Win2WinRSS
4th June 2009, 14:00
With the Hoops, the Dandy Dons and the Hibees all head-hunting for a new manager, it's a great time to be a football journalist.
In the absence of solid information from the clubs (what's new there?), broadcasters and hacks can take speculative punts dressed up as informed guesswork, as to the men who will eventually drink from football's poisoned chalices at Parkhead, Pittodrie and Easter Road.
Celtic is the top job. With due apologies to the other two, I think that's a fair assumption, even for one who doesn't lose sleep over the fortunes of Glasgow's Old Firm.
But is it as big a job and attractive a proposition as Celtic fans think?
Maybe not, when the managers of Burnley (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/b/burnley/8072736.stm) and Swansea (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/s/swansea_city/8080510.stm) seem to find the lure of Turf Moor and the Liberty Stadium, respectively, to be a more heavenly proposition than that of Paradise.
Celtic's meandering attempts to replace Gordon Strachan (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/celtic/8067244.stm) have so far resembled Gordon Brown's efforts to control his Cabinet (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8080777.stm), carried out in the full glare of publicity and with a lack of panache and style.
It is difficult to believe that Strachan decided suddenly to resign the day Celtic failed to win the title, so it's a reasonable punt to suggest that the club have been somewhat tardy in tying up their new boss.
So far the names of Owen Coyle, Tony Mowbray and Roberto Martinez have failed to ignite passions in the East End of Glasgow, while Aberdeen and Hibs fans seem to have been stunned into a rare reticence by the sharp exits of Jimmy Calderwood and Mixu Paateleinen.
To placate their fans the Celtic board simply have to find someone who is "Celtic minded", has the managerial nous of Guus Hiddink (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/chelsea/7883407.stm), the commitment to style of Arsene Wenger, and who can operate on a footballing budget equivalent to a week's takings at a Barrowland stall.
Answers on a postcard to chief executive Peter Lawwell, please.
Personally, I think any of the three names mentioned could do a very good job indeed, but Celtic need to get their man in place quickly to get the season-ticket rush under way.
Aberdeen's board don't face such a difficult task; they simply need to unearth the new Fergie. Despite protests that they're not encumbered by the suffocating weight of past glories, a couple of generations of Dons fans can still savour the taste of European success and remember the regular hammerings handed out to the Old Firm.http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/jimspence/mcghee_hughes_oneill_595_sn.jpg
No pressure there on the new man, then.
Mark McGhee (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/m/motherwell/8027624.stm) appears to have divided Aberdeen supporters but he has impressed with Motherwell and would bring a bit of pzazz to Pittodrie.
So too would John Hughes (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/f/falkirk/8072863.stm), whose exemplary work on the youth set-up at Falkirk, allied to a commitment to good football, makes me think the Dons should at least contemplate talking to Yogi. His passion for the game could re-ignite the Aberdeen fans.
Hibs are an altogether different case. Those with a soft spot for the swashbuckling football which is their legacy sometimes despair of the parsimonious and penny-pinching approach to running the Easter Road outfit.
Their new manager will need a strong constitution as prized assets are stripped to keep the coffers swelling, and bank manager happy.
Michael O'Neill (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/b/brechin_city/7784057.stm) is a former financial advisor and Hibs player. Articulate and savvy, he could be the man to restore a sense of purpose - if he can be prised away from Shamrock Rovers.
However, Jim Gannon (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/s/stockport/8081219.stm), the former Stockport boss, has been heavily backed at the bookies, and the Newcastle United academy director Richard Money is another name understood to be interesting the Hibs board.
With Rod Petrie's ability to confound journalists and fans alike, an appointment from leftfield could mean that, yet again, it's the Edinburgh club who spring the surprise managerial package in Scottish football.
More... (http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/jimspence/2009/06/look_east_to_hibs_for_surprise.html)
In the absence of solid information from the clubs (what's new there?), broadcasters and hacks can take speculative punts dressed up as informed guesswork, as to the men who will eventually drink from football's poisoned chalices at Parkhead, Pittodrie and Easter Road.
Celtic is the top job. With due apologies to the other two, I think that's a fair assumption, even for one who doesn't lose sleep over the fortunes of Glasgow's Old Firm.
But is it as big a job and attractive a proposition as Celtic fans think?
Maybe not, when the managers of Burnley (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/b/burnley/8072736.stm) and Swansea (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/s/swansea_city/8080510.stm) seem to find the lure of Turf Moor and the Liberty Stadium, respectively, to be a more heavenly proposition than that of Paradise.
Celtic's meandering attempts to replace Gordon Strachan (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/celtic/8067244.stm) have so far resembled Gordon Brown's efforts to control his Cabinet (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8080777.stm), carried out in the full glare of publicity and with a lack of panache and style.
It is difficult to believe that Strachan decided suddenly to resign the day Celtic failed to win the title, so it's a reasonable punt to suggest that the club have been somewhat tardy in tying up their new boss.
So far the names of Owen Coyle, Tony Mowbray and Roberto Martinez have failed to ignite passions in the East End of Glasgow, while Aberdeen and Hibs fans seem to have been stunned into a rare reticence by the sharp exits of Jimmy Calderwood and Mixu Paateleinen.
To placate their fans the Celtic board simply have to find someone who is "Celtic minded", has the managerial nous of Guus Hiddink (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/chelsea/7883407.stm), the commitment to style of Arsene Wenger, and who can operate on a footballing budget equivalent to a week's takings at a Barrowland stall.
Answers on a postcard to chief executive Peter Lawwell, please.
Personally, I think any of the three names mentioned could do a very good job indeed, but Celtic need to get their man in place quickly to get the season-ticket rush under way.
Aberdeen's board don't face such a difficult task; they simply need to unearth the new Fergie. Despite protests that they're not encumbered by the suffocating weight of past glories, a couple of generations of Dons fans can still savour the taste of European success and remember the regular hammerings handed out to the Old Firm.http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/jimspence/mcghee_hughes_oneill_595_sn.jpg
No pressure there on the new man, then.
Mark McGhee (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/m/motherwell/8027624.stm) appears to have divided Aberdeen supporters but he has impressed with Motherwell and would bring a bit of pzazz to Pittodrie.
So too would John Hughes (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/f/falkirk/8072863.stm), whose exemplary work on the youth set-up at Falkirk, allied to a commitment to good football, makes me think the Dons should at least contemplate talking to Yogi. His passion for the game could re-ignite the Aberdeen fans.
Hibs are an altogether different case. Those with a soft spot for the swashbuckling football which is their legacy sometimes despair of the parsimonious and penny-pinching approach to running the Easter Road outfit.
Their new manager will need a strong constitution as prized assets are stripped to keep the coffers swelling, and bank manager happy.
Michael O'Neill (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/b/brechin_city/7784057.stm) is a former financial advisor and Hibs player. Articulate and savvy, he could be the man to restore a sense of purpose - if he can be prised away from Shamrock Rovers.
However, Jim Gannon (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/s/stockport/8081219.stm), the former Stockport boss, has been heavily backed at the bookies, and the Newcastle United academy director Richard Money is another name understood to be interesting the Hibs board.
With Rod Petrie's ability to confound journalists and fans alike, an appointment from leftfield could mean that, yet again, it's the Edinburgh club who spring the surprise managerial package in Scottish football.
More... (http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/jimspence/2009/06/look_east_to_hibs_for_surprise.html)