Scotland have made a less than auspicious start to their attempts to qualify for World Cup 2010, and a former Ipswich player and manager is finding himself under considerably more scrutiny than at any time in his managerial career. But, whilst the scrutiny might be new, there are certain familiarities with his last year at Ipswich.
George Burley is putting a predictably brave face. In the scheme of things, it is still quite early in Scotlands qualifying campaign and there is no reason to presume that they cant secure the runner-up spot in their group.
But, all the same, defeat in Macedonia, courtesy of a man of the match performance from Ipswichs Veliche Shumulikoski, coupled with a goalless draw at home to Norway, have seen the fans and media begin to apply some pressure.
There is one interesting comparison with his time as Ipswich manager during the 2002 relegation season. Of course, there is familiarity in the tones of defiance and positivity being issued by the manager, but these are perhaps commonplace these days when a manager is under pressure.
It is the very public breakdown in his relationship with players that bears most in common. Burley enjoyed a series of relatively successful and largely trouble free seasons as Ipswich manager, followed by two seasons of huge success. Yet, when things began to turn sour, suddenly there was very public unrest between the manager and players.
Whilst there were many negatives of Towns relegation in 2002, one which stood out was the way in which players who had previously been key to the side were suddenly ostracised. Current manager Jim Magilton was one such player, but Fabian Wilnis fall from grace was even more spectacular. Both players immediately returned to the side when Burley was removed from office and went on to have hugely succesful futures at Ipswich.
Perhaps the most public of all the fall-outs though was reserved for Matteo Sereni. Having been one of the stand-out players of the opening few months of the season, Sereni was unceremoniously dumped from the team having requested he be rested for an FA Cup tie against non-league Dagenham and Redbridge. By the time he was restored to the team late in the season, the damage was done, the public humiliation serving only to damage his own team further.
Similarly, Burleys barely-begun International management has been plagued by the public "retirement" from international availability of both Lee McCulloch and now, more damagingly, Kris Boyd. The retirement of Boyd, in particular, has been particularly pertinent as the player has stated he will gladly return under a new manager, whilst there are strong indications that several others may soon follow.
It has led to something of a public slanging match, with Burley retaliating by insisting that Boyd has flaws in his game and asking "How much do you care?".
There seem to be common themes in both the Ipswich and Scotland situation. Firstly, the players mentioned all happen to be those who, by nature, are not afraid to speak their mind. Secondly, quite evidently, there is a manager who is under pressure.
In the most simple of terms, it appears from the outside that, under pressure, Burleys defence mechanism is against his own players, focusing particularly on those who are most critical in the dressing room. It was a policy that George never recovered from at Ipswich, the damage done during relegation being insurmountable the following season.
As Scotland manager, if there is failure, it is doubtful there will even be the opportunity to attempt recovery. It is hoped that Burley doesnt lose his players before he loses his qualification chances. He may be able to replace them more easily this time, but with a smaller pool of players to choose from, it will do nothing but harm.
Dont blow your chance, George.
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