bcfcnick

The problem here is that SL is a mentor to Lee and so any decision to sack LJ would be particularly hard for him. He's SL's prodigy and SL will know that sacking him from his dream job will be a setback to Lee's career that would be difficult to recover from. SL is a particularly decent, patient guy and that's usually a plus but in this instance I think it's a mistake. I don't think he will sack Lee and he will given him the January transfer window. That's a mistake in my view. John Pemberton did a fantastic job in his caretaker role and I'd like to see him in charge. An assistant coach has to implement the ideas of Head coach / manager and work with their chosen personnel and it would be wrong to conclude JP couldn't succeed based on the current form. We saw how he turned it around when he was able to make the calls and he worked tirelessly, was tactically astute and seemed a good man manager. He also seems to have an real feeling for the Club and I would love to see him given an opportunity as manager. As much as I want LJ to succeed I do think Steve Lansdown will have to be uncharacteristically brutal and put the interests of the Club first and give a new manager the opportunity of the January window.

Curbishley gets featured in the odds every time a vacancy appears and rightly so. The oddity is why nobody has appointed him - presumably because he is too selective or because he is asking too high a salary. Talking of former players named Joe, one name that never gets a mention is Joe Royle. I assume, perhaps wrongly, he is no longer pursuing a managerial career. He has a more than solid 39% average win rate wiith the three clubs he managed - Everton, Manchester Cityand Oldham. Perhaps too out of touch with the Championship and the modern game to do a fire fighting job here but there are plenty of worse options featuring high up in the betting odds. I'd still go for Curbishley though.

Good post but I think Keith Burt is getting off astoundingly lightly from fans. It helps that he is anonymous in terms of media interviews. He is responsible for recruitment and he has one of the largest budgets to work with in the division but the quality of the loans and transfers suggest he has failed dismally. If he hasn't been given free reign to use his 'expertise' in recruitment then pride should mean he moves on or the board should go back to the old structure. I think Brian Tinnion with his European links could be given the role although, there again, I get the impression he is doing a good job in his current position. The club made an error with a couple of overseas signings and then seemed to decide to avoid all overseas signings. As the domestic signings show it's not just isolated overseas signings that have been a mistake but our whole transfer approach has been a mess. The second rate expensive defensive signings, the failure to bring in a quality midfielder and the release of the likes of Pitman and Bolasie for a pittance only scratch the surface in highlighting the poor wheeling and dealing that has gone on.