Slightly OT - van Gaal and managers : Tue May 20, 2014 10:11 am  

For many years I've been bemused by how the appointment of managers works in professional sport. SL, NRL and Premier League are just examples of the same phenomenon; but it is of some relevance to the Bulls too when inevitably poor old Franny Cummins is taking flak from many quarters and there are calls for his head. But why does it uniquely work in sport like it does?

If Franny did go, does anyone now seriously doubt that he could and would become a successful coach somewhere else? To me, he has proved enough ability in his debut job to be fairly confident of that.

But what strikes me is how consistently coaching failure is first rewarded (Moyes will receive nearly £10m for the privilege of NOT working for Man U any more, for example) but more particularly how someone who was roundly criticised, slammed by players fans and owners and drummed out of a job with boos ringing in their ears, can - seemingly with nothing but the passage of time- suddenly be reincarnated as "the best manager in the world".

The current (and striking) example is van Gall heading for Man U. He has won almost nothing this century, and hasn't had a proper day job since being sacked in 2011 - yet suddenly is being hailed as an all-powerful, all-knowing great saviour who is if anything too big to coach Man U - yet her is just one press report when he was last sacked:

Bayern lie fourth in the Bundesliga and are struggling to qualify for the next season's Champions League.
...
Last season Van Gaal steered Bayern to the league title and the Champions League final in Madrid, where they lost 2-0 to Inter Milan.
....
Bayern's chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge explained that there had been "no alternative" but to part company with Van Gaal while president Uli Hoeness said it was a decision which was a long time in coming.
"It all started getting messy when he [Van Gaal] dropped Hans-Jorg Butt and replaced him with Thomas Kraft," he said.
"That brought insecurity into the defence and we could not hold out for much longer.
"Football should be enjoyable, but there has been nothing enjoyable about football at FC Bayern for a while now.
"And to say that he had the players behind him was a myth."
Hoeness carried on by blaming Van Gaal for the recent crowd protests against his own person, saying the Dutchman's opposition to the planned bid for Schalke goalkeeper Manuel Neuer had created divisions in the club.
"The Manuel Neuer issue would never have escalated like it did and we would never have had any problems with the fans," he said.
"Problems were created which were totally unnecessary and which have ripped the club to pieces.
"Louis Van Gaal should consider what he has done."

No doubt van Gaal has thought long and hard while spending his payoff and keeping his hand in coaching the national team, but tell me, based on that, why would you give him the job?

Re: Slightly OT - van Gaal and managers : Tue May 20, 2014 11:26 am  

It's the business of results. If you're not getting the results your not doing the business. Think of it like it's a commission based job. If you're not getting the sales, you're not making commission and likely to be let go

Re: Slightly OT - van Gaal and managers : Tue May 20, 2014 12:36 pm  

Cheaper (relatively speaking) to show the manager the door than replace an underperforming team. So when the fans start getting restive it is the quickest fix to sack the manager.
However getting rid of someone is simple - finding a better replacement is often much more difficult.

Re: Slightly OT - van Gaal and managers : Tue May 20, 2014 1:25 pm  

My interest though is the strange situation where someone is SOOOO bad, they pay £10m to get him out, but a year later the same guy has become the greatest ever manager, peerless in his field. I exaggerate (though in the Man U case, not much) but you see what i mean.

Re: Slightly OT - van Gaal and managers : Tue May 20, 2014 4:26 pm  

Thinks it is possible that a manager can be SOOOO bad in one club environment but a star in another. For example Brian Clough at Derby and at Leeds. Or perhaps nearer to home Powell at Leeds and now at Cas?

Re: Slightly OT - van Gaal and managers : Tue May 20, 2014 7:32 pm  

One of the main problems Moyes had was that he couldn't attract his top targets last summer (Fabregas, Bale, Thiago etc) and so ended up signing Fellaini, who was an appalling signing. Van Gaal will not be faced with this problem I don't think. A few Bayern players want out (think Kroos and Mueller possibly) and Van Gaal will have a better chance of attracting them. I also think he'll provide discipline to the under-performing United squad. They need to spend big in the summer and I think van Gaal will spend the £100m+ he receives more wisely and hopefully (for them) achieve Champions League qualification.

[Bulliac]

Re: Slightly OT - van Gaal and managers : Wed May 21, 2014 8:00 am  

It's a fickle world is pro sport; zero to hero and back again is par for the course. Remember just how close to being sacked Alex Fergusson was in his first year or so at United.

As Roofy rightly says, it's a result based business.

Re: Slightly OT - van Gaal and managers : Wed May 21, 2014 9:30 am  

I suppose that it is quite a lot like a completely useless and failed club manager getting offered the job coaching his country?

Still, at that time you suggested it proved that the man has all the correct abilities for the job. I can't see much difference now??

Re: Slightly OT - van Gaal and managers : Wed May 21, 2014 11:05 am  

mystic eddie wrote:

I suppose that it is quite a lot like a completely useless and failed club manager getting offered the job coaching his country?

Still, at that time you suggested it proved that the man has all the correct abilities for the job. I can't see much difference now??

Of course it pains you that I was right (you recall we were one brain explosion by young Burgess and a second by old Sinfield away from giving the convicts a whupping in the Final, after the stellar performance that you thought McNamara would be unable to generate) and i understand your frustration to see the lad done good.

At least England had less trouble finding a head coach than the Scottish football team have perenially had in finding a keeper.

"Doctor Livingstone, I presume?"

"Aye, lad, that's me."

"Ye cannae play in goal, can ye?"

Re: Slightly OT - van Gaal and managers : Wed May 21, 2014 11:46 am  

Ferocious Aardvark wrote:

Of course it pains you that I was right (you recall we were one brain explosion by young Burgess and a second by old Sinfield away from giving the convicts a whupping in the Final, after the stellar performance that you thought McNamara would be unable to generate) and i understand your frustration to see the lad done good.

At least England had less trouble finding a head coach than the Scottish football team have perenially had in finding a keeper.

"Doctor Livingstone, I presume?"

"Aye, lad, that's me."

"Ye cannae play in goal, can ye?"

Careful - your name will go in Fuhrer Salmond's little black book