Here we go again.

With Burley set for the chop this week, who should replace him?

There doesn't seem to be any obvious choice. Strachan would surely have been favourite if the SFA had done the right thing when the last qualifying campaign ended, but he is now at Middlesborough. Even Souness has ruled himself out, saying that not even the likes of Wenger couldn't do anything with this team.

I dont know who would be the best for the job but I do believe it has to be someone strong enough to stand up to the OF. Someone who will not be dictated to on which games certain players will be 'fit' for. Someone who will stand up and tell the OF that if they pull key players from some games then those players will no longer be considered for any games. Someone with guts and determination. Is that person among the favourites?

The only real candidate is Craig Levein. I'll eat my hat if he doesn't get the job......

Edited November 18, 200916 yr by Iain

No I cant say the same but on the other hand I'm not using alcoholism to flog a book !

Get a f**kin grip.

Back on topic, the more I think about it the more I think Jim Jefferies would be a really good (and successful) appointment. I think he'd be like Craig Brown - an uninspired choice but yet quietly effective. He's done very well everywhere he's been, can work without signing lots of new players (which you can't do at international level) and knows how to kick @rse when players do not perform, which they have not been doing.

Although he'd not take the job I'm sure we could manage to get Sir Alex in some form of advisory role or (very) part time coach as well.

Something about Craig Levein doesn't fill me with confidence tho.

not sure who but maybe David Weir should be involved

not sure who but maybe David Weir should be involved

:)

My top 3 candidates would be Walter Smith, John Collins or Craig Levein.

I don't think John Collins would be too bad an appointment.

Craig Brown! Has to be! He has said he would happily come back for his country which shows he has more loyalty that Walter Smith, the fact he has taken us to a World Cup and a Euro shows he is probably more likely of succssess than Levein and he is more experianced than Collins.

See where you are coming from DC. He was not the most flambouyant of characters and we played some pretty negative stuff. But, he got the team playing to our strengths and made us difficult to beat on occasions which meant we could grind out the odd result.

I don't think John Collins would be too bad an appointment.

Eh you crazy?!

If John Collins becomes national manager, Im becoming English.

He's utterly hopeless. Left Hibs after a year, then did the same at Charloi

Levein is a good shout. We need someone to make the team hard to beat again and get back to the way McLeish had us playing. It was far more entertaining to watch than GB's team. For someone who wanted us to play football. His idea of it was complete tedium.

Alan Irvine has done very well at Preston and Billy Davies has a good track record.

But please, for the love of god, not Collins!

Yeah, Collins hasn't done enough. A few bad results and he couldn't take the pressure. Plus, we've seen what happens when we put our faith in Kris Commons or whoever to play attacking football. Just doesn't work.

I'd like to see Jim Jefferies get it. He's the right age for the job. He's pragmatic about results and he worked wonders with both Hearts and Falkirk, plus done well keeping Killie with their cuts in the SPL - sometimes in the top 6. The negative point is Bradford but he made millions for them, whilst spending nothing. No-one else did any better to the point they dropped to the bottom rung of the English League.

Don't want John Collins or Jimmy Calderwood as well.

Alan Irvine sounds like a good shout, learned under Davie Moyes at Everton before getting his big break at Preston where he has done a pretty decent job.

I see Csaba Laszlo has also put his name forward for the job.

So has Ossie Ardiles. Predictable but unbelievable all the same.

So has Ossie Ardiles. Predictable but unbelievable all the same.

Thought he would maybe have waited until the end of the season to see if Butcher was going to get kept on here.

Guus Hidink may be free very soon after Russia didn't qualify.

We likely couldn't afford him but you can dream!

I know that being "Engerlish" doesn't really give me a right to comment on the Scotalnd manager BUT, I wouldn't want Pele to take the post because if he is ready to go back into management there is a post a lot nearer to home that he should consider. Yes I know it's not vacant at the moment but it maybe in the near future.

And for what it's worth I think Walter Smith would be your best bet.

I think the next Scotland manager should have a record of consistently wringing the best out of his players at club level. I don't see any reason to appoint a man on the basis of their reputation as a player or even as a coach when there are candidates out there who have already brought consistency to their teams at club level.

That criteria rules out both John Collins and Gary McAliister. They still have to prove thmselves and i think they've got a bit of a cheek to be touting themselves for the Scotland job. Joe Jordan is also ruled out on these grounds - he may be respected as a player and a coach but he has a dodgy managerial record.

Without doubt, the most experienced candidate is Jim Jeffries. He's been a manger for over 25 years and many people feel he has been unfortunate not to land a bigger job before now. I think his record's too patchy to be considered for this job. After 5 years at Gala Fairydean and a couple of seasons at Berwick, Jeffries got the Falkirk job where he won the First Division at the first attempt. Falkirk stayed up in 9th position but were relegated the following season. Jeffries kept his job and Falkirk bounced straight back up and finished 5th the following season.

Jeffries then spent 4 seasons at Hearts, finishing 9th - 4th - 3rd - 6th and reaching 2 Scottish Cup finals, winning it in 1998. This was undoubtedly the most consistently successful spell of of his career.

Jeffries took over Bradford in November 2000. They were rooted to the bottom of the Premiership table and stayed there for the entire season, finishing on 29 points. After a poor start in the Championship, Jeffries was sacked after just a year in the job.

Never a week goes by without someone on Sportsound saying "Jim Jeffries and Bill Brown have done a great job at Kilmarnock". It's one of these statements that neanderthals like Sandy Clark and Billy Dodds feel they can spout without consulting their tiny brains, safe in the knowledge the JJ's "great Killie job" is a statement of fact that nobody will ever challenge. I think they've done a good job at Kilmarnock. Here are their league finishes over 8 seasons:

7th---4th---10th---7th---5th---5th---11th---8th

It's good. It's stable, but it's not spectacular. More worrying (for Killie fans) is that for the 3rd consecutive season they are starting to get sucked into a relegation scrap.

I think his time at Killie sums up Jeffries' managerial career. There have been some great highs (top 6 finishes, qualifying for Europe), but there have definitely been lows as well. I don't think we can say with any confidence that Jim Jeffries will imporove fortunes of the national team.

Next up for the Stan attack.............Billy Stark.

Edited November 19, 200916 yr by Caley Stan

It'll be a foreign manager, no other Scotts stand out. Darren Ferguson would be the only one worth considering IMO and he has proved diddly squat

Stan - I think with the financial problems at Killie in the past 3 or 4 seasons JJ's record is better than it reads.

I think he'd do a good job. And by good I mean along the lines of Craig Brown - hardly awe inspiring yet effective and he'll get us places. He's already saying the right things:

- make us hard to beat first

- the result is the most important thing at this level

Mind you I thought Burley was a good appointment and wasn't happy when Smith got the job so what the feck would I know!!

If it is going to be a foreigner then Lars Lagerback, Guus Hiddink (like we'd get him!) or Leo Beenhakker are very good choices in my opinion.

Stan - I think with the financial problems at Killie in the past 3 or 4 seasons JJ's record is better than it reads.

They have a large debt but they also get bigger crowds than anyone else in bottom 6 and i'd be very surprised if their budget was any smaller.

I heard Chic Young saying recently that his money would be on Billy Stark. Craig Brown has aslo been touting him and pointing out how successful the system of promoting from within the SFA was in his own case and in the case of Andy Roxburgh. This must be the only point in Stark's favour - his club record is atrocious:

Morton 1997-2000:

Finished 5th and 6th. He was sacked after Morton were pumped 6-2 at Caley Park.

St. Johnstone 2001-2004:

Stark took over a couple of months into the season with St. Johnstone at the bottom of the SPL. The were relegated with 21 points (19 away from safety!) and Stark was sacked after consecutive 3rd place finishes in the First.

Queens Park 2004-2008:

4th and 6th in the Third before promotion via the play-offs after a 3rd place finish.

I think this record should be enough to discount Stark completely. He seems to be doing allright with the 21's so leave him there. The manager of Scotland must have a track record of success and Stark doesn't.

I agree Stark is not the man for the job but still think Jeffries would do a good job. I don't think any of that money they get from (slightly) bigger crowds makes its way to JJ. Still you are right - they can more than likely pay higher wages than the likes of ourselves. Something tells me he'd be better than Levein, but like I said - what would I know?!

walter smith take over scotland job and Craig Levein gets the rangers job

I'm inclined to agree with you - that is a definite possibility.

Could you maybe do me a favour?

At your next seance do you think you could ask Jock Stein who he would like to see get the job?

Thanks...

Walter Smith has already walked out of the job , theres no way that cant should get anywhere near the job again :huh:

Agreed. If the ugly sister got taken over and money became available, he'd be offski again.

I'm inclined to agree with you - that is a definite possibility.

Could you maybe do me a favour?

At your next seance do you think you could ask Jock Stein who he would like to see get the job?

Thanks...

Would Jock know that as well?

I'm inclined to agree with you - that is a definite possibility.

Could you maybe do me a favour?

At your next seance do you think you could ask Jock Stein who he would like to see get the job?

Thanks...

Would Jock know that as well?

Yes he would know that... He knows everything.

Jock was one of Scottish Football's all time greatest legends - Probably the greatest.

I was never a Celtic supporter but what he achieved in his time there will never ever be equalled.

With all the talk now of too many foreigners in our game, and not much in the way of home grown talent coming through, it's interesting to reflect that the Celtic team that became the first British team to win the European Cup, contained only one foreighner - Ronnie Simpson, who came from Embra!

All the others were Glasgow/West of Scotland guys.