Curbs in relaxed mood at The Valley
Former Charlton manager Alan Curbishley was the favourite to replace Owen Coyle at Bolton, but turned down the offer. If he had accepted, we would have seen him return to The Valley as the manager of an opposing team which I would have found a bit odd.
Curbs has not worked in management since resigning as West Ham manager four years ago, but those in charge at Bolton thought he was the ideal person to get them back to the top flight having got the Addicks promoted twice. However, apparently he was worried about the fact that money is tight at the Reebok, although he got Charlton promoted the first time on very little.
Curbs has been working as a television pundit since he left the Irons. The word was that he had good investment advice while he was at Charlton, did not splash the cash excessively and had quite a lot of money squirrelled away. Therefore, I do not think that he has been short of money to pay the bills.
It has also been said for some time that he would not go north of the M25 to manage a club. He seems to have relaxed that requirement a bit for Aston Villa, a club where he had played. Reliable sources said that he did express an interest when the job there became vacant. But Bolton is really 'oop North and his wife was reportedly never keen on a move to northern parts.
I wonder now if he will ever return to management, given that he must be getting a reputation as someone who turns down offers. That would be a shame, although it is a very stressful job and probably quite difficult to adjust to again after a long absence.
7 comments:
To be honest I think he may have blown it now. Four years out of the game is a long time.
He seemed to indicate he would only want a Premier club and not many of them have ever expressed any interest in him.
Premier clubs (well the big-uns) all want continenetal managers now.
His only chance would be a good Championship side in Southern England. Oh! wait a minute !!!
Though i suppose QPR might suit him.
QPR? Ha! Ha! I remember we beat them there 4-2 (I think) in our first division days and they decided that they wanted a good young manager who believed in attacking football. They assumed that he would move to the bigger club, but they were seen off.
He didn't want the Wolves job given the short-term nature of what was being offered. He thought it was a poisoned chalice and so it turned out to be.
As a Bolton fan I would have liked to see him at the Reebok, but he just doesnt seem bothered by any interest whatsoever. Not wanting to move north is a poor excuse. But as they say, its grim up north, and him and his wife probably just couldnt hack it up here.
It may be that he doesn't have a real hunger for a managerial position and prefers a life of punditry and celebrity dinners.
"If he had accepted, we would have seen him return to The Valley as the manager of an opposing team which I would have found a bit odd."
He came back as West Ham manager on 24 Feb 2007 when we beat them 4-0, less than a year after he'd left us.
@New York Addick, mea culpa that had slipped my memory, but I think that a return after all this time would somehow seem odder. Mind you, we have had the blow of Lennie Lawrence returning with Palace.
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