In lieu of a proper salary

Charlton's quest for a new manager continues, four weeks since Riga resigned. It used to be so easy, huh, Katrien? Interview 24 prospects before breakfast, find a new Ferguson, awkward press conference, phew, off to Dubai for a week.

Not now. Britain's finest managers seem strangely reluctant to sign up. Currently Russell Slade is the bookies' favourite at 1/4. (I say "bookies". At the moment only SkyBet are interested enough to quote odds.) He's been in the frame for a couple of weeks now, and I can't help thinking that if that was going to happen, it would have been settled by now.

Maybe it's a question of control. British managers will be aware of the restrictions that come with the job and will be looking for strong assurances that their hands won't be tied/strings won't be pulled.

But I've no doubt it's also about money. Remuneration. Pay. It's widely believed that the club will be offering a very low salary in comparison to other clubs. It's rumoured that Rochdale offered Keith Hill more. Few managers will be happy with that, especially if they then have to manage players earning vastly more.

With network managers, like Luzon and Fraeye, you can understand they might have seen the Charlton job as a way into British football, and they'd accept a low salary against the prospect of future riches.

For British managers the job could be a way into the Duchatelet network. Once firmly inside, nothing you may do, however incompetent you may be, will get you thrown out, huh, Katrien?

But it's a poison offer. The network in general, and Charlton in particular, have nothing to attract an ambitious manager. No wonder it's taking so long.