Coyle's spring

Jeff Stelling says Owen Coyle's boundless enthusiasm will earn him another managerial gig.

Jeff talks the Bolton boss' demise and the state of English football

I was disappointed, but not totally surprised, to see Owen Coyle part company with Bolton. I think he is a top-class manager and he made it quite clear that he was building for the future at the Reebok Stadium. He also said that when he left the club they would be in a better position financially than they had been when he arrived. We all remember some of the eye-catching signings that Bolton made under Sam Allardyce - Jay Jay Okocha, Youri Djorkaeff to name but two - and they certainly did a job, but they were very much expensive, short-term, stop-gap measures. Coyle was trying to inject some youth into the side and create something that would endure; not all of his signings came off, but by bringing in players like Marvin Sordell and getting some of the big earners off the wage bill, Owen was looking to ensure that Bolton would be a force in future years. Results this season have not been forthcoming, though, and Coyle will not now be given the chance to see that project through. That is a shame because I think he has done an admirable job at the Reebok Stadium, in spite of last year's relegation. I think other clubs, certainly in the Championship, will look beyond results and see exactly what sort of manager Owen is; wonderfully enthusiastic, very approachable and probably a better trainer than some players, so I don't reckon we've seen the last of him in the dugout. Bolton, however, have to be careful now because they don't want to do a Charlton and follow one relegation with another soon after. They have got a magnificent stadium and you want to watch a decent football team play in it. I think they need to appoint someone with a bit of experience; I like to see bright young things given a chance but Bolton would be taking a huge risk if they went down that route. They are missing out on the Premier League gravy train already and can't afford to keep spiralling the wrong way.

Danger

I read an interesting piece from the Daily Mail's Martin Samuel the other day. He explained that St George's Park, the FA's new national football centre, has been modelled on the French academy Clairefontaine, from which Thierry Henry progressed. But he also pointed out that France's outstanding footballer from the last two decades, three-time Fifa World Player of the Year, Zinedine Zidane, did not go there. I think there is a danger that everybody believes this new state-of-the-art complex is the answer to all England's problems - when in actual fact we don't have that many problems. Our biggest one, of course, is that we have too many foreigners in the Premier League which stifles the prospects of young English players, but we have seen this season, especially at Liverpool, just what these academy kids are capable of. As a relatively small nation who punch above our weight, we are not in that bad a boat.

Jeff's Gem of the Week

I've gone for Dagenham & Redbridge this week, who recorded a 4-3 win over Bradford last Saturday. It's not very often that the Daggers score four in a game! In John Still, the Victoria Road outfit have the longest-serving manager in the Football League, which is an achievement in itself when you consider he is not working on minimal resources - he is working on zero resources. Dwight Gayle, who scored Dagenham's winner against Bradford, has previously played for Stansted and Bishop's Stortford, which gives you an indication of what sort of market they are shopping in. It is a small miracle that season after season Still manages to keep his side's head above water - he even got them promoted to League One a couple of years ago - and I think he deserves a pat on the back.