The Season in 10 Managers
At the moment, the main interest in British football does seem to be with the managers. I don't think it's a golden era on the pitch - there are a lot of pretty nondescript teams in transition. I do think there's a fair bit to be said about various managers though.
Managers I don't really have a big opinion on, besides them being obviously varying degrees of good at their job - Antonio Conte, Mauricio Pochettino, Tony Pulis, Mark Hughes - I mean, when I say I don't have an opinion on Pocchetino ... I love Pocchetino, that's my opinion on him.
Firstly, Sam Allardyce. Allardyce does what he does. But he doesn't do more than that. He was the wrong choice for the England job on every level and what's happened is for the best. Initially, when he went to Palace it seemed possible he'd even lost the ability to do what he does. But, of course, that was the point. If he was going to turn up and get Palace to start winning every game instantly, he'd be manager of a bigger team. He's very good, but despite what he sometimes says, he does have a specialism. He'll keep Palace safe, he won't turn them into world beaters.
Gareth Southgate: I think, could be the right choice. Lack of big club experience is irrelevant. It's a totally different job. He did ok at Middlesbrough, considering it was his first job, he's done well with the U21s, and he seems to have grown in stature since his playing days. An intelligent man without taint - ok that's what Roy Hodgson was too, but, you know what, Roy mainly did a good job. They're the right kind of people to manage England - it's just a question of whether he throws the right dice at the major tournament.
Jose Mourinho: the wrong man for Man Utd. I'll eat my words if they win the title next year, of course. But Man U failed to see he's a tainted product now - I do think he's the greatest manager of the last 15 years, however much I dislike him, but the last year at Chelsea and the Eva Carneiro thing has done for him. Before that, you could wonder if his cuntiness was an act to protect his players. Now we know not. And he's taken to relentlessly slagging off his Man U players, as if that's a brilliant new managerial tactic.
Man Utd have the strongest squad in the league, don't let anyone tell you otherwise, they're underperforming and they're joyless. He messed up with Schweinsteiger, is messing up with Rooney, he's reliant on Zlatan, and where's the future in that.
Man Utd should have appointed Giggs, twice, they should have. I'm not saying he'll necessarily be a great manager elsewhere but he would have done well, with good will, at Man Utd, and every win and success would have made the club feel good about itself. He comes across to some as lacking personality, but I think he's astute and clear-minded about football - he mightn't have been a Guardiola, but i think he'd have been a Zidane.
Talking of Guardiola: I'm glad his ego and his halo's taken a bit of a kicking this year. He had the best players in the world ever at Barca - of course he was able to create magic. Arguably he both underperformed at Barca and Bayern, or at least certainly didn't overperform. Overperforming would have meant preventing Mourinho's Real from winning La Liga, it would have meant winning the Champions League with Bayern.
We're seeing his measure now. He's like Lewis Hamilton - does he always win if he doesn't have the best car (I mean, in both cases, they've got one of the best cars, but it's more of a fair fight now ...)
Claudio Ranieri: the high-mindedness that greeted the sacking of Ranieri, jesus. They were doing terribly, it had gone wrong, they tried to hold on to him, but of course they were right to ask the players and right to get rid of him. He's always been a patchy manager - he's done very well in some jobs and less well in others.
David Moyes is broken now, rather like Steve McClaren - his steady ascent to the Man Utd job and its rapid disintegration ... he was very good at Preston and Everton - it's a shame - some managers just don't get it back, they never do - you can see it in his eyes.
Brendan Rodgers: it's quite hard to achieve "success" with Celtic but Rodgers has conclusively managed it by reaching the group stages of the Champions League and by the sheer dominance in the SPL this year ... what now? Can it go any better? Rodgers, I think, can do it at a top club - I thought his sacking by Liverpool was a bit harsh, and he is the manager to get them closest to the Premier League in 25 years.
Jurgen Klopp: not that I don't welcome this chap, but he hasn't done that much better than Rodgers. I do think he will though. I think so because he doesn't have the same ego as Mourinho and Guardiola - he'll keep working and learning, I reckon.
Roberto Martinez: everyone wants Martinez to do well, he seems to do everything right. He's the press dream, the stats man's dream, the chairman's dream. But his teams will always concede too many goals for the league grind, I reckon. Could be a great international manager. Belgium for the next World Cup.
Arsene Wenger: I think Arsenal fans are getting a bit of a bum rap with this. It's been a very slow, very patient build to this point. Arsenal have had the same season over and over again for about a decade. It must be incredibly frustrating when you know exactly what's to happen. I'm quite sure they'd rather have one rollercoaster season, then an exciting late drive to 2nd, than this relentless 2nd or 3rd but never really in with a chance of winning. Just a change, they want a change. It's really time to give them one.
Managers I don't really have a big opinion on, besides them being obviously varying degrees of good at their job - Antonio Conte, Mauricio Pochettino, Tony Pulis, Mark Hughes - I mean, when I say I don't have an opinion on Pocchetino ... I love Pocchetino, that's my opinion on him.
Firstly, Sam Allardyce. Allardyce does what he does. But he doesn't do more than that. He was the wrong choice for the England job on every level and what's happened is for the best. Initially, when he went to Palace it seemed possible he'd even lost the ability to do what he does. But, of course, that was the point. If he was going to turn up and get Palace to start winning every game instantly, he'd be manager of a bigger team. He's very good, but despite what he sometimes says, he does have a specialism. He'll keep Palace safe, he won't turn them into world beaters.
Gareth Southgate: I think, could be the right choice. Lack of big club experience is irrelevant. It's a totally different job. He did ok at Middlesbrough, considering it was his first job, he's done well with the U21s, and he seems to have grown in stature since his playing days. An intelligent man without taint - ok that's what Roy Hodgson was too, but, you know what, Roy mainly did a good job. They're the right kind of people to manage England - it's just a question of whether he throws the right dice at the major tournament.
Jose Mourinho: the wrong man for Man Utd. I'll eat my words if they win the title next year, of course. But Man U failed to see he's a tainted product now - I do think he's the greatest manager of the last 15 years, however much I dislike him, but the last year at Chelsea and the Eva Carneiro thing has done for him. Before that, you could wonder if his cuntiness was an act to protect his players. Now we know not. And he's taken to relentlessly slagging off his Man U players, as if that's a brilliant new managerial tactic.
Man Utd have the strongest squad in the league, don't let anyone tell you otherwise, they're underperforming and they're joyless. He messed up with Schweinsteiger, is messing up with Rooney, he's reliant on Zlatan, and where's the future in that.
Man Utd should have appointed Giggs, twice, they should have. I'm not saying he'll necessarily be a great manager elsewhere but he would have done well, with good will, at Man Utd, and every win and success would have made the club feel good about itself. He comes across to some as lacking personality, but I think he's astute and clear-minded about football - he mightn't have been a Guardiola, but i think he'd have been a Zidane.
Talking of Guardiola: I'm glad his ego and his halo's taken a bit of a kicking this year. He had the best players in the world ever at Barca - of course he was able to create magic. Arguably he both underperformed at Barca and Bayern, or at least certainly didn't overperform. Overperforming would have meant preventing Mourinho's Real from winning La Liga, it would have meant winning the Champions League with Bayern.
We're seeing his measure now. He's like Lewis Hamilton - does he always win if he doesn't have the best car (I mean, in both cases, they've got one of the best cars, but it's more of a fair fight now ...)
Claudio Ranieri: the high-mindedness that greeted the sacking of Ranieri, jesus. They were doing terribly, it had gone wrong, they tried to hold on to him, but of course they were right to ask the players and right to get rid of him. He's always been a patchy manager - he's done very well in some jobs and less well in others.
David Moyes is broken now, rather like Steve McClaren - his steady ascent to the Man Utd job and its rapid disintegration ... he was very good at Preston and Everton - it's a shame - some managers just don't get it back, they never do - you can see it in his eyes.
Brendan Rodgers: it's quite hard to achieve "success" with Celtic but Rodgers has conclusively managed it by reaching the group stages of the Champions League and by the sheer dominance in the SPL this year ... what now? Can it go any better? Rodgers, I think, can do it at a top club - I thought his sacking by Liverpool was a bit harsh, and he is the manager to get them closest to the Premier League in 25 years.
Jurgen Klopp: not that I don't welcome this chap, but he hasn't done that much better than Rodgers. I do think he will though. I think so because he doesn't have the same ego as Mourinho and Guardiola - he'll keep working and learning, I reckon.
Roberto Martinez: everyone wants Martinez to do well, he seems to do everything right. He's the press dream, the stats man's dream, the chairman's dream. But his teams will always concede too many goals for the league grind, I reckon. Could be a great international manager. Belgium for the next World Cup.
Arsene Wenger: I think Arsenal fans are getting a bit of a bum rap with this. It's been a very slow, very patient build to this point. Arsenal have had the same season over and over again for about a decade. It must be incredibly frustrating when you know exactly what's to happen. I'm quite sure they'd rather have one rollercoaster season, then an exciting late drive to 2nd, than this relentless 2nd or 3rd but never really in with a chance of winning. Just a change, they want a change. It's really time to give them one.
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