The  dismissal of Mick McCarthy at Wolverhampton Wanderers opens the door for the managerial merry-go-round to begin again. Several names are "in the frame" according to the press. The more important issue is whether those responsible for selecting the manager at Wolves, or any other club for that matter, really have the competencies to do the job.

If the Club has a Director of Football, it is clearly his responsibility to prepare the candidate brief and the appropriate short list, but in many cases clubs still select managers on a whim and a fancy, without adequate reserach.

McCarthy probably stayed one season too long at Wolves. He had done a remarkable job, with limied budgets and limited players. That the club's chairman apparently believes that Wolves should be in the top ten, suggests that he is not on this planet, let alone living in the real world. He is living in the distant past, when in the late 1950;s and early 1960's the club was a force to be reckoned with, but since then it has punched well below its weight.

My former colleague, George Burley at Ipswich Town stayed one season too many at that club.In his first season in the Premier League, Ipswich finished fifth and George received the accolade of "Manager of the Year" in a season when Alex Ferguson with Manchester United won the Champions League truphy. Had George quit then, recognising that "this is as good as it gets" he could have named his club, such was his "currency" within the business. Instead a season, or so, later he was sacked and his star has never been in the ascendancy since - sadly.

Clubs often select mangers for no good reason and then sack them using the same lack of logic. Chairmen and Boards of Directors panic when the supportrres start protesting at matches. The fans pay their admission to matches and are entitled to their opinion, but that is all it is - an opinion. The Directors need to be able to articulate a clear vision and strategy for the club and that they selected the manager to deliver within that, but too many clubs lurch from one crisis to another with very short term objectives.

Wolves will be trying now to save their season, to remain in the Premier League, which McCarthy had been doing since their last promotion. Football management is a high pressure business. My expectation now is that Wolves will replace McCarthy with another manager whose track record is less than impressive, having done little research, inform him that the club has big plans (it was a big club) and that they want a miracle worked with limited funds.

It may be beyond the ability of most humans. Perhaps St Peter is the answer.

The FA is between a rock and a hard place, with regards tthe England men's national team The lack of any real long term strategy since the deaprture of Sir Bobby Robson, has seen it lurch from one crisis to another with a raft of natioanl team managers, who for one reason or another, have failed on the job.

There is a danger now, as it did in 1990, of pandering to the peoples' choice, Harry Redknapp being the 2012 equivalent of Graham Taylor. . Harry would probably be the choice of many media pundits. Capello's departure might provide a part-time role for Redknapp through the imminent European finals, but is is not the longer term solution.

But is does provide an opportunity for the FA to get in place a plan to ensure that whoever is appointed beyond the summer of 2012 is given a key responsibility to develop potential national coaches in future, which will be vital to get the best from the dwindling talent base that will continue to be available.

The Olympic Stadium in London

OLYMPIC STADIUM IN LONDON

It beggars belief that the new Olympic Stadium in London was not designed to allow seating to be moved hydraulically to cover the athletics track. This is not rocket science. Surely, the powers-that-be had worked out that the only athletics event that could fill the stadium would be the athletics event within the Games themselves.

Attendance at recent World Athletics Championships, have, in the main been disappointing. Surely, too, it must have been understood that football, and occasionally rugby, would be the only sports likely to fill the stadium on a regular basis.

This was also a golden opportunity to consider a ground sharing option by two clubs, which seems to have been missed.

Physical Education and School Sport

The link between a lack of exercise, over-eating and obesity is well documented, as is the correlation between obesity and type 2 diabetes. There is nothing new in recent suggestions that physical education should be “tested”. I have always been an advocate that specialist PE teachers should be deployed in primary schools, not to teach formal sport, but to educate young children about the importance of movement,  balance, flexibility, agility and skill learning.

I have empathy with those who are disaffected from the traditional team sports. In my view, we will not engage with the exercise agenda through those activities. In the early 1990’s Professor Neil Armstrong, at Exeter University found that the only activity which raised the heart rate of teenagers, (especially girls) to significant levels, was disco-dancing.

A year ago, I watched a television documentary, where two of the professionals from “Strictly Come Dancing” went into a London school and selected twelve couples, whom within a month were able to dance in formation and as couples at Blackpool Tower Ballroom, to a very high standard. These were teenagers whom from the outset barely wanted to talk to the opposite sex let alone touch them and dance with them. The results were amazing and showed that if one finds the right physical activity, which is taught well and is fun, children will engage and enjoy exercise. That seems to me to be the real challenge for teachers and parents.