Just looking through the Championship club managers this season. The top 3 clubs, Leeds, Brom and Brentford all managed by "foreigners" whilst 4th, 5th and 6th are domestically managed. Are Bielsa, Bilic and Franks therefore better managers than Parker, Harris and Cooper? It can't just be a money orientated thing because Parker has has a lot thrown at it whereas Bielsa and Franks have been quite limited in funding. Looking down the top half of the table, of the "also rans" who blew it are foreigners Lamouchi and Cocu at Forest and Derby which tends to suggest they're not necessarily the answer, but at least they're well into the top half. Of the rest up there, it's fair to say that other "locals" Rowett, Neill, Mowbray and Johnson also couldn't push their clubs over the line. Looking at the bottom half, it's a bit of a sorry tale. There's only one foreign manager in the bottom 12 clubs. That's Struber who to be fair inherited a basket case of a club at Barnsley. At least he's finally got them going playing some nice stuff and kept them up at the death. They're not all perfect, but is it a case of foreign managers getting more from what they've got by thinking outside the box? I see Bielsa's assistant Corberan has now left Leeds to manage Huddersfield after they'd sacked Cowley - a sign of things to come?
I would suggest the foreigners have greater technical ability and are more adept at changing tactics and style of play during a match. The Brits tend to be less flexible and can be caught out by tactical changes mid game. In saying that the foreigners, to begin with at least, don't really know the league, other clubs and players. Perhaps, when delving into their support teams, we might find a greater proportion of British participants. As you point out as well, money isn't always the answer for a variety of reasons. Albion blow £8m on Zohore and end up relying on Charlie Austin and Hal Robson-Kanu. As ever, the truth is probably somewhere between the two, with foreigners populating the top 3 this year. Last year we had Wilder, Smith (I think) and Farke - the odd one out. P.S. You still at Brockenhurst? We've been at Poole since Monday. Weather good until today. Hissing down at mo. Will have to do Not Parkrun 5k later.
Nah - back home now Bluey - came back on the 17th. Had two great weeks down there though - and the weather was smashing.
On the manager's front, I think a lot of Championship level sides are starting to believe they need to change to progress. There's a pool of dyed in the wool British managers who have done the rounds and offer pretty steriotyped skills. To add to that, there are the up and coming Brits who need a chance but what clubs will try that? Stoke gave Jones the call having brought Luton up, but it failed dismally. The current options seems to be to look "foreign" for the change and it does appear to have worked for some.
All I know is Harris has been brilliant for us and if we fail in the play offs I think if we keep hold of the likes of Morrison and Ralls (I think we will receive bids for both) add a decent striker then he can take us into the top 2 next season. Plug has also done a brilliant job. Lost his best 2 players and a team with many loanees led into a position of a a return to the PL. The Forest manager must have rung up Dave Jones for advice.
Cooper makes Mowbray look like a male model. The state of those down West in their Capris though Cooper doesnt look out of place.
Totally agree about Harris. Had my doubts at the time but maybe he's the exception rather than the rule. Apart from the 6-1 drubbing at QPR when we just fell apart, and maybe the more recent home failure against Blackburn where we let them back in, he's made the difference to the set up at the club. The players have been there, but they've been locked in a mindset that takes time to change. The transfer window that opens up next month may well see some departures as the squad evolves - it depends who replaces them.
All too soon for OGS - and he brought half of Norway with him which didn't help. Kid in a sweetshop after a couple of years of success managing summer football in Norway - that was Dalman's fault because Tan wanted a name. He's learned a lot since then. Although he has the tools at Man Utd to do the job, that lot up there needs a lot of managing - and to be fair, he's done that.
I see OGS as more of a figurehead with the tactical and man management side handled by Mike Phelan who worked with Fergie in a similar role for many years.
The mistake Moyes made was to get rid of Phelan. The back room staff can be as influential as the manager. It is an interesting debate. The swans had a string of foreign managers, though many knew the leagues from their playing days. Any manager needs time to impart their philosophy. Unfortunately, irrespective of nationality, time is often limited. I wonder what the correlation is between length of time in post and table position? Will have a look. I admit to being underwhelmed by Harris' appointment, but he has grown on me. He'll need a few changes in personnel for the next campaign irrespective of which division we're in, but heading in the right direction. if he can resolve the Murphy conundrum as he did with Tomlin, that will be a huge boost.
His team have just finished third in the top division. Shows how much you know about Managing a football team. Just for clarity sake, I am not a closet United fan.
