Will Alan Curbishey ever work again?
After Mick McCarthy was unveiled as the new Ipswich manager this morning, it got me wondering if Curbs will ever manage a football club again. Curbs is linked to almost every job going and must hold some sort of record. It is said that he has some very narrow parameters for jobs that he would take, selfishly perhaps, but he doesn’t need the money nor obviously the challenge.
Without even working his stock must have reduced since he left West Ham in 2008, although his record stands up against most and certainly McCarthy’s. Ipswich would have been a perfect job for Curbs. Good infrastructure and history with supportive and hands off owners plus just a drive up the A12 in his Merc.
It’s a shame that a manager with Curbishley’s record is not in the game and although the £2.2m he won in compensation after taking West Ham’s previous owners to a tribunal for constructive dismissal has allowed him to be even more picky, it is still fairly rare that an irked manager doesn’t walk away with a handfull of cash and his gob tightly shut. Curbs’ actions will I am sure be at the back of most owners and chairman’s minds when they are looking at new manger shortlist with his name on it.
Blackburn too have appointed a new manager. Henning Berg was a surprising pick from the Venkys, who were looking for someone with Rovers’ roots to appease the dwindling fanbase. Berg hasn’t worked for a year and previously it has only been in his native Norway, where he had a win ratio of 30%. No doubt all of the fun of the circus will continue at Ewood.
Dougie Freedman takes up the reigns at Bolton this weekend, whilst awaiting his trusted side-kicks Curtis Fleming and the now re-instated Addicks legend Lennie Lawrence. Meanwhile a Palace mate has told me that Chris Powell is in Steve Parish’s mind as a replacement for Freedman. The problem Palace have, well one of their many problems, is that they are in the lowest of the payscales in The Championship. Freedman was said to be on between £120-150,000 annual basic, which he increased 4-fold by going to Bolton, and unless this is going to change they may not even be able to shop in the neighbouring Sainsburys for their next manager.
Burnley also have a new manager. They have made a habit of appointing young impressive managers, Brian Laws aside, in recent times and I think they have chosen well with Sean Dyche. He was treated appallingly by Watford’s Italian mafia, and deservedly gets another chance at this level.
In Charlton news Abdul Razak has gone back to Manchester City after just 56 minutes of action. There was immediate talk of Razak not fitting in and also Powell not wanting him in the first place. The most likely reason for his quick return is that Roberto Mancini feels he would rather have the youngster close by to call upon than have him sat on our bench.
Since Razak’s arrival Powell has tried a number of midfield formulae, without the Ivorian being centre to any of it. Razak’s return makes us very light in numbers. With Callum Harriott replacing the injured Dale Stephens in the 18 at Molineux, it might be Ruben Bover’s turn to sit on the bench on Saturday and if a rumour on Charlton Life is to be believed then Ceddy Evina is also now injured!
I think Curbishley is too long out of the game. A lot of management is being able to pick up players that will improve your side. This is much easier when you are in the game as you have contacts with Agents and scouting networks that can help. It has now been four years and McCarthy will have relationships with a number of players that he could call upon that Curbishley just won’t have.
I also fear, like you do, that the attitude of many Chairmen will be to avoid someone that took a club to court – and won. This is a problem for most industries, and even though there are few secrets in football (suggesting that most know what really happened at West Ham) there is always the risk that he could do it again, and unless he’s the outstanding candidate why take the risk?
You can also add (to the above) the fact that Curbishley has a reputation of playing uninspiring football. I think that this reputation is a little unfair, but his time at West Ham did him no favours, especially at that club – The Academy of Football – that, literally, won England the World Cup.
In all honesty I’m not convinced this is a good time to be taking over at Ipswich anyway. I don’t have any particular affection for either the club or McCarthy so I’m a little indifferent to their plight but I do think they are going to struggle this season. The Championship is very even yet very competitive. I don’t think it’s totally unreasonable to suggest that they will go down. Even if that doesn’t cause another change of manager it would force at least one season in the third division (Leeds, Southampton, Charlton, Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday failed to be promoted at the first attempt). Very few managers get a second stab at the third division. None of those teams came up with the manager they went down with.
Even ignoring Curbishley’s reported criteria for a new job looking down the Premier League and the Championship I can’t see any club that would want to take him on in light of the alternatives, both those that are already working and those that are playing and coming to the end of their careers and would have better (more recent) relationships with others in the game. I think his best bet is a team in real trouble with a mission impossible like he achieved at West Ham the year we were relegated. However, he was (reportedly) offered that opportunity at Wolves earlier this year and turned it down. Anything less desperate than that and I can see Chairman after Chairman overlooking Curbishley in favour of someone else that has been in the game a lot more recently.
It seems a lifetime ago, now, that he was a genuine contender for the England job.