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Next Scotland Manager ?


McExpat

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11 minutes ago, fringo said:

No offence to recent and previous posters over the months touting Billic, Hiddink, Klinnsman etc  but we can't even get Michael O'Neill.

O’Neill wont be NI manager in a year, his own statement about it not being the right oportunity would suggest he’s waiting for the right club job, which is certainly the talk over here in Belfast. A lot of NI fans I talk to are under no illusion that they will loose him sooner rather than later. 

Still an utter shambles and from listening the Tom English earlier the IFA have sold us a right dummy in recent weeks. 

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15 minutes ago, bossman4 said:

O’Neill wont be NI manager in a year, his own statement about it not being the right oportunity would suggest he’s waiting for the right club job, which is certainly the talk over here in Belfast. A lot of NI fans I talk to are under no illusion that they will loose him sooner rather than later. 

Still an utter shambles and from listening the Tom English earlier the IFA have sold us a right dummy in recent weeks. 

Michael is an ambitious man, and like all other such people, he's bound to be amenable to the "right" offer.

But unlike such others, he's not motivated  solely by the usual rewards - money, status, prestige etc.

Rather he seems determined to prove himself and his abilities, by taking on a job which will provide him with the challenge he requires. In the short-to-medium term*, I'd guess that will be with a club (or NT) where he will be given the resources and the autonomy (esp) to make the job his own. 

Wrt to Scotland, there's no doubt that they offer greater resources than NI - players, supporters, stadia, financial clout, professional  domestic league etc. Therefore the potential is greater, too.

But I would guess that when he asked what authority he would have over coaching, junior teams, youth development, scouting etc, he didn't get the answers he sought - too many Blazers, vested interests and jobsworth interfering. Oh and Malky Mackay.

Whereas when the IFA offered him his new contract and he asked the same questions, the answer will have been "Whatever you need, Michael".

As for Tom English's burbling about "Money Talks", all the recent opinion was that whilst the basic offered by the SFA wasn't quite so much as the IFA's, the performance element could have left it higher. (That English article sounded nothing so much as a face-saving exercise where Regan made excuses as to why he didn't get his man).

In the end, Michael will move on from NI, and it could be sooner rather than later. But when he does, I'd say it should be with the gratitude and best wishes of every fair minded NI fan, since he single-handedly turned us from a shambles to the proudest wee team in Europe (OK, I'll give you Iceland, at a push). He owes us absolutely nothing.

One more thing: could the SFA please appoint Tommy Wright to the job? Then when Michael does leave, Big Tommy can take over NI, having served his international apprenticeship.

 

 

* - I say short-to-medium, since in the longer term, I could honestly see him becoming a CEO, Chairman, NT President or even team owner, he's that good.

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27 minutes ago, Bobby Russell's Lovechild said:

According to the herald, McLeish is ready to take over and he's not put off not being no. 1 choice

Thats because he's not the choice anywhere, I really hope McLiesh doesn't get it

 

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19 hours ago, BucksburnDandy said:

The blame for me would lie at the door of the Scottish FA board who were guilty, after around mid-December, of dithering too long over speaking to O'Neill. Another Rangers and McInnes situation  where the current employer moves heaven and earth to keep their manager, while the prospective employer takes so long that the manager questions whether he would get the support he receives at his current job.

Blame would also lie at the door of the Scottish FA that we have ended up so financially poor due to not qualifying for tournaments for over 20 years.
 

Couldn't help but think that when I found out, and like that situation the SFA won't have a plan B either. Just give Gemmill a chance, or Jack Ross for that matter, and see what unfolds during the league of nations campaign

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Can I make a plea for some of the so called "fans" not to boo McLeish when/if he is appointed.

Not that I believe anyone on here would do that but we've had it a couple of times recently from a small minority which is cringeworthy.

We really do have some utter damp squibs casually following the team.

If Eck is the man to step forward of course we want to see him do well.

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1 hour ago, Rab The Crab said:

Heard his chat last night, he’s obviously got a source close to O Neill. 

His ding dong with Michael Stewart was pretty cringeworthy tbh.

 

Re McLeish, I wouldn't be too bothered if he got the job. Not the most inspiring appointment I agree but his brief spell in charge before was mainly positive.

 

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14 hours ago, KirkieRobRoy said:

What, exactly, has Stewart Regan (or 'Lurch' Doncaster, for that matter) achieved while in post? How have they made Scottish football better? In any way?

 

I don't blame O'Neill - it's not 'Why didn't he come?' because I always wondered why should he? Are Scotland such a step up from the current NI scene? His tenure there has been good for Scottish football in giving players in a variety of Scottish clubs an international profile and even the chance to play in tournaments. No, the blame is with the SFA and their incompetent head-hunt.

 

They have to now invite applications. It's the only way to avoid head-hunting someone who know's he wasn't the first choice. And who might also turn the job down.

 

Though I fear the first CV in the post will be Eck's. He must be gutted that Moyes and Lambert have managed to get aff the broo but he's still there touting himself for every job that comes up.

Big Eck's CV was in the post the day before Strachan resigned.

 

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1 hour ago, jailender said:

A very good article by Tom English on the SFA/O'Neill saga on the BBC website today. Puts a slightly different slant on things.

Yeah, just read it. Seems to suggest Regan was onto a hiding to nothing from the onset here, and tried his best despite having the proverbial one hand tied behind his back..

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26 minutes ago, shaggycoo said:

Yeah, just read it. Seems to suggest Regan was onto a hiding to nothing from the onset here, and tried his best despite having the proverbial one hand tied behind his back..

If Regan has been strung along all this time, I hope he has a backup plan.

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Does leave us in a wee bit of a pickle doesn't it.
There's really no good candidates out there that we can afford.

All the people we can afford are just unattractive as candidates..
It feels very much like we've made a massive mistake now.
As poor as we were at times under Strachan, we were on an upwards path when he left.. now we're looking like replacing him with washed up clueless folk like McLeish.. or Billy Davies.

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4 hours ago, jailender said:

A very good article by Tom English on the SFA/O'Neill saga on the BBC website today. Puts a slightly different slant on things.

"A different spin on things" you mean?

Michael will not have turned it down solely because of the money, as that article claims. And in any case, it was widely reported that the basic SFA salary wasn't that much below the IFA offer, with performance bonuses capable of bringing it above.

I'd bet my mortgage that the chief reason Michael didn't accept was because he wasn't going to be given the autonomy he currently gets in the NI job, most likely due to Malky Mackay's influence. (The nearest equivalent to Mackay at the IFA was that of 'Elite performance Director', a post first filled by Jim Magilton, upon Michael's recommendation. They're best mates.)

Instead, that whole article smacked to me of a desperate attempt by Regan to avoid blame, by pointing the finger everywhere else (O'Neill's greed, IFA's leak, SFA Blazers' stinginess etc).

Now I believe English is not normally in the pocket of the SFA, so I can't help wondering what future "exclusives" he will squeeze from them in return for this latest piece of garbage from him? Or maybe he was just peeved that Douglas Alexander predicted Michael would turn down the SFA in the Sunday Times on 15th January, so just wants to keep in with Regan?

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