Bizarre Behaviour of Owen Coyle

My admiration for Owen Coyle has required some questioning over the last week, his comments today about Celtic after being appointed Bolton manager were bizarre.

Coyle has almost always been savvy and streetwise but the saga of his move across Lancashire from Burnley to Bolton didn’t have to re-cycle their way through last summer’s Celtic vacancy.

There’s no doubt that Coyle was in the frame for the Celtic job but whether he was actually offered- and turned down- the job is open to interpretation.

The hunt for Gordon Strachan’s replacement would have involved various informal contacts sounding out the thoughts of candidates which would likely have included Davie Moyes, Roberto Martinez, Coyle and Tony Mowbray.

Only once there is genuine interest from a candidate are serious talks likely to begin and offers made.

After Burnley’s play-off promotion Coyle was off on a family holiday to Florida. He would have been well aware of Celtic’s interest but would also know of the other candidates in the running for the job.

Having pledged himself so publically to Burnley he’s had a lot of explaining to do to justify in public his reasons for the move which hardly seems much of a move up the managerial ladder.

Bringing up the fact that he ‘turned down’ the Celtic job to stay at Burnley is unlikely to satisfy the Burnley fans whose dreams for the season have been left in the lurch with the clock ticking away through the transfer window and a dressing room full of players at Turf Moor who bought into Coyle’s plans for the season.

Clearly aware that Burnley fans believed the move was all down to cash Coyle responded saying: “Celtic were the team I supported as a boy and I spoke with Celtic in the summer. They offered me the job and I turned it down to stay at Burnley. I think that puts to bed anything about finances.

“When I came into the job at Burnley I was probably in the bottom three in terms of salaries in the Championship.

“It did not faze me because money has never been my motivation. If I had wanted money I would have taken the Celtic job and trebled, maybe even quadrupled my salary.”

Going into such detail about finances is unusual in football.
A fall-out between manager and chairman- ask Jim Jefferies- is much more likely and believable with Burnley looking to avoid the financial disaster of a one season visit to the Premiership which allows the money from Sky to escape out the door into the pockets of players sitting on fat contracts.

Nodding towards that theory Coyle added: “On balance I had to look at if we’d (Burnley) achieved survival, come the summer is there going to be that investment?

“I wasn’t sure there was. In a transitional period I was trying to move things along quicker than finances would dictate.”

Highlighting his new club’s set-up Coyle explained: “If you look at the infrastructure of the club, the academy, the training centre, everything is geared for top flight football and my job as manager is to make sure that happens.

“I must say, Burnley have still got a Premier League team as well. We really galvanised the club and took them to a level that is always going to be difficult.”

Moving to Bolton looks very risky for Coyle. He wouldn’t have been blamed if Burnley had been relegated, if Bolton go down he’ll be held responsible.

Relegation with Burnley would surely have brought him offers from elsewhere with his achievement in gaining promotion outweighing relegation from the Premiership.

Coyle suggested that managers move on through choice or are moved on by clubs when he was introduced as Bolton boss. Wise words.

In 1995 Mark McGhee, another young highly rated Scottish manager, quit Leicester City after a year in charge for the brighter lights of Wolves to be followed, not through choice, by moves to Millwall, Brighton, Motherwell and Aberdeen.

I don’t expect Coyle’s career to match McGhee’s but keeping Bolton in the Premiership and and above Burnley is essential if his decision making is not to be called into question.