Managerial mayhem

It's been a crazy week for managerial changes, not least of all the timing of Martin Jol's inevitable departure from Tottenham. As a football fan I feel very sorry for him as I believe he's a good coach and I think he was hounded out. In my opinion, that's not to Spurs advantage. The loss in the first group game of the UEFA cup tonight was a poor result, but not surprising given the upheaval of the day. The club's decision to sack him prior to the game is a questionable one.

Bolton's appointment of Gary Megson was another strange one. His past premiership record is poor and he only had a short spell at Leicester this season. Paddy Power are offering 15/8 on Bolton going down, which seems decent value to me. I think there are better managers out of work, some of which are being linked to ...

... the Irish job, which became open this week also. No surprise there. Brady, Souness and O'Leary top the bookies list, although Jol might now command fairly short odds. I was very interested to see John Delaney distance himself from the next appointment. There will be a committee of professionals hired as consultants - working within certain parameters re: salary etc - and the name they propose will be confirmed by the board ass the new Irish boss.

Finally Liverpool, where I don't expect a managerial change, but would love to see the assistant role filled. The return of Sammy Lee has been mentioned following his departure from the Reebok Stadium and I do believe the players would welcome that. Sammy was schooled in the Anfield boot room and is a popular figure at the club.

My preference would be a man who watched this week's European match in the Sky studios - Gary McAllister. He's another popular figure who had two great seasons at the club. He's a true professional and only the serious illness of his wife has kept him out of the game in the past few years. I think he could be just the man to replace Paco and re-instill the players' confidence.