Friday, 26 May 2006
Dowie then or just one big ruse?
The club earlier announced that they would unveil the the appointment of a new three-man coaching team on Tuesday, with a press conference set to be held at 2pm.
Within moments the media were installing Dowie into the job and this Daily Mail article confers and also states that he won't be allowed to bring his own coaching team with him, this includes older brother Bob Dowie, Neil McDonald and well respected fitness coach John Harbin.
What is widely expected is that Les Reed and maybe either Mark Robson or Chris Powell will make up the triumvirate, all overseen by Andrew Mills.
However is this just a ruse? It does seem strange that the club are going to wait until Tuesday, even with Monday being a Bank Holiday. The Guardian tomorrow hints that it is not a done deal and that Sammy Lee is still very much in the frame. It is said that Lee interviewed very well and he does have excellent Premiership and international coaching pedigrees.
The other equation could be a three made up of Dowie, Reed and Lee, quite a mouthwatering partnership. A gamble of course but I feel myself getting buoyed by an exciting new era. And just imagine how pissed off Simon Jordan will be?
Palarse's long distance rivalry with Brighton was sparked by Alan Mullery's switch between clubs and maybe this move might wake the media up to the real animosity between the two teams, particularly after the boardroom kerfuffle at the Valley after Jon Fortune (said to have been offered a new 3-year contract as reward) sent them down. This hostility is not felt by Palarse fans of course, oh know, they have bigger fish to fry in Southend!
One other point. The club interviewed 2o candidates and only a few names are known to have been seen or approached - Taylor, Davies, Dowie, McCarthy, Jewell, Parkinson - which leaves a hell of a lot of others where they and/or their clubs have kept their silence. Do I hear Chris Coleman anyone? I still think there could be some twists yet to come in this story over the long weekend. ¶ 20:46
Within moments the media were installing Dowie into the job and this Daily Mail article confers and also states that he won't be allowed to bring his own coaching team with him, this includes older brother Bob Dowie, Neil McDonald and well respected fitness coach John Harbin.
What is widely expected is that Les Reed and maybe either Mark Robson or Chris Powell will make up the triumvirate, all overseen by Andrew Mills.
However is this just a ruse? It does seem strange that the club are going to wait until Tuesday, even with Monday being a Bank Holiday. The Guardian tomorrow hints that it is not a done deal and that Sammy Lee is still very much in the frame. It is said that Lee interviewed very well and he does have excellent Premiership and international coaching pedigrees.
The other equation could be a three made up of Dowie, Reed and Lee, quite a mouthwatering partnership. A gamble of course but I feel myself getting buoyed by an exciting new era. And just imagine how pissed off Simon Jordan will be?
Palarse's long distance rivalry with Brighton was sparked by Alan Mullery's switch between clubs and maybe this move might wake the media up to the real animosity between the two teams, particularly after the boardroom kerfuffle at the Valley after Jon Fortune (said to have been offered a new 3-year contract as reward) sent them down. This hostility is not felt by Palarse fans of course, oh know, they have bigger fish to fry in Southend!
One other point. The club interviewed 2o candidates and only a few names are known to have been seen or approached - Taylor, Davies, Dowie, McCarthy, Jewell, Parkinson - which leaves a hell of a lot of others where they and/or their clubs have kept their silence. Do I hear Chris Coleman anyone? I still think there could be some twists yet to come in this story over the long weekend. ¶ 20:46
