We all love Nigel, but is his lack of 'star' quality a problem when signing players. Given two clubs, are players more likely to go where they will work under a previous great player? It's not my view, but one that I have heard a lot recently. Discuss.
I don't think so Fran. I think the "Star Quality" issue can go either way; it can draw people in or it can actually intimidate them. I have met Nigel Adkins briefly and he has a warming quality to him that immediately makes you feel comfortable. He has the ability to make you feel as if he is genuinely focused on you when talking to you. That is an important quality as most footballers have some ego in there that needs nursing or rubbing. If players get to the training ground or the stadium, that will help them make up their mind. The sad thing is that the 2 numbers on the bottom of the contract are the most important in them making a decision: 1. The player's salary 2. The agent's fee.
How many former star players are actually managing? It's a small number so going head to head with one for a player won't be that common. I also think that players are savvy enough to realise that any contract they sign is likely to see them work with at least two or three managers these days! It is therefore the club itself that would sway anyone with two similar offers on the table and I think we'll be just fine in that department.
Wenger, Vilas-Boas & Mourinho didn't play the game at a professional level. Very few people alive remember the careers of Sir Alex Ferguson or Harry Redknapp. David Moyes & Alan Pardew forged modest careers in the 2nd tier. Being a great ex player will give you a foot in the management door, but you have to start from scratch to forge a reputation as a manager. Look at Kenny Dalglish, in the late eighties, people wanted to work for him because of Kenny the player. The players of today(apart from video footage) will only know of Kenny the manager. Players will know of Southampton, hear our ambitions and if they want to sign then that's all we can ask
This question has a very easy awnser. If you want to play under Adkins and Southampton and are happy with the deal we offer you , jump on board and join are journey back to the Premiership. If you want high wages and are only interested in your self... F*CK OFF!!!
It depends surely what you actually mean by star players. International players are usually household names and therefore are given the status of "Stars". All leagues have their "star players" Which frankly outside of that league they are generally not that well known. I would say we do have a few star players that have/are building a reputation towards stardom. Lallana, Lambert, Chamberlain to name but a few. Possibly Spider in the future so are we really with out star quality? Maybe not full internationals............ but local stars?
As far as I'm concerned the bigger draw to Southampton to a player is the vision which they will see wen they walk through the door and shown the infrastructure, setup and of course the 5 year plan!
The best management reputations get built on what they do as managers. Not that many top managers were hugely outstanding players and the ones that were have had to build reputations like all the others. Nigel is a very good manager and players will realise that when they meet him. Jan Poortvliet was part of the Cruyff Holland team and look what happened with him!
Players will go where the highest money is offered. No other criteria - most players are so stupid they can't cope with even a single criteria and leave it to the agent. They can only cope with the criteria already mentioned.
Wenger and Mourinho both played at professional clubs in France and Portugal respectively but you're right, you pretty much start from scratch when you enter management.
Money speaks. That shouldn't be too much of a problem for us however. As does the footballing philosophy of the club. Our five year plan is ambitious but completely realistic and how many times have we now heard of players or staff who had recently signed, who cited that they had bought into Cortese's ideals. I think once we get offers accepted by clubs and get to talk to players, we should feel fairly confident in signing them IF the terms are convenient for the club. This is why I believe the Sharp story.
I think these replies may have missed Fran's original point. These managers mentioned are currently BIG names... Nigel isn't...yet. I think she is referring top whether they are currently star names and have star quality, not necessarily if they were star players. Fran correct me if I'm wrong.
I remember another Manager we got from the lower leagues, a guy who wasn't a name, had only managed Donny and Grismsby, never was a decent player and then to cap it all went and got us relegated after half a season. He managed to attract one or two big names. The European footballer of the year, the worlds best keeper and a world cup winner to name but 3.
A good way to remember our past and unknown managers LD . Although out of all those unknowns we have hired Lawrie Mac was the only unknown that actually made the grade. Can't think of any others although Ted bates was one himself in the beginning. OK A few could argue Nigel Pearson, although I would argue he was rather more known than others and still not of Lawrie Macs standing. You see even Lawrie Mac only did the business for one club. Some say he should have stayed and not gone to Sunderland. Hey ho though that is life as they say...........
I was more trying to make the point that you don't need to be a star name to be able to have a successful management career. Wenger & Mourinho built their reputations and worked their way up the leagues. The manager is just one of many factors needed to attract a player in. As far as what is "star" quality. I think it's a fair point that just being a great footballer is not the key ingredient. Lawrie Mac has a larger than life character and Charisma. I have no doubt that his presence as a person allowed him to attract and keep happy all of those star players in the early eighties.
Just back from work to read replies. I think that Nigel is a manager respected by other managers more than by players who don't know him. He managed to get the best out of most players last season with fall outs only with Puncheon and N'Guessan. Are we having problems closing deals? Don't know. It's just that this transfer window feels like the last one. I believe NA wants a couple of new players and Nicola wants him to have them, but perhaps not enough. Perhaps we're not schmoozing these players enough. I hope I'm proved wrong by end of July/August.
Wages, facilities, location and club ambition are probably the key factors. However, managers influence can be important, but that is usually only through them previously playing under him.
