Scarborough's Russell Slade is the latest applicant for the vacant position at United and he joins a host of other contenders for the Brunton Park hotseat which has been empty since Roddy Collins was fired on April 6 for remarks made in the media. When the new man is installed, he will be the fifth summer appointment in four seasons, following in the footsteps of Keith Mincher, Martin Wilkinson, Ian Atkins and Collins. Mincher left after just a week in the job following a row with other staff. Slade, who lifted Scarborough off the bottom of the Conference to a mid-table finish with the help of just 3 defeats in 26 games, joins the likes of Sandy Clark, Edson Silva, Shaun Teale and Kevin Sheedy in the scramble to succeed Collins. But the new man has been told he will have a much smaller squad to work with and will have no money to spend on new players. Owner Michael Knighton and the controlling Knighton family have even threatened to field youth players next season. As many as 10 players are expected to be released and others placed on the transfer list at the cash-starved club who are nearly £2m in debt. Fans are expected to boycott home games unless Knighton manages to sell his stake before the start of the season in August. If Irish businessman John Courtenay is able to complete his stalled takeover, he has promised to reinstate Collins. However he admitted this week that time was running out and both he and Collins have already started to look at alternatives. Both men recently attended a Bournemouth match and they have also been linked to troubled clubs such as Bury and Swindon Town. Even United's official website admits the Carlisle job is the "most difficult" one in football. Job security is not a selling point. Of the last six managers, including Michael Knighton himself, the average tenure has lasted well under one year. CCUIST stage weekend protest against Knighton The United supporters' trust (CCUIST) staged a special weekend of action against discredited owner Michael Knighton. On Saturday, they gathered signatures for the News & Star Stop Knighton petition outside the old Town Hall and pelted a figure dressed as Knighton wearing an alien mask with wet sponges. Knighton Out signs and posters sprung up all over the city centre with banners draped across the Millennium Bridge, down the side of Botchergate and around Hardwicke Circus. A large poster with the words "WE ARE UNITED" was put up around the base of Dixon's Chimney, Carlisle's tallest structure, in Shaddongate. On Sunday, nearly 100 vehicles took part in a go-slow convoy up the M6 motorway and up and down the main roads of the city. Cars festooned with Knighton Out banners and United scarves provided a colourful sight for passing motorists and pedestrians. The protests came at the end of a week which began with Michael Knighton threatening to withdraw United from the Football League and close the club down. He has since backtracked a little and now says he might be willing to let fans have a say on the board of directors. He claims to have the support of a West Cumbrian police officer who he says is forming a committee of "non-confrontational, non-CCUIST" supporters. Picture from News & Star www.newsandstar.co.uk |
