Paul Downton getting the sack?

[Aidan11]

For me Vaughan is too laddish.

He doesn't have to be a stuffed shirt but I'd prefer something in the middle.

[Arthur Crabtree]

That's how he is in the media. He won't necessarily be like that in a different environment.

[m@tt]

I hope that England, in trying to fix one problem, don't create another by employing too many people. They arguably already have too many as it is. The last thing we need is to have people stepping on each others' toes, it could lead to me-or-him ultimatums.

However I do like that the ECB has suddenly become keen on bringing in former players and captains. Whilst the senior team has plenty of access to ex-players in the media, more should be done and it's a shame that so many have gone into the media and not coaching/managerial roles.

As for the candidates, it's easy to say that Vaughan is too laddish and his opinion sways too much, that Strauss is still too close to the team, and that Stewart hasn't given 2nd Division Surrey the kick-start expected. Difficult to get out of the "what can't they do instead of what can they do" English mindset (and I'm including myself here!).

A pity Hussain ruled himself out. Not sure why - he said others were better suited to the role, but don't see what the others have that he doesn't.

It appears Vaughan is favourite (and so the Essex mafia is being replaced by the Yorkshire mafia?). There are valid queries about him, but I'm sure he would take the job appropriately seriously. Unlike in the media there is time to think about things, hours and days rather than seconds.

As for Downton, whilst it's never nice for people to lose their jobs, he simply wasn't up to it. At the time, I liked the logic of his appointment, the combination of international experience and a top business career, but the reality was that he was out of touch with the modern game, the modern media and the modern fan, whilst apparently his business career did not include a managerial role, so he was over-promoted by several levels. He botched his first decision (not that he should ever have been making a decision on KP either way, let alone in the hasty, undiligent way he did) and never recovered.

[Aidan11]

When I think of the current incompetence and the need for restructuring, I keep thinking of the Simon Pack appointment under McLaurin.

[Making_Splinters]

England need a change of culture not just personnel, the old boys club running the ECB and their selective feeding of the press needs to end. We need an ECB that is solely focused on performance not personality, both in buisness and cricket.

[Durhamfootman]

England need a change of culture not just personnel, the old boys club running the ECB and their selective feeding of the press needs to end. We need an ECB that is solely focused on performance not personality, both in buisness and cricket.

I could not agree more

[Making_Splinters]

Tom Harrison summed up quite neatly what needs to change

"The England cricket department needs to deliver performance at the highest level and our structure needs to be accountable for reaching the standards we aspire to"

[Aidan11]

England need a change of culture not just personnel, the old boys club running the ECB and their selective feeding of the press needs to end. We need an ECB that is solely focused on performance not personality, both in buisness and cricket.

Exactly. Common sense really but sadly the ECB don't do common sense.

[Slipstream]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/cricket/news/11531314/ECB-set-to-lose-out-on-head-coach-target-Jason-Gillespie.html

I can't see Moores keeping his job. This must be his last series. Strauss or Vaughan won't want him. If he did go then I think the ECB will find him another job, probably in the office next to Flower.

[rich1uk]

I was just looking around for a pic for a lookalike thing and typed "paul downton" into the search engine , you know how it auto-predicts what you might be looking for, well the 3rd option it predicted was "paul downton is an idiot"