Football managers! Don’t you just love them!
Hardly a day goes by without someone having a go at one another, whether it’s to do with matters on or off the pitch. Their tactics are wrong, he’s chosen the wrong striker, they play boring football, they killed the game. The insults fly thick and fast.
So should football managers just shut up? Would we all be better off if managers kept their opinions to themselves and concentrated on the job in hand? Of course not! How boring would that be!
Football managers having a right good go at one another is all part of the game. And, in this context, a game is the right one. It’s all about tactics. Stir them up and produce a bit of controversy. What could be better in order to ensure ultimate competitiveness on the field?
Two recent examples show not everyone shares that opinion. New Sunderland boss Ricky Sbragia gave ex-manager Roy Keane a real tongue-lashing for commenting about the Black Cats’ plight.
Keane, of course, is now in charge of Ipswich but apparently still has Sunderland very much on his mind. He has spoken about Sunderland’s lack of confidence as they battled to avoid the drop. And why not indeed? Keane probably still holds Sunderland close to his heart and is entitled to his opinion.
Sbragia does not agree. He has told Keane to mind his own business and concentrate on Ipswich. According to Sbragia, all Keane wants is the publicity but he should be talking about Ipswich, not Sunderland.
“He has left the club. He is not here and we don’t talk about him,” he says. Right, we believe that one. Is Sbragia telling us that not one Sunderland player ever mentions the word “Keane”. Well, not in the dressing room perhaps.
Sbragia says he is baffled as to why Keane keeps on talking about Sunderland and suggests that perhaps he is bored and has nothing to do and therefore chooses to have a go at Sunderland.
“He’s back in football. He should enjoy it,” says Sbragia. But that’s the very point. Talking about or criticising another team is all part of the fun, especially when it is your former club.
Take Manchester City boss, Mark Hughes, for example. He’s been warning his former club Blackpool that relegation would be a disaster for them and his choice of words was probably more controversial than Sbragia’s.
Rovers slumped following Hughes’ departure in the summer and he makes no bones about the fact that it probably had a lot to do with his exit.
“They were an established top ten club when I was there and this year, they have not been able to hit those heights,” he says. There’s confidence for you!
Hughes said in public that he knew Blackpool “from top to bottom” and warned it would be a disaster if they left the Premier League.
Now, if Sbragia was to follow the same theme, he would also accuse Hughes of putting his nose in when it was not wanted and commenting on a team no longer in his control.
Perhaps it’s Sbragia who is in the wrong in all this? Yes, managers do make comments but they are meant to stir controversy. If you don’t like them or the concept, it’s simple. Just don’t answer back. There are some managers who like to air their views in public and some who don’t.
Hughes did at least add words of praise for the new Blackburn boss Sam Allardyce, saying he was helping the squad to get points on the board.
Football is all about sparring and the pitch is like a giant boxing ring. Managers can spout off as much hot air as they want but it’s the performance on the field which has the loudest voice.
Hardly a day goes by without someone having a go at one another, whether it’s to do with matters on or off the pitch. Their tactics are wrong, he’s chosen the wrong striker, they play boring football, they killed the game. The insults fly thick and fast.
So should football managers just shut up? Would we all be better off if managers kept their opinions to themselves and concentrated on the job in hand? Of course not! How boring would that be!
Football managers having a right good go at one another is all part of the game. And, in this context, a game is the right one. It’s all about tactics. Stir them up and produce a bit of controversy. What could be better in order to ensure ultimate competitiveness on the field?
Two recent examples show not everyone shares that opinion. New Sunderland boss Ricky Sbragia gave ex-manager Roy Keane a real tongue-lashing for commenting about the Black Cats’ plight.
Keane, of course, is now in charge of Ipswich but apparently still has Sunderland very much on his mind. He has spoken about Sunderland’s lack of confidence as they battled to avoid the drop. And why not indeed? Keane probably still holds Sunderland close to his heart and is entitled to his opinion.
Sbragia does not agree. He has told Keane to mind his own business and concentrate on Ipswich. According to Sbragia, all Keane wants is the publicity but he should be talking about Ipswich, not Sunderland.
“He has left the club. He is not here and we don’t talk about him,” he says. Right, we believe that one. Is Sbragia telling us that not one Sunderland player ever mentions the word “Keane”. Well, not in the dressing room perhaps.
Sbragia says he is baffled as to why Keane keeps on talking about Sunderland and suggests that perhaps he is bored and has nothing to do and therefore chooses to have a go at Sunderland.
“He’s back in football. He should enjoy it,” says Sbragia. But that’s the very point. Talking about or criticising another team is all part of the fun, especially when it is your former club.
Take Manchester City boss, Mark Hughes, for example. He’s been warning his former club Blackpool that relegation would be a disaster for them and his choice of words was probably more controversial than Sbragia’s.
Rovers slumped following Hughes’ departure in the summer and he makes no bones about the fact that it probably had a lot to do with his exit.
“They were an established top ten club when I was there and this year, they have not been able to hit those heights,” he says. There’s confidence for you!
Hughes said in public that he knew Blackpool “from top to bottom” and warned it would be a disaster if they left the Premier League.
Now, if Sbragia was to follow the same theme, he would also accuse Hughes of putting his nose in when it was not wanted and commenting on a team no longer in his control.
Perhaps it’s Sbragia who is in the wrong in all this? Yes, managers do make comments but they are meant to stir controversy. If you don’t like them or the concept, it’s simple. Just don’t answer back. There are some managers who like to air their views in public and some who don’t.
Hughes did at least add words of praise for the new Blackburn boss Sam Allardyce, saying he was helping the squad to get points on the board.
Football is all about sparring and the pitch is like a giant boxing ring. Managers can spout off as much hot air as they want but it’s the performance on the field which has the loudest voice.
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