George Burley Sacked

[Wonderwall]

Do they think its the managers fault that they have no class players at the moment?

The Scottish Football Association has confirmed George Burley's tenure as Scotland manager has come to an end following a board meeting at Hampden Park.

SFA officials met on Monday to discuss whether Burley's position had become untenable following Saturday's miserable 3-0 defeat to Wales on Saturday.

Upon Scotland's failure to qualify for even a World Cup play-off spot, they finished third in Group 9 behind Holland and Norway, it was largely anticipated Burley would pay the price with his job.

SFA chief executive Gordon Smith and president George Peat agreed to hand Burley a stay of execution to plot Scotland's 2012 European Championship qualifying campaign, but subsequent friendly defeats to Japan and Wales saw fresh calls for his head.

Following a board meeting it has been decided a change of direction is required, with Burley leaving his post with immediate effect.

Smith said: "The decision was taken after a meeting with the board of directors and, subsequently, the national coach. The board was in unanimous agreement.

"It should be stressed that the decision was not a direct consequence of Saturday's unacceptable 3-0 defeat to Wales but, rather, a realisation that the expectations of the supporters, the Scottish FA and George himself, were not being met.

"I should point out that the Scottish FA stands by its decision to give the national coach our full support despite failure to qualify for the World Cup play-offs.

"It would have been negligent not to have given George every opportunity to rebuild and revitalise the squad in light of the improved performances in the last two qualifiers against Macedonia and Holland.

"Unfortunately, the adverse results in the two subsequent friendly matches against Japan and Wales provided confirmation that the improvement could not be sustained.

"On a personal note, I would like to thank George for his contribution and, on behalf of the Scottish FA, I wish him all the best for the future."

In a short statement Burley said: "I would like to take the opportunity to express my thanks to my backroom team, the Scottish FA, the players and the Tartan Army for the support they have shown throughout my tenure as national coach and I wish the national team success for the future."

Scotland were 14th in the Fifa rankings when Burley took charge in January 2008, but they have plummeted to 46th - their lowest ranking since June 2006 - during his time at the helm.

Graeme Souness has already ruled himself out of the running to replace Burley, while the likes of Craig Levein, Walter Smith, Jim Jefferies and Gary McAllister have all been mooted as possible candidates for the post.

SFA president Peat added: "I would like to echo the sentiments of the chief executive and stress that today's decision has not been taken lightly.

"The board will now enter into a period of private discussion to ensure the Scottish FA finds the best candidate ahead of the qualification campaign for Euro 2012."

[Fish111]

I don't think he ever had the respect of the players which culminated with the childish behaviour of the Rangers lads. They were 14th in the world when he took over, now they are ranked 42nd one place behind Gabon!! He managed that in just 22 games.
Scottish football is in the shit at the moment and there is no taent coming through at all. Whoever takes that job will have their work cut out.

[Wonderwall]

I don't think he ever had the respect of the players which culminated with the childish behaviour of the Rangers lads. They were 14th in the world when he took over, now they are ranked 42nd one place behind Gabon!! He managed that in just 22 games.
Scottish football is in the shit at the moment and there is no taent coming through at all. Whoever takes that job will have their work cut out.

I dont think they will get a credible manager unless they agree to go into it for the long term and include a new youth policy etc...

Souness has already said NO WAY to the job.

[Beefymcfc]

Never, I don't believe it (in my finest Meldrew style) ;-)

I wonder how many [strike]world[/strike] class players Scotland have these days?

[The Man In Blue]

poor old scotland.

spare a thought for them next time you think how crap england can be.

[Leedsblue]

No surprise Burley going, he signed his own death warrant with his comments after the match on Saturday.

He had lost the team and he had none else to pick anyway. McGeady is Celtic's best player and cannot even get into the Irish team. Says it all really.

[irblinx]

Least surprising sacking ever, no-one up there wanted him as national boss. I thought he might've done a job but he's made some odd selections at times.

[Nickyboy]

Maybe it was Scotland who tapped up Fergies spawn...