CLUBS, MANAGERS AND THE REALITY OF PLAYER POWER

Sir Alex Ferguson

Claudio Ranieri




Jose Mourinho (2015) and Claudio Ranieri (2016) were sacked by Chelsea and Leicester City respectively within a year of winning the Premier League title.  This, not unexpectedly, left some fans in a state of angry shock.  These managers were sacked despite the fact that they had the same set of players, with whom they won the title, at the time of their dismissals.  Certainly, the managers could not have become bad overnight.  What then could have gone wrong? 


One thing that has become clear is that success is a joint venture between the manager and the players.  It is not down to the manager alone no matter how brilliant he or she may be.  While it is one thing to assemble a great squad of players, it is entirely a different thing to get the best out of them from one season to another.

After a successful season that culminates in winning the title, the worst that can happen is for the club, the manager and the players to start to believe their own hype.  At Leicester, for example, after winning the title, players who were on £30,000 a week had their wages catapulted to £100,000 a week.  It appeared that, soon after, they lost the hunger for more glories.  While it is right to reward players after a particularly successful season, it is important for clubs to have their feet firmly on the ground.

Jose Mourinho




The best attitude would seem to be to start every season as if the club has not won anything, refusing to take anything for granted.


Only Sir Alex Ferguson, formerly of Manchester United, seemed to master the art and science of winning continually.  It was hardly surprising that he was at United for over 25 years and won the title more times than any other manager.  It is not for nothing that he is regarded as the most successful football manager in history.  After his retirement, several multi-national companies in Europe and North America went after him.  They wanted to tap into his knowledge and experience in order to find out the secret of his success in management.  He has written books and he is still very much in demand.