Steve Clarke Is Out The Race, Robbie Keane Is In?,Martin O’Neill May Be Back? But Are We All Hoping For A Mystery Name?

One manager can officially be crossed off the list.

Steve Clarke won’t be walking through the door.

His new Scotland contract has effectively ended that conversation before it properly started.

I’m not sure many supporters will lose sleep over it.

Good Scotland manager.

Done a solid job internationally.

But managing Scotland and managing us are two completely different jobs.

One involves seeing players four times a year.

The other involves surviving a full season with Yang and Tounekti as your first choice wingers.

So with Clarke gone, the rumour mill rolls on.

Robbie Keane: A former Bhoy

On one hand, he has coaching experience.

He’s been involved in winning environments.

He understands British football.

On the other hand, if somebody had told you twelve months ago that Robbie Keane would be linked with the job, you’d be bitterly disappointed. 

I’m straggly to fully embrace the idea of him as a manager for us. 

I think if he is appointed, it will really split our support. 

For me, he’s too inexperienced and just a risky an appointment as Nancy was.

Martin O’Neill 4th spell?

Then there’s Martin.

Again.

After what happened this season, it’s difficult to completely dismiss the possibility.

The pros:

Won the League.

Restores the dressing room.

United supporters, team, and board (for a period)

A squad that looked dead somehow dragged over the finish line.

The counterargument is obvious too.

Age.

Long-term planning.

Whether he actually wants the stress.

Whether the club wants to build around a manager in his seventies.

I’ve already made my feelings clear on the age discussion.

If somebody keeps winning football matches, I really couldn’t care less what age they are.

The older he gets, the younger he seems.

Or Is The Answer Somebody Nobody Has Mentioned Yet?

This is the option I suspect most supporters want.

Not Clarke.

Or Keane.

Not necessarily O’Neill.

An actual football decision.

A proper recruitment process.

A name nobody spends three weeks leaking to newspapers first.

The best appointments usually aren’t the obvious ones.

Nobody was demanding Ange Postecoglou.

Most people had never heard of him.

Then he changed the entire direction of the club.

People resonated with his story and immigrant upbringing.

He brought us players that never would have came to the club without him.

Damn… I miss that man… ffs

However. 

The problem is trusting this board to find that person.

And that’s where the anxiety comes from.

Because this isn’t a normal summer.

New manager.

A major rebuild.

Potentially £100 million-plus worth of squad turnover. 

Get it right and everything becomes easier.

Get it wrong and we’ll be back here discussing another rebuild in twelve months.

What Most Supporters Are Actually Hoping For

I don’t think supporters necessarily want a specific name.

I think they want competence.

A plan.

Evidence that somebody inside the club has actually learned from the mistakes of recent years.

Because after Rodgers.

Nancy.

O’Neill’s rescue mission.

After all the boardroom chaos.

Nobody wants another experiment.

We want the right person.

Whoever that is.