From the Touchlines: Management merry-go-round

England's leading players, among them Jonny Wilikinson, James Haskell and Riki Flutey, are not the only ones on the move this summer.

It transpires the Guinness Premiership is on the cusp of a managerial overhaul. Already Brendan Venter has been brought in to head up Saracens' South African revolution, while Tony Hanks will now take over as Wasps director of rugby from Ian McGeechan. But that is thought to merely be the start of it.

The next managerial casualty could yet be Gloucester head coach Dean Ryan, who has failed to achieve the results expected by a club that has signed a host of big names in the last few seasons. It is thought Ryan is walking an almightily frayed tightrope at Kingsholm and, following a mass player exodus, Ryan could yet follow out the door.

All manner of replacements are being lined up ranging from former Gloucester boss Nigel Melville, although that seems highly unlikely, or Gloucester backs coach Bryan Redpath, who is being tipped to make the step up in part due to his popularity with the players.

There are also question marks about the future of Bath coach Steve Meehan after the latest shenanigans going on at the Recreation Ground although the club publicly insist their man is going nowhere.

Further afield on the management front, former England boss Andy Robinson could be on the verge of becoming his former employers' nemesis if, as expected, he is named as Scotland coach. The Edinburgh boss is the favourite to replace Frank Hadden north of the border despite being a self-confessed passionate Englishman. What the average Scot makes of that remains to be seen?

Does Ryan deserve the chop after Gloucester's demise and who should replace him? And is Robinson the right man to lead Scotland? Post your comments below and any other transfer rumours you might have...

Comments

[Geordie boy]

I personally cannot see a viable alternative to Ryan at Gloucester right now plus I cannot see why Bath would want to get rid of Meehan. They're finally playing good rugby even if their players are a mess.

[Ruairi]

This is just a theory but how about Hadden to head down to Gloucester and team up with fellow Scot Redpath there. Reckon they could do a good job and certainly better than Ryan's been doing.

[Iain]

Ida love Robinson to take over as Scotland coach so he can stick one to his old bosses. That'd learn them a lesson.

[BathBonanza]

It would be a total and utter disgrace if Meehan were to lose his job. Things clearly aren't quite right at Bath for whatever reason but that's not his fault. There seems to be a few player problems but Meehan has turned Bath from a joke professional outfit into a side that can really think about the Premiership title. I feel sorry for him that he now has a squad in disarray after this week but he's the man to gel everyone back together and get the signings he needs hopefully next season.

[Wes]

With yellow teeth like that, maybe he could get work as a Colgate model!

[Robbo]

Dean Ryan's got to go. He's signed so many players, and when it comes to fly-halves I think he's got enough on Gloucester's books for a full 15 of players. He was a pretty good player but he clearly cannot get the best out of his players. Just look at Barkley and Lamb, both immense talents who have now gone elsewhere. And the list goes on. He's been given enough chances and now's the time to replace him if Glos have got a chance to build for next season.