The archetypal IDIOT of English football! He proves that classic quote: "It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt."
The book in question: please log in to view this image Synopsis: A man punches the wall in a strategic show of anger. Another complains he has become a stranger to those he loves. A third relies on “my three a day: coffee, Nurofen and a bottle of wine.” Yet another admits he is an oddity, who would prefer to be working in cricket. A fifth describes his professional life as “a circus”. These are football managers, live and uncut. Arsene Wenger likens the job to “living on a volcano: any day may be your last”. He speaks with the authority of being the longest serving manager in the English game, having been at Arsenal for 17 years. The average lifespan of a Football League manager is 17 months. Fifty three managers, across all four Divisions, were sacked, or resigned, in the 2012-13 season. There were fifty seven managerial changes in the 2013-14 season. What makes these men tick? They are familiar figures, who rarely offer anything more than a glimpse into their personal and professional lives. What shapes them? How and why do they do their job? Award-winning writer Michael Calvin provides the answers. Insecurity is a unifying factor, but managers at different levels face different sets of problems. Depending on their status, they are dealing with multi-millionaires, or mortgage slaves. Living on the Volcano charts the progress of more than 20 managers, in different circumstances and in different phases of their career. Some, like Brendan Rodgers and Roberto Martinez, are at the peak of their profession. Others, like Chris Hughton, Brian McDermott and Gary Waddock, have been sacked, and are seeking a way back into the game. They offer a unique insight into a trade which is prone to superficial judgement and savage swings in fortune. Management requires ruthlessness and empathy, idealism and cunning. Stories overlap, experiences intermingle, and myths are exposed.
Agree. Won't have a go at him for things like his son's court case etc but the bit about leaving his wife annoyed me.
The title's taken from a Wenger quote from 2009, funnily enough following the 4-4 at Anfield when he 'erupted' at half time, in interview after the game he likened football management to 'living on a volcano' .
He could win the CL and he'd still be a complete cock though. Therefore he'll never make people eat their words, as he'll always be a cock.
I don't think it matters what the cause was, it would still have been stressful. He's not asking for sympathy.
He cheated on his wife numerous times. He's a horrible man and a lot of my disrespect for him stems from this. It's what annoys me about football - you can have some characters on the pitch that attract so much negative attention but off the pitch, they're good people. Then you have w*nkers like Rodgers and Ryan Giggs who seem like nice chaps but are disgusting off of it and don't attract as much attention.
I don't disagree with that but he's not looking for sympathy for the split from his wife, he's said it was a stressful time. Whether that was caused by himself (which it clearly was) or not is irrelevant, it was still a stressful time for him. Besides, people giving stick for that is fair enough but some of the other stuff on here is out of order IMO
I have total sympathy for people losing loved ones(Brendan included)but on the other issues I have more sympathy for those in a similar(or worse)position amongst the 44k at home games that pay his wages but are not wealthy and in some cases not healthy yet don't get a second thought apart from their family and friends. He could have taken time off if he was stressed out, that's part of the reason assistant managers are employed, Houlier took time off through illness back in the day and Thommo did a good job in his absence.
Lol G, mine was a light hearted comment based on some of the crap thrown his way. The man does invite criticism with some of the ****e he says..personally I don't care as long as he does his job. All the other managers have came out with their own nonsense and I feel a lot of it is just to fill the silence they are required to fill as part of their media duties. Obviously there are some of our fans who have a real dislike of the man, some to a point of psychopathy. But some of those clearly have anger issues in general if a sports team managers waffling upsets them to such an extent lol. I don't know him as I don't believe all the crap he says accurately reflects the real man. So I'll continue to laugh at his more bizarre declarations and only get actually annoyed with his real decisions if they go wrong.
Reaction. The problem is he's not done very well and when he adds his crap and silly soundbites to that fact he will certainly attract the wrong kind of attention.
The book was written about 20 managers, Rodgers being one of them. The book isn't out till later this week and it seems only the Rodgers interview has been 'leaked' pre-sale. Is that done on purpose to get people interested in the book? Who knows - and who knows what the other managers have said other than those quotes I posted from the synopsis. From some of the comments here you'd think BR had held a 'bare his soul' press conference, he hasn't! As someone who's never been convinced, firstly by Rodgers appointment and subsequently his interviews, I stopped taking what he said seriously ages ago [if I ever believed him]. As to his infidelity who knows about that either. Maybe his wife strayed first, maybe they had a so called 'open' marriage, 101 other possible permutations. He's had some traumatic events to deal with while coping with managing a football team and that's the core of what the book is about - nothing more!
She's a right moose so that's not likely The more traditional older man falls for younger colleague scenario is what transpired and it ended in 2 wrecked marriages, those are the simple facts. Nothing to hang a man for, and I don't like pious moralising about it either, but don't try and dress the ****er up as something else ffs.
No mate, but no you come to mention it, I would like, she's not bad I forgot to add, the fact that the ex Mrs Brent rinsed him in court for maintenance payments the other week tells you she felt somewhat scorned.....
i agree... she's taken him to cleaners so tobes is very likely to have it down pat here. In the end... Mother and father, huge sympathy. Womanizing... no sympathy. he got what he had coming IMO. son... should have taught him better... not in his control
