The rumours of Johnnie Jackson's elevation to gallows trap-door looks to have cooled as those suggesting Russell Slade have heated up.
Slade's failure in leading Cardiff to eighth place in the Championship saw the unique Vincent Tan move him upstairs which clearly didn't sit well with Russell. He has been linked with a number of other Championship vacancies but following Blackburn's move for Owen Coyle his contract at Cardiff was today terminated by mutual consent, opening the way for his appointment at the Valley.
All things considered, I have to say that given what's come before him for the last two years, Slade has to be considered a decent appointment. He's not a Belgian, he knows the lower leagues, has twenty years management experience, can work with small budgets and is something of a motivator. My reservations would be that he has never managed to get anyone promoted but I guess there's always a first time for everything.
The really interesting thing would be to see how he gets on working with Meire and Duchatelet. You have to think he wouldn't stand for any nonsense, certainly far less I suspect than previous Network Managers may have. After the growing criticism over the length of time taken to appoint Riga's replacement, whilst those around us have filled theirs, I am expecting Meire to make an announcement on Monday.
