Claridge is the BBC's new Football League expert

One of my old clubs, Leicester City, are in talks with former Ajax and Juventus midfielder Edgar Davids - and I will give my views on the possibility of one of the best European players of the past decade playing in the Championship.

I also tackle a question about Cardiff City's hopes of getting into the Premier League and look at some of the clubs in the bottom half of League Two - Darlington, Grimsby, Crewe and Northampton - and their prospects for improving on poor starts to the season.

If you have a question for Steve, you can submit it through Twitter at http://twitter.com/AskClaridge or use the form on the top right of the page.

Hi Steve, I'm a Leicester fan and I was wondering what do you think of the possibility of Edgar Davids coming to the club? Do you think that he will be fit enough even though he's been out of football for 18 months? Or do you think he's just a publicity stunt?
James Taylor, England

The move for Davids is typical of Leicester chairman Milan Mandaric - all publicity is good publicity.

If the deal happens and Davids were to come and take the mick and swan around then that would split the dressing room quicker than anything.

But I think any move would have a good chance of succeeding because of the way he plays. If he comes and applies himself in the way he has for the majority of his career then his attitude won't be a problem.

I don't know whether he will be fit enough after so long out but it's not impossible for him to be in shape. It depends on what he has been doing. It's not easy though - I should know because I had a game for Weymouth earlier this season after two years out and without doing any training.

Why you wouldn't write him off immediately is because he is a '100%-er' and he won't be able to play unless he is fit because so much of his game is based around his fitness and mobility.

Without that, he is not going to bring what Leicester need but, in any case, if he joins I'd imagine it will take him a month to six weeks to get in the side because they are ticking along quite nicely without him in the Championship at the moment.

How would the rest of the squad take it? It would depend on how he plays. If he comes and he applies himself then no-one will care what he is earning or how old he is - they will just be pleased they have got another good player at the club.

Hello Steve, I asked you a few months ago about Mike Newell at Grimsby - I cannot believe what a disaster he turned out to be! Where now for the Mariners then? Personally I like the sound of Dean Windass as our next manager and what did you think about England women's coach Hope Powell being linked with the job?
Dean, UK

With Hope, I've got to say that when I heard about that, it wasn't for me.

She has done very well at her level and in her environment but that is a million miles away from the Football League. I am not belittling anything she has achieved but it is completely different to managing at professional level.

Bournemouth 3-1 Grimsby (UK users only)

Hope has distanced herself from the job now so this is just hypothetical but, for me, a woman managing in the Football League is very difficult to foresee. I'm not being a male chauvinist pig either because in the past I've championed women players and said how one or two might be good enough to play in the League - I certainly didn't have a problem with that and, to be honest, there is probably more chance of that happening.

A female manager would start out being on such a back foot. If I was a player and my club appointed a female manager then I wouldn't instantly write her off but I would have been sceptical to say the least.

If something like that was going to happen, then it would be with a female coach. She could be a great coach and the management side of things wouldn't matter because she wouldn't be on the front line. That is probably the first step.

As for Dean? I know him and I like him - although he's not everybody's cup of tea!

I'm not sure about him as a manager but some of the most unlikely players have made very good managers. The Grimsby job is a fantastic opportunity for somebody, anyhow.

It is a super club and, let's be honest, they are way below where they should be. Sometimes with successful management it is all about the timing of when you take charge and, believe you me, the timing there makes perfect sense.

Do you think Steve Staunton will be able to change Darlington's fortunes around, bearing in mind he can still bring in his own players in January?
Mattie, Darlington

Can he sort Darlington out? Yes.

They have got a new chairman and I think Steve will be allowed to be proactive in the transfer market when the window opens. We are not talking £40m here but he must have been promised some funds when he took the job.

It's a no-lose situation for Staunton, I think. They are bottom of the league. If they finish bottom of the league then it's not his fault and anything better is an improvement. He'll be given money to work with and I think at that level, if you're set up right and you're fit and you're well organised you are halfway there. He can provide that, at the very least.

A lot will depend on what he can do in January but, let's be honest, a lot is made of certain circumstances within football clubs when a lot of that is down to bad managers. Look at Eddie Howe at Bournemouth, with their problems and how well he is doing.

Darlington are only a couple of wins adrift of the rest of the teams at the bottom and have got plenty of time to turn things round.

Over the years, I've developed a massive soft spot for Crewe, mainly for the type of football they played under Dario Gradi and the players they brought through. Over the last four years or so it has all gone pear-shaped for them. Do you see things improving at all now Dario is back yet again and what do you think needs to happen for Crewe to be the Crewe of old?
Tony Goddard, Australia

Crewe are used to punching above their weight but they have had a disappointing season. Like Grimsby, they should be doing far better than they are in League Two.

Notts County 2-0 Crewe (UK users only)

Long term? Dario Gradi cannot last forever and they cannot keep coming back to him every time it doesn't work out without him in charge. At the moment, it is like someone who leaves home but keeps moving back in again.

Dario has got a specific role now, which is overseeing the club. He is 68 and he will not want to be getting back into full-time management at his age - he has been doing it for 25 years, which is enough for anybody.

The problem for Crewe is that he is synonymous with the club, as is his legacy of playing good football and bringing lads through - so maybe that philosophy will have to change.

I am a Northampton fan for my sins. We have recently appointed Ian Sampson as our new manager - he has been a long standing servant to the club and hopefully he can start to turn around the poor form we have experienced in the last nine months, which saw us get relegated from League One last year. My point is our chairman is of the belief that if we get planning permission to make the current stadium bigger this will entice more fans to come and watch the game, which will in turn improve our chances of reaching greater heights. My thoughts are that you can have the biggest stadium in England but if your team is not playing well no-one will want to come and watch you anyway? We also have the added problem of the rugby team doing very well and they always get more fans the football team. What are your thoughts, would a bigger stadium really improve a teams chances of gaining promotion?
Andy Russell, UAE

I don't know much about Ian, other than that he has been at Northampton a long time - and it is nice to see him get his chance.

It might be seen as a sentimental appointment but, from his point of view, sometimes you have to put your head above the parapet - even if there is a danger of getting it chopped off! As a caretaker boss he has done well enough so let's wait and see.

Morecambe 4-2 Northampton (UK only)

In terms of improving the ground, then I think it is a good idea. I've always felt Sixfields is a tiny bit soulless - all four stands feel very different and disjointed, especially with the gaps in the corners - and it feels a very fragmented stadium.

If they were to fill the corners in, then all of a sudden the fans are all together and it makes such a difference for the players if there is a better atmosphere.

Look at a team like Brighton at the Withdean Stadium - there is no atmosphere there, is there? They have got about 20 stands and there is no togetherness there at all.

The Cobblers are probably never going to be as big as Northampton Saints Rugby Club but they can certainly hold their own and if they get 5,000 or 6,000 through the turnstiles then that is enough at League Two level. They can get more than that, too, depending on results.

Hi Steve, I am a Cardiff fan and was, like all of us, devastated at our capitulation last season, which saw us fail to get into the play-offs right at the last moment. But I don't think Cardiff really get the praise they deserve. They play some of the best football outside the top flight and have recently been in an FA Cup final - all of this on a shoestring budget, but neither the team or Dave Jones really seem to be spoken about or recognised, or get the praise they deserve. I think that Cardiff are one of the favourites for promotion but what's your take on the Bluebirds and why they are overlooked as favourites for the division?
Joseph Peake, England

Shoestring budget? No, no way. You can say they are a 'feast or famine' club in that they seem to be doing very well financially, or very badly, but they do not have a shoestring budget.

Sheff Utd 3-4 Cardiff City (UK users only)

They have had money to spend from selling players and their manager Dave Jones has manipulated that money. An example of what he has done is selling Roger Johnson for £5m and buying Michael Chopra for £4m - it's easier to replace a good centre-half than it is to find good centre-forward and that was a great bit of business.

Clearly a lot of Cardiff's success is down to good management. Jones is well-versed at that level and he has done a fantastic job - nobody should forget that. He may not get the praise he deserves but, when they had a little blip at the start of last season, some fans were saying they should get rid of him, which is quite ridiculous.

I'm not sure Cardiff are overlooked as such - it's just that people like myself thought there would be three or four teams pulling away in the Championship by now, with the three teams who came down from the Premier League among them, and that has just not happened.

Cardiff almost went top at the weekend and they are right in the mix. Can they sustain it? Well, their biggest strength is scoring goals. They have people like Chopra and Peter Whittingham, as well as Ross McCormack and Jay Bothroyd, so they are a real threat at that level.

They have got a new ground too, and are pulling in some big crowds - they are an upwardly mobile club, no doubt about that, which is good to see when you think about how they were languishing in the lower leagues up until about a decade ago.

Ninian Park was always a place I loved to go as a player. You knew you were going to get some stick but they were passionate about their football and I'm pleased for the fans that they are getting some success now.

Steve Claridge is a BBC Football League pundit who played more than 800 matches for 15 clubs over the course of a 24-year playing career. He was talking to Chris Bevan.

E-mail this to a friend

Printable version