It is being widely reported today that David O'Leary is the new manager of the mighty er...Al Ahli FC in Dubai.

Astonishingly it is four years since O'Leary last worked, at Aston Villa and eight since he was sensationally sacked by Leeds after failing to get the club back into the Champions League.

Since then, both our fortunes have plummetted. O'Leary was despised by the Villa faithful and despite being linked with a host of jobs on these shores and the Eire vacancy, nothing has materialised until now.

The Daily Mail report it is a well-paid job and O'Leary has agreed a three-year contract with a club who have had seven managers in the last five years. However Dubai football does not really register much on an English fans radar and is thought to be a last fat payday for fast-fading football stars bankrolled by silly Arabs with more money than sense.

O'Leary follows the path of Don Revie, who controversially moved to the United Arab Emirates in 1978 and also had a couple of club appointments in the Middle East back in the 1980's. Howard Wilkinson is another ex-Leeds manager who headed east when he spent just two months at Shanghai Shenua.

One thing in O'Leary's favour is Dubai's strict Islamic code regarding drink and I doubt there will be too many "student nights" to distract his "babies".

Photo: Action Images

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