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Page last updated at 07:18 GMT, Thursday, 10 September 2009 08:18 UK

Ask Steve Claridge

Steve Claridge
Claridge is the BBC's new Football League expert

I enjoyed making my playing comeback at the age of 43 for Weymouth on Saturday. Well, as much as you can enjoy being beaten 5-1.

But it was mission accomplished to go back following the way my last spell with the club ended and I would much rather my final game be for Weymouth than anyone else because they were the first team I played regularly for and they have played a big part in my football career.

There was still plenty of Football League action at the weekend, despite the international break, and thanks to everybody who has been in touch. A lot of you have asked about managers this week and I have answered some more of your questions below.

If you have a question, you can contact Steve through Twitter or use the form on the top right of the page.


Steve, if you were chairman of Rotherham, who would you appoint to succeed Mark Robins and why?
Ian Brown, England

It is an obvious one but I do not see what former Millers boss Ronnie Moore has done wrong or what he keeps doing wrong. He was sacked by Tranmere in June but look at where Rovers are now, near the bottom of League One! That shows what a good job he did there last season.

Mark Robins has left a great legacy. Rotherham are top of League Two and somebody has just got to come along and keep them ticking over

They all say never go back and sometimes fans want ex-players or managers who simply could not do the job or cannot do the job but there is a lot of sense in wanting Ronnie back - and he has thrown his hat into the ring too.

But, whatever you Rotherham fans think about Mark Robins leaving to join Barnsley, he has left a great legacy hasn't he? Rotherham are top of League Two and somebody has just got to come along and keep them ticking over.

You do not have to fix something that is not broken but often you get new managers coming in and they want to stamp their mark on things when there is no need. If Rotherham do go up then some people will say that it was with Mark's side but that is not true - he will not have been there to do it.

Hi Steve, I'm a Plymouth fan and I think that it is time we got a new manager in - so do most other Plymouth fans. Yes, Paul Sturrock is a legend for getting us where we are now but he's not good enough anymore. I feel we are going to struggle unless he goes - we could end up back in League One after six years in the Championship.
Dave Weeks, England

Paul Sturrock
Sturrock returned for his second spell as Plymouth boss in November 2007

It is difficult to get a grip on what is expected at a club like Plymouth.

There is a general malaise about the place and clearly you could say they are underachieving.

But where should they be when you consider some of the clubs that are in the Championship and the money they have got to spend? The clubs that were given a parachute payment of £12m at the start of the season, well that would probably keep a club like Plymouth going for five or six years.

There has been talk of major investment at the club but it hasn't happened yet. I am not saying they should be where they are but it is difficult to say where they should be.

They are a decent club and if you got things going there then you could get fantastic support.

But they are struggling to get in more than 10,000 fans at home and it might be time for a change.

Paul Sturrock has not had a hugely successful time since he came back to the club in 2007 and, although I don't like advocating that somebody should lose their job, clearly things are not going according to plan.

He must have seemed the best man for the job at the time but, just as you can hit it and be at the right club at the right time, he seems to be the wrong man at the wrong time.

Hi Steve, I'm wondering who you think will be the future star British managers in the future? There seems to be one or two who have real potential. I'm impressed with Peterborough's Darren Ferguson but I suppose he comes from good stock. Simon Grayson also looks very good at Leeds and I'm also hopeful for Paul Ince at MK Dons. It didn't quite work for him at Blackburn but I think he may have an excellent future.
John Westwood, Scotland

All three of those names have proved they can manage and that is what the Football League is all about. It is a great grounding for future managers.

There is no way in the world that you should go straight from nothing into the Premier League - you should prove yourself first.

Darren Ferguson
Ferguson is seen as one of the brightest young managers in the game

But something else that you have to take into consideration when you are picking potential star managers of the future is that not every job in the Football League is the same.

You have to be very careful there because, with all due respect, a lot of jobs in the lower divisions are what you would probably call jobs to nothing. They are jobs that keep you in that job for another year but they don't get you the move that you want.

I remember asking Tony Cottee why he took the Barnet job a few years ago. If Barnet finish in the top 10 in League Two then that is a fantastic year for them and a big achievement for the manager. But what does it get you? It just gets you another year at Barnet.

It is a great business to be in and the time when you are a manager is fantastic. At whatever level and with whichever club, it is exhilarating but it can also be very frustrating.

I was wondering what you thought of Gareth Southgate as a manager. He seems to have ruined Middlesbrough by selling all of their best players and not replacing them. For example, he has got rid of so many strikers and not replaced them. Will we ever get back in the Premier League!?
Andy, England

Well, Southgate certainly underachieved with regard to getting Boro relegated last season and we still don't really know whether he can manage. After three years in the job, they were his players and it was his team.

I know he has had to cut his cloth accordingly and I know he did not have the resources that Steve McClaren had there before him. He should still have been able to keep his team in the Premier League in a year where there were enough poor sides to mean that you only had to be average to stay up.

But they have started the season very well and, let's be honest, the only players he has sold are the ones he has had to sell. You can't blame him for that.

Afonso Alves
Alves failed to live up to expectations at the Riverside

Afonso Alves is his albatross though. You have got to get the big one's right. If you spend £12m on a number nine then he has got to perform for you - simple as that.

If you get that one right then it covers a multitude of sins. Look at Rafael Benitez at Liverpool, that's the perfect example. If one man that he has bought has kept him in his job then it is his number nine, Fernando Torres. Can you imagine where they would be without Torres?

I'm a Colchester fan. Paul Lambert's successor Aidy Boothroyd was appointed this week - what is your opinion of him and do you think he is a better manager than Lambert? My concern is that if he is successful at Colchester he won't last long before being snapped up by a bigger club (although he has a 12-month rolling contract). I would also value your opinion on his playing style, which seems to revolve around the long ball game (he's known as 'Hoofroyd') and which is at odds with the club's current style.
Mark Andrews, England

Aidy Boothroyd
Boothroyd has a reputation for playing direct football

To say that if he does well, you are frightened of losing him, doesn't make sense, does it? If he does well and Colchester get into the Championship then I think they will settle for that. What is the problem?

Boothroyd is certainly not overqualified for the job because he has not been a manager for long enough and he has not proved he can do it - apart from a good year at Watford, it wasn't a great time. He has still got a bit to prove.

I worked with Aidy on BBC Radio 5 live and he was all right, a good lad. I think with regard to his management style, even he might have to accept he might have to change a bit.

People will expect Colchester to play football, not only bang it forward and to play from there. He has got a name for being route one and he has to show he has got another string to his bow.

Hi, I'm a Swindon Town fan, and have been impressed with the work of manager Danny Wilson and the new board. Looking at the teams in League One, I thought we wouldn't have a chance this season but we have started well (apart from our first game). Do you think we can get a play-off place and how highly do you rate Danny Wilson as a manager?
Rob Lacey, UK

Danny has had some hits and some misses. He has been very good at some clubs and not so good at others.

Yeovil v Swindon

Yeovil Town 0-1 Swindon Town (UK users only)

When Swindon were beaten 5-0 by Gillingham on the opening day of the season, a few people might have been a bit unsure about him - I am not sure Rob would have emailed in then!

But it is a sign of a good manager that he has managed to steady the ship and turn things around almost immediately.

Swindon lost a big player in the summer when Simon Cox joined West Brom and it was never going to be an easy task to replace him. You get the feeling Danny realised he could not go and get another Simon Cox but what he could do was make his team stronger all round and that appears to have happened.

There is also financial stability for them off the pitch - he had virtually all the money from Cox to spend. They have got a nice ground too, so everything is in place for them to make an imprint in League One.

Newcastle United managed to hold on to the rest of their players and re-signed Peter Lovenkrands before the transfer window closed last week. Do you now think they can win the Championship?
Michael Russell, England

I am not sure they can win it but I have got to say I am more convinced that they will be OK than I was at the start of the season.

I am surprised at the way Shola Ameobi has started and at the way he and Andy Carroll have played together. I have been very impressed with those two and, clearly, they have enough quality up front to challenge for promotion.

January is going to be a key time for them. If by the time the January transfer window opens they are still up there near the top of the table, then I can't see them selling any more players.

In fact, you might see a couple more come in. If they are in mid-table, you might see a couple more go.

The other thing I have been impressed with is that the players who have had to perform for Newcastle to do well, have done that so far. People like Jonas Gutierrez, Ameobi and Steven Taylor. That has not always been the case at Newcastle in recent years.

I never understood why they were selling their best players in the first place though.

Mike Ashley was trying to sell the club and if he wants to get the money he is after they have got to get back up. The way to do that is by keeping your better players.

League One is shaping up to be an interesting tussle at the top this year, with Leeds and Charlton beginning to see a bit of daylight already. Are they both good enough to maintain that (obviously not 100% records) through the season, or will both suffer with squad size problems during the winter months? I'm a Huddersfield fan, so my own team's squad is something of a mystery; nobody really knows what to expect.
Marco, Maidstone, UK.

Leeds v Stockport

Leeds United 2-0 Stockport County (UK users only)

I don't think either Leeds or Charlton will suffer - their squads are as big, if not bigger, than most.

Charlton manager Phil Parkinson has got Colchester out of that division already and he brought in a few players towards the end of last season that I thought would do a good job and results and performances certainly picked up after he went there.

That was not enough to keep them up, clearly, but there was always something to build on from last year and they have certainly done that.

For Leeds, it is going to be all about expectation and how they handle it because there is no doubt they have got a good team and a good manager in Simon Grayson - they have showed that.

So far, with their 100% home record, clearly they can deal with the expectation because that is where you are going to win or lose titles.

As for Huddersfield? Lee Clark has got a nice blend in his squad.

I spoke to him earlier this week and he knows he has got a little bit more than most other clubs in League One to spend and a little bit less than a few others.

Jemal Johnson and Danny Drinkwater

Milton Keynes Dons 2-3 Huddersfield Town (UK users only)

He appreciates that and knows that if he gets about and does his homework there are certainly players that he can acquire that maybe others can't. However, there are also people he has brought into the club that you would consider to be real bargains.

The scouting system is good there, so they are not only spending their money on players - they are spending it on building the club and putting down some foundations.

It has been so far so good this season but they started well last year and petered out so we will have to see if they can sustain their form for the rest of the season.

Southend United keep saying that they aren't putting money into buying new players as it is going towards a new stadium, which no Southend fan thinks will now happen. We need to build a squad that will really push on in League One, then think more realistically about building a new ground. Do you really think Southend's stadium will happen and what are the chances of Southend even making the play-offs this season?
Connor Alp, a Southend season ticket holder, England

I have no more idea than you. There are only a handful of people who know whether it is going to happen and whether the finances are in place - or ever will be.

However, it would be foolhardy to try to kid people by saying you are going to spend money on a new ground if it is not in the offing so I cannot believe the board are pulling the wool over everyone's eyes.

On the pitch, Southend are not the team they were, there is no doubt about that. I watched them regularly three or four years ago and they were very good but a number of those players have gone to play at a better level.

There are a lot of young lads there now who I have not heard of and who still have to learn the game, which was not the case with their team before when they were competitive at the top of League One.

Southend v Leyton Orient

Southend 3-0 Leyton Orient

Last year and, so far, this year that has not been the case.

There is only so much money at Southend and I think everybody knows that. They haven't got a millionaire owner but the last time I went there I spoke to their chairman Ron Martin and the club is certainly ambitious.

If this stadium is in the offing then this is where the money is going and you can understand it. If the ground doesn't happen there will be a few tough questions to answer.

Steve Claridge was talking to BBC Sport's Chris Bevan



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see also
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