Zola Makes Case For Clarke

Gianfranco is playing golf in Scotland and has interrupted his out nine to endorse Clarke's application to become the next Hibernian manager.  Zola said:

"He has been a brilliant assistant manager for me and I believe he is ready to go into management in his own right. His experience and knowledge of the game is huge and I believe he will be a good manager, whether it is for Hibs or somewhere else. I think his best qualities are his organisation, he is extremely thorough and his training sessions are brilliant. Players enjoy working with him. He was a great help for me as a young manager. Having worked with a great manager like Mourinho he knew the game well from every position and I will always be grateful for all the help and guidance he gave me."

Wonderful stuff, you would give Clarke the job on the back of that ringing endorsement wouldn't you? Unless, of course, you looked at the results we achieved under the management team of Zola and Clarke. Let's just look at a little word substitution here shall we?

"He was a great help for me as a young manager in finishing with the worst win ratio of any manager in the history of West Ham United football club. Having worked with a great manager like Mourinho, he knew the game well from every position and I will always be grateful for all the help and guidance he gave me in achieving the lowest points total any West Ham side has accumulated over a full Premiership season."

There, that cuts through the bull and gives a slightly clearer picture, doesn't it? If club chairmen look at the record book, Zola will be tartan around his former assistant until the highland cattle come home!