Managerial Transition At The Top
The Premier League’s top 3 clubs are all going to have new managers next season. Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement, Roberto Mancini’s sacking & Rafael Benitez’s release means next season promises to be filled with uncertainty. This is something the league perhaps needs after a season like this one, which failed to provide a fantastic title race. The Premier League remains extremely popular, lucrative and still possesses some excellent players, but you get the feeling the league’s gone stale of late and needs rejuvenation. That’s why this is the perfect time for loads of drama and uncertainty leading into the new season.
Sir Alex Ferguson to David Moyes
Sir Alex Ferguson is the greatest manager of all time. Better than Stein, better than Busby, better than Shankly, better than Cruyff, better than Mourinho. He’s a man for all seasons, and has won against anyone and everyone, in different eras with different players and managed to beat every challenge in front of him. He started his career with 8 players and no goalkeeper at East Stirlingshire, and today possessed 6 goalkeepers and around 90 players. He managed in the times of the drinking culture, without advanced medicines and traditional British football, to today, with millionaire players, Bosman transfers, immense sports science and medicine and changes in laws. When he arrived, United were a big club, but one that hadn’t won a league title for 2 decades. There was no Facebook or Twitter, and he had a group of British players paid reasonable amounts of money. Today United supporters can be found on every continent and the media is constantly swirling around the club. Yet he managed to win and continue winning. His players never gave up, never stood still, and neither did he. He could be tough to the battle-hardened 1980’s player, or be the loving father figure to young superstars. His contributions to the League Managers Association, numerous charities and help to other managers was incredible. No club will ever have the stability United have enjoyed, and nobody could nurture players like he did. British football will be much poorer without him, and the effect at Carrington will be seismic. Sir Alex, Thank You.
His successor, whoever he was, had the impossible job. 30-40 years from now, United supporters will still sing his name. David Moyes is the man who has got world football’s best and worst job. He feels like an underwhelming choice, given every manager in the world would have wanted the job more than any other. United could have had anyone, and they went for the Scot. He is an excellent manager, who has earned his reputation at Everton. He is hard working and tactically superb. However, it’s still a massive risk United have taken. Moyes has never managed in Europe. He has never had to deal with squad rotation, Ferguson’s primary weapon in his later years. He doesn’t know how to juggle a squad between a match in Russia on Tuesday and a big away game on Sunday. He has no experience of a title run-in, or of juggling numerous competitions at once. He isn’t used to dealing with enormous media presence and massive money transfers. He doesn’t possess the aura to lure a Gareth Bale or a Robert Lewandowski. The plan seems to be to allow him time to mold the squad his own way and learn on the job. In 5 or 6 years, we could be praising United and Moyes for a shrewd choice, or we could be talking about the massive decline at the club. At least the club can start fresh now, with a new manager and Chief Executive, plus different ways of working, the players might be renewed and their hunger might be increased even more.
I’ll talk about the situation at City and Chelsea soon, but this one felt most important, for obvious reasons…
Wayne Rooney’s Future
Every day we are getting new evidence to suggest Wayne Rooney is the most stupid footballer in the country. This guy has worked hard all his life to be where he is today. After 9 glorious and trophy-laden years at Manchester United, it would seem obvious to suggest Rooney would want to finish his career at Old Trafford. He has developed into one of the finest players in Premier League history, and the outstanding Englishman of the 21st century. He has matured immensely of late, captaining United and England of late and showing his hard-working nature and versatility at the biggest club in the world. He is only 52 (for United) and 13 (for England) goals behind Sir Bobby Charlton’s records. This is most likely just a way for Rooney to gain a new contract, but if it’s true, it sounds insanely stupid. Unlike Robin van Persie, Rooney does not need to leave to look for trophies (He has 5 league titles and a Champions League medal). He does not possess too many serious options either. He claims he wants to play at center forward, which Zlatan Ibrahimovich will stop him from doing at PSG and Radamel Falcao at Monaco. Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich are the only clubs anywhere near United’s size, and none are interested. He wouldn’t be happy at Chelsea with Jose Mourinho and the lack of stability and Arsenal just seems like ridiculous speculation, given he earns £150,000 a week more than any Gunner and the fact that they are not Champions League challengers. He needs to start worrying about his legacy and how he will be remembered. His relationship with the supporters can be repaired, and he will get a fresh start under David Moyes after falling out with British football’s Godfather, Sir Alex Ferguson. He can definitely break the goal scoring records for both United and England, forever cementing his name as a legend. He should look at Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes and try to emulate them in their loyalty and longevity, while also looking at how so many players have left the Champions and struggled. He should sort out what’s going on in his head and stay at the club. He remains a magnificent player- possessing technique, vision and his goals return has remained world-class. He can surely negotiate a deal that keeps both parties satisfied.
Wenger’s Budget
So Mr Wenger, will this be the year the dust comes out of the wallet? Reports suggest he can spend close to £70 million this summer and can finally restructure the club’s wage bill. Hands up anyone who’s familiar with this statement. The fact is, Arsenal have enormous cash reserves and new deals with Emirates and Puma to further add cash. Wenger has great amounts of power at the club and if he wishes can sign the players the club needs to win trophies. The truth is that he is often the one who decides against it. He wants to stand out and places tremendous trust in young players, and wants to continue to develop them. A major believer in Financial Fair Play, he refuses to go all out and spend huge amounts of money on superstars. He also seems to dislike dealing with massive egos, and he may not be ready to deal with the added pressure of having a highly priced team. His approach is no longer admirable, because Arsenal have fallen behind in the league and charge ticket prices that put the term ‘Value For Money’ to shame. For all we know, last summer’s signings might signal a shift in ideology and perhaps this will be the summer Arsenal blow money like Phil Bardsley at that Casino last week.
Pep Guardiola’s Task Ahead
Bayern Munich are entering a cycle of winning, and Pep Guardiola takes over will manage consecutive dynasties, first at Barcelona and now in Bavaria. This guy is one of the smartest men in the game and he will know that while he must somehow try to improve the team, he must ensure he doesn’t change too much. This is a team that lost 3 times in all competitions last season and won the treble. Jupp Heynckes might have been upset at being shoved out the door, but he will know that he has gone out at the highest of highs. Uli Hoeness called the team he and Mathias Sammer have built the best in the club’s history. Guardiola walks into a club that plays a system similar to Barcelona’s, and with Mario Gotze and Robert Lewandowski on their way to the Allianz Arena, it’s hard to argue against the notion that next season’s Bundesliga will be among the most 1-sided ever. The bigger questions remain, however. How does Guardiola deal with the transfer market ? Arjen Robben’s future is up in doubt, as is Mario Gomez’s. He will want to finish off the dealings early. Also, how does he reinvigorate the players and restore their hunger? That might be one of the advantages of Guardiola’s arrival. Heynckes had taken the team to the ceiling and there was the feeling that they might slack off next season. Instead, with a new boss hungry to prove himself again and certain changes to the squad, Bayern’s players will have to perform once more, and with their standing in Europe higher than ever, expect Pep to join the list of bosses to win the European Cup with different clubs and equal Praisley’s 3 Cups soon enough.
Source: DSG
