Former Oldham and Rushden manager Brian Talbot has been announced as Oxford’s new manager in a press conference held this afternoon at the KasStad. Talbot was manager of West Brom for just over two years, from 1988 until 1991, before going to manage Aldershot. He took over at Rushden in March 1997, and took them into the football league. He was there for almost exactly seven years, before it became clear that Max Griggs was no longer going to bankroll the club, and he left to manage Oldham. He spent almost a year at Boundary Park, starting off well but this season he took the Latics to the brink of relegation before he left in February.

Talbot has signed on a two-year contract, with an option for a one-year extension. This is good because it allows for some continuity, but what is not good is the cack-handed way that the whole process has been handled. Presumably, chairman Firoz Kassam had been in discussions with Talbot while he was still negotiating with Horacio Rodriguez and Pablo Fernandez, although whether Talbot was a fall-back option or Kassam’s preferred manager all along will probably never be known. Once again, though, there was no real attempt to ensure that the right person was chosen. The vacancy wasn’t advertised, there was no interview panel, applicants weren’t invited to present their credentials, and it seems probable that Kassam failed to seek advice. If he had sought advice, then one can only question what sort of adviser would recommend not sticking with Jean-Marc Goiran and the Argentineans (unless perhaps they were working for the League Managers Association).

This is not to say that Talbot himself is a disastrous appointment. He may well prove to be very capable, and may even have the wherewithal to attract decent players and get United promotion. However, it would appear that nothing has been done to address the underlying structural problems at the club, which really needs someone with executive powers, and a deep knowledge of football, in between the manager and the chairman. Failure to appoint a proper CEO, someone like Goiran, means that Talbot is going to be highly constrained before he has even started. We can only hope that he has agreed a budget with Kassam, and that Kassam will honour it. Rage Online gives Talbot our support, but we reiterate our deep disappointment about both the way his appointment has been handled, and the fact that Diaz, Rodriguez, Goiran, et al have left the club. We suspect that United fans will have their displeasure reflected in season-ticket sales.