By Albatross
February 2 2006

Martin Scott hasn't officially been sacked - or at least not yet; the speculation about his replacement is already up and running though. Will it be a case of Who's Next? While we wait for further news of the internal inquiry into Scott's actions, elsewhere the rumour mill has already ground into action with talk of possible replacements.

The Guardian no less has suggested two names: former boss Chris Turner, and Newcastle legend and sometime Poolie Peter Beardsley. Turner is known to have a good relationship with Hodcroft, is out of work at the moment, and does know several of the players already; Beardsley is a big name but seems to have got stuck in terms of the coaching setup at Newcastle - though whether that may change following the departure of Souness remains to be seen.

The Souness move also means another former Pools boss is at a loose end: Alan Murray, the surprise successor to Cyril Knowles that had us playing good and attractive football until Garry Gibson's money ran out. Whether he'd be interested is another matter - he's had a fair time as Souness's right hand in a number of places, including ending up as caretaker boss at Benfica for a spell, and he might wait and see what Souness does next or look for something with a higher profile for himself.

It's not beyond the realms of possibility that Scott amy return - but it's very hard to see him gettingthe opportunity to manage HUFC again. He'd lost the fans some time ago, now it looks like he's lost the dressing room too - and if that is the case, guilty or not it will probably be the end of his time at the club. While some may decry this state of affairs, it's cheaper to get rid of one manager than several players - and so it looks like the end for Scott. In the words of The Who, will it be a case of "Meet the new boss, same as the old boss?"