Saints and Reading have shown this season that oin Nigel and Brian we have two of the best young managers around. Add on Rodgers at Swansea and Lambert at Norwich last year and their achievements in the Premier this season, and it does make you wonder why more of the big clubs don't take a gamble on them for the top jobs. Don't get me wrong I'm hoping and expecting Nigel to be with us for a few seasons yet but the top football jobs do seem to be restricted to a handful of the same names every time they become available.
Chelsea are being linked with Guardiola at the end of the season. He's had so much on a plate for him at Barca that it's hard to tell whether he is an especially outstanding manager or not. Di Matteo did a decent job at West Brom and is presiding over an excellent run at the moment, but he'll probably be a victim of not having a big enough name in management.The big clubs want big time managers to deliver instant results, which is rather a stumbling block to young, aspirational managers. It will be interesting to see what Man U do when Fergie retires.
You could say the same about Lambert and Rodgers before this season. It just takes time, and teams need to see managers prove themselves at that level first. Now plenty of teams would be up for Lambert and Rodgers. Happened before with Coyle etc. Then you get managers like Phil Brown and Ian Holloway, who unfortunately didn't manage to stay up, and consequently, that is classed a failure in the top flight, and Brown got sacked, and Holloway stayed on where he is. EVen more established managers like Pardew were considered a risk by Newcastle. Adkins has a way to go yet.
I rate McDermott and Adkins more than Rodgers tbh. Rodgers' success has been down to one formation and both places where he's had success - Swansea & Watford, had the players to suit the formation but Reading didn't, yet he failed to change to adapt to new players.
I think we have a new generation of managers with more creative tactics rather than the up and under or out muscle the opposition. These new managers are gradually replacing the football dinosaurs, however as people have already said no one wants to take a risk on a younger manager so their progress is stifled. Can you compare Owen Coyle, Lambert, Adkins, McDermott etc with Wenger or Redknapp as we have no idea how they would do with the improved squad (prob better). You look at Di Matteo he has better players at Chelsea than he did at West Brom but is he fashionable enough for Abramovich. McDermott and Adkins are not obvious choices on paper, however if you have shrewd chairman who will assess candidates on merit then clearly some of these gems will be unearthed rather than recycling all the old guard.
I think the fact that, hopefully, both clubs have gone upwhereas more experienced managers, like Fat Sam and Mowbray, have failed will make people sit up and take notice
I suppose it makes no sense to assume that if Nigel stays with Saints, which might be the best thing for both the Club and Him, that managing Saints won't become one of the Top Jobs, after a while..? How about making Saints, Nigel's last managerial job, in fact..? No, of course not, minnow clubs aren't allowed to become BIG clubs, and Nigel will go on to bigger and better things and get himself sacked some day. What was I thinking..?
Rogers inherited the setup from Martinez and Sousa before him. Having the "Swansea way" to step into has made his job a lot easier, but he's still had to man-manage his team, make signings and manage his squad. Setting a club up for having a certain way of doing things is the most sustainable way of doing things in an era where a manager's position is so heavily based on results. If people at the top clubs bashed their heads together to create a sustainability plan, they probably could afford to gamble on a young, ambitious manager. Have a clearly defined way and the manager only needs to know how the way works and command respect. For that reason I wouldn't be surprised if Carles Puyol became the next but one Barca manager (providing he has a haircut).
A haircut. He needs to cut his hair. Players can have stupid hair, managers shouldn't. In fact any man over 40 looks ridiculous with long hair, especially if they're starting to go bald. Not that Carles Puyol is going bald, but he is approaching an age where he starts to look silly. please log in to view this image
To talk about Coyle, Lambert, Adkins and Mcdermott in the same bracket as Wenger is almost offensive. The man is a genius and people are quick to forget the financial advantages of his transfer policy. Before the influx of foreign investors Arsenal were playing the best and most effective football in the world. They make a hefty net profit every year (unlike the other title challengers), while managing to retain their principles of classy and hugely entertaining football. It's a great shame Wenger is vilified rather than lauded for his conservativity in the transfer market. I think this is the summer where they will finally fork out on some big names signings and mount a meaningful title challenge. As for Redknapp, I've never rated him as a manager. I can't remember him ever playing any variation on a 4-4-2 in any game at any club apart from the 4-4-1-1 recently used at Spurs. This is why Spurs don't win big games. He just puts out the same team with the same tactics on every occasion. Unfortunately the journalists who fawn all over him fail to see him for what he truly is. He convinces chairmen to gamble on players whose cost and wages the club can't afford in the long term, reaps the rewards and 'exceeds expectations' for a year or two, then moves on leaving them financially ****ed. Him managing England this summer doesn't bear thinking about. I can just see it now. 4-4-2 vs Spain. 'Crouchy and Jermaine' up front. Dawson and King CB. Parker captain.
