The Managerial Merry-Go-Round : A Symbol for Modern Football?

It is startling to think that so early into the new year, six Premiership clubs have already been affected by changes of manager. There have been many factors influencing the various managerial casualties so far this season, including the interference of meddling foreign owners, and pressure from supporters.

The first manager to depart his post was Alan Curbishley of West Ham. Curbishley was appointed in December 2006, replacing Alan Pardew at Upton Park. At the time, the Hammers were languishing in the relegation zone of the Premier League, despite the much-publicised recruitment of Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano. However, Curbishley managed to stabilise the squad and the Hammers won their final game at the season at Old Trafford, with Tevez scoring the solitary goal in a 1-0 win. A season of stability followed, with Curbishley comfortably steering the Hammers into mid-table. The current season started inconsistently for Curbishley, as wins against Wigan and Newcastle were tempered by defeats against Manchester City and newly-promoted West Brom. 

Curbishley resigned from his post on the 3rd September, in the wake of a 4-1 victory over Blackburn, and it became clear that internal factors were largely responsible. Curbishley was unhappy with the owners of the East London-based club attempting to sell left-back George McCartney to Sunderland, a move soon realised by the two clubs. On priniciple, it was impossible for Curbishley to continue in a job where his authority was being undermined. It is clear that huge sympathy should go to Curbishley, as the club progressed under his stewardship. Former Chelsea playmaker Gianfranco Zola was appointed as new West Ham manager. Zola endured a shaky start, but recent results, such as the 4-1 demolition of Portsmouth, have stabilised Zola’s position.

 

A day after the departure of Curbishley, Kevin Keegan resigned as manager of Newcastle United, only 8 months after his sensational return to the North East, when he took over from Sam Allardyce. In his second spell at Newcastle, Keegan did a similar job to that of Curbishley, steering an average team away from the relegation zone, despite a shaky start. The present season looked hugely promising when the Magpies secured an impressive opening day draw away at Manchester United, with Obafemi Martins scoring and new signings Jonas Gutierrez, Fabricio Collocini and Danny Guthrie performing admirably. The Geordie fans were now dreaming of stability, a commodity depressingly absent from the club in recent years.

However, the actions of owner Mike Ashley led to Keegan’s resignation, which angered fans and also ensured that the uncertainty that Newcastle fans had been only too used to in recent years returned. Keegan, once again similar to Curbishley, felt that his authority was being undermined, especially as Dennis Wise was employed by Ashley as the man responsible for player recruitment. It seems that the enforced exit of Keegan was very harsh on a man who was once again endearing himself to the Geordie faithful. Joe Kinnear was soon appointed as Interim Manager and is still at the helm, following a string of impressive results, notably a 0-0 draw against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

 

The most sensational managerial change in the Premiership during the current season undoubtedly has to be the departure of Juande Ramos from Tottenham Hotspur. Ramos was relieved of his duties after a very poor start to the season, with defeats against Portsmouth, Stoke and Hull cutting short the Spaniard’s reign at White Hart Lane, despite victory in the Carling Cup Final the previous season. It is clear that Spurs fans and players alike were unhappy under Ramos, and with the team rock-bottom of the league in late-October, confidence was draining. However Spurs chairman Daniel Levy soon poached Harry Redknapp from Premiership rivals Portsmouth as the man to bring the club forward. A sensational 4-4 draw against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium gave Redknapp a superb start, as late goals from Jermaine Jenas and Aaron Lennon gave the visitors a precious point. Liverpool were next, and the previously unbeaten Reds were somewhat fortuitously defeated by a late goal from Roman Pavlyuchenko in a 2-1 victory for Spurs. Recent form has been inconsistent for Spurs, but the threat of relegation is no longer realistic, and the establishent of a 4-1 deficit against Burnley has all but secured their place in the Carling Cup Final. The recent re-signing of Jermain Defoe from Portsmouth for a reported £15 million has perhaps pleased the Spurs fans more than any of Redknapp’s achievements so far.

Tottenham Hotspur were clearly well within their rights to get rid of Ramos, as morale at the club was plumetting. Despite this Ramos, amazingly replaced Bernd Schuster at Real Madrid on a contract until the end of the season, a sign that possibly suggests that Ramos was more suited to football in his homeland. The recruitment of Redknapp was also a positive move for the club, as his transformation of Portsmouth into a top-half Premier League side and F.A. Cup Winners proved his managerial acumen. However, it could be argued that Portsmouth have a right to be aggrieved at the departures of Redknapp and later, Defoe.

 

Tony Adams replaced Redknapp in the Fratton Park hotseat, promoted from his previous role as a coach. A 2-1 victory at the Stadium of Light against Sunderland suggested that Pompey would maybe not miss Redknapp that much after all. This was followed by an unbelievable 2-2 draw against European giants AC Milan at Fratton Park in the UEFA Cup, a match that the severely depleted Pompey side were unlucky to only gain a point from. However, Pompey are now majorly struggling for form in the league, with defeats against Newcastle and West Ham doing nothing to help matters. One thing that can be taken from the whole scenario is that Portsmouth have ended up worse off, due to the fact that Spurs are a ‘bigger club’, a reason cited by Redknapp himself to justify his move to London. Despite the bigger fanbase of Spurs, I believe Pompey have been treated unfairly, due to their victorious FA Cup campaign the previous season and their superior league position to that of Spurs.

The departure of Roy Keane from Sunderland took place on the 4th December, in the wake of some disappointing results and general unrest within the club. It was reported certain Sunderland players were unhappy with Keane, and the fans vented their frustration after a heavy defeat at home to Bolton. Ricky Sbragia took temporary charge and guided the Black Cats to some impressive results, including the 4-1 thrashing of Hull City at the KC Stadium. Sbragia was recently given the job on a full-time basis, a move that worried some fans, due to his lack of managerial experience.

The nature of football in the modern world shows that Sbragia will not last long if he doesn’t maintain the success he has started in Wearside. Managers were previously given more time to show their worth, but the sudden lack of respect they are granted from their owners, fans and football pundits is quite startling.

 

The most recent managerial casualty in the Premier League was Paul Ince at Blackburn. Ince was sacked on the 16th December and almost immediately replaced by former Bolton and Newcastle manager Sam Allardyce. Ince built his reputation at Macclesfield, guiding the apparently relegation-bound team to safety in his first job in management. This success earnt Ince a move to MK Dons, whom he guided to the top of Coca Cola League 2 and victory in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy. Ince was then given his big move, with Blackburn hoping his appointment would give the club the same stability experienced under Mark Hughes and previously, Graeme Sounness. However, a run of 3 victories in 17 games prompted the board to act and remove Ince from the post.

It could be argued that Ince should have been given more time in the job. But nowadays, more than ever, there is no room for sentiment in football. Allardyce has been a breath of fresh air for the club so far, but how long will he be given if things start to go wrong again? Managers need time to exert their influence onto a football club. Even Sir Alex Ferguson had to wait before he picked up his first trophy at Manchester United. Surely it is not unreasonable to give new managers a year of familiarisation with the job before they are properly judged? Apparently not…

 

So, it would seem that the position of football manager is far more pressurised than it maybe once was. Suspicious internal dealings have ousted Curbishley and Keegan; poor results have put an end to the reigns of Ramos, Ince and Keane; and Redknapp was unable to resist the lure of a ‘bigger club’. It is impossible to tell whether clubs are better off sticking with their men, or whether managers are right to move to new jobs. However, the extent of the so-called managerial merry-go-round already this season demonstrates what a lonely place the dugout can be.

Keane the hardman?

The recent resignation of Roy Keane from Sunderland has, in my opinion, raised many questions about the image of the former Manchester United midfielder. As a player, Keane was tough-tackling, determined, receiving an extensive collection of yellow and red cards along the way. However, I think his tame resignation last week has tarnished his image.

Keane took over Sunderland in 2006 when they were rock bottom of the Championship, having just been relegated from the Premiership with a miserable points tally of 15. Armed with financial backing from chairman Niall Quinn, Keane then transformed the team into promotion contenders with the signing of players such as Carlos Edwards, David Connolly, Graham Kavanagh and Anthony Stokes. Indeed, Sunderland won the title at Luton on the final day of the season, marking a superb start to management for Keane.

The mission for the following season was simple : avoid relegation. The season started brilliantly as live on Sky, new signing Michael Chopra swept the ball home in the 91st minute against Spurs to ensure a perfect start for the Black Cats. The squad was boosted with the signings of Chopra, Andy Reid, but most importantly, Kenwyne Jones from Southampton. Jones cost a hefty £6 million, but went some way to repaying his transfer fee with 7 goals in 33 games. Once again, Keane’s mission was completed, as Sunderland finished in 15th place, 3 points above the relegation zone.

However, the start of the present season was not so successful for Keane. The team now finds itself marooned in relegation trouble, having spent big on quality players such as Teemu Tainio, El-Hadj Diouf and Djibril Cisse. The supporters and indeed many punters felt that additions of this quality may have fired the team into the top half of the league. But talk amongst fans of Keane tinkering with the team too much (he used more players this season than any other premier league manager) and embarrassing recent losses at home to West Ham and Bolton prompted Keane to take his leave.

Having had such a successful time in his first 2 years with the club, I am surprised that it took Keane only this long to throw the towel in when things started to get difficult. He transformed the playing side of things, but it seems the ’second season syndrome’ may have kicked in, with regard to premier league survival. What surprised me more than anything was the dejected manner Keane had in his TV interviews, especially after the 4-1 thrashing at home to Bolton. We have all been told about Keane the disciplinarian, but suggestiong arose that the players were glad to see the back of him, having not got on brilliantly with him in the first place. Although this may be slightly over the top, it shows Keane might have been trying too hard with the mean approach and a bit of thought may have helped him build a better relationship with the players.

For example, last season Keane placed talented midfielder Liam Miller on the transfer list, after being late for a few training sessions. Obviously, this was not acceptable behaviour by Miller, but surely a fine would have sufficed. What kind of message does that send to the other players? Put a foot wrong and you’re out the door.

This bullish mentality had not been present this season, with Keane seemingly running out of options. In the media, Keane has been given a lot of praise for the way he left, making sure his backroom staff would stay employed and making sure the fans were happy. But is this the Roy Keane we all know? I strongly believe that if Keane lived up to his persona, he will have stuck it out and ultimately steered the team clear of relegation. The fact he failed to persevere with the job and resign suggests he might not be such a ‘hard man’ after all.

The French and Sex- The Eiffel tower…

When mentioning the eiffle tower, there is often a smart allec piping up from the back- claiming “oh its phallic imagery, yah know my cocks bigger than yours kind of stuff”, well as usual the brainiacs are blinded by their single track observations. Even in the novel The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown describes the Eiffel Tower as a thousand-foot phallus, but then, for the eiffle tower to be a massive male organ, why not the Arc de Triomph as its female counter part? Could we not argue that arch way is representative of the female hips and legs?

The female monument

I mean to say that poor Mr. Gustav Eiffel, most likely designed the monument with broadcasting in mind, after all it bears far more resemblance to a radio mast than to a phallus. And infact was set up to broadcast radio when Mr. Eiffle retired. We dont march around calling anything vaguely tower like a giant cock, so just because the french have built a giant pointy tower in their capital it doesn’t mean they are declaring they have the biggest cock in the world.  Imagine if someone, like me, turned round and declared that nelsons colomn represented our hero sat on top of a giant penis- i would be laughed out of the room, down the street, and round the corner, it just couldn’t happen. So i assume, its just because they’re French and the English love having a pop at them. So perhaps next time that smart alec pipes up from the crowd he would say “Bloody French, you know what they’re like, all they live for is the cock”.

Hello

Welcome to the Spinnaker Blog, Portsmouth, owing its inspiration to the freedom of the sea, the determination of its warships and the work dodging abilities of its students. Heres some quotes to get things started…

I think television often has dismissed younger people. They figure, well, they’re not really watching news, that’s not our audience. Kurt Loder (Journalist) 

An eye for eye only ends up making the whole world blind. M.K. Gandhi

Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it whether it exists or not, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedy. Ernest Benn

The least of learning is done in the classrooms. Thomas Merton

In time we hate that which we often fear. William Shakespeare

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