Stevo985 Posted May 15, 2015 VT Supporter Share Posted May 15, 2015 Tim Sherwood and Garry Monk show there is hope for English managers There was logic as well as euphoria behind Branislav Ivanovic’s contention, made while Chelsea’s right-back was celebrating the Premier League title at Stamford Bridge last Sunday, that there is only one credible candidate for the manager of the year award. José Mourinho might even give himself an extra pat on the back for achieving a new distinction: the ability to defy the traditional warnings about the inherent folly of returning to the scene of former triumphs. But Mourinho’s latest success is not the best managerial story of the season. That surely comes in the faint sign of a lifting of the gloom that settled over English-born managers in the decades after Howard Wilkinson of Leeds United became the last of his breed to win the domestic championship, in 1991-92, the final season before the creation of the Premier League. The 23 subsequent titles have been divided between two Scots, two Italians, a Frenchman, a Chilean and the aforementioned Portuguese. The only serious challenges were mounted by Ron Atkinson, who finished second with Aston Villa in 1992-93, and Kevin Keegan, runner-up with Newcastle United in 1995-96. So low is the standing of the native‑born manager that were there to be a vacancy at any of the clubs regularly contending for a Champions League place, no one would expect the appointment of an Englishman. Which makes the current achievements of Garry Monk and Tim Sherwood all the more interesting. Monk was given the Swansea City job on a provisional basis after the dismissal of Michael Laudrup in February 2014, a rare blip in the recent history of a club rescued from the threat of oblivion only a dozen years ago. Kenny Jackett, Roberto Martínez and Brendan Rodgers were encouraged to pursue an enlightened approach to tactics and recruitment that took the club through all four divisions, giving Monk a solid foundation on which to build. Last Monday night’s win showed what a good job he is making of it. Most weeks, Swansea continue to play the sort of educated football that is a pleasure to watch. But in preparing for the visit to Arsenal, Monk decided to use all his 10 outfield players to stifle the slick passing game of a confident, attack-minded home team enjoying a long unbeaten run. If that worked, he would make his substitutions in the closing stages and hope that frustration would lead his opponents to take risks and lose concentration. And so it turned out when one of those substitutes, Bafétimbi Gomis, scored the evening’s only goal in the 85th minute. Monk accepted victory with modesty while displaying, quite correctly, no sense that he had done anything to be ashamed of. Arsène Wenger, by contrast, seemed unable to accept that his team had been outwitted by a legitimate and diligently applied footballing strategy. And we know Monk will not order Swansea to play like that every week. Modesty is not one of Sherwood’s most obvious virtues and his effect on Aston Villa’s fortunes has been more dramatic. It needed to be. The West Midlands club seemed ready for the last rites when he took over from the dismissed Paul Lambert in February but the new man has supervised such a convincing revival that he seems to have invented, as a bonus, a complete midfield for Roy Hodgson’s England. Fabian Delph, Tom Cleverley, Ashley Westwood and the prodigy Jack Grealish embody the revival of spirit and structure. Grealish’s impact in particular reminds us of the manager’s success in introducing the products of his youth scheme into Tottenham Hotspur’s first team last year. A youngish English manager fearlessly responding to the pressures of the Premier League by giving young English players regular first-team places – what could be more welcome than that? It’s true that this season’s three relegated clubs may well be taken down by English managers, but Chris Ramsey and Sean Dyche have earned respect and the right to attempt an immediate return to the top flight with Queens Park Rangers and Burnley, and to balance their departure the Premier League will welcome the arrival of Eddie Howe, whose feats with Bournemouth mean that another Englishman’s arrival at the highest level is awaited with interest. Wilkinson is now chairman of the League Managers Association, whose offices are at St George’s Park, the FA’s national football centre, where young coaches go to study. In his view, a belated change in attitude is finally having an effect. “In England you had the Chariots of Fire thing and the culture of coach education was slow to develop,” he told me this week. Walter Winterbottom pioneered the concept at the FA in the postwar era but the big change came a dozen years ago, with the adoption of the Uefa pro licence as a mandatory requirement for Premier League managers. Following on from the B and A licences, which concentrate on technique and tactics, it requires 240 hours of study into more abstract matters such as developing relationships with individual players. “Since the arrival of foreign players and advances in sports science, the profile of managers has changed,” Wilkinson said. “It’s a multifaceted role now. The players make greater demands on you. Alongside the technical and tactical and physical sides, it’s about bringing a group of people together. And people are different.” Managers are still addressed as “Boss”, he said, but that is merely a relic of a simpler time. “You have to step outside yourself, and outside your comfort zone, a lot more now. In the old days, you either had it or you didn’t. But now you don’t necessarily have to settle for being what you are. You can learn how to overcome a weakness – maybe you’re basically shy, for instance – without revealing it to the world.” The more rounded preparation seems to be having an effect. Wilkinson spoke to me during a break in a student exchange course at Uefa’s Swiss headquarters, which he has attended for many years. English managers are often assumed to be tactically illiterate by comparison with their rivals from continental Europe, but he sees enough to convince him that the current generation has what it takes. “I’d put us in the top four or five,” he says. But will a Roman Abramovich or a Sheikh Mansour – or those who advise them – ever feel ready to appoint an Englishman, when Champions League experience at foreign clubs seems to be a prerequisite? It might not be too much to hope that we are watching the first serious steps of the men who might eventually break a dismal pattern. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KSV Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 Besides enjoying our games more.. how great is it to enjoy a press conference.. after the crap we have had to endure the last 5 or 6 years. I havent been able to properly understand half of the managers. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted May 15, 2015 VT Supporter Share Posted May 15, 2015 I think I'm one of the few that isn't too keen on Sherwood's press conferences *tin hat* I love what he's doing on the pitch, so it doesn't bother me at all. He can say what he likes if we keep doing well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KSV Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 hes just jovial. You get a laugh. Hes positive and the media love him which means they love Villa. Its a win win. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted May 15, 2015 VT Supporter Share Posted May 15, 2015 The media loving a manager isn't necessarily a good thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
packoman Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 The stuff on the pitch is obviously the only thing that matters, but its nice to have a manager who seems to be enjoying himself and can have a bit of a laugh. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villaglint Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 I just like the fact that he smiles, even in his first press conference it was so refreshing after how dour Lambert had been for the previous few years. A bit of positivity can be infectious you know! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomaszk Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 He's a tit, but he knows it, acts up to it and has a laugh with it. His arrogance comes across positively, and seems to be rubbing off well (!) on the team. I think there are times next season we will struggle and he will fall out with some players big time. He's done absolute wonders with the side this year, we are totally unrecognisable. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulC Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 After Paul Lamberts dull press conferences, Sherwood's are a godsend. I love them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gillz Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 I really like Sherwood and how hes turned things around. However he must be absolutely laughing. He's being hailed as a genius for (hopefully) keeping us up and will be a legend if we (potentially) win the fa cup. Realistically, with our team and with players like Benteke and Delph we should be nowhere near the drop. Granted hes got them playing so much better and he deserves credit for that but its not the miracle its sometimes being portrayed us. I cant decide if Sherwood's ability is making Lambert seem absolutely useless or if lambert's incompetence makes Sherwood seem great. Either way, keep it up Tim! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAMAICAN-VILLAN Posted May 16, 2015 Share Posted May 16, 2015 When was the last time we had a manager with a bit of swagger and personality? I'm loving it, PLUS he has delivered on the pitch. Liked the guy from the beginning. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alreadyexists Posted May 16, 2015 VT Supporter Share Posted May 16, 2015 (edited) When was the last time we had a manager with a bit of swagger and personality? I'm loving it, PLUS he has delivered on the pitch. Liked the guy from the beginning. I agree. At first I was skeptical, but results helped to change my mind pretty quickly! Funny that I know he's a bit of a cockney geezer, but he does feel like he's 'our' cockney geezer! Way too early to think about this, but he could be the kind of manger that gets approached by another team before we sack him/he resigns. When was the last time that happened!? Don't want him to go anywhere just yet though. Edited May 16, 2015 by alreadyexists Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVTuco Posted May 16, 2015 VT Supporter Share Posted May 16, 2015 As you said, way too early to think that. So let's not. He's ours. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingman Posted May 16, 2015 Share Posted May 16, 2015 If it was Mourinho having the bants crack in interviews like sherwood then Sky/Media would all be Cadbury cream egging their pants! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AntrimBlack Posted May 16, 2015 Share Posted May 16, 2015 When was the last time we had a manager with a bit of swagger and personality? I'm loving it, PLUS he has delivered on the pitch. Liked the guy from the beginning. Ron Atkinson probably. John Gregory possibly to a lesser extent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulC Posted May 16, 2015 Share Posted May 16, 2015 Oneill as well to be fair Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sne Posted May 16, 2015 Share Posted May 16, 2015 Oneill as well to be fair Hard to have swagger in a tracksuit, O'Neill wasn't exactly Ali G 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VillaChris Posted May 16, 2015 Share Posted May 16, 2015 O'Neill had charisma though which is what we needed at the time after three years of O'Leary. It fits in with my theory....this club needs personalities as managers connecting with the fanbase for us to have good seasons. For a club of our size and general success in our history, we don't half lack self-esteem at times and start panicking. Obviously this is the internet but you see it on here at times, when we lose a few games and people are predicing instant relegation and us barely to pick up another point. Obviously they've been right in the last few seasons but we even had this in the MON years, his first season we went on a winless run over xmas and people were predicting relegation then. Anyway managers who give soundbites...Big Ron, Gregory, MON, we generally do well under these than dour negative ones like Houllier, McLeish, Lambert and O'Leary. Sherwood's in the first group and it's a good start for him. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted May 16, 2015 Share Posted May 16, 2015 O'Leary had an arrogance as well though it could be that he was actually a prick 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAMAICAN-VILLAN Posted May 16, 2015 Share Posted May 16, 2015 (edited) Ignore me Edited May 16, 2015 by JAMAICAN-VILLAN Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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