Midweek Musing
It's not Rocket Science
Well the Premier League is back with a bang to start the new year… the last two managers to win the Manager of the Month trophy are looking for new jobs already!
What I have wondered about for a long time in sports is why the constant see-saw approach to hiring managers?
I have thought about this since Pete Carroll was hired to replace Bill Parcells in New England in 1997. I was still learning the game back then in the NFL but it was apparent even to me as a novice back then that these two were fundamentally different types of coaches who played ball in a different way.
What I found odd about it was that it meant the whole roster would likely need to be overhauled (ok not all 53 but a lot).
In modern football its the same - the signing of Amorim was always an odd one. Not because he hadnt done amazing things in Sporting Lisbon, not for his aptitude or potential but because it was obvious it would end up being an expensive mistake.
Why?
Well that’s down to the fact that it showed there was no philosophy other than ‘we want to win football game and he has done it with Sporting Lisbon’.
The best way to actually do that is to start with Why (yes i’m stealing Sinek’s idea). But in sport its about philosophy and identity. The most obvious thing in sport is that the Head Coach or Manager will leave. If they are good they will be poached, if they are bad they will be fired but they will be leaving either way. So if you start with the manager you are already in trouble. So start with the philosophy.
Philosophy > Structure > People
I believe its really as simple as that. Ownership/Leadership need to set the philosophy. You then build a structure around that so it can endure regardless of the people that are involved, you then hire the people that believe in the philosophy and can bring the vision to life within that structure.
One of my favourite examples was Swansea. Why? Because they built a playing philosophy. They then bought players and hired managers around the philosophy and had their best period in their recent history before they reverted to the mean and the wheels fell off (ie they panicked and hired a manager who did everything different!)
To me that was a wonder to behold:
The chronological order of the four managers was:
Roberto Martínez: February 2007 to June 2009
Paulo Sousa: June 2009 to July 2010
Brendan Rodgers: July 2010 to June 2012
Michael Laudrup: June 2012 to February 2014
I would argue that we have seen Brighton do the same and Brentford too.
At my club I have been asked about signing Rosenior and from all the reading i have done it makes sense. The one that didn’t was Poch. Not because he isn’t a top manager or that he came from a history at Spurs, but because when you look at Potter, Maresca and Rosenior there are philosophical playing similarities that make sense. the style of play and press and counter press are similar. How they do it has some differences of course, and their personalities are different but Poch was a counter attack coach, compared to three who want ball control. Poch just made no sense!
At Spurs i loved that they hired Ange. I enjoyed him and his football and he lived up to the To dare is to do motto and creedo of the fans and club. Conte, Jose, Frank? All top managers and very capable but hard to get a tune from players when you go from Conte to Ange to Frank, stylistically too different. So now it gets expensive to buy players and trade them.
So I will watch the next hire at MUFC. Will it be someone who embraces the old philosophy of the club or is it another 3-4-3 coach?
Personally I would take the time to ask, what is the club philosophy, how should we bring that to life and who can do it best… and who are the other 5 managers who could also do that, because the math says we will need another new manager soon enough.