KEVIN Keegan's departure from Manchester City means the search is on for a new boss at Eastlands.
Stuart Pearce will take temporary charge of the club, but may not be the man chosen to take over full-time.
Here ManchesterOnline looks at the track records of four managers who could step into the breach.
Martin O'Neill
Celtic 01/06/2000 - Present (Played) 270 (Won) 204 (lost) 37 (Drawn) 29
Leicester 21/12/1995 - 01/06/2000 223, 85, 70, 68
Norwich 13/06/1995 - 17/11/1995 20, 9, 4, 7
Wycombe 01/08/1990 - 13/06/1995 112, 52, 28, 32
O'Neill is one of the finest managers in Britain. The only way City have any real hope of landing him is because most of the leading Premiership clubs have long-term bosses. Chelsea have just appointed Jose Mourinho and Rafael Benitez' reign is only just beginning at Liverpool. Arsenal and United, whose empires are ruled by Arsene Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson respectively, are unlikely to change in the near future. That gives the Blues a glint of hope, but would O'Neill swap regular Champions League football for City? It would certainly be a massive challenge for him.
Sam Allardyce
Bolton 19/10/1999 - Present 268 110, 81, 77
Notts Co 16/01/1997 - 14/10/1999 145, 56, 50, 39
Blackpool 19/07/1994 29/05/1996 102, 44, 35, 23
Allardyce has done a wonderful job with Bolton, establishing them as a force in an extremely tough Premiership climate. He has carved a niche for himself and Bolton; a caring club who look after their players and can revive talented players who have lost direction. El-Hadji Diouf is the most recent example of that strategy, but Youri Djorkaef and Kevin Davies are two other shining examples. Perhaps the major stumbling block here is whether Allardyce would see a move to City as a major step up.
Iain Dowie
Crystal Palace 22/12/2003 - Present 59, 24, 24, 11
Oldham 31/05/2002 19/12/2003 82, 31, 23, 28
QPR 28/09/1998 - 16/10/1998 2, 1, 1, 0
Dowie worked miracles with Palace when he took over at Selhurst Park, catapulting them from the then First Division mid-table to the bright lights of the Premiership. Indeed, given the rate of their rise to the top-flight, Palace are doing well still to be fighting for survival. A genuine 'tracksuit' manager, Dowie's enthusiasm seems to translate onto the pitch and any team of his always gives 100 per cent. He is yet to be tested at a big club though.
Gordon Strachan
Southampton 22/10/2001 - 13/02/2004 110, 39, 39, 32
Coventry 05/11/1996 - 10/09/2001 215, 70, 89, 56
Fiery Scot Strachan is a well-respected manager with a good Premiership record. He guided Saints to eighth in 2003 before deciding to leave the following season to spend more time with his family, but by then he was already established as a tactically astute boss. Always the joker, Strachan once replied "velocity" when a reporter asked him for a quick word. Who knows what response City would provoke if he were to take the Eastlands hotseat.
Stuart Pearce
Nottingham Forest 20/12/1996 - 08/05/1997 23, 7, 7, 9
Having worked under Keegan, he was perhaps being groomed to succeed the former England manager when his contract ran out next summer. The early departure might have worked against the ex-Nottingham Forest defender, although he will get a chance to stake a claim over the next few weeks.
Paul Jewell
Wigan 12/06/2001 - Present 195 94 46 55
Sheffield Wednesday 21/06/2000 - 12-02-2001 38 12 21 5
Bradford 06/01/1998 - 18/06/2000 117 46 45 26
Jewell has done an impressive job at Wigan, backing up a solid reputation forged at Bradford. Sandwiched in between was a less productive spell at Sheffield Wednesday, but he is highly rated as a coach nonetheless. If Wigan do secure promotion then it is doubtful whether Jewell would leave his team, although City's support dwarfs that of the Latics.
And the foreign legion...
Co Adriaanse
Coach of AZ Alkmaar in the Dutch Eredivisie, Adriaanse has worked wonders with limited resources and broken the dominance of PSV Eindhoven, Ajax and Feyenoord. Apart from an ill-fated spell at Ajax Adriaanse has a fine record as coach. He is outspoken and a renowned disciplinarian, but an extremely strong leader. He has expressed a wish to manage away from Holland.
Ronald Koeman
Quit reigning Dutch champions Ajax in the wake of their UEFA Cup exit a fortnight ago and has since expressed an interest in moving to England. Used to team regeneration through the introduction of youth as that is the philosophy of the Amsterdam giants and might not be put off by a lack of cash to spend.
Paul Le Guen
Currently in charge of a Lyon side gunning for their fourth straight French championship success. Might be hard to entice a coach whose team eased into the final eight of the Champions League but the Frenchman could be tempted to try his luck as Arsene Wenger, Jean Tigana and Gerard Houllier did in the past decade.
Claudio Ranieri
Ditched as Valencia boss last month after a short but torrid second spell with the Spanish club. Took Chelsea to their highest league placing for 49 years last season as well as reaching the semi-finals of the European Cup but ultimately paid the price for a lack of silverware. Wants to return to English football soon.
Who would you like to see in charge of the Blues? Have your say.
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What links these four together is passion - they care , they get worked up , they bleed for their teams - and they transmit that passion to their players. KK by contrast just looks on in silence from the dug-out these days which is strange because he was the original "Mr.Motivator". Big Sam is never going to come in a million years as he's Bolton to the core but I'd be very happy with either Martin O'Neill or Ian Dowie - and it's essential that that is in the summer of 2005 NOT 2006. KK's done a good job but he's just marking time now and we all know it.
Peter Taylor would be my Ideal Choice if he can pull a Club like Hull Round I am sure he can do it with City and Keegan should go now
How many stories can you make up on this subject? On Friday 4/3/05 KK states that he has no intention of leaving before his 5 years are up. On Mon 7/3/05 cue MEN to invent a story about the "Big 4 in frame", today 8/3/05 "City Candidates". Obviously, MEN has decided on City's behalf that there is now a vacancy. Well, here's a newsflash for you - KK's fate will be decided by the Board, at a time of their own choosing, not your journos. Until then, how about some factual reporting.
The absolute principle that should underpin the search is that the new man must have actually WON SOMETHING. This puts O'Neill in the frame, but I agree with others that we should first approach Paul Le Guen.
Strachan: Nice bloke, mediocre manager.
Dowie: A bit of a gamble. Would he attract big names?
Allardyce: No thanks. Seen his team play.
O'Neill: Fat chance!
PETER TAYLOR??!!! Give me strength... Did you SEE what he did to Leicester?
Know nothing about Le Guen. How about Wim Jansen, the geezer Celtic had a few years ago? (Won their first title in ten years). He's reputed to be one of the most respected & knowledgeable coaches in Holland, pretty much in the Martin Jol mould (He also brought Henrik Larsson to Celtic). Think he's coaching in Japan now.
Who has decided that these are the candidates?
My choices: 1) O'Leary, 2) Pearce, 3) Dowie
Why not Phil Thompson. He's local, only doing TV work, knows it all and has done it all and did a great job when Houllier was in hospital.
Good bye special K and thanks for all you did for us, remember where we were the day you arrived and we would have been happy to be in the position we are now.
No one should knock KK or the board for going out and having a good go at moving City forward.As a club we have moved on from the from the pain of playing York to beating Manure 4-1 lesser clubs are still down and out it must say something for this club and our fans that we have moved on in terms of league position and to look back are we better now than we were when KK arrived? yes, is our future uncertain? yes, we are City our future is always uncertain.
As for the new manager the thought of George Graham or John Gregory scares me to death, it seems that Ranieri has been passed over, he can do it without money but as the club have said no further comment will be made about the manager until close season it appears we will go for someone with a current contract at present. Martin O'Neil may be a long shot, would he go to the rags with Glazer in charge, or even leave Celtic although he will leave Celtic one day perhaps now is not the time. It is crucial that we get the right person we can't afford another Alan Ball figure, so perhaps by taking their time we will move forwards with the right man. As usual never a dull moment at City.
CTID
my choices; 1) matin o'neil 2) houllier 3) strachen 4) ranieri.
Mike Bassett
A guy called Brian Horton's doing a good job up the road....
i would recommend Claudio Raneiri to take charge of the team.
I'd seriously look at Le Guen. Out of contract in the summer and not signed a new one, not scared of playing youngsters and has done wonders with Lyon on a budget. O'Neill next, Strachan and Dowie bottom of list. Not sure about Koeman, could be good and a 'big name', but don't know too much about his record.
Phil Thompson ?? are you serious. And please, please, no Strachan. He's done nothing. I like the idea of Wim Jansen that someone mentioned. That's interesting. Or maybe the other one Advocaat. I also think Mick McCarthy would be a good choice. Should have got him last summer before Sunderland started doing well. He's also an ex-player. Listed to his commentaries on the radio and you can hear it in his voice that he's a supporter. He has always done well with the youth system. He brought through loads of players at Millwall. And he likes to play good football.
What will happen is that Tuart will pull a surprise appointment from nowhere, just like he did with Keegan.
Paul Le Guen
Currently in charge of a Lyon side gunning for their fourth straight French championship success. Might be hard to entice a coach whose team eased into the final eight of the Champions League but the Frenchman could be tempted to try his luck as Arsene Wenger, Jean Tigana and Gerard Houllier did in the past decade
Peter Reid's style of football was abysmal. He brought in Sam Ellis as his number 2 and there were many calls for Colin Bell to be made first team coach at the expense of the long ball merchant. I was glad when Reid was sacked as it at least meant that we were no longer linked with Paul Stewart returning for big bucks every summer. Reid got the job as a sympathy vote and whilst we had a good first season, it was Kendal's team and we inevitably went backwards. So what if SP does the job well? We'll be back in the same situation and no disrespect to Pearce but he's not the main man to get this club rolling again. He's remembered in this country for a missed penalty in 1990 and not many will know him outside these shores. The man for City is someone like Ranieri who has pedigree both here and overseas. Pearce would make a good coach but a gaffer? Plus if another man does get the job I expect Pearce to leave anyway. The British public love a loser but we need a winner. Good luck in the meantime Stuart.
If psycho delivers over the rest of the season, then we need look no further. We could be at the beginning of something much bigger than we realise here. Off course he himself has made it clear his managerial experience is pratcically Zilch, but his management skills are there, and the results of this will be answered in the 9 games left, by the players. If he delivers then its a no-brainer. If its not to be him then it has to be...RANIERI. If its not RANIERI, then I would rather have Norman Wisdom than Strachan anyday!
ranieri ranieri ranieri get the message no has been unproven half wits or anything like that some style and flair please got to be ranieri!!!!!
Speaking as a Celtic fan, I can tell you now, there's now way our manager would ever leave our club to go to city, he's very happy here in Stalybridge thank you very much
Houllier or Raneiri perhaps ??
I hope Pearce does a good enough job to persuade the board that he is the man in the long-term. If he does get the job I would like the club to bring in someone into a Director of Football type role to ensure the club are in the best position to retain and attract quality players to the club. Pearce has been at the club for 4 years, and in that time he has gained the respect of the players, the board and the fans. He deserves his chance, and with a bit of support there is no reason why we cannot finish in a respectable position come the end of the season.
We cannot have Strachan! He never did owt at Coventry and he's an ex red. Can't see that French guy coming to City if he's happy winning things in France. The best hope we have is that O'Neil gets bored of the shockingly poor Scottish league and fancies a change. Dont want Alladyce either!
If Mr Wardle still can't make his mind up - I'm not doing too bad in the fantasy football league and i've won the European Cup (twice) on Championship Manager
There isn't a cat in hell's chance of getting Martin O'neil, who is obviously the best candidate for the job, he is frustrated at Celtic because of lack of funds so why the hell should he come to a club in exactly the same financial position, and managing a team trying to survive in a far more demanding league than the SPL. Please don't tell me it's the challenge.
If you take the top three PL managers out of the equation, Marinio, Wenger and Ferguson, with all the resources at their disposal, all the rest are 'much of a muchness'.
During a season the seventeen managers left are acclaimed as 'brilliant' when running through a good spell, and 'garbage' when hitting a bad run, the Media determines that.
Over a number of seasons the same managers have tried their luck, flitting from club to club in the PL and made little if any impact.
The present 'Top Of The Pops' happens to be Big Sam, and David Moy for getting their teams in positions they only dreamed about, and for that you must give praise where it is due.
Unfortunately I believe it is short lived, they have achieved that in spite of how they play not because of.
KK was absolutely right when he said that the three clubs, Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United, will dominate the Premier for the foreseeable future. It is sad to say it but serious money is essential in todays game and 'success breeds success' plus the odd benefactor.
The other 17 clubs will never get a chance of serious silverware, they might have the odd good spell, but surviving in the PL, with a good run in one of the domestic competitions is about the height of their ambition.
Kevan Keegan had lots of short commings, ie transfers, most of 52mil.squandered,
tactics, (baffling substitutions).
However, It is a fact that he brought entertaining football to Maine Rd. something we hadn't had for years, we stormed through the first division, and did reasonably well in the PL in the first couple of seasons, & brought a world class striker to the club in Anelka, then KK's expertise in the transfer market took over and the rest is history.
No matter how we supporters love City and will support them no matter what happens, we are living in 'cloud cookoo land' if we believe that top class managers are going to fall over themselves to come to us, with average players, no money, and the signs that our best player SWP will no doubt have to be sacrificed due to our fanancial position.
As far as KK is concerned, I believe there was more positives than negatives, but I don't think the other 16 PL managers will fare any better.
By the way, good luck to Stuart.
Whats wrong with Bobby Robson with Pearce as his right hand man. This way we have a proven PL manager with a younger man who can deal with all the training and work closely with the players. This way SP gains more experience which when BR retires Psycho will be a better and proven option.