Iain Dowie’s spectacular victory in the Premiership sack race after just 15 games in charge puts Alan Curbishley’s 15 year spell at Charlton in perspective. There were complaints towards the end of Curbs reign that for all his acheievents he was incapable of taking the club any further, but it now looks more accurate to say that the club itself was incapable of going any further. Curbishley had basically filled Charlton’s potential.
So what next for the currently unemployed miracle man? Even with backing from his soon-to-be new employers, if his fellow Alan (Pardew) can’t turn it around at West Ham then Curbs might fancy a return to Upton Park where he got his start as a player. But without a big money takeover it’s a fairly similar situation to the one he left at The Valley (Tevezcherano aside, of course). The Manchester City and Newcastle United jobs could work well, should Pearce or Roeder bite the bullet any time soon, but don’t be surprised if both clubs go for a “big name†boss instead.
The flip side is that Curbishley had 15 years to put his stamp on Charlton and get the most out of the club and players. Would he actually be any good somewhere else?
Maybe the best thing Curbs could do is take the Martin O’Neill route by replacing the sacked-any-day-now Frenchman Paul Le Guen at Rangers, cleaning up in Scotland, and then finally returning south of the border to take over one of the big boys.
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