Next Scotland Manager

[alexscottislegend 2,325]

If Burley goes we'll have Boyd, Ferguson and McGregor back. Of course it depends on how much pressure the new manager puts on the SFA regarding the trio.

 

Burley can't stay, he's pissed off to many people.

 

That's the key for me. I can see where Fraser's coming from - we badly need continuity and starting from scratch isn't always a good idea - but when there's limited choice we need ALL our players available. There's something adrift when certain players won't play for Burley. Boyd we need, Fergie is maybe past his sell-by and McGregor is still the best choice for back-up in my view. The only way to get all our players available is to change the manager; I cannot see Boyd having a change of heart at the moment and that saddens me. Saying that, his attitude was immature; surely Burley would have seen the error of his ways and brought him back if he had been amenable; we'll never know, but if a new manager cannot get people onside then we're rally sunk.

[fraser54 0]

If we do bring in a new manager there isn't many who will be better

Certainly not Strachan

 

Joe Jordan for me !

[fraser54 0]

Also what gets me that we got slaughtered in the past for being to defensive and still managing to get results

Was it not refreshing to see us attacking the Dutch all night ?

 

Same in the other games Burley set out attacking, i think it toke him a wee bit of time to realise what his best players are. Now he knows !

[ian1964 10,724]

Surely continuity doesn't really affect any National team as they are together less than a club team !!!. It's ok if you have the right manager in place and IMO and that of many others Burley is not the right manager,and should never have got the job in the first place,IMO. Any manager is judged on each qualifying campaign, Burley = FAIL

[fraser54 0]

Surely continuity doesn't really affect any National team as they are together less than a club team !!!. It's ok if you have the right manager in place and IMO and that of many others Burley is not the right manager,and should never have got the job in the first place,IMO. Any manager is judged on each qualifying campaign, Burley = FAIL

 

McLeish & Smith a Fail then ?

[alexscottislegend 2,325]

There's a lot of us would like Souness and I don't need to elaborate why but just consider this: he did very little after leaving Rangers, made some terrible signings and his abrasive style means we could have even fewer players to choose from! on the other hand, he's maybe mellowed. I for one think he and Gary Mac might be worth a punt.

[Norris Cole 0]

If we do bring in a new manager there isn't many who will be better

Certainly not Strachan

 

If you compare Strachan's managerial career to Burley's, Strachan's is far superior - he's been a success at every club he's been at (in many respects Southampton was his most impressive). I still maintain that Burley was given the job on the back of eight games at Hearts, which as a criteria just isn't good enough.

 

As I've said, I'll be surprised if it's not one of Strachan, Smith or Levein. The first two would be as good as Scotland could get while the latter would be an uninspiring choice IMHO.

 

The SFA have a tricky balance to strike. They need a manager who can inspire the players, as both Smith and McLeish did and Burley doesn't, but they also need continuity i.e. a manager who will stick at it for a number of years without jumping at the first available job in England.

 

Strachan strikes me as a patriotic kind of guy who would take the job seriously, while Smith, who in all likelihood won't be at Ibrox past the summer (in a managerial capacity anyway), would see it as his final mission and therefore could do it until he retires.

 

For what it's worth I think David Moyes is the best Scottish manager around, Fergie aside, but he'll see the Scotland job as a step down and I'd be astounded if he took it if offered.

[Norris Cole 0]

There's a lot of us would like Souness and I don't need to elaborate why but just consider this: he did very little after leaving Rangers, made some terrible signings and his abrasive style means we could have even fewer players to choose from! on the other hand, he's maybe mellowed. I for one think he and Gary Mac might be worth a punt.

 

Gary McAllister is destined for the job at some point and I think the next manager should have him as part of the set-up in some capacity, preferably assistant. I know they were Burley's picks, but it's typical of the SFA to settle for Pressley and Butcher when we could have, say, McAllister and Jordan.

[ian1964 10,724]

McLeish & Smith a Fail then ?

 

Aye,based on non qualification

[Norris Cole 0]

McLeish & Smith a Fail then ?

 

To finish second in a group including the World Cup winners, runners-up and quarter-finalist represented a remarkable success, even more so considering the mess we had been in before.

 

The difference between Burley and the two managers you mention, is that the SFA's specific job remit for Burley was that Scotland qualify for the World Cup. He had the luck of the draw that neither of his predecessors enjoyed, yet he couldn't make the play-offs. In short, he failed.

 

As far as I can recall Smith's job remit was to rebuild the team after the Vogts shambles, and McLeish's to continue Smith's progress. At this, both were a success.

 

The next man in should have at the least consolidated on this success. Even if you like Burley as a man (and I don't dislike him), if you look at the bare facts, he has taken us backwards.