Right Idea, Wrong Man

Casting my eye over the rest of the football world, I'm not afraid to hold my hand up when I make a mistake, and this post about West Ham makes me look a little foolish right now. Credit to Alan Pardew and his team for the way they're shaping up. It was a big win for them today - you might well ask why, seeing as it was only Sunderland, but I can assure you that when Rangers played at that level, without fail, any time they pulled off a result like winning at Highbury (it happened !) they would blow the next match. You have to follow it up. Maybe Pardew should negotiate another contract while his star is so high ! Five years is still a long time though, so we shall see.

But what must Middlesboro be thinking right now. They signed Steve McLaren up to a new five year contract only a couple of weeks ago, when they were already struggling. Now they lose 4-0 at home to Aston Villa, and the natives are hurling their gas-masks at the bench [1]. Why on earth did they sign him up to a 5 year contract the way the team was playing ? Once you know that you have to pay these contracts off, you end up in a situation like Newcastle's, where I'm sure they wanted to off Souness at least a couple of months ago, but he wouldn't walk (and why should he if he doesn't want to). Finally despite the payoff issues it just couldn't go on any more - and now they find themselves sacking the manager two days after the transfer window closed. It's all about timing.

[1] Don't blame me, they even call themselves the "Smog Monsters" - a marketing nickname they thought up for the club which (for some reason) hasn't caught on.