According to the club’s administrator, Andrew Andronikou, Portsmouth’s veteran goalkeeper David James has put himself forward as a potential candidate to fill the recently-vacated managerial hot seat at Fratton Park.
Speaking to BBC Radio Solent, Andronikou said;
“David has expressed an interest in taking the next stage of his career into management, albeit we believe [the Portsmouth vacancy] has come a bit too early to appoint him as manager.”
Andronikou then went on to say that, although James may not be the ideal candidate for the job, the 39-year-old stopper will certainly be consulted in Pompey’s search for a new manager;
“I believe he will have an input into the decision going forward, I think everyone has an input into what is going to happen, but the David James question is very much core to our decision making.
He is one of the most articulate guys I have ever met and I shall be discussing the situation with him.”
James saw his playing contract at Portsmouth lapse at the end of last season and has since been offered new terms but, judging by Andronikou’s admission, it would seem that a coaching or even management role is now in the forefront of the England keeper’s mind.
Whilst James obviously has the intelligence and geniality (coupled with the requisite respect of his fellow professionals) to take charge of a football team, the fact remains that he has absolutely no previous management experience.
Portsmouth, given their current precarious position, need someone with a proven, reliable presence at the helm – someone like…well, like Avram Grant really.
There have been whispers of a management team being created, that would see Pompey veterans James, Hermann Hreidarsson and Linvoy Primus taking charge of first-team proceedings, but such a move would probably be an indication of the Portsmouth boards dire financial situation, rather than their leftfield problem solving capacity.
Perennial dullard Iain Dowie has also been linked with the south coast club’s vacant post and, much as I’m loath to say it, he would be a perfectly suitable appointment – an unspectacular but never-the-less solid ‘Football Management Consultant’ (© Hull City).
So, given the stringent restrictions in place, who would you like/want/expect to take over from Mr. Grant at Portsmouth?
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