DUNGA DUNGA PARTY

Brazil have appointed a new coach.

Or an old coach.

A new old coach.

At any rate, it’s Dunga.

Ian Holloway: Don't you think he looks tired?

“Six little words that could bring down a government … don’t you think she looks tired?”

Those words and a couple of questionable decisions ousted the fictional Harriet Jones from the Prime Ministership of Great Britain.  So powerful is one’s appearance that all it takes is speculative criticism and fading appearance to lose a grip on authority.

In related news, everyone’s favourite jumble-a-quote man Ian Holloway has left Crystal Palace by mutual consent after winning only one of his team’s eight Premier League games so far this season.  Former Bristol City manager Keith Millen will take over as interim boss as the club investigates possible new blood; names mentioned so far have included former Stoke City manager Tony Pulis, a re-hired Neil Warnock and Western Sydney Wanderers manager Tony Popovic.

This may genuinely be one of those rare situations in football where the term mutual consent isn’t simply a kinder synonym for sacked.  A man whose straightforward nature and Worzel-type accent sometimes drew attention away from a keen football mind, Holloway was visibly exhausted only three months into the season and as he failed to balance a squad that boasted plenty of players but only a few of even an average level.  His flowing, offensive tactics have plenty of merit in the Championship but have now failed twice to transport to Premier League standard.

The travails of managing a club unprepared for life at the top level were apparent on his usually smiling features.  Recent pictures – including this one, usually a bog-standard "manager shot" – show a defeated man, albeit one who hadn’t yet surrendered.  When even the involuntary parts of body language betray a manager so quickly, doubts build about his ability to make effective decisions; as the stress increased, it became increasingly apparent that Ian Holloway’s future lay away from Selhurst Park.

Postecoglou must be new Socceroo manager

Holger Osieck ended his association with Australian soccer an unpopular coach whose side capitulated 6-0 twice in succession.  If anything is liable to have a manager fired, it is a pitiful loss against reasonable opposition and the German was dismissed in the immediate aftermath of Saturday’s match against France.

According to the normal chain of events, speculation is gathering as to the identity of his successor with the most high-profile names being Socceroo Swami Guus Hiddink, ex-Chile and Athletic Bilbao boss Marcelo Bielsa and – for some unknown reason – Roberto Di Matteo.  Were Australia focusing solely on the World and Asian Cups of 2014 and 15, an “impact signing” excelling at tournament football – and hopefully at pulling strings at European clubs – would seem a wise investment.

However, none of the three “names” above would be inclined to hang around to create a platform for future development; to an ambitious non-Aussie, the most appealing aspect of the Australia job is almost certainly its potential for a quick profit. 

Australia has lacked footballing identity since the 2010 World Cup. Until that time, the boys in Gold were a lineup of predictably loveable maulers: their backline boasted Craig Moore, Lucas Neill and Scott Chipperfield while the midfield was manned by uncompromising sorts Brett Emerton and Vince Grella.  The team’s only lightweight, Harry Kewell, flitted about behind man-mountain Mark Viduka and his unsettlingly-physical Boy Wonder, Tim Cahill. 

With the Green and Gold army clamouring for generational change and the press conferences of some of the Socceroo elite seemingly endorsing such claims, Football Federation of Australia Chairman and all-around-Daddy-Warbucks-figure Frank Lowy has narrowed the association’s focus and suggested the biggest hire in Australian soccer is likely to be from the FFA’s back room, the A-League. 

The Australian national team needs to be the pinnacle for any Australian footballer. While the A-League has strengthened, the player pathways that produced the Golden Generation that peaked in 2006 have become overgrown.  A strong Socceroo side with structures based around player development both at home and abroad is an absolute necessity for football to become more deeply rooted in the antipodean sporting consciousness.  The coach best able to implement such a program must be employed.

For the first time in a generation, an Australian is almost certainly the best person for the position.

Lowy has effectively narrowed the field to three candidates – Tony Popovic of nascent Western Sydney Wanderers; former interim Socceroo manager Graham Arnold, now of the Central Coast Mariners; and Melbourne Victory kingpin Ange Postecoglou.

All the candidates present convincing resumés despite high-profile failures.  Of the three, Arnold probably comes with the most baggage due to his underwhelming Asian Cup leadership of 2007; however, he has developed a consistently good Mariners outfit despite a tight budget even by A-League standards.  His appointment may be seen as a reward to a company man. Popovic has a jaw-dropping level of natural talent for management and served an impressive apprenticeship before taking a journeyman bunch of Wanderers into the league finals in their first season.  Questions remain, however, as to his experience.

Even with these negative aspects, were Arnold or Popovic to earn the position, Australia could feel confident about the Socceroos’ future. 

However, the most compelling choice is Ange Postecoglou.  After turning the Brisbane Roar from also-rans into dominant Premiers, he is currently re-shaping the A-League’s biggest club into a younger, more vital side; his modus operandi is to turn young footballers into disciplined and productive units.

This is based in part about his coaching philosophy: his teams hold the ball and use it rather than Osieck’s haphazard, “needs-must” approach.  In an age where Australian youngsters have struggled to claim positions for the National side, pragmatism has few uses even focusing solely upon next year’s Cup.  If a player – especially a youngster – knows ahead of time what is expected of a Socceroo, he is in far better position to prepare.

Despite the short lead-in to the World Cup, the FFA is in an enviable position.  They can finally choose a manager to mould a team with the future in mind rather than employing someone they hope is able to bring about short-term results.  The Round of Sixteen would of course be nice, but the Socceroos can no longer afford to focus on the twilights Schwarzer, Neill and Cahill.  The outlook must now be on the retirements of James Holland, Tom Rogic and Matthew Spiranovic.

Where to now for Wolves?

Like bookies who pay out early, and despite the fact mathematical possibility that Wolverhampton’s three-year stint in the Premier League can still be extended, it’s time look at the men in orange and work out what steps they should take as they prepare for a non-Premiership existence.

1. Distance yourselves quickly from panic-hiring Terry Connor

“TC” has been the subject of almost equal amounts of mirth and pity in his stint as Wolves’ manager – he has been the archetypal “deer in headlights” and patently not the inspirational gaffer the club needed to avoid a humiliating slip.  It’s now too late, and despite several years’ worth of good management, Wolverhampton Wanderers are now known as a club less lupine and more headless chicken.

The problem is this doesn’t reflect so poorly on Connor, as he is so obviously a poor fit.  It exhibits a reckless lack of foresight from owner and administrators, while offering Alan Curbishley the position for six months – multiple times – displays criminal naievete.  As leaders, CEO Jez Moxey and owner Steve Morgan’s role is to create and implement the club’s broader vision – unfortunately for Wolves, their actions were the epitome of myopia.

A full and frank admission of culpability and a blatant search for the best available manager (Steve Bruce?  Lee Clark?) would go a long way to restoring administrative credibility in the eyes of Wolves’ supporters.

2. Employ a manager who’s not Terry Connor

When Mick McCarthy was fired in mid-February, club Moxey and Morgan pleaded the case for an exhaustive search which would reap an experienced manager able to exhort the playing staff into missing the drop.  They flirted with several names, took what seemed like aeons to select a boss (but was in reality eleven days) and ended up promoting Connor, McCarthy’s 2IC, who cut an increasingly inept, befuddled and morose figure on the sideline. 

Tony Adams has a new challenger for the title of Premiership’s Worst Ever manager.

Bruce has form at obtaining both promotion and getting sides to stick in the Premiership.  Curbishley’s star has somewhat faded since his glory days nearly a decade ago at Charlton Athletic, while Lee Clark oversaw a dubious forty-something game undefeated streak at Huddersfield Town.  Without paying significant reparations, these are the three most likely candidates for the Wolves’ position.

It bears considering Michael Appleton as a left-field candidate, who has had a reasonable term as Portsmouth manager in very difficult circumstances.  This is of course pure speculation and he is still an inexperienced (but well-regarded) gaffer, but as Pompey’s situation is still critical his services could well be available at year’s end.

3. Work out who stays and who goes

This may end up being one of the easier parts of the job at hand – Wolves have players who are able to perform at Premier League level who will be desirable to ascendant or rebuilding clubs. 

The first step which often accompanies relegation from the top division is trimming a corpulent wage bill.  This occupation is helped by the fact that most of Wolves’ best players won’t tolerate a season (or more) in the Championship and will want to leave. 

Examples of prime sale targets include the dischordant Roger Johnson, the professionally-reckless Karl Henry, the efficient Steven Fletcher and the somehow-still-sought-after Kevin Doyle.  Keeper Wayne Hennessey (although injured) could still bring in some coin – and backup Dorus de Vries is more than capable at Championship level.

Those to look at keeping would be the underrated Stephen Ward, central defender Christophe Berra, midfielders Michael Kightly, David Edwards and one of Stephen Hunt or Jamie O’Hara.  Obviously with transfer market flux these are simply guesses based on nothing more than research and common sense.

4. Refurbish a jaded and one-dimensional squad with class from the lower divisions

Norwich, Blackpool, Brighton and Swansea have all proved over the past two years that there are quality players available at cost price in the second and third tiers of English football.  Norwich’s best side features almost no players who were purchased from Premier League; Swansea’s entire squad was compiled for less than 12 million pounds.

Although he’s owned by rivals WBA, striker Chris Wood might be available for the right price, as could Derby defender John Brayford, Watford youngster Sean Murray, Peterborough’s Lee Tomlin, Blackpool revelation Thomas Ince or even Bristol City’s wannabe-Socceroo Neil Kilkenny.  The investment, likely to be significant by Championship standards, could well pay long-term dividends as they did for Reading.

Redknapp's logical successor

Let's just assume, despite apparent misgivings, that Harry Redknapp will manage England at this year's European Championships. The common-sense logic is that England will likely qualify for the second round and then be eliminated. Such things were written in stone, long ago.

Were he to go, however, who would replace him at Spurs? Noises have been made about summoning Jose Mourinho from Real Madrid to helm next season's increasingly-improbable Champions' League push, while other names thrown forth into the vacuum include Fabio Capello, Rafael Benitez and David Moyes.

Interestingly, the Spurs personnel actually quite suit a manager like Andre Villas-Boas, but it's unlikely AVB would get such a high-profile position immediately after his Chelsea flame-out. This should elicit nervous Liverpudlian glances towards Fleet Street's rumour-mongers.

If Jose's not coming – and he's not, there should be little doubt that David Moyes is the best fit for the Spurs job.

Harking back a moment to Villas-Boas, there are myriad reasons for his dismissal but the greatest was an initial refusal to adapt his tactics to his players. This doesn't apply for Moyes, who for the vast majority of his decade-long tenure at Goodison Park has employed with success either a flat 4-4-2 or a 4-4-1-1. He would have to make little or no adaptation, but simply deploy a superior playing group. To prove his efficacy, he need look no further than a player that Spurs now own – South African Steven Pienaar.

His maintenance of Everton as one of the league's more efficient defensive teams speaks volumes, as does his ability to bring together a cohesive dressing room and his noted ability to work well on a budget. Spurs could certainly benefit from all four of these selling points – in fact, combining Moyes' defensive schemes with the offensive talent on hand at White Hart Lane is an exciting prospect.

This remains pure speculation, and it's no sure thing that Moyes would agree to a contract at Spurs. However, it remains the most tantalising option should Redknapp be seconded into national service.

Villas-Boas fired for breaking coaching's golden rule

And so Andre Villas-Boas is gone, cast to the recycling pile like a dapper cardboard cut-out in a suit that's slightly too small.

Roman Abramovich may as well have employed a cardboard cut-out, as he almost certainly would have performed better in the job with the highest expectations in England.

It's not that Villas-Boas is a bad manager – that's not even close to the truth. He's an excellent manager who, in this appointment, simply picked the wrong battles to fight. The result is that his head is now deservedly displayed on a spike outside Abramovich's castle alongside those of the myriad managers who've run afoul of Roman.

Villas-Boas' remit was to scratch his Russian patron's itch for beautiful football.

And to focus more on refreshing the squad with youth.

And, most importantly, to win – preferably the Champions' League.

As is the case with 21^st Century management, employing a manager is to employ his style. It's now almost impossible to divorce the man from the method, and therefore Villas-Boas was brought to West London to play the same football with which his Porto sides traipsed through Liga Sagres and the Europa League.

That style of football, however, utilised a high defensive line which didn't suit a backline whose key components could be outrun by the Eastbourne Zimmer-frame Relay team. The Chelsea of 2011-12 wasn't built to thrive in such tactics, and the young boss didn't alter his methods quickly enough to stop the slide (!) into fifth place. In isolation he may have survived such tactical idealism, but when combined with an openly antagonistic relationship with stalwarts Lampard, Anelka and Alex, the thirty-four year old could not be persevered with.

Villas-Boas followed what has now become the management norm: steadfast adherence to one's tactical ideals is favoured over pragmatism. This is slightly disturbing, as it directly opposes the first rule of coaching: play to your team's strengths. This rule can be ignored only when working under an extremely patient overlord – and even then only occasionally. It takes time to adapt a team to a gameplan, especially when those players are as hard-nosed as John Terry; it takes far less time to adapt said gameplan to a set of world-weary multimillionaires.

It would have been almost impossible to resist overtures from noted sweet-talker Abramovich, but it appears now Villas-Boas should have twigged that he wasn't the best fit for the position. In sport, however, common sense often plays second fiddle to self-confidence. All of self-confidence, rationale, common sense and ambition are also easily concealed by the coin on offer.

The next manager to take the star cross'd position will have his own ideas how to play the game. For his sake, and for the heart health of the entire Chelsea fan base, he should realise the key to achievement – and therefore longevity – at Stamford Bridge is ultimate pragmatism.

Harry Redknapp - checking (most of) the boxes

The odds are that Harry Redknapp will replace Fabio Capello. The Spurs manager has been heavily backed for the position by everyone from Wayne Rooney to former FA Chairman Lord Triesman. That Stuart Pearce has received the FA's blessing to take charge for England's February 29^th match with Holland indicates that any potential decisions won't be made swiftly. Spurs fans can cling to the knowledge that 'Arry will pace the White Hart Lane sidelines for at least three more weeks.

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Redknapp is of course favoured for the job for many reasons, not least of which is because he's English. It's disturbing to see a football populace focused so firmly on nationality rather than talent; but with two of the country's past three gaffers being expensive “ringers”, much of the masses hope for a local boss to make good.

And well he might: Redknapp as a manager checks many of the boxes you'd want from a leader. He keeps thing simple (a must), doesn't delve too far into tactics or coaching, isn't a disciplinarian and isn't in John Terry's camp. He is a simple “player's coach” – but rather than being an enabler like Schteve McClaren, he is an empowerer.

He's even won things, too. He brought an FA Cup to Portsmouth, notwithstanding the trophy was part of a spending spree which nearly caused the death of the club. When nationalism, coaching and player relationships are considered, Harry Redknapp probably checks more boxes than any other potential candidate.

But checking boxes isn't enough.

Remember back to the schoolyard riddle that asks who you would prefer to run your country. The chain-smoking, possibly-alcoholic, philandering astrology buff; the manic depressive toff with a drink problem; or the vegetarian, teetotal war veteran? I'm sure you've heard this riddle – for the seemingly straight-laced decorated veteran is, in fact, Adolf Hitler. The former two are President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill.

If you apply the same logic to a real-world situation, then suddenly the picture becomes even clearer. Now, companies do much of their pre-research and vetting for employee applications online in a multiple-choice questionnaire. This is in order to minimise the time spent by Human Resources on screening applicants.

If you've ever filled in one of these surveys, you'll know what I'm getting at: they are able to completely misrepresent an applicant as an individual by breaking down a person's entire existence into yes-or-no type answers. And yes-or-no answers are rarely – if ever – able to describe a situation fully and truthfully. Although no-one expects the FA only to look at Harry Redknapp's resume, his achievements are of the type which lend themselves to yes-or-no answers. The CV of, for example, David Moyes does not – and there are those who suspect he would make an excellent England manager.

Sport is rife with examples of people who checked all the right boxes, yet failed miserably as a coach. In 1993, the Dallas Mavericks employed rookie coach Quinn Buckner. He had all the right attributes to become a wonderfully successful coach: driven, very smart, hard-working, knowledgeable, measured, came from a background of team and individual success, disciplined … and the Mavs won 13 games (of 82).

His mentor, the firebrand Bobby Knight, is considered one of the greatest coaches in basketball history. As a player at Ohio State he was a scrub on a middling team. As a coach, his record was even more surprising: he was arrested while leading a team to Puerto Rico; left Charles Barkley off the 1984 Olympic team (for Jeff Turner); was quoted as saying “if rape is inevitable, relax and enjoy it”; was nearly fired for allegedly assaulting a student and eventually dismissed for “a pattern of hostile behaviour”.

There's almost no question Quinn Buckner was as qualified to succeed as Bobby Knight.  But but didn't.

Of course, coming from a different sport, this is a flawed example. But the premise remains the same – that the candidate that checks the most boxes isn't necessarily the best man for the job. Just ask Liverpool fans what they think of Roy Hodgson, Inter their opinion of Gian Piero Gasperini or West Ham of their time spent with Avram Grant.

There was every reason for optimism on Fabio Capello's appointment to boss England; or at least there was until England broke him. There are just as many suspicions that Harry Redknapp would be an outstanding England manager, but it's possible he's not the best man for the job.

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Why the Melbourne Victory looked overseas

When Mehmet Durakovic was fired last week as boss of the A-League’s Melbourne Victory, their coaching search immediately led them overseas to names like Roy Keane, Graeme Taylor and Iain Dowie. 

The Victory eventually ended up with Jim Magilton, the Northern Irish manager recently involved in Shamrock Rovers’ run to the Europa League and also a finalist for the Northern Ireland job vacated by Nigel Worthington. 

That the negotiations were swift only bided well for those who hoped Magilton would end up in blue and silver.  By acting swiftly, the Victory ensured a repeat of last offseason’s stuttering interview process wouldn’t occur.  It could be said that Durakovic got the job – as good as his lesser-league management had been – because he already occupied the caretaker’s seat.

Magilton is an appealing candidate, with his teams known for playing good football.  What makes him more appealing is that he’s not Australian, or wasn’t previously based in Australia.

With every A-League vacancy, the same names are put forward by media types as potential successors.  That list includes Jason’s Dad, Branko Cŭlina and former Socceroos and Brisbane Roar boss Frank Farina.  Had John Kosmina not gone back to old club Adelaide the week before, rest assured he too would have been included in the Victory’s coaching search.  This is in part due to a relatively uninformed public, where many passing sports fans recognise only the larger names in the sport.  It’s also due to a natural lack of talented, credentialed local managers.

Of the 31 coaching appointments in the A-League’s seven years, twenty-five coaches have been employed.  Of those coaches, seven have been re-treads – Cŭlina (twice), Kosmina (twice), Gary Van Egmond, Ian Ferguson, Miron Bleiberg.  18 had already been “in the system”, involved in the A-League or FFA.  Paying release fees for coaches in this league is nearly unheard of, so current A-League managers can be ruled out.

There is a dearth of available high-level coaches available to succeed the current middle-aged monopoly.

Damningly, the average number of A-League games for each manager has been in charge is quite low – a little under two seasons, at 59 games.   When the pool of available coaching talent is observably low, the Australian football hierarchy must be concerned that managers now must be brought in from overseas as local boys haven’t been able to make good (or at least, not good enough for their bosses).

For the Victory, a foreign hire had to be made, because the available high-level coaches haven’t cut the mustard at A-League level.  That 59-game figure above is made more understandable by the following table, which shows the records of “local” coaches with A-League coaching experience but not currently coaching upper echelon football.

Coach	Games	Win	Loss	Draw	Win %
Branko Cŭlina	66	21	30	15	31.81
Ron Smith	33	5	16	12	15.15
Lawrie McKinna	138	50	49	39	36.23
David Mitchell	67	24	29	14	35.82
Mehmet Durakovic	14	3	6	5	21.43
John Adshead	21	1	17	3	4.76
Rini Coolen	42	16	15	11	38.10

A cringeworthy bunch, no?  It’s hardly like Adshead would be considered given his retirement from coaching the New Zealand Knights after a spectacularly unsuccessful inaugural A-League season.  Of the bunch, only Mitchell and McKinna boast finals appearances; while McKinna is the only man to lead his team into the Asian Champions League. 

With international management often being the reward for a prosperous club career, could we look at an A-League manager who’s taken up a position for a national setup?  Ernie Merrick recently took up a position to coach Hong Kong’s national side, while Frank Farina is involved at a high level in football in Papua New Guinea.  Although it is undoubtedly too early for Merrick to return to the Victory, both he and Farina boast considerably better records than those above.  Aurelio Vidmar, now of the Olyroos and assistant to Holger Osieck at the Socceroos is another name worth considering.

Coach	Games	Win	Loss	Draw	Win %
Ernie Merrick	141	64	34	43	45.39
Aurelio Vidmar	107	42	42	23	39.25
Frank Farina	72	29	23	20	40.28

This list includes the A-League’s most successful coach and the Australian coach who took his Reds to the Asian Champions’ League Final against much more well-financed competition.  Each win/loss record is impressive, given their competition above, but hardly awe-inspiring.

There simply isn’t enough top-level coaching and managing talent in Australia to warrant promoting an up-and-comer.  By going initially with an almost-impeccably credentialed top-flight rookie in Durakovic, the Victory flamed out.  Their only choice was to look to the British Isles and those names on their shortlist before the season.  Even then, looking abroad has it’s own concerns.

The A-League needs to look abroad for coaches, because we certainly don’t have the amount of quality coaches needed to ensure a growth of the home-front top tier.

Trading Fashion Cities: Leonardo swaps Inter Milan for PSG

In French, Brazilian coach Leonardo would be called Un chat à la mode. And a lucky one. Talk about landing on one's feet! The former AC Milan and Inter Milan coach signed on Thursday to coach French Ligue 1 outfit Paris Saint-Germain.

Leonardo, whose brilliant playing career made him a rossoneri icon is, at best, a hesitant coach. He was persuaded to take the AC Milan managerial reins after Carlo Ancelotti's 2009 sacking and was replaced at the end of that season as his relationship with club owner Silvio Berlusconi became progressively more unworkable. After six months out of the game he resurfaced as Inter Milan's boss replacing the remarkably unpopular Rafael Benitez. Inter, fourteen points behind league-leading red-half rivals AC, promptly went on a tremendous run to the point where April's Fashion City Derby became the season's deciding game.

Under new coach Massimiliano Allegri, AC Milan were triumphant and Inter Milan settled uncomfortably into second place in Serie A. The nerazzuri's title streak died at five. Leonardo, whose coaching philosophy could be best described as rolling the ball out and saying "Go play", empowered that turnaround either by shrewd assessments of his players' moods or by sheer good fortune. However it was accomplished, large questions remain as to his coaching prowess and even his suitability to such an everyday, hand-on role. Rumours persist that he has no great love for the role of manager and even in the mid term would prefer a boardroom position.

Perhaps this is the rare occasion where nice guys actually do finish first. Leonardo presents exceedingly well: dapper, articulate and friendly. The move to PSG presents the opportunity to hone his skills, revisit past glories or maybe just an escape from the relentless baking heat of the Italian media kitchen. Perhaps he felt club expectations were too high in the wake of opponents strengthening. Having said that, however, PSG's new Qatari owners should be very aware of what they will be getting: style with little proven substance.

For someone who has shown no great affinity for the work, reportedly has designs on higher and less stressful offices and isn't a relentless self-promoter, Leonardo has the happy ability of falling on his feet; his skills on the training track overshadowed by his incredible talent for dealing with almost despotic club owners Berlusconi and Moratti. PSG, one of France's most storied clubs - and where he played for two years from 1996 - can only speculate as to what they are getting beyond an urbane, handsome spokesman.

Whether Leonardo's attacking football - which promotes player enjoyment - last season was a reaction to Benitez's staid gameplan or the first manifestations of an easygoing coaching style is amusingly unanswerable. Whether it was genius or luck, his mindset and tactical nous still need proving.

Moratti's satisfaction with his former sideline boss is unknown. Whether this is a blow to his plans for the side really comes down to his opinions as to Leonardo's ability, a situation where has more information with which to judge than we in the public. What is, however, apparent, is the search for a replacement, which given the dearth of quality candidates could become one of summer's football tiresome constants.

McLaren sacked as Wolfsburg manager

Former England manager Steve McLaren was today sacked from Bundesliga club Wolfsburg after the Volkswagen-owned club failed to win it's tenth game out of eleven. In his first year in the Bundesrepublik, McLaren had helmed the Wolves to a 5-8-8 record and had been in GM Dieter Hoeness's firing line for over a month since a German Cup home defeat to Energie Cottbus.

The club, only two years removed from a Bundesliga title under former boss Felix Magath, had been heavy spenders in the past two transfer windows with Brazilian Diego arriving in the offseason as well as Tuncay in January. However the squad has failed to perform to expected standards and the task of ensuring a top-half finish for the year has fallen to McLaren's understudy and former manager of the A-League's Sydney FC, Pierre Littbarski.

McLaren is the most high-profile and successful English manager to work abroad since Sir Bobby Robson. In fact, he was encouraged in his pursuit of overseas positions by Robson as a football therapy for his star-cross'd stint as England boss. In his first year in the Netherlands, he led FC Twente to the Champions League playoffs and bettered that with their first ever Dutch title the following year. The Wolfsburg position followed soon after as budget cuts loomed large over the Enschede club.

As a person, there isn't much debate that Steve McLaren is a good man, if occasionally overmatched. It's a shame he's been forever cast as "The Wally with the Brolly" as his England reign saw him buddy-up to big name players in the exact same way Fabio Capello has not. Slandermongers suggest he was ill-suited to the job of managing his country - but honestly, who could refuse such a chance? Only one manager in recent times has ever suggested he wasn't up to his position, Interim Sunderland boss Ricky Sbragia. Football managers need to have doggedness and fight in surplus in order to succeed, the same qualities which can make it difficult to admit when you are not best suited to a job. McLaren managed though to rehabilitate his image quite thoroughly with his spell in the Eredivisie; even going from outcast to trailblazer in just two years.

Due to that horrible night against Croatia, his cards may well be marked in English management: with big clubs unwilling to associate with what amounts to an object of almost universal scorn, his best chance for a job in his homeland may be in the Championship. Like Bryan Robson, another Man U and Middlesbrough graduate, the roving life of England icon turned International manager may appeal. Unfortunately only the bravest top-flight chairman would employ a man whose alleged ineptitude cost England a berth at Euro 2008.

Which is shameful. What he accomplished at Twente - taking a small club first to the Champions' League and then the title against much more well-funded clubs - is remarkable. Wolfsburg, though a great opportunity, was also always going to be a much tougher challenge as "the franchise" Edin Dzeko agitating for a newer, wealthier club and strike partner Grafite battles ageing legs. McLaren, under the instruction of Robson, was able to repair his stock somewhat but as Wolfsburg declined the snide remarks started once more and as unfair as it is, it's apparent he may never get over his Euro 2008 Qualifying campaign.

Why are we even smelling smoke?

Rumour has it that Chris Hughton is nearly cannon fodder. The tabloid gossip-mongers have recently suggested that he's one of the next managers on the chopping block should the Tyneside club fail to improve recent performances. Yesterday, the Newcastle cognoscenti rebutted that gossip and began talk about extending the EPL's least-paid manager.

But there's no smoke without fire.

Perhaps that's unfair. Once a few years ago, I awoke at 3am to the smell of smoke in my bedroom. Not having anyone to verify/refute my nasal competence and being unsure of where it was coming from, I phoned the fire brigade and was greeted five minutes later with four fire engines and about thirty firemen. They too smelled the smoke, made a quick recce and decided some teen had lit a local bin afire and trotted off back to base. My point is this: we don't even need smoke to get panicky. All we need is a hint of smoke and suddenly everyone mobilises so quickly you don't know what's happening.

You can draw the same parallels with hints that a board may be replacing a manager.

So why is there a smell of smoke on Tyneside? A 4-0 defeat to Arsenal arouses some suspicions, but surely ones put easily to bed considering Toon's defensive astuteness this year. It would be ungenerous to lay blame at Hughton for one poor game, especially one featuring a Magpie midfield of teens Tamas Kadar and Haris Vukcic alongside "gimp squad" members Danny Guthrie and Alan Smith. That they allowed all four goals in the final forty-five minutes is perhaps cause for concern - but this forgets one thing: it was the League Cup and therefore should be inconsequential.

Of greater concern is their inability to win consistently at St. James' Park but even after nine games (total), to fire a coach because they've lost twice and won only once at home is almost laughably intolerant.

To look at Newcastle United's regular midfield is to see quality. Ivorian Cheick Tiote has proven an astute signing, Joey Barton is probably approaching career-best form (I may rot in hell for even posing this question but: England? Probably not, but it's not something you can dismiss automatically any more) and Danny Guthrie, their best midfielder both of the last two years, is returning to fitness and form. There's been calls for Andy Carroll to represent England while Kevin Nolan has been his usual industrious self. They aren't shopping goals. They're scoring at a fair rate. They've been competitive. They've been (relatively) disciplined. Yes, they've missed Guthrie, Steven Taylor and Steve Harper, but their replacements have all proved more than adequate.

That the press are suggesting that he is on borrowed time at all is incredible. Even more remarkable is the tone in which this is being done. It's not one of persecution, a la Gary Megson, Gianfranco Zola or even Phil Brown. There's a tenor of evenness combined with a smidgen of disbelief because popular opinion has Hughton doing a good job. Popular opinion of this NUFC squad is that it's reasonable. Calling it above average would be a stretch. Chris Hughton knows it, the media knows it - hell, the fans even know it. hat the players have come out in support of their boss shows that they know they aren't a team of world-beaters. How and why the boardroom don't appear to grasp this amazingly simple concept is puzzling and ultimately, everyone also knows it's "the prawn sandwich brigade" who sign the manager's cheques.

Newcastle United sit ninth on the Premiership table after nine games. They sit amidst elevated company such as West Bromwich Albion, Bolton and local rivals (and next opponents) Sunderland. Surely even a smell of smoke is both premature and alarming for a club enjoying it's longest period of stability in over three years.