First Ince, Now Adams

Robbie Keane was signed by Liverpool, to great fanfare - the ideal partner for Fernando Torres they said (whilst ignoring the fact that Rafa only plays 1 up front). 28 games and 7 goals later he rejoins former club Tottenham Hotspur. The press bleat on about how he wasn't given a fair crack of the whip, the player claims he could have been a success "with a different manager", and this got me thinking about Tony Adams.

Tony Adams was, until this morning, manager of Portsmouth, having previously been assistant manager to Harry Redknapp. That was before Redknapp left a promising project in progress to become the manager of Tottenham Hotspur.

Tony Adams managed the club for 16 games, of which he won only 2, and had to deal with losing Diarra and Defoe to Real Madrid and Tottenham Hotspur respectively.

Why aren't the press up in arms about him not being given a fair crack of the whip? Perhaps he could have succeeded with different players, or a different chairman, but still the fact remains that he hasn't been given the opportunity to stamp his mark on the club and the team, much as Paul Ince wasn't given that opportunity at Blackburn Rovers.

The management merry-go-round spins on merrily, and when Fabio Cappello leaves the job of England manager there will no doubt be a hue and cry about the lack of top level English managers. Blame the Premiership chairmen for that, because they aren't giving managers a chance.

A Difficult Choice

At the tender age of 26, the Brazilian football superstar Kaka is the subject of an approach by Manchester City.

Kaka currently plays for AC Milan, one of the most illustrious footballing names on the planet. Milan sit third in Serie A, with Champions League qualification a likelihood again next season. Among Kaka's team mates are Ronaldinho, Alexandre Pato, David Beckham and other assorted greats of football, many of whom won the Champions League in 2007.

Manchester City, the world's richest club, have apparently offered €100 million to AC Milan to buy his registration, and a salary of about €500,000 per week to get their man.

At Manchester City, Kaka would find himself 15th in the Premiership, unlikely to be in Europe at all next season and playing with the likes of Robinho, Stephen Ireland and Micah Richards. The last thing Manchester City won? Champions of the second level of English football, currently known as the Championship.

For a player about to enter his prime, what possible attraction could there be for trading AC Milan for Manchester City? Dare I be cynical, but I am not sure I could refuse €500,000 a week.

Pity for Paul Ince

Football is going crazy. Take the case of Paul Ince, sacked yesterday by Blackburn Rovers for having the temerity to be near the foot of the table after slightly less than half the season, and having won only 3 league games of the 17 he managed.

Paul Ince, if we forgive his abberation whilst playing for "Manchester" United (look at the maps people) was a great footballer and his work with Macclesfield Town and MK Dons seemed to point to a decent manager in the making. Then one of the Premier League big boys came knocking.

Blackburn Rovers sought, and got, special dispensation from the Premier League for Paul Ince to manage them because he didn't have all the necessary qualifications to manage in the top flight. Is it then any surprise that he has struggled in what is regarded as one of the toughest leagues in the world? Having sought, and got, said dispensation, Blackburn Rovers should have given him more time to turn things around. Put together a decent run, just four or five matches and suddenly things are looking up.

However, what is the point in having minimum qualifications for Premier League managers and then handing out special dispensation to various managers? Avram Grant at Chelsea also lacked the necessary badges.

For Paul Ince though, I hope that he finds a job soon back down in the lower leagues and that he can kick start afresh his once promising career as a football manager.