Keith Hill, an experienced manager with lower league success, has emerged as the leading candidate for the vacant Carlisle United job.
Darren Sarll, manager of non-League Yeovil Town had been installed as favourite by some bookies, but that would be an even more left field appointment than Chris Beech.
The smart money is starting to come for 52-year-old Hill despite the fact he was former manager Beech’s boss at Rochdale.
As a centre-half in a long, 16-year career he played for Blackburn, Plymouth, Rochdale, Cheltenham, Wrexham and Morecambe.
Then on his retirement he joined Rochdale as director of youth before becoming caretaker manager and eventually landing the job on a permanent basis. In that first season he took them from the relegation zone to finish ninth in Division Two.
For the next two seasons he got them to the play-offs, but lost both before clinching automatic promotion at the end of the 2009/10 season.
In his first season in League One Rochdale finished month before, after a month of agonising, he took the Barnsley job.
Having to contend with injuries, and selling top players, he managed to keep Barnsley in the Championship by just one place but was sacked midway through the 2012/13 season.
Less than a month later he was back at Rochdale and completed the season by leading them back to League One. He was to stay at Spotland for over six years and only left when he was offered his “dream job” at Bolton Wanderers.
But managing his home town club proved a nightmare with financial problems and points deductions meaning relegation and his contract was not renewed.
In November last year he was appointed manager of Tranmere Rovers and led them to the play-offs but was sacked in May before they had started. He has not worked since.
A variety of names have been put forward as betting propositions, including former Premier League stars like Harry Kewell, Sol Campbell and Lee Clark.
But people should note that there is rarely heavy betting on such gambling opportunities and it only takes a daft £20 on someone to change the market and put that person at the head of the betting.
