Keep Jose, but give him a holiday

Just one of many back pages which have mounted the pressure on Mourinho.

Haven't we been here before? Yet another weekend's back pages are dominated by the crashing reputation of 2015's hero-to-zero fall guy. Jose Mourinho has been on the brink for some time - somehow squirming inches towards the precipice without the final push being delivered. Defeats continue to rain down on the Portuguese manager like a traditional English summer. 

The mercilessly awful form that Chelsea are exhibiting is compounded by Mourinho's antics, which are increasingly illustrating The Special One as a desperate, agitated character who has completely lost control. Far beyond the debasing rant against doctor Eva Carneiro, Mourinho shows no shame in ramping up his blame tactics to eleven. This weekend saw another display of irate flouncing and sardonic gestures on the touchline, before the inevitably bizarre post-match interview.

The familiar sarcastic laughter aimed at the referee.

It doesn't take a body language specialist to see that Jose Mourinho is under intense, inescapable pressure (although try telling that to the BBC, who decided to get a body language specialist to show that Jose Mourinho was under intense, inescapable pressure). The Chelsea boss is unlikely to have ever experienced anything close to this sort of scrutiny in his high-profile career, with the renowned hawkish behaviour of the British media coupling delightfully with one of the most surprisingly weak title defences in recent history.

It is precisely the nature of this pressure's ubiquity, coupled with the sensible truth that Jose Mourinho is a world-class manager capable of creating and directing a team that can challenge at the very highest level, that leads to my solution: Jose Mourinho needs a break.

Perhaps one or two months. Perhaps the rest of the season. A break from football, far away from the prying eyes of the tabloids and 24-hour sports news networks. A chance to forget about Chelsea, the referees, and the undiminished hunger to see Jose fail. 

Currently, every interview can only be another stage of hell for Jose.

My interpretation of Mourinho's recent antics are that he is trapped. It's never been uncommon for The Special One to deflect criticisms against his team towards all manner of outrageous targets. When things are going relatively smoothly, it's an effective tactic - Sir Alex Ferguson knew the value of protecting his players from the media too. 

However, Mourinho's most recent efforts are not a result of careful thought and deliberation - anyone with a clear head would have known that another animated touchline outburst, followed by a shirty interview, is a bad idea given the media whirlwind surrounding the club. It seems far more likely that Jose Mourinho is starting to freeze up under this pressure, returning to his most learned response as a coping mechanism.

The increased prevalence of 'the conspiracy theory' correlates directly to poor results.

Mourinho is stuck in a cycle. Chelsea lose, the pressure grows. The pressure grows, Mourinho reacts. Mourinho reacts, the team morale continues to fall. The team morale continues to fall, Chelsea lose. There was a stage earlier on in the season where a couple of favourable results, whether the fruit of good performances or lucky breaks, would have plugged the leak of seeping pressure. However, the job is now irreparable, and even a few victories would still leave Mourinho looking precarious, as it is extremely unlikely that Chelsea will reach their pre-season expectations of retaining the Premier League.

Many have commented that Mourinho has never had to lift a club out of this volume of mire before, and that this situation is test of The Special One's true resolve. Perhaps Mourinho feels he needs to prove something to these people, but it would be far more in his interests to admit he needs some help. Chelsea never hired The Special One to revive a failing squad, because that has never been what made him special. Mourinho should bite the bullet, ask Abramovich for a month or two off, allow an interim manager to get the team motivated again, and return to work in order to harness the relentless and clinical ability he has to win trophies.

Mourinho and trophies go hand-in-hand - could Chelsea afford to lose that?

It is most certainly an unorthodox approach, but Chelsea are facing a unique problem. No-one questioned Mourinho's managerial prowess before the season started, but it is clear that he is in no mental state to reach his own lofty standards. Chelsea would be foolish to let one of the world's top managers go, but to keep him will only do further damage. It might be a blot on his copy book, but if Mourinho could get past admitting that he's not the right manager in this specific situation, perhaps there is a solution that will benefit all parties beyond.

5 successful managers Liverpool's board would have sacked

Rodgers - deserving of more time?

Although Brendan Rodgers' 166 games (equating to three-and-a-bit years) of employment for Liverpool Football Club represents eons in modern footballing terms, there are many who believe the board have acted with disappointingly clichéd haste. While it can be argued that the demand for results is correlated to the amount of money currently being pumped into the game, one can't shake off the romanticism of a try-hard who struggles and toils before getting it right. With Rodgers robbed of such an opportunity, here are five managers who would have succumb to his fate in a similar time period had Fenway Sports been assessing their position... 

 

Alex Ferguson (Manchester United 1986-2013)

Mandatory Fergie mention whenever a manager is sacked.

OK, let's get the obvious one out of the way. Everybody is sick to death of seeing Fergie wheeled out every time a chairman makes a knee-jerk decision, but the timing of Rodgers sacking when compared to Ferguson is notably apt. Three-and-a-bit years in was slap-bang in the middle of Ferguson's darkest period as Manchester United manager. 

The club had just spent a good chunk of money on reinforcements, including the additions of Paul Ince, Gary Pallister and Mike Phelan (Whose fees don't quite reach the heights of £20million Dejan Lovren and the like...), and the results were extremely poor. United ended 1989 on the brink of the relegation zone, having suffered a humiliating 5-1 defeat to Manchester City in the process.

The rest, as they say, is history. The board kept faith with the scarlet-faced Scot, ignoring the grumblings of supporters, and Ferguson went on to become the most decorated manager in English football history. Yes, this is a worn-out example akin to losing an argument by Godwin's Law, but it builds an undeniably strong starting point for the defence case.

Dario Gradi (Crewe Alexandra 1983-2007)

Gradi - greatness without the glitz.

Dario Gradi's achievements may not be quite as sparkling at Sir Alex Ferguson's, but his legacy at Crewe Alexandra is just as huge. Gradi began his Crewe tenure as the club was teetering on Football League oblivion, with The Railwaymen having applied for re-election on more than one occasion. Gradi was able to haul the club from the very bottom of the Fourth Division, but the improvement was only marginal. Five years after his appointment, Crewe could still only manage 17th in the bottom tier.

Although one might argue that there is less pressure on a manager in the lower divisions, this is completely countered by the catastrophic effect of a club losing its place in the football league. The board had strong faith in Gradi, and the long-term rewards were huge. He led the team to multiple promotions, capping off with the club's highest ever finish of 14th in the second tier (2001). The Gradi era ensured Crewe Alexandra's status as a Football League mainstay. The story would have been very different without him.

Louis van Gaal (Ajax 1991-1997)

Ajax had an incredible period under van Gaal's management.

Had the knives been sharp enough, Louis van Gaal's excellent reign at Ajax may have been sliced to death before it hit full speed. Though van Gaal would go on to win three Eredivise titles, including an unbeaten season, success wasn't instant. The future Dutch national manager could only manage 2nd place in his first season, and Ajax fell to third the following year. Though this seems a world away from Liverpool's inability to challenge for the title, it's important to consider the context of Ajax's perpetual domination of the Dutch leagues (along with PSV and, to a lesser extent in this era, Feyenoord) and the resultant expectation to deliver. 

Perhaps the modern-day reaction to a slight decline in league performance would have been to find a new man, especially considering van Gaal was promoted from the assistant manager's position in the first place and therefore lacked the pedigree of a bigger name. However, it would be unfair for me to neglect mentioning the 1992 UEFA Cup win, which preceded van Gaal going one step further and winning the Champions League a few years later. So perhaps this would go down as a case in which the seeds of success were sewn, in contrast to the trophyless Rodgers.

Thomas Schaaf (Werder Bremen 1999-2013)

Schaaf worked wonders for Werder.

It was inevitable that Thomas Schaaf would end up managing Werder Bremen given his 17 years of service to the club as a player. When he was appointed in 1999, Werder Bremen were sliding uncomfortably towards relegation, so there is certainly an argument to say that Schaaf wouldn't necessarily have got the chop. His initial influence was to stabilise the club for the first few seasons, keeping them in-and-around mid-table. 

With consecutive finishes of 9th, 7th, 6th and 6th, it's unlikely that a reasonable board would have seen this as an issue that needed resolving. But perhaps if a manager with the prestige of Jurgen Klopp started making noises about finding a new club, a "business-minded" chairman would have taken the brave decision of cutting out a club-favourite for 'guaranteed success'.

As it was, Schaaf continued to enjoy his reign for many years, peaking with a league and cup double in 2004 - the first in the club's history.

Jurgen Klopp (Mainz 05 2001-2008)

Liverpool's next manager isn't a direct ticket to success...

Ah, the sucker punch! Although I must admit, in stretching this to cover the surface area of the argument, I am leaving quite enormous holes that I'm sure astute readers will be quick to point out. Jurgen Klopp's managerial career began at Mainz 05, with the club ambitious to secure promotion to the Bundesliga. After Klopp's second attempt fell just short, perhaps a panicky board would have looked elsewhere (although this would have been extremely harsh, even by modern standards).

Klopp led Mainz to 3rd place in 2004, snatching promotion and beginning the club's short stay in the top flight. He managed to keep Mainz in a comfortable mid-table hover for two seasons, before a disastrous 2007 plunged the club into relegation. Did Mainz sack him then? Not a chance, and if anything Klopp would enjoy the equivalent of a personal promotion by taking the Dortmund job in 2008.

So this is a bit of a clunky example, but how many managers have seen their club decline in such a way, only to be offered a massive position a year later? Let's hope Fenway Sports are aware that Klopp's record isn't entirely blotless, and that - whisper it - it might take a year or two before any strides towards progress are made...

How Sunderland can break the cycle

It has not been easy for Sunderland this season...

Note: This article was written before (and slightly during and after) Advocaat leaving the post.

It's a well-known trope now: Sunderland's unbreakable cycle. Start poorly, sack manager, improve, stay up, repeat. It's a constant wheel of dejection, new lows and 60th minute fan walkouts that doesn't seem to have a palpable end. How do Sunderland lift themselves out of this endless whirlwind?

It's possible. Perhaps teams haven't settled into a routine quite as stubbornly as Sunderland in the past, but you can pick out examples of teams drawing themselves away from their usual character. 

Crystal Palace hauled themselves beyond their usual 'get promoted, instantly get relegated' routine with the astute appointment of Tony Pulis, followed by Alan Pardew's superb management of the club. Meanwhile, David Moyes' Everton legacy took them from perennial strugglers to top-half mainstays. Clubs can change, but it takes a lot of brave decision-making and a clear plan to achieve.

How can Sunderland do it? My belief is that the following steps presents the team's best chance of fulfilling their potential. 

 

1. Advocaat should go

And, as I later found out, he did.

Yeah, I know. I'm starting the list off with a sacking, which is a major part of the problem already. However, Sunderland won't improve their hopes of stabilising and establishing a stronger team without turning over a new leaf, and I just don't believe that Advocaat can be a part of this.

He's a lovely bloke, and has undoubtedly worked hard and sacrificed a lot to be Sunderland manager. However, it doesn't seem like an entirely happy situation for him currently, and it looks like quite a big part of him wants to be somewhere else. Whether that's because his wife doesn't want to live in Sunderland, or if he doesn't have the passion for the job, or if he just wishes he had carried through with his plans to retire, something is holding Advocaat back from truly enjoying the opportunity to manage a big Premier League club. 

Given the scenario that faces Sunderland, and the inevitable tough days to come, Advocaat's mentality will add an extra weight to the already sinking ship. Although he was rightly commended for his decision to stay into the start of this season, that shouldn't obscure the truth that he doesn't seem to be the right man for the job.

 

2. Pick the right man

Could Nigel Pearson be Sunderland's solution?

This would seem like an obvious step, but Sunderland have often been at the disadvantage of choosing their managers in March, limiting the pool of potential prospects. The last time they bucked this trend was following the 2008-2009 season: Sunderland appointed Ricky Sbragia as caretaker manager after sacking Roy Keane, meaning they could get Steve Bruce at the end of the season. 

If they do let Advocaat go, Sunderland's board should have a very clear vision of who would be the best man to take over. There needs to be patience here also - if it means appointing an interim manager until the end of the season and waiting for the perfect candidate to become available, then so be it. 

It's easy enough to talk about picking the right man, but Sunderland can't be accused of not trying different tactics when it comes to appointing managers. They've gone for Premier League experience (Steve Bruce, Martin O'Neill), passion (Paolo Di Canio), lower-league rising stars (Gus Poyet) and international pedigree (Dick Advocaat). However, all of these managers came with certain baggage which held them back, and all were given, at most, two years to get it right. 

It's difficult to decide what Sunderland needs the most, but I would argue that passion needs to be a part of the skillset. Recently theories have been bandied around that suggests Northern teams are at an inherent disadvantage for socio-economic reasons, meaning that top players find the idea of living in such areas undesirable. Whether or not this is as significant as has been suggested, Sunderland will have to accept the changing landscape of football and understand that they need to do more to convince quality players to move up North. A passionate enigma of a manager could be a part of winning such a battle.

Nigel Pearson has been mentioned, and this could be a reasonable shout. No-one can deny the man's passion (often straying into the comical), and he has the experience of hauling a seemingly desperate team out of the relegation places. Pearson's success in building a strong Leicester team capable of staying in the Premier League shows he has an eye for a good player, and the conviction of his own beliefs to keep faith in his side when results went against him.

For the sake of argument, let's say Pearson is chosen and move onto step three.

3. Insist on a squad overhaul

Lee Cattermole - a relic from six managers ago...

The current Sunderland squad is made up of broken bits from a variety previous regimes. It's as if someone has taken pieces from five different jigsaw puzzles and tried to glue them together - the result is about as pretty as Sunderland's football. There is little cohesion in the side, and every new manager has had to work with the (often failed) judgements of his predecessor.

Sunderland's board should insist that a new manager completely overhauls the current squad. It is impossible to instil a set of philosophies and tactical nuances effectively when working with a team that isn't yours, and ultimately Sunderland will need a manager to do this for there to be any hope of progression. While a huge changeover may be costly, it pays dividends well beyond a constant patchwork job of adding new players who don't really fit the rest of the squad.

With Pearson hypothetically appointed, he should use the rest of the season to assess the players within his own playing style. It may be that he can put together a starting eleven who function well in his system, or it may be that he only chooses to keep the goalkeeper. Either way, the most important thing is that the board trust the way he operates, and fully backs any transfers he instigates.

4. Don't be afraid to get relegated

Sunderland's last Championship season wasn't so bad...

It seems that the Sunderland board's biggest fear is to get relegated to the Championship, and every decision made is a scrabbling attempt to marginally keep Sunderland above the dotted line. This is the ultimate in short-term thinking, and relegation should be considered as a probable step in the rebuilding process - a step that is not without its benefits. In our ever-growing hypothetical, let's suggest that Pearson is appointed, he starts to put his philosophy into practice but, as a result, the team is relegated.

Normally, Pearson would be sacked at this point, but the board must back their man. Relegation is not the end of the world, especially with the sincere belief that the manager will eventually lead the club to success. Relegation is a huge opportunity to regroup, build a new team and get fans motivated again.

Away from the pressures of the Premier League, it is far easier for a club to take a few risks with bringing in new talent. It doesn't matter if a signing flops or if young players are struggling to find their feet - the sneering punditry and media criticisms of the manager's judgement are turned down to a barely audible volume once a club is out of the top tier. Time in the Championship would give Pearson an opportunity to play some of the youngsters, sign lower-league talents he feels have strong potential and find his perfect eleven.

And yes, I did say it will get fans motivated again. While Sunderland supporters are still admirably keeping attendances high (42,000 yesterday against West Ham), I feel like I could create a three-hour montage of all the footage where fans leave the game early. A spell in the Championship may mean attendances dip initially, but when the winning starts it really doesn't matter which league you're in. People love to go and watch their team win, and a club the size of Sunderland will, with the right manager, undoubtedly hover close to the top spot.

5. Let the manager build a dynasty

Perhaps it was the hope that Roy Keane would do the same.

To break the cycle, Sunderland will have to do things differently. They have tried all sorts of different managers, but the one thing they haven't attempted recently is letting one build their own dynasty at the club. It is easy to make knee-jerk decisions when results aren't going well, but the knees of the Sunderland board have been doing riverdance for far too long.

With our hypothetical Pearson-led Sunderland bouncing back into the top flight, they now have a squad which is suited to his liking. Perhaps they struggle in that first season, and it looks like they're heading for the exit once more. Do Sunderland get rid of him then? Do they get a new manager in to keep the team in the Premier League? After all, they worked so hard to get there, surely one sacking to boost the club's chances won't hurt.

But of course, the answer is they shouldn't. It does take time for a good manager to set everything the right way, and there will always be setbacks. Judgement should always fall back to that first moment, where the board chose the manager. What did they choose him for? What were their ambitions? What did they see occurring? What's the plan? If the board were truly certain when they made that decision, it should be clear. Making mistakes as a great manager often isn't just one or two games, sometimes it's entire seasons. But if the board knows it has the right manager, then the only thing they have to do is stick to their conviction.

It begins

In the process of writing this, Advocaat has left Sunderland. Pearson has already been rumoured as a possible replacement, so while this might seem like the continuation of that oh-so-predictable Sunderland cycle, maybe it's the moment where the wheel falls off of the choking, spluttering car, and flies off down the road into new pastures. Maybe we are beginning on this new cycle, and perhaps in a few seasons will see a Sunderland brimming with momentum, confidence and the ability to finally fulfil the huge potential that has always been threatened.

Kean To See Him Gone

Today, Steve Kean went into the training with hundreds of befuddled fans lining his way, protesting his employment and yelling hopeful calls for his dismissal. They’ve held up their placards and voiced their opinions for weeks now, both in the stands and out. The local paper itself has backed the calls to see Steve Kean kicked away from Blackburn Rovers, and yet he remains.

It’s amazing, the amount of derision that can be poured upon a man before he cries enough. Steve Kean has been vilified so hard you’d expect his routine to consist of crying himself to sleep, crying himself awake and crying himself to work. However, Kean presses on despite the fans calls, which are now beginning to become hoarse with frustration. While you have to admire Kean’s resilience, it begs the question of how much a man can be despised by the fans before a board will give in.

For many clubs I imagine this situation would have been quashed long before it got to this stage. Boards are notoriously itchier than supporters, and it’s ultimately their finger that lies temptingly on the trigger throughout the manager’s tenure. However, Venkys seems unwilling to make any move regarding Kean, and it’s this combined with the vociferous protests that is leading to a dangerous situation at Blackburn Rovers.

It’s difficult to know what the supporters’ job is in this type of predicament. On the one hand, these protests make Kean’s position practically untenable and the fans have succeeded in making Kean’s sacking a wise decision. However, with Venkys looking reserved in their motivation to rid themselves of Kean, the constant chanting and booing of the current management may only serve to distract the players and consequently lead to worse results.

It’s a bit of a see-saw for the fans. On the one hand they want Kean gone, but on the other hand they don’t want to distract the team and see them condemned further into the relegation mulch. As much as people will tell you that these protests are aimed directly at Kean and don’t concern the players, it’s impossible to suggest that it doesn’t affect them negatively. They will be aware that Kean is under pressure. They themselves will begin to scrutinise his management. The effect will be negative in the short term.

That said, Kean’s management has been very poor and I’m not sure ‘bad’ and ‘worse’ will make much of a difference for Blackburn’s current plight. They need Kean gone, and it really has got to the stage that all other considerations need to be discarded. The team’s chance of avoiding relegation under the current management is hopeless, and only the board seem unaware of these, or at least nonchalant about doing anything to counter it.

Is it right to barrack a man as he goes about his job though? After all, Steve Kean is only human and as much as he does a poor job, there’s no doubt in my mind he tries his very hardest. Alex Ferguson, Harry Redknapp and Paul Lambert have all come out in support of Steve Kean’s plight and offered encouragement to the Glaswegian. It would perhaps seem that the fans are overdoing it and only serving to harass someone who works hard for the club.

However, I think once you move into football management, you are well aware of the nature of the beast. Fans don’t make their opinion known through subtlety, and if they feel you aren’t up to task they’ll be sure to let you know about it, with their words encapsulated in eloquent ‘fucks’ and ‘arseholes’. Though the abuse of Kean probably isn’t fair, he will know better than anyone else that it was the risk of being a football manager. The fans themselves will say they have a right to voicing their opinion, and that’s true. 20,000 people all voicing their opinion against you will never sound too pleasant, but that really is part and parcel of football.

It seems there are two options for Kean. If he’s willing to accept the abuse, he can move forward and continue breaking his back to turn things around. If he feels he can’t hack it anymore, he can resign. If he did the latter, I’d imagine the abuse will stop instantly, and the Blackburn fans may even be appreciative of his effort and the fact that he called it quits for the good of the club.

To be honest, I’m not sure it’s Kean whom they are angry at anyway. I’m pretty certain that, one way or another, Venkys has been behind the real aggravations throughout the Blackburn support. They need to act in the interests of the club, and it’s becoming undeniable that allowing Kean to remain is beneficial to anyone involved. The fans who are directing their abuse at Steve Kean should perhaps ask themselves “If I was given a dream job as a football manager, and began mucking up, would I soldier on?” It’s Venkys job to prevent a situation like this from getting out of hand, and in their first major task as a board, it seems they are failing.



Oh and have a Merry Christmas