The do’s and don’ts of managerial recruitments
Managers are undoubtedly one of the most important people in football and how they perform with the players they have can definitely impact how motivated and how well the team performs, however, their are certain do’s and don’ts on what to do when looking for manager.
Avoid making immediate managerial appointments
Why should you avoid making immediate managerial appointments? Because, a manager is then straightaway put into a team with little time to prepare and not much time to find out his best team and figure out how to plan for the season. While there are managers like Sam Allardyce and Tony Pulis who can get a job done almost immediately for relegation-fighting teams, there are also managers like Alan Pardew and Paul Lambert who struggle with bringing immediate success and getting results. By making immediate managerial appointments, you decrease the chance of success for the long term and not just the short term.
You don’t need to be a player to be a good manager
This a trend that we’ve seen throughout this century and one of the most well known managers who wasn’t a good player is José Mourinho. José Mourinho didn’t play much football but yet remains one of the most successful managers in the history of the game. Furthermore, there’s been a recent trend of “laptop coaches” in Germany, like Julian Nagelsmann and Domenico Tedesco. Laptop coaches are managers without any playing experience, and recently, many laptop coaches have found success. But why? Because they’re able to learn as much about the game from a managerial point of view in a shorter time than players with long careers that have become managers. At the end of the day, what’s most important of being a manager is man-management and tactics. Laptop coaches can easily learn about tactics through attaining licenses, and can also learn about the importance of man-management. So what does Nagelsmann, Tedesco, and Mourinho prove? You don’t have to be a good player to be a good manager.
Household names are overrated
When Lille OSC appointed Marcelo Bielsa in 2017, many Lille fans were excited, after all, they had appointed one of the most influential figures of the footballing world. However, by December 2017, he was sacked by the club after a poor run of results. What makes managers great and than become household names is the fact that they are able to create something special and win trophies, however, what many don’t realise is one of the many factors of what makes a manager great is the time he was given to prove himself and the fact that he had the players to play a certain system. Unfortunately, Lille did not specifically have the players ready for the system he wanted and because he didn’t cater his tactics based on the players he had, the team suffered.
Don’t give the manager too much power
Why is it important to not give the manager too much power? Because when the team starts underperforming, instead of the board and the rest of the club having control over the future of the manager, the manager instead will have control over his future. This can be seen with the case of Arsene Wenger. For 2 seasons in a row, Arsenal have massive underperformed and yet Arsene Wenger still remains one of the most powerful figures at the club, and having quite a lot of control over his future. By giving the manager too much power at the club, you immediately undermine the authority that the board has and instead of acting in the best interest of the club, the manager would be acting in the best interest of himself.
Choose the manager based on the clubs’ style of play
One of the most important factors that must be accounted for when appointing a manager is the clubs’ style of play and how the manager will continue the clubs’ style of play. What makes FC Barcelona one of the most successful clubs in the world is the fact that they have a specific criteria when appointing a manager. Part of the criteria is the incoming manager will continue playing the “Barça way” and maintain that identity. Because of this, managers like Ernesto Valverde encounter little difficulty when it comes to style of play, as his style of play is perfectly catered to the Barcelona way. By appointing a manager based on the clubs’ style of play, it “smoothens” the transition for the incoming manager coming into the club.
Managers will continue to be one of the most important people in football, as they’ve always been in the game. However, as managerial recruitments become more and more important, clubs need to be smart about how they recruit managers and can consider such a criteria when appointing a manager.
Sources:
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=W5LzsXYAAAAJ&hl=en
