Newcastle United's search for a replacement for Dan Ashworth is already thought to be underway, although it's unlikely that the Magpies will make a rash decision.
Having now had their fingers burnt, the Newcastle chiefs will likely want to take their time over the next appointment to make sure they get things right and find someone who will be committed to the cause.
One man who is in the frame for the job is Phil Giles currently plying his trade at Brentford, and he's already looking like a stand-out candidate from an outsider's point of view based on what The Chronicle have written about him today.
Born in Gosforth and a former Newcastle United season ticket holder, Giles has been in place at Brentford for 10 years where he's overseen a huge transformation in the club's fortunes, now seeing them as an established Premier League side.
Already there's enough there to get excited about - been at Brentford 10 years, so he's loyal, at least more so than job-hopper Ashworth. He has a proven record; what he's done with Brentford is extremely impressive. Most importantly, though, he's a Newcastle fan so he will have the drive, desire and passion to get things right and as far as having his head turned by other clubs goes, that's not going to happen.
Giles' background, before guiding Brentford to the upper echelons of English football, was in sports betting. The man knows how to play the odds, he will have detailed analysis on every aspect of the game and that's clearly been working for him at Brentford.
The Bees have achieved Premier League survival without breaking the bank, and given the toothy jaws of FFP, that's the kind of thing we need at Newcastle. That's what has been working for us so far, and should be the focus going forward.
There will obviously be a list of people that Newcastle are looking at. Bournemouth's Richard Hughes has been mentioned due to his pre-existing relationship with Eddie Howe and Jason Tindall, but there will be others from around the world who the Magpies will be looking at. As we say, there will be a determined push to get it right this time.
It's very early days, and there will be more people linked to the job as we go, but already Giles is our favourite.
PL | GD | PTS | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
Liverpool
|
6 | 10 | 15 |
2 |
Manchester City
|
6 | 8 | 14 |
3 |
Arsenal
|
6 | 7 | 14 |
4 |
Chelsea
|
6 | 8 | 13 |
5 |
Aston Villa
|
6 | 3 | 13 |
6 |
Fulham
|
6 | 3 | 11 |
7 |
Newcastle United
|
6 | 1 | 11 |
8 |
Tottenham Hotspur
|
6 | 7 | 10 |
9 |
Brighton
|
6 | 2 | 9 |
10 |
Nottingham Forest
|
6 | 1 | 9 |
11 |
Bournemouth
|
6 | -1 | 8 |
12 |
Brentford
|
6 | -2 | 7 |
13 |
Manchester United
|
6 | -3 | 7 |
14 |
West Ham United
|
6 | -4 | 5 |
15 |
Ipswich
|
6 | -5 | 4 |
16 |
Everton
|
6 | -8 | 4 |
17 |
Leicester
|
6 | -4 | 3 |
18 |
Crystal Palace
|
6 | -4 | 3 |
19 |
Southampton
|
6 | -9 | 1 |
20 |
Wolves
|
6 | -10 | 1 |