walter smith for villa? benitez for man city? hughes for chelsea? talksport's managerial job centre opens its doors

There are a few managerial positions going spare at the moment, but the candidates far outweigh the number of vacancies available. talkSPORT takes a look at 10 football managers in the market for a new job…



WALTER SMITH

CV: 10 SPL titles, five Scottish Cups, six Scottish League Cups

Looking for: Another Premier League job

Ideal club: Aston Villa

Prospects: When Walter Smith announced he was leaving Rangers, many people assumed that meant he was retiring for good, but don't be surprised to see him return to management south of the border. Smith enjoyed his time in the Premier League with Everton, but didn't achieve great success and that is something he would like to rectify if the right opportunity arose.



RAFA BENITEZ

CV: Won the Champions League, FA Cup, UEFA Cup and La Liga twice

Looking for: A job not too far from his Wirral home at a club with some cash to spend

Ideal club: Manchester City (or, in his dreams, a return to Liverpool)

Prospects: Not brilliant if he wants a job before the start of the new season, unless he decides to go abroad or work on a budget. After his pay-offs from Liverpool and Inter, Benitez can afford to wait for the right opportunity.



MARK HUGHES

CV: Seven years' Premier League experience

Looking for: A club that can challenge for the Champions League places and silverware

Ideal club: Chelsea

Prospects: An ex-Chelsea player who would dearly love to manage at Stamford Bridge, Hughes has built a solid reputation and would surely be a safe choice for the Aston Villa job.



MARTIN O'NEILL

CV: Three SPL titles, three Scottish Cups, two English League Cups, one Scottish League Cup

Looking for: A club in the south so he can live at home with his wife in High Wycombe, having helped her beat cancer in 2005

Ideal club: Any Premier League club in London

Prospects: O'Neill had talks with Fulham about the Craven Cottage job and will bide his time until the right position becomes available. He quit Villa with the club on the fringes of Champions League football, unhappy with their inability to push on, but there aren't many jobs that will enable him to improve on that.



ALEX MCLEISH

CV: Two SPL titles, two Scottish Cups, three Scottish League Cups, one English League Cup

Looking for: A return to the Premier League

Ideal club: Aston Villa

Prospects: McLeish's managerial career in England has been a mixed bag, with cup wins, promotions and brilliant defence mixed with two relegations and a paucity of goals. Would he fare any better at Villa? Randy Lerner would be a brave man to find out.



CHRIS HUGHTON

CV: Won the Championship with Newcastle United

Looking for: The chance to prove his success at Newcastle was no fluke

Ideal club: Birmingham City or Cardiff City

Prospects: When everyone expected Newcastle to struggle after relegation, Hughton skilfully guided them back to the Premier League at the first time of asking, before being harshly sacked. He has all the credentials to do the same for Birmingham City.



GIANFRANCO ZOLA

CV: Less than two full seasons as West Ham boss.

Looking for: A club with potential, to kick-start his managerial career after a year out

Ideal club: Chelsea (in his dreams)

Prospects: The Chelsea job would be a dream for the Stamford Bridge hero, but with just two relatively unsuccessful seasons at Upton Park under his belt, Zola's current level is more the Blues of Birmingham City or the Bluebirds of Cardiff.



ROBERTO DI MATTEO

CV: Won promotion to the Premier League with West Brom

Looking for: The chance to prove West Brom wrong

Ideal club: Birmingham City

Prospects: Di Matteo's West Brom played good football as he took them up to the Premier League in 2010, but they looked shaky in the top flight and the board decided Roy Hodgson, not Roberto, was the man to keep them up. He's definitely capable of getting either Birmingham City or Cardiff playing and if he hasn't got a job once the season gets under way, he's sure to get a chance at a Football League club sooner rather than later.



ROY KEANE

CV: Won the Championship with Sunderland

Looking for: A club with Premier League potential

Ideal club: Derby County

Prospects: It doesn't look like Keane is in the running for either the Birmingham City or Cardiff City jobs, so he will probably have to bide his time until another position becomes available. Nigel Clough has been given more time to get things right at Derby County – because of his surname, no doubt – after a disappointing stint at Pride Park, but if things don't improve next season the Rams job be an interesting proposition for former Forest player Keane. It wouldn't be the first time a manager has crossed the East Midlands divide.



DAVE JONES

CV: Took Wolves up to the Premier League in 2003

Looking for: A Championship club

Ideal club: Birmingham City

Prospects: Jones has plenty of experience at Championship level, but his failure to take Cardiff City up may persuade Birmingham City to look elsewhere.



AND ONE MANAGER WHO SHOULD REMAIN UNEMPLOYED…



AVRAM GRANT

CV: Two consecutive Premier League relegations

Looking for: Another plum Premier League job

Ideal club: Chelsea. Or maybe Man United.

Prospects: One the face of it, no Premier League club should touch Grant with a barge pole. Expect him and his agent Pini Zahavi to get another nice little earner soon, then.

taken from talkSPORT article

Interesting C.V's on some of those.

Here's my analogy.

Walter Smith is a decent manager and would do ok at Villa should he get the job but I don't think he's ever going to be anything other than just keeping his teams ticking over.

Rafa Benitez can only cut it with a club that can offer him wads of cash constantly, so he would need a Man City or a Chelsea type for him to look anywhere near good because if you take away the readies, he's average at best.

Mark Hughes, now this chap is an interesting one because to me he looks like he's got all the hallmarks of a quitter when things don't go his way and i think there's only 2 jobs that would keep him happy and that's Man Utd or Chelsea.

Martin O'Neill, I actually rate this bloke in terms of his knowledge and tactics and being able to gel a team but he';s another one that seems suspect as far as bottling goes, I think he's in the same bracket as Mark Hughes in terms of quitting a club if he feels it's beneath him.

Alex Mcleish for the time he's been in management, he hasn't done too bad to be fair but I think he's more of a small time club man in terms of management skills because i don't think he has what it takes to push a massive club further on.

Chris Hughton, our Chrissy. I'd love this bloke to get a nice kick in at a decent club and do well, because although he's still learning,I think his experience at Newcastle stands him in good stead for any pressure cooker situation he might encounter.

Gianfranco Zola, in all honesty, I don't think he's even management material but would be better employed in a coaching role a bit like Beardsley's doing at Newcastle.

Roberto Di matteo, I think this bloke is an excellent manager and will do well whichever team he goes to because he knows how to get his teams playing football the right way.

Roy Keane. Pass.

Dave Jones is another decent manager and could do a half decent job at most clubs, unfortunately he seems to be the nearly man all the time.

Avram Grant. Pass.

hughton istonight in talks with birmingham hope he gets it.