Posted by Rick Fitzgerald

First of all, I have to say...HAVE to...even though I am not the official Chelsea fan I am waking up from a red card coma thanks to the wonderful reffing of Chris Foy.  Wow...and I love how AVB is getting looked at by the FA for his comments but I have yet to see anyone look into Foy's Chelsea card-fest this Sunday.  I'll hold my tongue for now and get onto what I'm supposed to be talking about...which is...

THE NPOWER MANAGER MUSICAL-CHAIRS A-THON!!

Ok, stop the music.  So the latest manager to receive the slip is Sven Goran Eriksson, yes, he who took the England National Team to heights of glory never seen since or before, has been sacked.  So maybe he didn't take the team to the heights of glory but he sure did nail mediocrity pretty well.  As he did in Mexico...Manchester...and dare I say, Notts County.  After having been beat down by Millwall 3-0 this week, and a season that sees them eight points away from first (13th on the table), King Power and Sven have come to a "mutual agreement" which sees him - probably temporarily - unemployed.



Now I know I am giving him a bit of a hard time with all the lackluster jobs he's done at other clubs, but am I being fair? I mean, really?  Is Sven the Chris Foy of football management? (You know I had to get another shot in...).  Maybe not.  After all he did lift the Foxes out of the relegation zone last year.  13th place this year isn't the worst you can do, especially considering they are only eight points away from the top.  So what's the deal?  Were his comments that Leicester deserved to lose 3-1 THAT bad that his Thai owners finally had enough?  Or was it....

Damn you Southampton!!  As a theory, I think that Southampton is blowing it for a lot of folks.  Southampton, newly promoted this year in case you haven't been paying attention, is at the top of the table and has been so for pretty much the whole year.  This is a club considered "little" by most but has somehow managed to snake their way above the rest.  They are like the Boise State of nPower football and I say, good on them!  They are doing what they should be doing without buying EVERY great player in the world (yes, that was a reference to you Man City.)

So what does this mean for the Leicesters of the world?  Well, in a word, pressure.  Sven is not a new kid on the block - actually, even the New Kids on the Block aren't new kids.  He comes to a side with experience that is all over the table so he should have many, many tools in his box and really has no excuse as to why he cannot lead and motivate a club to - at least - a playoff spot.  That he has failed again, I think, reflects more on him.  Sure it can be said that the Foxes didn't spend, blah, blah, blah, but I would ask you how much Southampton spent this summer?  How much did Sunderland spend when they made their Premier League run?  Money is great, but it only takes you so far and, make sure you're sitting when you read this, IT DOES NOT AUTOMATICALLY GUARANTEE SUCCESS! At some point the manager has to lead and when they don't, they get sacked, right Sven?

So while Sven is headed to the unemployment office, a new void has been created in the nPower management circle.  At about this time, another old familiar face has popped up. 

Hello Roy Keane.  After leaving Sunderland - and by "leaving" I mean, he quit - Roy headed off to Ipswich where his run was, lets say, as about as successful as Chris Foy's (that never gets old).  Its been about nine months since Roy has stepped onto the ground as a manager and he says, "Hey all, I'm ready to come back now."  But there is a stipulation...He wants to manage if only the right challenge presents itself.

Hmmm....The right challenge...

Look, I am actually a Roy fan but what is this bunk?  The right challenge?  How are we going to define what is right?  Like say, the challenge of taking a team to the Premiership and making them successful against greater, richer teams?  No, not that challenge.  How about the challenge of taking a losing bottom dweller to new heights?  Nope, that one won't do either.  So what challenge is he talking about?  Is it the challenge of taking Manchester United to another title because that seems pretty easy (prior weekend excepted of course).  I don't know.  I do like the Keane, but I just don't see how he is in a position to be too picky.  I would be pretty cautious about hiring him considering his past two runs didn't end well.  I don't want a manager who will quit because he is tired of things.  And with Roy already upset about the current mentality of players, where does he think he can go and not have to deal with it?  Blue Square maybe?

I don't think Roy will end up at Leicester but stranger things have happened.  In all, we can agree that there is at least one true statement when it comes to football anywhere:  managers will always have a club to manage regardless of their history.  This is a league that from top to bottom does not seem to look at a manager's past before hiring.  I've seen crappy managers get sacked from Premiership clubs only to reappear two weeks later at another, as if their prior failings were suddenly erased.  This kind of firing/hiring process surely makes this league the musical chairs of the sports world.

Ok, start the music and let's see whose butt lands where.  No Sven, you don't have to sit out this turn.  After all, your record has no impact on you getting a job and I would guess that, if you wanted to, you'd have a new club before the year ends.


On a completely different note...I saw that Arsenal's former number one goalie, Manuel Almunia, is happy to be at West Ham.  I always think these statements are funny.  Here's a guy who was playing at a top four club and had a chance to really shine, could not get past his buttery fingers and weekly mistakes so he got replaced and then loaned.  Now, he's back in the starting 11 at a lower club and he's "happy."  Sure he is, but how happy can you be because you couldn't make it on a better team?  I don't really get that.  Nothing against West Ham but I think if you compare the two, players would much rather be at the Emirates.  It reminds me of the latest aging superstar tied to an MLS move who said, "This is a dream come true."  Really?  Your dream was to come to America to play football?  Maybe he should talk to David nBeckham who is spending more time trying to work out a deal that takes him away from America than he is actually just playing football.

Anyway - that'll do it for now.  Take care and be safe out there.


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