The current drama concerning the English soccer team and their World Cup trauma once again brings to the fore the issue of the role of the manager in sport - and just what exactly is it this most scrutinised of characters actually does?
It has been instructive in recent days to witness the furore over Fabio Capello, with an almost instant desire on the part of many for the Italian to be sacked. In many sports this seems to be the default mechanism, pointing the finger of blame at the man on the sideline as all around him falls apart.
Soccer is one of the sports where the cult of the manager has grown inexorably with the popularity of the game. Today Jose Mourinho commands acres of press coverage, the self-styled “Special One” revered for his mythical powers of getting his teams to do exactly what he wants, winning a plethora of trophies in the process.
No one can deny that Mourinho has had an influence wherever he has managed, but what exactly is it that the man from Portugal brings to the table? Switch to other sports and one can prognosticate about Sir Clive Woodward in rugby union, Mick O'Dwyer in Gaelic football and Ger Loughnane in hurling.
What all these characters have in common is a strong personality. They don't suffer fools gladly, which in the world of top class sport is an invaluable attribute. Focused and with a clear goal in mind, these were men who would stop at nothing to achieve success.
Ger Loughnane was infamous for his punishing training schedules on the Hill of Shannon. Introducing the concept of early morning sessions, he drilled into his players the importance of discipline and going the extra mile. A man of lesser diligence may not have been able to get as much out of that particular bunch of players, as they followed their leader for five years, believing in the system and reaping the rewards of two All-Ireland titles and three Munster crowns.
Those players had the talent, but they required something extra, a focus that would put them on the path to glory. Luckily for the Banner County it was a case of the right man at the right time.
Mick O'Dwyer became the most successful GAA manager of all time when he led Kerry to eight All-Irelands between 1975 and 1986. Many will argue that the Waterville man had such an exceptional group of players at his disposal that they would have been successful anyway, but that's not the way those players perceive it. Many speak of an almost god-like devotion to O'Dwyer, a willingness to do anything that was asked of them in order to be victorious.
Clive Woodward was perhaps the supreme example of the methodical, practical side of coaching. Here was a man who had a single goal – win the World Cup. Denied in 1999, 2003 became the year that transfixed Woodward. He had a path laid out, a path that would see England become ruthless in their play, a winning machine that was as efficient as they came. Winning a Grand Slam in World Cup year, followed by a Test win in New Zealand against the All Blacks, meant that Wood ward had a side that was bang on target to achieve its goal. It was timed to perfection that October and November as Johnny Wilkinson's extra-time drop-kick gave Wood ward his goal, and knighthood. This was a side that was right at its peak, one that would quickly crash back to earth as old legs collapsed amidst the sands of time.
Back to the present day and Fabio Capello. Much has been written about the performance of the English against the Germans in their last sixteen encounters. The eagerness with which many sought to bury Capello after the defeat was indicative of the modern fixation with instantaneous answers and remedies. There was no intelligent comment coming through in the hours and days after the defeat - the media needed someone to point the finger of blame at and the Italian fitted perfectly.
Questions were thrown at Capello like confetti at a wedding – 'in this recession-addled age, do you really deserve such a hefty salary of £6 million per annum' (does anyone really?) He was attacked with queries regarding his treatment of the goalkeeping position and his decision to play Gerrard and Lampard together in midfield.
But these questions were nowhere to be heard as England coasted through their qualifying group. Capello was king back then, the man could do no wrong and England's “Golden Generation” were on their way to replacing the heroes of 1966.
It was only in the cold light of day, when Team England (what a cheesy phrase) had landed back home that some sense began to be spoken. Sir Trevor Brooking seemed to hit the nail on the head when he spoke of a need to have the basics at the bottom of the pyramid in order before they started thinking about giving the man at the top his P45 once again. Of course there was also the matter that should the FA decide to sack Capello they will be facing a massive pay-off (Capello appears to be waiting for his employers to blink first, but has been reported as saying that if finance is the only reason he is kept on, then he will do the honourable thing and step down).
In this particular instance the cult of the manager has been exaggerated. Somewhere the lines have become blurred between the English Premier League and the English national team. The drama and excitement of the English top flight season has been masking the ugly truth for many years – that England have some very ordinary players that are carried by their more talented foreign club colleagues.
To expect one man to arrive and somehow produce a panacea for this is laughable in the extreme, but it is a joke that the English consistently fall for. It encapsulates the cult of the manager perfectly, the belief that some Messiah will come along and lead a team to the Promised Land. The intricacies of the task at hand are barely examined, the fact that there may be an inadequate pool of players to fish from rarely acknowledged.
The role of the manager will probably always remain something of a mystery. Who knows what it is exactly that Brian Cody conjures when he manages the Kilkenny hurlers? Perhaps he has no magic potion, but rather is welded to the notion of hard work and honesty. This, coupled with a squad of talented players, is combining to bring the Cats to within a whisker of history this year.
Perhaps we all need to realise that there needs to be a measure of compatibility between manager and players in order for success to arrive. It was that revered/reviled (delete as appropriate) Tipperary legend Babs Keating who once said that you can't win Derbies with donkeys – recognition that the manager can only do so much with what he has.
Yet try telling that to the plethora of managers, in all codes, who will likely lose their positions between now and 2011.
Well, you can hardly expect the players to be sacked, can you?
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