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<p>So it’s official then, Owen Coyle will be the new manager of Bolton Wanderers and Burnley now have to find the right man to replace him as they look to continue the good work this season has produced. It is crucial that the chairman, Barry Kilby, makes the right decision in who to appoint as Coyle’s successor at Turf Moor.</p>
<p>Without wanting to state the obvious, it is paramount to Burnley’s continued success this season that the right man is given the job. That means the chairman has to avoid being star struck when the same old names come calling for the vacancy. Get it right and Burnley’s home form should see them stay up. Make the wrong decision and the club could spiral to the foot of the table in weeks.</p>
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<p>Whilst Kilby should be rightly lauded for appointing Coyle in the first place, I don’t think anyone could have predicted just how much of an effect he would have on the sleeping giant. Stabilising the club by keeping them in the Championship and slowly building, improving the side year on year would have been a wonderful achievement. He surpassed all that when they won the play off final with their highest finish to a season since 1976.</p>
<p>Yet, you only have to look back to the mid nineties to see the age old disease that afflicts certain chairman. They get star struck and with the tenures of Adrian Heath and Chris Waddle still in the minds of Burnley fans, the last thing the club needs is a ex-footballer who thinks he can manage in the Premiership. They need someone who knows the demands of Premiership football and what the club means to the fans. It is not an easy decision for the club to make but they have to keep their eye on the prize.</p>
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<p>It also means avoiding such arch self publicists as Graham Souness, Ruud Guillit, Bryan Robson and Gianluca Vialli. Men who’s reputations are fanned by the hero worship dished out to them as pundits on Sky Sports. Ignore their failings as managers, they’ve won countless trophies as players, men such as Tony Cottee who took over a Barnet side flying high only to completely destroy them in less than 5 months. Star struck chairman should be banned.</p>
<p>So I had a look on the<a href="http://www.leaguemanagers.com/index.html" target="_blank"> League Managers Association Website</a> earlier, to see who was available on their list. Oddly, Souness, Vialli and Guillit are still touting their wares, but a couple of oddities appeared. Burnley’s two previous managers before Coyle, the overrated Steve Cotterill and the universally detested Stan Ternent are still on there.&nbsp; In fact most of the list reads as a who not to give the job too, with John Barnes and Tony Adams still refusing to realise their limitations and the ever popular Gary Megson available if you want to alienate your entire fan base.</p>
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<p>Yet there are some stand out candidates, firstly Alan Curbishley is there, as is Mark Hughes and Steve Coppell. Former Scotland manager George Burley and&nbsp; Paul Jewell are still available. For me, those are the 5 top options of unemployed managers that the LMA are offering. Curbishley wouldn’t probably want to move so far North and probably Coppell is wrestling with the idea of returning to Reading no doubt.</p>
<p>It may be too soon for Mark Hughes to return to the game so quickly after his ignomious exit from Manchester City which leaves Burley and Jewell. Burley proved at Ipswich that he could work on a tight budget, play effective and attractive football and earn promotion whilst at Ipswich. What he has against him is his failure to deal with bigger name players and keep sides in the Premiership. Jewell also has proved an ability to make a purse out of a sows ear, as his spells at Bradford City and Wigan Athletic showed.</p>
<p>Jewell though is still tainted by his awful spell at Derby County and Burley proved in his third Premiership season with Ipswich and during his time as Scotland manager, he just can’t handle big name players. He was also tainted with a torrid spell at Pride Park, which begs the question, what happens to managers at Derby County?? So would going after a manager currently employed be the answer?</p>
<p>Looking outside the Premiership though only seems to point to one candidate who could cope with the job and the pressure of Premier League football. He’s managed an international side and took a team from non league to the cusp of promotion to the Championship. He then took over another sleeping giant and took them up before almost taking them to the Premiership in 2008. That man is Gary Johnson at Bristol City and I believe he’s the only man out there for the job at Burnley.</p>
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<p>Now, don’t laugh but I honestly feel he’d be perfect for the job and would keep Burnley up. The only downside is that potentially, Bristol City are a bigger club, with a larger fan base. This season, they’re averaging 14,553 fans a game, whilst Burnley are almost at capacity with 20,344. Promotion for Bristol City would be a massive boost for the area, and with plans to move the club to a 30,000 seater stadium by 2011, with option to increase it to 42,000, would Johnson give all that up for a crack at the Premiership? It’d be a tough ask, but if they could get him, then they should bite his hand off. Just don’t give it to one of the usual suspects, it’d be curtains for Burnley.</p>

Burnley Have To Make The Right Choice

Burnley Have To Make The Right Choice - World Soccer Talk

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<p>I settled down yesterday afternoon ready for one of those great footballing days that come along every now and again. I had the prospect of 4 matches in a row to keep me entertained (including Charlton v Brentford!) and to see if Scotland could get a win against Macedonia. It was an opportunity to run the rule over a few players who have returned to regular football in the Premiership and see just what Scotland could do.</p>
<p>I’m one of those strange people that wishes no ill to my Scottish cousins over the border to the North, I always try to watch the other home nations when I can, as well as the Republic of Ireland. I always have done, since the days of the Home Championships when I was a little lad and I always want them to do well.<br>
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<p>With Scotland still reeling from the hammering they took in <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1206142/Norway-4-Scotland-0-Pressure-heaped-George-Burley-Oslo-massacre.html" target="_blank">Norway last month</a>, and the <a href="http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/football/scotland/2009/09/04/pressure-builds-on-george-burley-as-sfa-president-george-peat-tells-him-it-s-not-good-enough-86908-21646855/" target="_blank">S.F.A once again seemingly trying their best to destabilise their own team</a>, Scotland manager George Burley was up against it. With 9 players in the starting line up either having played or still playing in the Premiership, the time had come for Scotland to dig in and get a result.</p>
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<p>Craig Gordon, the Sunderland goalie has endured a torrid time since his £9 million transfer 2 years ago, but yesterday, he was immense. His reflexes and strength kept Macedonia at bay throughout a nervous first half performance when Scotland could have been easily 2 goals down. It was the form that saw him so highly rated before joining Sunderland and he continued to excel throughout the first half.</p>
<p>Scotland were wobbling, but one incident seemed to change the whole game. Macedonia had been indulging in the type of behavior that would have embarrassed Eduardo but a drop ball was given. Scott Brown, the Celtic midfielder kicked the ball against a Macedonian player and it spun out for a corner to the Scots.</p>
<p>Macedonia were incensed and all went to try and get hold of Brown. Queue much pushing and shoving, shouting and finger pointing but the Scots wouldn’t bite. Half time went and half the Macedonian team came after Brown, but he slipped off down the tunnel. That incident completely changed the game. I don’t know what George Burley said at half time or if he even put something in the half time drinks, but the second half saw Scotland emerge as a different team.</p>
<p>Macedonia couldn’t cope and with Stephen Fletcher setting up Scott Brown for a cleverly flicked header, Scotland were in the ascendancy. Darren Fletcher was in his busy best, bustling and chasing, tackling and harrying everything. Macedonia had chances, but Gordon and the Scottish back four stood firm and then came the champagne moment. Take a bow, James McFadden. A wonderful solo run with 5 minutes to go, saw him bamboozle four Macedonians before putting the keeper on his backside and rolling the ball into an empty net.</p>
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<p>It was another great goal for McFadden’s resume but one goal can’t answer the doubts that still hang over the undoubtedly talented striker. His return to the Premiership can only benefit Scotland, but he needs to return to a more consistent approach. The last 18 months have seen his form dip and blighted by injuries, his performances fluctuate wildly. On his day, he is Scotland’s most naturally gifted player but he needs to have more of those days.</p>
<p>At his time at Everton, McFadden was a firm favourite with the crowd but could infuriate as much as he delighted. For a player that scores the occasionally brilliant goal, he doesn’t score anywhere near the level his talent says it can. He showed both sides yesterday, missing an easy chance from 12 yards out, slashing his shot high and wide. 20 minutes later he danced his way through the Macedonian team and scored. Work that one out.</p>
<p>With Scotland having to beat Holland on Wednesday night, McFadden needs to have one of those nights in back to back matches. No doubt it’s a massive ask but Holland have already qualified. They don’t need to win and that could play in to Scotland’s hands. Good luck to them, I’ll be wishing them well.</p>

McFadden's Wonder Goal Raises Scottish Hopes

McFadden's Wonder Goal Raises Scottish Hopes - World Soccer Talk

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Burnley Have To Make The Right Choice

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McFadden's Wonder Goal Raises Scottish Hopes