so’. It’s almost as if they want Scotland to lose.

The SFA takes it’s fair share of abuse too though. Take Graeme Souness’ ridiculous anger at still waiting to hear from the SFA regarding the Scotland manager’s job. Some people just can’t take a hint. Or Barry Ferguson’s outrage at the way the SFA dealt with him following his idiotic behaviour in April. Fair enough, but alleging his erstwhile commitment to the Scotland team is perhaps not his strongest hand.

It is hypocritical of the press to appear to cheer on the team when they are winning but to turn on them as soon as things don’t go as planned. In truth there is no real issue with Weir being left out in favour of younger players, who knows if Weir will even be still playing by next summer’s World Cup? It’s just a convenient piece of information that helps to build anticipation of defeat before another ‘crucial’ Scotland game.

Bolton Wanderers:

Stiftet: 1874 (som Christ Church FC)

Stadion: Reebok Stadium (Kapacitet: 28.723)

Kælenavn: Trotters, Wanderers, Whites

Seneste tre ligaplaceringer (07/08/09): 7/16/13

Første fem kampe: Sunderland (H), Arsenal (U), Hull (U), Liverpool (H), Portsmouth (U)

Manager: Gary Megson (Siden oktober 2007)

Gary Megson var ikke længe om at få tilnavnet Gary Mugson i Bolton. Ganske vist vekslede han holdets bundplacering til yderligere et år i Premier League da han ankom, men de succesfulde år under Sam Allardyces regime har gjort supporterne på Reebook Stadium forvænte, og de er ikke tilfredse med holdets placeringer i den nedre halvdel af Premier League. Allardyce var manden som førte Bolton tilbage i den bedste række i denne omgang, da han i 2001 førte holdet til play off sejr mod (de evige play off tabere) Presten North End. Allardyce var også manden som førte dem til en liga cup finale, og tre sæsoner med top-10 placeringer. Mest mindeværdigt blev det til en 6. plads i 2005. Ligeledes indstiftede Sam Allardyce en type fodbold i Bolton, som diplomatisk talt var hård og effektiv, og ærlig talt ofte tangerede vold mod såvel modspillere som tilskuere. Det gik i korte træk ud på at tiltvinge sig en masse dødbolde, så man kunne smide en masse spillere ind i feltet for at skabe forvirring. Ideelt set skulle manøvren slutte med at Kevin Davies eller Kevin Nolan skulle sparke virkelig hårdt til bolden i retning af målet. Hvis man gjorde det nok gange i løbet af en kamp kunne man ret tit ende med at gå hen at vinde den. Også spillere som Youri Djorkaeff og Jay-Jay Okocha fik absurd nok lov til at tage del i løjerne.

Efter 8 år i Bolton havde Big Sam imidlertid fået nok. Han ville vinde trofæer inden karrieren løb ud, og den populære Fred Flintstone-lookalike tog til Newcastle (hvor han i øvrigt naturligvis prompte blev fyret). Hans assistent – som naturligvis har en slående lighed med Flintstones joviale nabo Barney – Sammy Lee blev ansat og floppede totalt. Da Barneys manglende kompetencer som boss stod klart, vendte Bolton sig først mod Steve Bruce, som takkede nej. Dernæst fik Chris Coleman chancen, og valgte at sige nej. Dernæst meldte Graeme Souness ud at han i hvert fald ikke ville være Bolton-træner; helt uden nogen havde tilbudt ham jobbet. Til sidst blev den rejsende svend Gary Megson som blev headhuntet fra en stilling i Leicester. Megson formåedet at vende skuden efter Sammy Lee havde sat kurs mod nedrykning, og fulgte i sidste sæson op på præstationen med en respektabel 13. plads. Oven i købet er det siden Megsons mellemkomst blevet observeret at Bolton lejlighedsvis har forsøgt sig med adskillige på hinanden følgende pasninger langs jorden. Træerne vokser dog ikke ind i himlen, og Megsons fodboldfilosofi minder på mange måder om den store fede Sam gjorde Bolton berømt og berygtet for.

Truppen generelt:

Jussi Jaaskelainen har igennem mange sæsoner vist sig at være en god og sikker sidste skanse. Dog er finnen et stykke fra den form, som for et par år siden gjorde ham til en af ligaens bedste. Det er de dog nok ligeglade med i Bolton, hvor han nyder stor popularitet, og faktisk har en realistisk chance for at gå efter rekorden som den spiller der har optrådt flest gange for wanderers. På lørdag markeres hans tiår i klubben med en testimonial mod Hibernian. I forsvaret fik 23-årige Gary Cahill sit store gennembrud i sidste sæson, hvilket blev belønnet med en udtagelse til landsholdstruppen. I centerforsvaret får det tidligere Villa-talent selskab af rutinerede Andrew O’brien. Ellers består bagkæden af endu en tidligere Villan Jlloyd Samuel på venstrebacken og den voldsomt populære Gretar Steinsson på højrebacken. Steinsson er foruden sit kompromisløse spil populær fordi han som af meget få Bolton-spillere rent faktisk har fundet lyst til at bosætte sig i byen.

På midtbanen huserer atter en spiller med en fortid på Villa Park; Gavin Mccann, som lidt uretfærdigt ofte reduceres til en ren bolderobrer selvom hans pasningsspil bestemt ikke er ueffent. Han har selskab centralt af den store, stærke 21-årige Fabrice Muamba som kom til fra Birmingham inden sidste sæson. På venstrekanten kan man opleve Matthew Taylor, som mest er berømt for sit frygtindgydende hårde og præcise spark. Sidste sæson endte bolden i kassen ti gange når Taylor hamrede til den, omend mange nok stadig mest vil huske ham for det vanvittige mål for et par siden da han spillede i Portsmouth, og flugtede bolden i kassen fra midtercirklen mod Everton. Jamaicaneren Ricardo Gardner, der ligesom Jaaskelainen kan fejre ti års jubilæum i år, foretrækker også vestrekanten, men bruges i dag overalt på midtbanen. Stortalentet Mark Davies begyndte yderligere at banke på til en plads på holdet efter nytår.

Helt fremme er Kevin Davies troeligt på plads. Det er han også i toppen af listerne over flest begåede frispark i løbet af en sæson. Det store lokum er en meget vigtig spiller for Bolton, og sidste sæson var en af hans allerbedste for the Trotters, hvor det også blev til 11 mål. Davies har selskab af Johan Elmander, som før sidste sæson blev Boltons dyreste spiller nogensinde. Elmander havde da også en hæderlig første sæson, men mange håber på mere fra rekordsigningen i den kommende. De to skal modstå konkurrencen fra det portugisiske evighedstalent Ricardo Vaz Te, som missede hele sidste sæson med en skade, samt de relativt ubeskrevne blade Mustapha Riga, som fik en del kampe fra bænken sidste år uden rigtig at imponere - og det 19-årige stortalent Temitope Obadeyi.

Væsentlige transfere:

Boltons trup er i skrivende stund fuldstændig intakt fra sidste sæson. Yderligere fire spillere er blevet føjet til. Det drejer sig om tre forsvarsspillere: Æslet Zat Knight (naturligvis fra Aston Villa), Sam Ricketts fra Hull og West Bromwichs anfører og venstreback bowlingkuglen Paul Robinson, som er blevet lånt for sæsonen. Afslutningsvis har man styrket midtbanen med Portsmouths Sean Davies.

Forventninger:

Det kan både blive fugl og fisk med Bolton i år. Det er et hold man slår sig på, de har mange glimrende fodboldspillere rundt omkring, og frem for alt ser det ud til at holdet kan holdes nogenlunde intakt fra den forgangne sæson, hvor det ganske vist blev til et 13-plads, men hvor kun målscoren adskilte dem fra 15. pladsen. Alligevel har jeg fidus til Bolton. Kevin Davies er en utrolig usympatisk fyr. Til gengæld kan han også være en boksspiller af virkelig høj klasse, og sidste sæsons præstationer fra angriberen synes jeg lover rigtig spændende for den nye sæson. Derudover forventer jeg mig meget af Johan Elmander. Manden skuffede nok mange, men det forekommer mig stadig at han er skabt til den engelske tilgang til spillet, og hvis han kommer godt igang, kan han blive en decideret profil.
Hvad jeg gerne vil frem til er altså, at selvom det er temmelig svært at argumentere overbevisende for, så tror jeg at Mugsons Bolton får efter omstændighederne god sæson. På den anden side vil jeg heller ikke blive voldsomt overrasket, hvis holdet kommer til at rode lidt rundt i nedrykningssuppedasen. Med sådan en klar udmelding kan jeg jo næsten komme i betragtning til et job som ekspert på tv…

Tip: Forventet placering: Nummer 12 Supersæson: Hvis mine overvejelser om Davies/Elmander partnerskabet viser sig at holde stik, så kan Bolton sågar mase sig ind i top-10.

Another great sporting Sunday, it’s enough to send a married man to the divorce courts. The big one for me will be the conclusion of the PGA Golf at Wentworth. Can the RoryMcIlroy land my 37/1 gamble? Paul Casey has a three shot lead so it is his to lose.

Today is also the most boring event of the Formula 1 calendar, the Monaco Grand Prix - a pretty venue little chance of any overtaking. The winner will be decided by mistakes and pit stops. Jenson Button has got to be favourite for this one. If he wins this race, under the new rules the Drivers Championship is near enough in the bag. The rule change was designed to make the sport more exciting, but ironically the whole thing could be over less than half way through the season.

The English Premiership finishes today. As an Everton fan my mind is already on next week, however David Moyes has done brilliantly by keeping the players minds on the job. We are away to Fulham who have been excellent this season so this will be no easy game. Hopefully we can get through the game with no injuries, and then look forward to the big one. Taking goal difference into account a point should be enough for them to secure Europa League football, but with Spurs going to Liverpool they may not need to win.

Undoubtedly the main question of the day is whether Newcastle can survive. Middlesbrough have a marginal chance but realistically they are already down. A point at Aston Villa would be enough if Hull lose to Man United. No doubt there will be many twists and turns with Sky Sports showing countless league tables confirming the current position.

In Scotland Rangers need to win at Dundee United to collect the Scottish title. No easy task but the league title is long overdue at Ibrox. Many Celtic fans would admit that the Hoops won the title by default last year due to Rangers fixture congestion caused by their UEFA Cup run. This would be Walter Smith’s eighth league title as manager, plus another three as assistant to Graeme Souness.

Lastly a joke from one of the Sunday papers, Rafa Benitez is rumoured to spend £15 million pounds on Glen Johnson from Portsmouth. Surely the comma is in the wrong place, it must be £1.5 million. If Rafa wastes the bulk of his transfer budget on Johnson, I will be a very happy Toffee. More soon…

The third stage of my journey from fun-loving pop fanatic and tractor boy to misery pop fanatic and psychogeographic depressive, Pot Plant Pantry appeared in late 1987 and saw me retreating from the throwaway stuff.  Stung by a rebuke meted out to me in response to Too Much Hanky Pantry that I should ‘fuck off back to [my] brat-pop’, I got serious.  As I’ve often said, these were days when arguments with your closest allies were likely to be far more ferocious than those with your most reviled opponents.  In this respect it helped that I was embarked on the second year of a degree that paired philosophy and sociology under the laughably erroneous moniker of ‘Modern Studies’; being voluntarily and increasingly under the influence of those now well-known French jokers Debord and Vaneigem hardly held me back in the furrowed brow stakes.  I never did develop Raoul Vaneigem’s capacity to consider the revolution of every day life as quite the unbridled joy he would have you believe it to be.

Not that you can work out any of this from the cover, which featured a wonderfully pretty line drawing by my friend Robert Aspland, multiplied Warholistically and ever so slightly wonkily by me.  Showing his versatility, Robert (now busy landscape-designing the Olympic park ready for 2012) also produced a caricature of Graeme Souness for the cover of the fourth issue of When Saturday Comes.

On receipt of Pot Plant Pantry, Malcolm Eden of McCarthy sent me a ‘keep your pecker up!’ postcard, saying ‘you seem to have become almost as solemn as I am…’

So that’s something for readers to look forward to as I post pages from Pot Plant over the coming days and weeks.

Well… Not fighting, but definitely disagreeing as in true Eamon Dunphy style. Dunphy was a brave man talking to Souness like that. He looks like he could still put a man down. Everyone knows what Dunphy is like and he can talk some complete and utter shite sometimes. Arguing about management is something he shouldn’t do when he hasn’t dipped his toe into or realises how hard it is. That’s why I think Mr. Souness was a little bit pissed off

.::KA::.

Liverpool es una ciudad donde el fútbol se vive con auténtica pasión. Liverpool FC y Everton mantienen una rivalidad centenaria a las orillas del rio Mersey. El Everton ha tenido momentos importantes en la historia pero sufre el vivir a la sombra de los ‘reds’. El Liverpool FC es uno de los clubs más importantes del mundo. Con una historia asombrosa capaz de hacer sombra a cualquier equipo del mundo. Probablemente, el Real Madrid sea el único club de la historia que tenga mejor palmarés que los ‘reds’.

La mejor época del Liverpool fue al final de la década de los 70 y la década de los 80. Con jugadores de la talla de Sammy Lee, Graeme Souness entre otros, el Liverpool consiguió tres entorchados europeos. Hasta la llegada del Milán de Sacchi y el Dream Team de Cruyff, el conjunto británico fue el club más temido del mundo. Ese grupo de jugadores tenía un nível excelso, pero la supremacía del ‘Pool’ se sustentó sobre los hombros del gran rey, del jugador más querido de la historia ‘red’, el rey de Anfield, Kenny Dalglish.

King Kenny conquistó Anfield con sus goles espectaculares y su entrega en el campo. Probablemente estemos ante uno de los cinco mejores jugadores ingleses de la historia. Dalglish conquistó los corazones de la afición ‘red’. su recuerdo caló tan hondo, que aún se recuerda al mítico Kenny en Anfield en cada partido. Sólo un jugador podrá llegar a su altura, Steven Gerrard. El actual capitán del Liverpool es, para muchos aficionados ‘reds’, el alma del Liverpool.

Actualmente, King Kenny, el encargado de hacer los goles en aquel Liverpool, tiene un digno heredero, Fernando Torres. The Kid ha conquistado Anfield con sus goles. El delantero fuenlabreño ha tardado tan sólo un año en camelarse a la fiel afición ‘red’. En su primer partido, Fernando tuvo su canción preparada. Anfield le regaló la misma canción que a Ian Rush-uno de los mejores delanteros de la historia del Pool- y la misma que King Kenny. Anfield había puesto la primera piedra para alumbrar la carrera de Fernando. El ‘9′ puso las demás con sus goles. El tiempo dirá cúal es su techo, pero King Kenny es insuperable.

A continuación, os dejo el reportaje de Informe Robinson sobre Fernando Torres, Liverpool FC y el gran King Kenny.

Jag lever i någon slags limbo just nu. Färdigutbildad i januari. Inget fast jobb. Hankar mig fram. Får in en fot på radiosporten och försöker klämma in hela kroppen. Just nu verkar det gå ganska bra ändå. Men. Hela min livssituation gör att mina dagar är fria. de är en konstig känsla. Frihet blandad med ångest. Frihet för många dagar kan jag styra över precis som jag vill. Ångest för att en dag där tre avsnitt av Doctor Who kan ses som en produktiv dag inte betalar några räkningar.

Jag är av naturen lat. Det har jag alltid varit. Därför är den här drönartillvaron så lockande trots att den inte genererar några pengar. Försöker göra något åt det. Och som sagt, radiosporten finns där och håller mig flytande. Den här månaden är jag ändå uppe och nosar på ett timantal som liknar en deltidstjänst. Alltid något.

Hursom, den här mer eller mindre ofrivilliga ledigheten gör ju att varje jobbdag känns som att bestiga Mount Everest. Det tar emot för att uttrycka det milt. Ju längre tid jag har det så här desto jobbigare lär det bli med. Så någon får gärna ge mig mer arbete. Eller ännu hellre en fet jävla pengasäck så att jag kan fortsätta leva mitt liv så som det bör levas.

—

Kväll. Ser FA-cupmötet mellan Arsenal och Hull. Håller på killarna från norr. Gamle journeymannen och poolspelaren Nick Barmby visar att gubben kan än. Ett fint – om än – något lyckosamt mål ger The Tigers ledningen. Sen kämpar de för allt vad de är värda att åtminstonde nå ett omspel på hemmaplan. Det räcker inte till naturligtvis. Arsenal är för starka. Gör två snabba i slutet av matchen. Så som det alltid blir när ett lag inte är tillräckligt starka för att stå emot.

Konstaterar att Nicklas Bendtner måste vara alla tiders sämsta Arsenalanfallare. Det tänker jag på varje gång han får chansen. Tankarna far i väg till misslyckade Liverpoolspelare som Erik Meijer och Sean Dundee. Eller varför inte legenden Ali Dia som Graeme Souness köpte när han var tränare för Southampton 1996 i tron att det var George Weahs kusin. Karln blev inbytt i en match och sedan utbytt tio minuter senare när alla insåg att han inte höll måttet. Ungefär som Arsene Wenger borde göra med Bendtner. Att dansken själv tycker att han är lagets bästa anfallare och borde spela jämt gör det hela ännu roligare.

Ali Dia, nascut in 1965, a fost, practic, un fotbalist amator, cu toate ca are in CV un meci pentru Southampton. Povestea lui e demna de emisiuni gen “Fotbal la maxx”, si asta pentru ca: desi a fost un fotbalist amator, evoluand pentru echipe foarte mici din Franta si Germania, si fiind refuzat cand a dat probe de joc pentru echipe de al treilea esalon din Anglia (cum sunt Gillingham si Port Vale), a reusit prin metode proprii sa isi faca loc in vestita echipa a lui Southampton de la sfarsitul anilor `90.

“Spuma” povestii lui incepe in 1996, atunci cand managerul lui Southampton, Graeme Souness, primeste un telefon de la un individ ce pretinde a fi internationalul liberian George Weah, cel care a castigat in cariera sa “Balonul de Aur” si titlul de cel mai bun jucator de pe glob. Individul ii spune lui Souness ca a descoperit un jucator extraordinar in Africa, un tip care a jucat pentru Paris Saint-Germain si care are 13 selectii in nationala Senegalului. Souness il crede pe cuvant pe presupusul “Weah” si ii ofera un contract destul de bun lui Dia, fara a se convinge de autenticitatea datelor si de calitatile jucatorului. Mai apoi, avea sa descopere ca persoana cu care a vorbit la telefon era nimeni altul decat impresarul jucatorului.

Dia a jucat doar un meci pentru Southampton, cu numarul 33 pe spate, impotriva lui Leeds United, pe 23 noiembrie 1996. Verificarea sa trebuia sa aiba loc cu o saptamana inainte, intr-un amical cu Arsenal, care a fost insa anulat, asa ca Souness l-a asezat pe banca de rezerve pe ilustrul anonim, fara sa stie ce ii poate pielea. A jucat in acel meci 21 minute (intrand in minutul 32 si iesind in minutul 53), facand o catastrofa de meci si devenind un ilustru clovn pentru toti spectatorii, alergand ca vestita caprioara Bambi. Mai jos aveti momente din marea cariera a marelui Ali Dia,o cariera pe mine m-a amuzat in asa fel, incat m-am gandit sa v-o impartasesc si voua:

By Michael MacLeod

THE Queen has a picture of the Rangers football squad hanging on the walls of Buckingham Palace.

A Glasgow MP was stunned to discover the framed photo during a tour of Her Majesty’s home.

Now Labour’s Ian Davidson is probing to find out whether Queen Elizabeth is a closet fan of the Ibrox outfit.

Even after yesterday’s (Sunday) old firm showdown with Celtic, the discovery set Rangers internet fan forums ablaze with celebration.

Mr Davidson couldn’t believe his eyes when he stumbled across the squad photo during a trip for MPs last month.

He said: “I couldn’t find out if it belongs to the Queen, Prince Philip, another member of the Royal family or maybe another member of staff.

“It may well be that there are secret supporters of Rangers among the Royals.

“I don’t know if any of them has a season ticket for Ibrox but I’m sure if they wanted to see any of the players in the flesh arrangements could be made.”

Mr Davidson’s Glasgow South West ward takes in Ibrox stadium, where some sections of Gers fans already refer to their team as “the Queen’s 11.”

He was at the London palace as a member of the Public Accounts Committee, inspecting how the Crown spends its maintenance budget.

He told of how he came across team photo while browsing the grand galleries inside the Royal household.

He said: “We made our way through the main entrance and up the grand stairways and spectacular galleries with the collection of Old Masters.

“As we went towards the roof we passed by a room where I spotted the photograph of the Rangers squad hanging on a wall.

“I couldn’t tell if it was a current team photo but it was definitely Rangers as the club name was printed across the top.”

Stunned to find what he thinks is evidence of what many Rangers long suspected, Mr Davidson asked the Royal tour guide what the photo was doing there.

Mr Davidson said: “And at the committee meeting a short time later I told the Keeper of the Privy Purse that the only picture I recognised was that of the Rangers team.

“He laughed and replied it probably wasn’t part of the Royal Collection and hadn’t been adequately catalogued.

“But he added he would certainly look into it, so it might appear as part of the Royal Collection at a later date.”

Graeme Souness is said to have hung a picture of the Queen on the team dressing room wall when he became Rangers manager in 1986.

The late Queen Mother made a visit to Ibrox in 1938.

English women don’t wash their genitalia, says Napoli president. (Dirty Tackle)

The seventies were a pretty swanky time in Germany, fast forward to thirty seconds. (The Original Winger)

Naming Rights Stadium will deliver “the ultimate fan experience.” (101 Great Goals)

Kaka does not have a hernia. (Gazzetta dello Sport)

A riveting Souness-Tugay partnership will take over for Paul Ince at Blackburn. (Football365)

If you leaf through those players who were revered by the Stretford End, the number of attacking players immediately stick out at you. The likes of Best, Law, Charlton, Jordan, Giggs, Cantona, Cole, Van Nistelrooy, Ronaldo. Each of whom have earned their place in the folklore of Manchester United. Another one of those United fans would instantly name is Mark Hughes, who had 2 highly successful spells at Old Trafford, scoring 164 goals in 470 games for the club. In a glittering playing career, he won 2 league titles, 3 FA Cups, the European Cup Winners Cup and a League Cup with the Reds, and was quite often the scourge of their Manchester rivals in derby fixtures.

But today, Hughes put all this aside as he took over as Manchester City manager after Sven-Goran Eriksson’s departure. Earlier on this blog, I made my views about that affair and City’s owner Thaskin Shinawatra quite clear but it is my belief that they have picked a tremendous successor to the Swede.

Since retiring from playing in 2002, the Welshman has embarked on a successful managerial career. In 1999 he was appointed manager of Wales, despite still playing with Southampton, and latterly with Everton and Blackburn Rovers.

His time in charge of his country is most noted for their Euro 2004 qualifying campaign, where they finished 2nd in their group to Italy, forcing a play off match with Russia. Although this included a famous defeat of the Italians in Cardiff, they fell at the last hurdle to the Russians over 2 legs.

But Hughes’ work had not gone unnoticed and in September of 2004 he took charge of Blackburn, following Graeme Souness’ move to Newcastle. Working on a shoestring budget, Hughes guided Rovers to Premier League safety and an FA Cup semi final, their first in over 40 years, but they lost out to Arsenal.

Rovers continued to improve under his guidance and a superb 6th place finish in his second season ensured European football back at Ewood Park. They reached the UEFA Cup round of 32 the following season, losing out to German side Bayer Leverkusen.

Another top ten finish and FA Cup semi final appearance, along with this season’s 7th place, saw his stock rise still further. Working with one of the smaller budgets in the Premier League, with one his bigger buys being Roque Santa Cruz for around £3.5 million, it is widely acknowledged that Hughes has worked miracles with Blackburn, establishing them as one of England’s leading clubs.

But today he moved back to Manchester with the blue side, citing greater potential at Eastlands for the move. He said: “I had a fantastic time at Blackburn.

“There was a limit to how far I could take the club and it’s a case now that I’m at a club that can match my ambitions.”

Clearly, Hughes will not let past club loyalties get in the way of his progression as a manager, and that has to warm the hearts of City’s fans. With all due respect to Blackburn, a club whom I greatly admire, Hughes has joined a far bigger club- larger squad, larger fanbase and they are awash with money thanks to Shinawatra, in contrast to the more limited resources available to him at Ewood.

He sees City as a club that can, and should, challenge regularly in Europe and in domestic competition. Given the success he had signing bargain players at Blackburn, it is not beyond the realms of possibility that Sparky can have City reaching cup finals and challenging the European spots in the league with financial backing.

Early on at Blackburn, Hughes’ team had a reputation for being physical, which Arsene Wenger complained about after the aforementioned FA Cup semi final. But Hughes progressively built a side that was attractive to watch, with players such as Santa Cruz, Morten Gamst Pedersen and England star David Bentley coming to prominence and giving Blackburn a real zest and flair to their play.

And that sort of level is what City’s supporters will be hoping for. They saw it for the first half of the season under Eriksson and they will hope Hughes can restore that in the coming season. I still feel that Shinawatra was perhaps hasty in sacking the Swede, but I have to feel that he will have appeased the supporters by acquiring Hughes.

It poses the question though- if he is successful at Eastlands, could he be the man to eventually succeed Sir Alex Ferguson when he retires from Manchester United? I wouldn’t be surprised at that.

But that is for the future. For the present, what is Blackburn’s loss will almost certainly be Manchester City’s gain. The fact he is a hero of their sworn rivals will eventually be forgotten.

In his column in the Guardian, Will Hersey has named Glenn Roeder the sixth worst football manager thanks to his “achievements” when in charge of West Ham.

1. Graeme Souness
2. Egil Olsen
3. Hristo Stoichkov
4. Ossie Ardiles
5. David Platt
6. Glenn Roeder
7. Alan Ball
8. The England 1986 World Cup Squad
9. Claude Anelka
10. Jim Fallon

Most West Ham fans I know are less than complimentary about Roeder, but the sixth worst manager seems more than a little harsh doesn’t it?

It looks as though the Fat Lady is clearing her throat and readying herself to signal the end of George Burley’s reign at Southampton while the stagehand is preparing to open the curtains on his new lead role as manager of Scotland.

Apologies for the theatrical references but I am merely trying to liven up what has been an extremely dull and uninspiring recruitment process by the SFA.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not despondent by the appointment of Burley and I don’t for one minute believe he will take Scotland backwards in terms of the footballing progress we have made in recent years.

It’s just that, well, everything seems to have been a little flat about the whole thing. Burley will prove to be a safe pair of hands and he will have my full backing but it doesn’t seem as though the SFA have been willing to push the boat out and consider a couple of names that are a bit left of centre.

On the SFA’s shortlist of four candidates to have been interviewed, I believe there was only ever two men who had a realistic chance of being offered the job: Burley and Motherwell manager Mark McGhee. Both were good candidates and there would have been little complaint had McGhee got the nod just as there’s no-one from the Tartan Army readying themselves for a leap off the Forth Road Bridge with Burley’s appointment.

It’s just that, they both seem to be lacking that little something extra that would have provided a spark for the whole process. Tommy Burns and Graeme Souness were never going to get the job (although perhaps Souness was the SFA’s idea of a maverick name on the shortlist) and therefore should not have been interviewed in the first place.

Instead, the names of Burley and McGhee should have been supplemented with someone like Steve Clarke at Chelsea or Alex Miller at Liverpool – both of whom I have touted for the job in a previous post. Then, perhaps a bit of spice should have been added to the mixing pot in the form of a foreign name – no, not Berti but someone with a bit of continental experience and a sound grasp of the english language.

Then, at least we would have seen that the SFA were not operating with blinkers on throughout the process and were open to considering other avenues. At the end of the day, had they still decided that Burley was the right man for the job then so be it – at least they would had performed due diligence in the considering all the options.

All of this sounds like a fanatical anti-Burley tirade, which I can assure you it is not. He is a man of dignity, professionalism and likes his teams to play attacking football. He will be a good appointment, of that I am sure.

I just wish that the SFA hadn’t operated with the blinkers on. Or perhaps, to continue the theatrical theme, they could only afford the cheap seats with the restricted view.

So Billy Davies has ruled himself out of the running for the Scotland manager’s job. Please excuse me for not reaching for the Night Nurse to catch up on any lost sleep.

Davies has proved himself to be astute at taking flagging Championship sides and challenging for promotion but no more than that. I have no doubt he is a great coach but an effective man-manager or statesmanlike figure he certainly is not. At least not yet. My good friend Alan Pattullo of the Scotsman has said it here much better than I can. Some have called this a character assassination but in my view this is a frank assessment of Davies’ career to date. Well done for telling it like it is Alan.

So, according to reports it is now down to Tommy Burns, Graeme Souness, Mark McGhee or George Burley. I have to say that none of them inspire a great deal of confidence in carrying on Walter Smith and Alex McLeish’s good work. To perform against teams like France, Italy and Holland, a coach should really have some experience of taking his side into battle against some top teams – and for me that means having managed a team in European competition or in the English Premiership.

Burley performed miracles with Hearts before he was ousted by ‘hand’s on’ owner Vladimir Romanov and he is currently doing well under difficult circumstances at Southampton. However, he has no European experience and limited time managing in the top-flight.

I also very much like the work McGhee is doing at Motherwell as he has not only got them winning but playing some great attacking football in the process. However, again he has no European experience in management and prior to Motherwell can count Bristol City, Leicester and Wolves as previous clubs.

Souness is a recipe for dressing room disharmony and, although hugely experienced at a number of top-flight clubs, it is almost inevitable that his arrogance and man-management style would disrupt the atmosphere within the squad.

I can’t help but think that Burns’ name is only in the frame because of a lack of other viable candidates and by way of apology for being overlooked when McLeish was appointed. His recent ‘managerial experience’ amounts to being No2 during Berti Vogts’ disastrous reign as Scotland boss and coaching the youth teams at Celtic Park.

I struggle to remember much about his reign as Celtic manager in the 1990’s and although I believe his teams’ were lauded for playing some decent football I think I am right in saying that it was not Celtic’s most successful period in their history.

The SFA seem determined to go down the Scottish route for their next boss and to that end I am surprised that no-one has mentioned the two most successful Scots in coaching positions in the Premiership (excluding, of course, Sir Alex Ferguson).

Steve Clarke at Chelsea and Alex Miller at Liverpool have been involved with their respective clubs through a number of highly successful campaigns. Miller has worked alongside Gerard Houllier and Rafa Benitez during UEFA Cup and Champions League triumphs while Clarke has gleaned considerable continental knowledge from Jose Mourinho and Claudio Ranieri.

I particularly like the thought of Clarke as boss as there have been some extremely positive noises coming from Stamford Bridge about his involvement in Chelsea’s success. I heard a story from someone (I believe it was Andy Townsend on TalkSport although I could be mistaken) talking about a recent abject first-half showing from Chelsea.

The team apparently performed much better after half-time following a rousing team talk. The man who delivered this team talk: manager Avram Grant? No. Former Ajax manager and Grant’s esteemed assistant Henk Ten Caat? No. It was Steve Clarke.

Having so much respect in a dressing room full of multi-millionaires can surely only stand him in good stead for a top position elsewhere and I see no reason why it couldn’t be Scotland.

Of course, the SFA have had their fingers burnt after their last two managers were poached and they will be in no hurry to lose another one should they prove successful. In that sense, Clarke’s growing reputation and age would probably count against him should the blazers at the SFA decide he was worth a look.

Miller, then, would seem a reasonable name to throw into the hat. He is at an age when the ‘part-time’ nature of international management may be appealing and he may be keen to be his own man again after years of being in the shadow of successful managers. He is also less likely to be poached should he continue the upturn in fortunes for the national team.

People may point to his time at Hibs and Aberdeen where he was not considered to be an exponent of the beautiful game and was happy to win ugly. But at Hibs he duly delivered and won the League Cup in 1991, reached the final in 1993 and guided the Edinburgh-side to third place in the league in 1995.

It is important the SFA exhaust all the possibilities for appointing a Scottish manager but nobody should be appointed simply because they are Scottish and will take the job. Should none of the above candidates prove suitable then we cannot let our experience with Berti put us off the foreign route again.

Scottish football had a tragic end to a good year. Phil O’Donnell’s death on 29 December was a crushing loss to all concerned. A fine example to Scottish football has left us and he will be sadly missed.

Now, more than ever, the SFA need to consider the appointment of new Scotland coach. Such tragedy is a further reason for the Scotland team to be released from the uncertainty of who will lead them to further victories, qualification for World Cup 2010 and beyond. Walter Smith and Alex McLeish did some fine work. Similarly, the Scotland squad have worked hard producing some outstanding results. For this reason they are all well worthy of our (and the SFA’s) support, and to be left without leadership or direction is doing them a disservice.

The SFA chose well twice before, but I hope they don’t take too long to appoint the next Scotland coach. I expect good things, but wish they would hurry up.

Suggested candidates for Scotland coach include:
1, 2: Mark McGhee and Craig Levein – as suggested by Barry Ferguson and many others
3. Tommy Burns – previously Scotland assistant coach under Walter Smith
4. John Collins – a favourite, but also likely to be approached by Fulham
5. Graeme Souness – the man who turned Rangers around and wasn’t afraid to sign catholics to play at Ibrox
6. Kevin Keegan – Betfair’s idea of a joke???

I hope it’ll be McGhee, Levien or Souness. They all exude passion and determination and have fine records, showing they would do the Scotland team proud.