THE Managerial merry go round has started up again with first Queens Park Rangers sacking of Iain Dowie and then on Saturday night Tottenham Hotspur dispensing with the services of coach Juande Ramos.

Spurs have now appointed Portsmouth boss Harry Redknapp as their new boss with Portsmouth receiving £5m compensation.

Now I hate to say it but I fully expect Gary to be linked to both jobs. I'm not sure that Gary is a big enough name for either job but his record is exceptional and I would be amazed if he didn't get mentioned.

QPR have substantial backing but I'm not sure that their current set up is one that would interest Gary enough to leave Ashton Gate. A move to Portsmouth would be a different proposition. Pompey are the current FA Cup holders and are playing European football and have also assembled a squad of talented footballers.

The one drawback of the Fratton Park hot seat must be following Harry Redknapp. Redknapp walks on water in Portsmouth and would be a very, very hard act to follow. I hope that Gary sees the challenge of Bristol City as incentive enough to refuse any overtures from other clubs. The recent five-year contract extension may just prove to be another smart piece of business by our Chairman.

On to this weeks action and two away trips to Charlton and Barnsley. Whilst neither Charlton nor Barnsley are riding high in the Championship as we all know you have to pick up points away from home if you are going to mount a serious promotion push and four points was a good return. The victory away at Charlton's Valley was the first in 40 years and was well deserved.

There were a number of performances that stood out. Adriano Basso made a number of important saves, the central defensive partnership of Liam Fontaine and Jamie McCombe again stood strong and Lee Johnson and Gavin Williams gave much improved performances. It was also pleasing to see Lee Trundle get a goal.

Following the win at Charlton a lot of people will have expected City to get a similar result at Barnsley. The Tykes have had a poor start to the season but have picked up of late and recent wins at home to Doncaster and Sheffield Wednesday will have increased the confidence around the club. As it was a 0-0 draw was another respectable result.

Stern John signed on loan from Southampton this week and his experience and eye for a goal should enhance the squad. The Trinidad & Tobago front man adds competition to the City striking options and will compete with Dele Adebola, Lee Trundle, Nicky Maynard, John Akinde and Steve Brooker. John's scoring record is decent at all the clubs he has been at.

The tabloids reported this week, that controversial Premiership Referee Rob Styles was on the brink of quitting the sport after the red card he gave to Newcastle's Habib Beye was overturned by the FA. Styles was dropped from Refereeing the Chelsea v Liverpool game the weekend and as a punishment demoted to refereeing in the Championship and our game against Sheffield United on Tuesday. What a cheek!! Why should we have to put up with a man who has been deemed not up to the job? The FA should drop him if they see fit but not devalue the Championship by appointing him to our game, it's bad enough that we have Mr A Hall to cope with.