Curbs sitting pretty...

I couldn't help thinking about what Alan Curbishley was doing last night. It would have been a good day in his Essex mansion yesterday as news trickled in that Kevin Keegan has been vindicated over his claim for constructive dismissal from Newcastle. The way the story is being reported, you are lead to believe that the punishment of a £2m award to Keegan effectively makes this a draw as he had been claiming £25m.

The unwritten rule in case like these is that you shoot for moon in the knowledge that any award will be scaled back, usually quite significantly, as they concentrate on "actuals" and dismiss all the "extras" which are usually fanciful and impossible to substantiate. Irrespective, I am guessing this payout amounts to the money Keegan could have expected in salary for the remainder of his contract and the important thing for him is that his reputation is intact by virtue of winning the case. Even if, Keegan's reputation for surprising about-turns in his career means he will always be viewed as a major managerial risk.

I am sure Curbs' lawyer already has a copy of the 50-page ruling and is pouring through it today looking to sterngthen his clients' own case against West Ham which must be due to be heard soon. It is interesting that both of these former managers are suing clubs they linked with as former players and terrace legends (ok, perhaps far stronger in Keegan's case). If that appears at odds with the supporters' view of them, then perhaps that's just the reason they have felt they needed to take action in order to justify their actions of resigning from clubs they clearly have a lot of affection for.

Listening to the radio last night, the reaction of the Toon Army would appear to be largely of full support for Keegan, although when seen as a fight between Keegan and an Ashley/Wise combo, that's hardly a surprise. There's very little affection at Upton Park for their current anonymous owners and I suspect they may even move to settle their dispute with Alan Curbishley rather than run the risk of a public defeat. Curbs' might believe it's now firmly in his favour and that he wants to see it through so that his side of the story comes out. From what little I know, the cases appear to be very similar and amount to a simply case of players being bought and sold without the managers knowledge, when both had employment contracts which gave them this right.

There has been precious little managerial movement so far this season, certainly in relation to the norm. The economy may be having an affect but the troubles facing Hull, Portsmouth, Tranmere Rovers and now Ipswich Town make their high profile managers the most vulnerable and time must be running out for one of them. The big story this morning is that Bookies slashed their prices on Harry Redknapp quitting Spurs yesterday from 50-1 to Evens at one point. Redknapp dismissed the reports as rubbish but it could easily have come from a club who could be preparing a bid to try and lure him away from Spurs. Harry is that delicious mix of being probably the biggest "impact Manager" as well as it's best known mercenary.

Alan Pardew might be feeling the heat having managed only one win in ten for the Saints (he has only lost three), although he will be safe in the knowledge that if it all goes wrong they have one or two players they should be able to sell in an emergency to pay him off and contribute to his house-building fund. Breaks off to think positively...