The BBC started the hashtag "#BackTheBoss" on Twitter this afternoon which asks football fans to name which managers they believe have stood out this season and why. Also, they have asked fans to name who they have been really unimpressed by. Naming 1 that's impressed you and 1 that's unimpressed you the most, name your two choices and your reasons. Feel free to name anyone from any of the English leagues, but if we can try to keep it to premiership only, that'd be better for debate IMO.
Wouldn't touch Twatter with a pole...but, I think Laudrup has done a great job. Class player, and looks like being a class manager.
Although Swansea's form is tailing off a bit after the CC win, Laudrup has really impressed. Others like Steve Clarke at WBA, Adkins at Soton (before his ridiculous sacking) and Moyes (again) have done well. AVB has had a decent first season and the powers of the master, SAF, are showing no signs of waning. I've been least impressed by Pulis. His dreadful team are in decline now. He can't even point to results as the justification for his tactics. Wenger continues to ignore Arsenal's failings. Lambert ignores Villa's, although I doubt he has much chance of buying the players he needs.
well most impressed is AVB after the Chavs sacked him and the way he's bounced back and doing so well for us,he won me over,don' really know about unimpressed,at the mo.
I think Mancini's failed badly. All the resources in the world and City flopped in the Champions League horribly and haven't put up a fight to retain their title. Gone in the summer, in my opinion. Might rescue himself with an FA Cup win though, I guess.
Impressed me: Davids for that story about picking up the stranded fans. In terms of football, Fergie has. Regardless of other teams not stepping up to the plate and challenging for the title, he's getting a Hell of a lot out of a team who I didn't really fancy for the title at the start of the season and despite going out of the CL early, by their standards, he gave a strong Real side 2 good games. After that, you have to say Clarke's been a revelation, the phrase "duck to water" springs to mind when you look at his first season in management. If we weren't supposed to pick 3 then apologies Roo Didn't impress me: I guess in someways Lambert hasn't as I thought they'd be a midtable side this season but to be fair he's had things pretty difficult there so I'll go with Mancini. He wasn't helped by a stricter control on his spending than he may have expected this summer but he keeps trying to tinker with different formations and given the players he has at his disposal they shouldn't be finishing bottom of their CL group and falling well off the pace you need to win the title in any season.
Martin O'Neil is the worst for me. IMO, his style is completely outdated as we see the game evolving with new managers such as AVB, Rogers and Laudrup. MON used to be a good manager, but I think he's been average-poor for some time now. He also has a fair bit of money to spend, but spent it on the likes of Steven Fletcher who was very overpriced @ £12m. Still deciding on who's impressed me the most. Also, you're all banned from choosing the obvious Mark Hughes!!
LOL don't worry mate, to be honest, I'd rather we all suggested more than 2 with valid reasons to support. - That way it'll create better conversation
For me, the man I have been most impressed with is Eddie Howe at Bournemouth. He took over a side who were second from bottom and they immediately went on a run which took them to top of the table and playing some excellent stuff in the process. He wasn't afraid to make big decisions (he axed David James) andeven when they hit a buffer and lost 5 on the bounce recently, he then rallied them round and they now occupy an automatic promotion place having won their last 4 games. He clearly has something about him. The one who has least impressed me is Mark Hughes who was pretty much given an open cheque book, bought in his own players and plenty of them and then proceeded to make a right balls up of everything, so much so that if he had remained in charge, they would probably have been relegated by Xmas.
I took the unimpressed to mean they fell below my expectations which I can't really say of O'Neill and Hughes.
True. But O'Neil should have had Sunderland higher than 16th. - I don't rate the guy anymore, but that's still lower than I would have been expecting.
Sorry to be obvious but only SAF stands out for me, in a class of his own. Who else has done anything outstanding this season? West Brom's manager might have been but the early season prowess has started to fade. I'm not unhappy with AVB who has done ok but we are yet to see anything remarkable from him, maybe next season he will show his capabalities. I've been watching football too long to be impressed by the current crop of managers, so far. The world to choose from, almost unlimited financial resources, and the PL has yet to uncover a manager who could live with the likes of Shankley, Clough, ***an, Revie, Busby, Stein, with one exception Mourinho. OK my standards are high but with the current high profile of the game I would expect more in the way of managerial genius's than we have had.
Most impressive for me is Zola at Watford. Taken a team that were tipped to struggle to stay up to the verge of promotion. Premier league would be Arry at QPR. His points average if he were there all season would put him up with WBA & Swansea. Least impressive is man kini at City. With the squad and resources at his disposal, City should of done far better.
Best - Laudrup, ignoring their current form which has blighted many a League Cup winner, for a first timer to come out with European football is remarkable and with good to watch football. Worst- Pulis, even with money he continues to assemble a **** side playing terrible football, currently enduring one of their worst seasons.
Impressive: 1. Adkins: Led his team up through three leagues, and would have had them safe, just to see his efforts rewarded with the sack. 2. Ferguson: I also didn't have Man U down for the title. I've got to say Man U this year is also a demonstration of the fact that you win games by scoring goals, and if you add the league's big scorer to a just barely second place team you'll probably win comfortably. Even so, the fact they've won this comfortably is a tribute to his managing. 3. Moyes: In the race for CL spots with his budget, while playing good football, is extremely impressive 4. AVB: Not many, in fact no one I can think of (I know I'm probably missing one or two!) predicted Spurs third with seven games left. 5. (Edit--oh, yeah) Laudrup: Swansea really play good football. Winning a cup after being in League 1 a decade ago is one of the handful of stories of the season. Disappointing: 1. Steve McManaman, for using the word "disappointing" far, far too often on the broadcasts I have to watch. Also, for being an all-around killjoy and dim bulb. I know he's not a manager, but still. "Very disappointing." 2. Mancini: he always seemed like a very poor man manager. Doesn't big up his team enough and bushwhacks them too often. 3. Pardew: should have done better with the squad he had and has. A strong fifth was overperforming last year, but fifteenth with his talent is woeful this year.
RWAEB, I don't rate Pardew, he's been hit by an excessive amount of injuries this season and that has to be taken into consideration.
Last season they played 5 cup games. This season they've already played 14 and have at least 2 more. The relatively small squad that he has up there hasn't coped very well with having roughly 25% more games and they've picked up a ton of injuries as a result. Might want to look at increasing their depth and adjusting their training somewhat in the summer, though it's unlikely that they'll have this fixture congestion in the next campaign. Pardew's last foray into Europe had similarly disastrous consequences, funnily enough. Finished 9th and got to the FA Cup final with West Ham in 05/06, then got beaten home and away by Palermo in the UEFA Cup and plummeted down to 17th before Christmas, so they sacked him.
