Managers make their mark

An eighth place finish for many teams in the Premier League would constitute a major success. As would reaching a major final and Wembley outing, even though it ended with an unfortunate defeat to the Red Devils. This is precisely what Claude Puel achieved for Southampton in his first season in charge yet, despite playing attractive football; few Saints’ fans shed a tear when he was sacked.

Perhaps it was the lack of goals with the south-coast club managing only three goals in his final seven games in charge, although his forward line was suffering from injuries throughout this period.

He was therefore a surprising choice to replace the dismissed Craig Shakespeare as manager of Leicester City, who himself lasted only four months as permanent boss, joining the Premier League-winning and universally liked Claudio Ranieri as a cast-off.

The Frenchman could have afforded himself a wry smile on returning to the south coast as his new team demolished Southampton 4-1 last week. Of course Leicester’s fans were far more demonstrative, chanting at the opposition: “Are you glad you sacked Puel?”

The reality is that he is simply doing what he has done throughout his managerial career; being pragmatic about the resources at his disposal and adapting a playing style to suit.

Puel has a reputation for being able to manage the prima donna’s and his approach has certainly rejuvenated the 2016 Premier League player of the season, Riyad Mahrez. The Algerian looks to have returned to his best form, running with pace at defences and striking stunning goals.

The Foxes are developing a more patient approach to attack, which has also resulted in there being a greater number of goal threats, while the manager is encouraging the fullbacks, Chilwell and Simpson, to use their pace down the flanks.

While it is perhaps stretching a point, if Leicester could maintain this form for a full season they would qualify for Europe!

It begs the question that if you were chairperson of a Premier League football club, what would you be looking for in a manager? Of course the answer to that may depend upon the situation that you find yourself in. At this stage of the season and marooned in the relegation zone the first response might be someone who can motivate the players and avoid the dreaded drop. Further up the table and the qualities might include bringing a better style of football or developing more players from the academy or those transferred on a budget.  Whatever the situation you always want better results. It is primarily a results-based business. As a manager, if you exceed expectations then it is generally only opposition fans that are negative.

Harvard Business School suggests that simply changing your body language and adopting a more confident posture can change the chemistry of the brain and produce confidence-boosting testosterone. Another study published by the Journal of Sport Behaviour suggested that by talking positively to yourself or in a group could have a similar impact. The analysis demonstrated how the introduction of such skills at half-time could improve the measured statistics (passing accuracy, shooting and tackling) in the midfield players studied.

Sam Allardyce is another manager who believes that simplicity is the key. Since his introduction as manager at Everton he has overseen three wins in four matches, a remarkable turnaround for a team that was languishing at the wrong end of the table having been amongst the biggest spenders in the transfer window.

He has primarily achieved this by tightening a defence that had leaked 28 goals before his arrival and yet has now kept three clean sheets.

Allardyce, who now holds the record for the most Premier League clubs managed, said: “You have to have a big personality to walk into a football club and look at the players and say look lads, listen to me. This is what you need to do, this is how you need to get out of the position that you’re in.

“It’s not rocket science, it’s simplifying and making things easier for you to make decisions that will help you win back your confidence, put results on the field and take us forward.

“For me, it’s promoting those basics and those simple things that we need to do in terms of creating space, running into space, passing and using your abilities out of possession, we’re all working at it, we’re all in it together.”

Crystal Palace and West Ham United both appear to be on an upturn under new management. It seems a long time since Frank de Boer became the first casualty of the Premier League season after only 77 days in charge of Crystal Palace. Since then there have been four further dismissals and undoubtedly more to come. Swansea, rooted to the foot of the table, and Stoke after a string of shocking results, appears to be the most susceptible. Yet should a Chairperson back an existing manager through the transfer window and invest new funds in plugging gaps in an underperforming squad? Have the teams further up the table demonstrated that there is a strong rationale behind continuity? The answer is demonstrably positive – although that’s not likely to have an impact on the men signing the contracts!

Happy Christmas!