Football: Can These English Managers Cut it?

Foreign owners and managers dominate the upper reaches of the Premier League but what of the English managers looking to make an impact?  Can any of them make a dent on the Top Six?

Eddie Howe

Down on the south coast, Howe has worked miracles at AFC Bournemouth.  Ninth position in 2016-17 was an extraordinary achievement in the club’s second-ever season in the top flight.

After storming to promotion two years ago Bournemouth was widely tipped for a quick return to the second tier but Howe’s thoughtful and articulate manner has won many friends and his team has steadily improved.

He has developed a squad of players who work tirelessly for each other, with no superstar egos to massage.  Off the pitch, the Vitality Stadium is far and away the smallest in the Premier League with a capacity of just under 12,000, so Howe will always have less to spend than his peers.

But on the way to finishing in the top half of the ladder last season The Cherries managed to score more goals than the billionaires at Old Trafford and Howe is now one of the most respected English managers.  He buys wisely and never extravagantly, with all his purchases expected to adopt his own ruthless work ethic.  Bournemouth will survive again.

Tony Pulis

In the Midlands, Pulis has been in charge at West Bromwich Albion since January 2015. He hit the ground running, winning the Manager of the Month award just a month later.

He guided The Baggies to safety and for the following two seasons they have rested safely in mid-table.  Not all the fans are happy, believing Pulis to be from the “Old School” of English managers.

While he is no long-ball merchant, you could not describe his style as expansive.  He is a renowned motivator, which is a valuable skill in these days of huge player egos. His treatment of Saido Berahino showed he will not be bullied.  Expect more of the same from Tony Pulis.

Sean Dyche

Further north at Burnley, the gravelly voice and no-nonsense style of Sean Dyche has brought safety to Turf Moor – just!  He took over in 2012, guiding Burnley to the Premier League in the 2013-14 season.

A year later he was back in the second tier before bouncing straight back.  This time his team survived, on the back of their fortress-like home record.

Dyche gambled with £41m of his chairman’s money in 2016-17 and that paid off but not without a scare along the way. Dyche is another who relies on his motivational skills to mould a team that is greater than the sum of its parts, although his tactical prowess should not be overlooked.  The loss of Michael Keane to Everton will cost them dear and 2017-18 could be the season when Sean Dyche’s luck runs out.

Paul Clement

Last season’s great escape was orchestrated by a man whose coaching career has taken in some of football’s greatest teams.  Paul Clement is the son of Dave Clement, a cultured full-back in the 1970s with Queens Park Rangers.

Paul was a non-league player who turned to coaching at an early age. He obtained his UEFA “A” badge at the age of 29 and has since become one of the most-travelled English managers by coaching at Chelsea, Paris St-Germain, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.

He worked at those clubs under Carlo Ancelotti before taking the number one position at Derby County.  Sacked before he had a chance to make his mark in the Championship, he took over at Swansea City with the Welsh club in the relegation zone.  A great run of results pulled Swansea clear, with Clement even winning a Manager of the Month award along the way.

He is a deep thinker and a highly talented coach, who squeezed some fantastic performances out of his players last season.  This term he will be without Gylfi Siggurdsson, far and away his best player.  This is not good news for Paul Clement and Swansea City.

 

by Ian Hine

The post Football: Can These English Managers Cut it? appeared first on Felix Magazine.