With the inevitable sacking of Paul Lambert there are now no Scottish managers in the English top flight (unless you count Scott Marshall who is jointly in charge on a temporary basis at Villa Park). Over the years, the English top flight has had way more than its fair share of Scottish Managers. Managers such as Moyes, Souness, Dalglish, McLeish and Strachan have all had some reasonable success but it is the legends of George Graham at Arsenal, Bill Shankly at Liverpool, and Matt Busby and, more recently, Sir Alex at Manchester Utd that made Scottish managers almost an institution in the English top flight.
I don't know when, if ever, there were no Scottish Managers in the English top flight and wonder what this says about the Scottish game. More often that not, great managers were also great players before. Just as we have seen the number of Scottish players playing in the English Premiership decline, it now seems that this is working its way through to managerial level.
Of course, top level football is so much more international these days. Top Premiership clubs are awash with foreign players and an increasing number of foreign coaches. But that doesn't mean that there are no longer opportunities for Scottish players and coaches. If they are good enough then they will be employed. The fact is that fewer and fewer players and coaches from Scotland seem to be making the grade these days and it perhaps reflects the general state of Scottish football.
Lambert's sacking can be seen as representing the end of an era for Scottish football. Let's hope that Gordon Strachan can conjure up some success for the national side in order to regenerate grass roots enthusiasm again and trigger a new era for Scottish influence in the beautiful game..
With the inevitable sacking of Paul Lambert there are now no Scottish managers in the English top flight (unless you count Scott Marshall who is jointly in charge on a temporary basis at Villa Park). Over the years, the English top flight has had way more than its fair share of Scottish Managers. Managers such as Moyes, Souness, Dalglish, McLeish and Strachan have all had some reasonable success but it is the legends of George Graham at Arsenal, Bill Shankly at Liverpool, and Matt Busby and, more recently, Sir Alex at Manchester Utd that made Scottish managers almost an institution in the English top flight.
I don't know when, if ever, there were no Scottish Managers in the English top flight and wonder what this says about the Scottish game. More often that not, great managers were also great players before. Just as we have seen the number of Scottish players playing in the English Premiership decline, it now seems that this is working its way through to managerial level.
Of course, top level football is so much more international these days. Top Premiership clubs are awash with foreign players and an increasing number of foreign coaches. But that doesn't mean that there are no longer opportunities for Scottish players and coaches. If they are good enough then they will be employed. The fact is that fewer and fewer players and coaches from Scotland seem to be making the grade these days and it perhaps reflects the general state of Scottish football.
Lambert's sacking can be seen as representing the end of an era for Scottish football. Let's hope that Gordon Strachan can conjure up some success for the national side in order to regenerate grass roots enthusiasm again and trigger a new era for Scottish influence in the beautiful game..