Manager Merry-Go-Round
Following Everton’s 3-2 home victory over Newcastle, the sixth round of fixtures in the Premier League are complete. Already in the early stages of a long campaign, managers are being judged for their performances and apparent directions that they’re steering their clubs. This happens on a game by game basis given the game’s scrutiny and shouldn’t come as a surprise, but talk of sackings and replacements at this juncture are as hollow as they are premature.
England’s top flight has seen some major changes to its scenery with Sir Alex Ferguson finally retiring (queue every club but United rejoicing) after 26 glorious, trophy laden (38 to be precise) years at the helm of Old Trafford. His successor David Moyes ended a comparatively dry 11 year-tenure at Everton in terms of silverware, however the stability and progression in stature the blue half of Merseyside enjoyed under his stewardship has its own merits. The champions currently occupy 12th place with 7 points from 6 games.
Jose Mourinho also made his emphatic and somewhat inevitable return to Chelsea this summer. The five years ‘The Special One’ spent away from the club were possibly even more successful than the richly prosperous three-and-a-half year stint he enjoyed at Stamford Bridge originally. At 50 years-old, like Moyes, he’ll be hoping to spearhead a new period of glory. Chelsea are currently four points off the summit in 5th.
On the flipside, now the longest serving manager in the entire English game despite immense pressure at the back end of last season, is Arsene Wenger of Arsenal. Weighing in with 17 years to the day (wow), the Frenchmen’s tenure is over double his nearest contender Paul Tisdale of Exeter, who has racked up 7 years and 97 days as of October 1st. Wenger has notched up a respectable 11 trophies during his time of power (which came in his first 9 years), as well as Uefa Cup and Champions League final appearances. His influence on Arsenal as a club culturally and structurally cannot be underestimated. The Gunners currently find themselves top of the pile two points clear of Brendan Rodgers ever-improving Liverpool.
Paolo Di Canio was sacked on the 22nd of September by Sunderland, who currently prop up the Premier League from the foot of the table. His appointment lasted 175 days, 13 games and 14 new signings worth close to £30m. It appears the revolution he demanded spawned revolt, and after weeks of harsh tirades on their performances his new ensemble turned on him. Probably not the best way to bed in a new squad with little to no Premier League experience between them. How ironic that one of the Mackem’s best performers last term Stephane Sessengon, who was ousted under the eccentric Italian’s new regime, helped put the final nail in his coffin by scoring against him for his new club, West Brom, in a 3-0 win.
Although Roberto Martinez did win the F.A Cup last season, Wigan were also finally relegated from England’s top tier after what seemed like an eternity of great escapes. The Spaniard developed a reputation as a manager who can deliver at the business end of the season (he wouldn’t have too if they didn’t get themselves in that mess I think) and refused to concede his philosophy and beliefs of playing football the right way, despite some players in his squad perhaps lacking the real ability to accommodate his ideas. Nevertheless, Martinez has carved himself an image in football as a man who wants to play the game progressively and can bring the best out of talented players (McCarthy, Maloney, Moses, Kone etc). Feeling the ripple effect of Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement, Everton replaced Moyes with Martinez and are currently the only unbeaten outfit in the top flight.
That’s under a quarter of the Premier League’s manager I’ve given the briefest look to. That’s two new heads to the throne filling big shoes (Sir Alex’s shoes are slightly more gigantic), one manager on his way to two decades, and an Italian collecting his P45. Do you know who the second longest reining Premier League manager is? He’s also 9th overall in England as a whole? I’ll save that surprise for the end.
The way managers are judged is pretty difficult to ascertain. First off, it’s the club he’s managing. The expectations for Manchester City because of the money attached to the project are obviously far greater and trophy orientated than that of newly-promoted Hull City. In my opinion, Di Canio wasn’t afforded more time on Wearside because of the money he spent. As a manager, you can’t be given much more backing than that given that Sunderland are hardly big spenders. Granted, five games in to a new season is not nearly enough time for a team to truly gel and show Di Canio’s vision.
Di Canio’s demeanour in itself went some way to sealing his fate sooner rather than later. The players didn’t want to play for him, he was projecting a bad image for the club and the bottom line was, he wasn’t getting the results. Fans, the hierarchy - whoever – will tolerate a lot if you’re getting the job done. You see strikers get away with it every so often (Van Hooijdonk, Stan Collymore, Luis Suarez, Zlatan Ibrahimovic) who are to varying degrees bad eggs, but score goals. If you don’t score goals, well, you’re Nile Ranger. The chairman must have thought ‘I’ve seen enough of this experiment’ and acted early enough to do something about it.
Personality can be very important. Look at Mourinho, he deflects a lot of the attention and thus pressure from his players because he is so polarising and interesting. Many see him as arrogant, but given his track record and passion over the years it has only served to endear him to the nation. Although he’s hardly gregarious, he is a very visible and tangible leader which is something that gives his presence distinction and a kind of benevolence to his team. He will stand up and be counted for them, something Di Canio went completely west with.
Another important aspect is signings. In today’s game, it can be distorted exactly who is in control of them when you’ve got directors of football involved, or Roman Ambramovitch wanting to sign Fernando Torres, or even in Spain, clubs like Barcelona and Real Madrid have elections for their presidency where the runners will make claims of players they plan to buy, totally bypassing anything the manager might think. At Newcastle, no transfer is sanctioned without chief scout Graham Carr’s approval. Alan Pardew might think he’s the next Messi, but it doesn’t matter if Carr doesn’t. Throw Joe Kinnear into the mix and who knows what’s going on!
Brenden Rodgers is an excellent example. He refused a director of football upon his arrival at Liverpool, something the Anfield bosses really should have learned from after entrusting Damien Comolli under (or over) Kenny Dalglish. Rodgers have signed all of his own players and moulded a team that play attractive, attacking football, the type of football he was famed for at Swansea City. Daniel Sturridge has been a well and truly inspired signing, at a time where Chelsea appeared to lose faith with him. Victor Moses on loan, again from Chelsea, Coutinho, Mamadou Sahko, Simon Mingolet, Kolo Toure and Joe Allen have all impressed, with others like Iago Aspas and Fabio Borini are still adapting and have to prove their worth.
In contrast, Manchester United and Moyes had a noticeably poor summer. I say noticeably, mainly because they made sure everyone noticed by talking about every target they wanted, and subsequently didn’t get. First off, for a club of Manchester United’s stature, they don’t have to declare anything publicly, or appear desperate. Yet, despite Barcelona rejecting three bids for Fabregas, and the player himself insisting around the time of the second bid he didn’t want to leave the club, Moyes was very vocal about his pursuit of the player. It looks from the outside looking in that he never really knew if Fabregas wanted to come and just hoped.
What they ended up with, was a much more robust and rigid player in Marouane Fellaini, instead of the deft, creative influence they craved since the retirement of Paul Scholes, which Fabregas would have more than fit the bill. Not to mention that they could have had Fellaini some £6m cheaper earlier in the window due to a clause in his contract, but waited till deadline day to make a move. If that doesn’t scream panic I don’t know what does. Fellaini has looked awkward trying to adapt to United’s fluid football and essentially, it’s impossible for him to have the same effect and exert the same influence at Old Trafford as he did at Goodison Park due to the system and supporting cast around him. Man United fans will know the Belguim international is a decent player, but they don’t want to see the centre half’s zinging the ball to Fellaini’s chest or working off his seconds. So he needs time to fit in and adapt.
The Lugubrious atmosphere developing at Old Trafford stems from a rich tapestry of success that has bred an expectant fan base. That’s natural. It’s also impossible for Moyes to be Sir Alex overnight, if ever. He’s inherited a squad that has just won the title with relative ease, so is the difference so simple that it lies squarely within his ability to manage, set-up and motivate a set of players worse than his predecessor? Have the rivals simply got stronger and United have stood still? I can imagine the decision makers at Man U thought about continuity and stability when picking Moyes, but no manager alive will be able to replicate another predecessor’s work. Nowhere. Moyes hasn’t managed a big club before either, the whole dynamic is different in terms of attention, exposure, ambitions, standards etc, he needs to develop himself whilst bringing his own certain stamp on the club. The work ethic and industry he installed at Everton was a hallmark of his teams, even those basic traits would be appreciated at United right now.
The answer isn’t sack Moyes. It’s give him a chance. His transfer dealings were naive, but I sincerely doubt overall that any manager could have walked in and picked up where Fergie left off. You have to invest in the person and their vision of the club. Steve Clarke at West Brom is an example. A traditionally lower-half club with a bit of a yoyo reputation, he made them a top half club for nearly all of last season, and they find themselves 10th so far this term. Brendan Rodgers is transforming Liverpool into a serious top four club once again with exciting players and style. I also think Chris Hughton is doing a fantastic job at Norwich. The essence and heart of the club who performed so well in their Premier League return has not been lost with a flurry of summer signings. The signings have improved the squad immensely and they suddenly appear far stronger. That’s the kind of progression and trust you need to break the cycle of promotion and relegation.
A final word on Arsene Wenger. Them being top now, means pretty much nothing. The only thing it does show is how fickle fans can be. They were begging for him to go last season, I would say probably 75% of Arsenal fans I know were calling for his head. ‘Time for a change’ was a common theme. That intensified further following the opening day defeat at Aston Villa at home, the knives were really out. One German international and five games later Arsenal are top and the fans are praising Wenger’s brilliance once more. From hate figure to profit in a month! That’s some going. I personally don’t think they’ll win the title this season, I fancy Chelsea or Man City and if pushed, I’d probably say Chelsea. With Mourinho at the helm – his impact is that big.
Wenger has overseen an eight-year drought of trophies, but he has stabilised the finances of the club beyond belief and their set-up is one of the best in the world. From the training facilities to their stadium, they are a self-sufficient, top of the line club. They didn’t need a Sheik or an Oil tycoon to sign Ozil, they laid the foundations themselves. That’s not to say they don’t have wealthy owners or investors, but Wenger has probably sacrificed a few years (and sacrifice is a tame word when you consider he qualifies for the Champions League ever year) so Arsenal can prosper for many years going forward.
For the first time in years Arsenal didn’t have to sell any of their big players (you might argue there is only a couple left) and that kind of stability with the addition of a genuine world-class player in Ozil, Arsenal are on the up. Wenger is testament to what can happen if you believe in the ideals the manager promises. Sometimes people forget the brilliant things Wenger has done, like the two doubles, the unbeatables etc and I heard last season ‘He’s losing it’. He’s not losing it, anyone who doesn’t think he is a very shrewd man are very short-sighted.
Oh and by the way, Alan Pardew is the second longest serving Premier League manager now with 2 years and 296 days. Given he’s got another seven years on his contract, it appears he isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
