Ordinary Gweilo

My worst fears about Graeme Souness, Joe Royle and Peter Reid turning up in the Premier League seem not to have been realized.  On the contrary, we even had Derby seriously considering Paul Ince, which would have been an encouraging development – but they finally settled on Paul Jewell. 

Following in the footsteps of Lawrie Sanchez (who left Northern Ireland for Fulham), we had Alex McLeish quitting Scotland for Birmingham.  I’m sure there was a time when the national job would have been the pinnacle of a manager’s career, but now even middle-ranking Premiership jobs seem more attractive. 

Even the England job seems not to be very attractive for British-born managers in the Premier League, several of whom have ruled themselves out.  Two who didn’t were Steve Coppell & Harry Redknapp, but they might just as well have done.   

I have huge admiration for Steve Coppell, but the last thing he needs is a high-profile job with a lot of pressure.  He has thrived in jobs where expectations were relatively low and the chairman was very supportive.  No, I don’t think so.

Even before he was arrested last week, Harry Redknapp looked a highly unlikely candidate.  He has acquired a reputation as a "wheeler dealer", and whilst his success at Portsmouth is highly impressive it is hard to imagine him having what it takes to be England manager. 

Anyway, if reports about the shortlist are correct it seems that the FA are not going to make the same mistake twice (FA ‘makes approach’ for Mourinho):

Reports suggest the FA’s shortlist will include Jose Mourinho, Fabio Capello, Martin O’Neill, Marcello Lippi and Jurgen Klinsmann.

In brief, Capello seems very keen, O’Neill keeps ruling himself out, and Mourinho likes the attention but is hoping to join Real Madrid or Barcelona.