Mouth of the Tyne: Where next for St Albans City after Ian Allinson sacking?

It has seen its fair share of highs and lows but there will still be a healthy queue of keen bosses waiting to replace him.

Whether they fit the mould set down by the club remains to be seen, who crucially said they would be looking for a head coach rather than a manager.

They would then presumably report into the director of football Dean Austin.

Herts Advertiser’s Neil Metcalfe tries to unpick a whole host of potential strands to look at some of the names who may be mentioned or who would potentially fit any club short-list.

And at this point I would say I have no inside knowledge. This is just me putting two and two together and trying to bash them together to make four. Any other suggestions, please let me know.

Possible new St Albans City head coach

These could be candidates who I believe would work well under a director of football.

1.David Noble (St Albans City)

Given the job on a temporary basis, I can't see him keeping full-time but results change opinions. Would certainly have the respect of the players though and would also temper many grumbles from the crowd. He has just started his coaching journey and whether outright management is the long term goal or not, this might be the perfect position and place to do it.

2.Dean Austin (St Albans City)

I don't think this is even a starter but I’m throwing it into the mix as a possibility. Has a lot on his plate with the academy and his role as recruitment consultant at Blackpool so to do this would be biting off more than he can chew. Will be front and centre though when it comes to the recruitment and may well have the final say.

3.Bobby Bowry/Simon Osborn (Volenti Academy)

The pair run the Croydon and Central London academies, the equivalents of the ones headed up by Austin at St Albans. Both have professional experience with Crystal Palace among others but like the City director of football, they too may be too embroiled with academy work to find the role enticing. I do believe there will be a coach that the three know, possibly working with them already (Nathan Ashmore or ex-Boreham Wood keeper David Gregory could be two of them), who could be a prime candidate, again along the lines of gaining valuable experience

4.Charlie MacDonald (Volenti Academy)

I've kept this one separate to the above as he is an ex-Saint. He is academy director at the company and since leaving Clarence Park has had managerial experience with North Greenford United. Again, might be too involved with the day job to be able to dedicate the required time to the City role but would fit the bill perfectly.

5.Harry Wheeler (unattached)

His spells at both Billericay and Maidstone weren’t especially good, and neither was his brief spell at Clarence Park before Ian Allinson was given the job. But if City do want to employ a head coach to work under Dean Austin then this may be one option they look at. Liked by the club’s hierarchy, already works with some of the other coaches and a St Albans boy to boot. That ticks a few boxes.

6.Steve Heath (AFC Dunstable)

Can't see this at all but he is a friend of Dean Austin apparently and has being doing a decent job with very limited resources at AFC Dunstable in Southern League Division One Central. Would be a risk for him to walk away from a successful and safe role at Creasey Park, even if the position at Clarence Park comes without the expectation of full control. Some step up too which hasn't often been navigated by many.

Possible new St Albans City manager

For completeness, I was going to pull a few names together that would fill a managerial role, with the boss being in total charge. It was going to be a short list because I simply don't see this as being the way the club want to move forward. Ended up playing fast and loose with the definition of list...

1.Wayne Brown (unattached)

Did an incredible job with Maldon & Tiptree and it got him a move to Colchester United. That ended last month but he will be keen to get back into football quickly. Has plenty of experience with over 300 games in the professional ranks, the majority coming at Colchester United with whom he also coached at youth levels. St Albans could be a good next step for him.

Already excluded

1.Lee Allinson (Hendon)

Even as little as three years ago, he was the prime candidate. Not any more. The way his dad’s reign came to an end will make this a total non-starter. He is enjoying himself down at Hendon too so even if the City post was an option, I couldn't see him leaving Silver Jubilee Park.

2.Steve King (Gloucester City)

A man with plenty of National League South experience with Whitehawk and more recently Dartford. He does get winning teams at this level and is constantly out and about looking at the level and the players in it. Will have his finger on the pulse when it comes to recruitment but would have been too like Allinson, too independent and forthright, to ever truly be considered a realistic candidate. All of that though was made completely irrelevant by his appointment as manager of Gloucester City on Friday.