Queiroz sacked!

Former Man Utd no two, Carlos Queiroz, has been handed his walking papers by the Portuguese Football Federation (PFF) barely two years after being appointed to replace Luiz Scolari as Portugal's manager.

Despite a lacklustre showing in the World Cup and the possibility of a six-month ban for disrupting drug tests on the national team, the move by the PFF does come as quite a shock.

Perhaps Portugal's 4-4 draw and 1-0 defeat to Cyrpus and Norway respectively in the Euro qualifiers nailed it for Queiroz. Still, Portugal under Queiroz, while not as spectacular as their Spanish cousins, have generally been consistent in producing results.

Then again, when the 'best player in the world' is in your side, you're expected to do a little better than average. And let's not forget the fact this was Queiroz' second stint in-charge of the Portuguese national team.

But from a larger perspective, Queiroz' latest sacking brings about the question if at all any of Sir Alex Ferguson's deputies will ever amount to one-tenth of the Scotsman's success. This isn't, after all, Queiroz' first sacking.

If you remember, the first time he left the Devils was to take on the top job at Real Madrid. When that expired (six months later, I think), he managed to get a second chance at Old Trafford. But when Portugal came calling a few years later, Queiroz packed his bags again.

Queiroz' roller-coaster of a managerial career reminds me a bit of another former Man Utd number two who could only afford mediocrity after leaving Sir Alex' coaching team - Steve McClaren. I think most Boro and England fans have blacked out the McClaren years - such was the disappointment of his tenures at both clubs. Are all of Ferguson's deputies destined for failure the second they walk out of Old Trafford?