The 2011/12 Gary Speed Memorial Thread

[Summers]

Me too.

[Hobo]

He was last manager of Gainsborough Trinity from 2009-11. So he is available.

[IAceI]

BRUUUUUCE INNNN! For all the vacant jobs! He'll take them all on.

I'm going to miss Drogba, I remember bigging him up to a pal when he played for Marseille and scored a perfect hattrick in the Champions League one year. My friend said I was obsessed with him, a few years later and I'd wager he's his favourite player.

That said had I not already known he was leaving, I'd have been concerned. I was sat in a bar yesterday (look at me! I went to a bar!) and the constant reel they were showing of him I'd probably have thought he was dead or something, it was a rather teary montage. What a great player he was though, terrifying with his combination of strength and speed, a defenders nightmare.

[Colly]

Sure the two he put past Newcastle in the UEFA Cup semi the same season might've cemented your admiration...

Top player though, and looked it that night.

[Lineker]

The future of Blackburn manager Steve Kean may not be decided until next month after co-owner Venkatesh Rao admits everything is "in confusion".

"I would say in the next month we will have a proper situation to talk about," he tells Sky Sports News.

[Hobo]

There is talk of Luis van Gaal becoming Liverpool DoF.

[Pesci]

I'm torn about LVG. On the one hand he's definitely not a yes man, has a good record with youngsters and he'd have his own vision for the club he'd be very strict about implementing. On the other hand his personality would definitely dominate the manager's. If we got a combination of LVG and Martinez, I'd actually be quite positive going forward. Not that Martinez would be my first choice at all, but realistically he might be one of our best options, and coupled with Van Gaal it might not be so bad.

Of course, that's assuming he even wants the job. I definitely don't think it's as unrealistic a shout of some of the names I've heard so far though.

[Colly]

Phil Dowds failed his annual fitness test. Fat bastard.

[Matt]

He's one of the scum fans, isn't he?

[Lineker]

I Dowd it.

[Dingle]

I was thinking this last time I saw Dowd. He's fucking fat and I don't understand how a premier league ref would be fat.

[The Quasi Juice]

Why not Van Gaal as manager? He'd do well.

[Pesci]

If he should manage anybody it should be Chelsea, because I'd make like £50 out of it

[Adam]

Alan Wiley was short and fat and he always managed to pass his fitness tests to referee in the top flight.

[IAceI]

Haha Wiley when Ferguson claimed he wasn't fit enough to be a Premier League referee and it transpired he'd covered more distance than any player on the pitch. Great stuff.

Dowd can fuck off though. He wouldn't be so slow if he didn't wear full costume and carry a skull around with him so he can give Shakespeare-esque delivery when turning down penalty decisions. Dislike Dowd with a passion, think he's a terrible referee.

[Hobo]

Why not Van Gaal as manager? He'd do well.

General desire seems to be to go with a young manager and an experienced DoF. Hence approaches for Martinez, Rogers and interest in AVB, de Boer etc.

[Lineker]

Former Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas, one of the favourites for the vacant Liverpool job, is looking for a club with a "strong technical plan" which has longevity, according to his agent. "What we are looking for is a strong technical plan, that is solid and durable," his agent Carlos Goncalves told romagiallorossa.com. "Villas-Boas would like to return to coaching in these conditions, but if these conditions are not available, we would have no problems not working. I won't confirm or deny contacts with specific clubs. What we are interested in is a technical project, its outlook and a situation that has longevity. Liverpool? Again, we look for a club which is very strong and competitive. We will see if there are conditions that will attract us with any club."

[Pesci]

That translates to 'I want a team in the Champions League that won't sack me after one bad season'. So possibly not us. I'd take him personally, but we're not an attractive team atm, and we'd sack him after one bad season anyway.

[therockbox]

I think he's basically looking for a job where he'll be given time to implement his ideas. The only other team I've heard him linked with is Roma and they're not in the CL either.

[Pesci]

That would be a less cynical way of putting it, yeah :

It was the 'strong and competitive' part that made me think he wants a Champions League team. And if it was between us and Roma, I'd assume he'd go to Roma because they seemed committed to letting Enrique do his thing before he walked, unless he was pushed and the board got... bored? I kinda lost interest in that after a while. Like I said, I'd take him. Preferably with Louis above him.