The manager by Sundeep Bhui

themanager

themanager The magazine of the League Managers Association

Issue 7: Winter 2010

“I am living my dream and I want to continue to live it” Carlo Ancelotti

taking the lead

How and when to ‘manage upwards’

The LMA Annual Management Conference Howard Wilkinson David O’Leary John Sheridan Lawrie McMenemy Malcolm Allison

fanning the flames

A comprehensive guide to the art of motivation

stepping up

Meet the person who’s best placed to manage your career... you

Issue 7: Winter 2010

Carlo’s way Chelsea’s double-winning manager on the importance of communication and building relationships with his players

SPONSORED BY

The League Managers Association, The Camkin Suite, 1 Pegasus House, Tachbrook Park, Warwick CV34 6LW Tel: 01926 831556 Email: lma@lmasecure.com www.leaguemanagers.com

Editor’s letter All the fun of the fair

In his entertaining and enlightening contribution to the recent LMA Annual Management Conference, Arsenal’s chief executive officer Ivan Gazidis expressed his belief that football clubs can be too quick to cast aside people with valuable knowledge and experience when the going gets tough. “The constant turnover of coaches is incredibly damaging to the game,” he said. “It’s inefficient… you’re casting aside people who’ve got experience and value. You need to have a long-term view, you need to stay consistent and you need to stay level-headed.” Gazidis, who described working in football as a “roller coaster ride”, found much support for his views in a room packed with high-profile management talent (including Fabio Capello, Harry Redknapp, Alex McLeish and Sam Allardyce) and executives from the world of business. For those of you who couldn’t make it along, there’s a full report on the Conference starting on page 12. Elsewhere in this issue we jump back onto the roller coaster to catch up with three men who are currently absorbed in the ride: Chelsea’s double-winner Carlo Ancelotti (page 22), the former Leeds United and Aston Villa supremo, David O’Leary, who’s now feeling the heat in Dubai (page 28) and the man who’s bringing some style to Chesterfield, John Sheridan (page 32). Away from the footballing fairground, there’s an examination of the art of motivation (page 36), some useful advice on how to manage your own career (page 44) and a guide to ‘bossing the boss’ (page 40). Enjoy the ride.

The Manager is supported by

Ciarán Brennan

the manager WINTER 2010

— welcome —

THE BACK OFFICE 48 The Outsider

Former England spinner Jeremy Snape explains why psychology is a winner for sport and business

8 KICKING OFF

8 From the dugout

All the latest news, from both within the LMA and the wider world of football

12 Management Conference

A unique and valuable insight into the crossover between football and business management

19 Talking point

We pay homage to the richest game in football – the npower Championship play-off final

LEADERS

22 Carlo Ancelotti

The Chelsea boss talks to The Manager about the people who have shaped his career

50 The technical area

The LMA chairman, Howard Wilkinson, reports from FIFA’s post-World Cup Conference

52 Media matters

News International’s Neil Jones on a ‘mould-breaking’ strategy for the publisher’s websites

54 The coach’s view

Huw Jennings, academy director for Fulham and the Nike Academy, stands up for youth development

“I am living my dream”

Carlo Ancelotti, Chelsea’s double-winning manager, on his love of the game

56 The Insider

UEFA’s Tyson Henly reveals what it takes to make a major tournament a commercial success

58 Health and wellbeing

Dr Dorian Dugmore on why some stress can be a good thing – until you see the warning signs

60 Castrol analysis

The likely Barclays Premier League survival chances of Blackpool, Newcastle United and West Brom

28 David O’Leary

The former Leeds United and Aston Villa manager on living and working in Dubai

Onwards and upwards

Planning for your next career move

32 John Sheridan

THE BUSINESS

36 Fanning the flames

We ask the experts how managers can motivate their team and get the best out of their talent

40 Managing upwards

Why the art of ‘managing upwards’ is a crucial skill for senior business leaders

➜

The man responsible for changes on and off the pitch at npower League Two Chesterfield

LMA PEOPLE

62 The Managers’ Cup

Eight managers went head to head at this year’s competitive Prince’s Trust Managers’ Cup

64 Hall of fame

The Manager honours Lawrie McMenemy and remembers one of the great FA Cup final upsets

56 64

67 Earl Barrett

➜

Former England full-back Earl Barrett on creating opportunities with Kick It Out

69 Malcolm Allison

Football recently lost one of its truly flamboyant characters – and an inspirational manager

70 Stoppage time

October 12th 2010. Italy v Serbia. Euro 2012 qualifier. Game abandoned after seven minutes

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Kicking off

— News —

Kicking off news Taylor honoured by Foundation ‘Perfect choice’ Taylor receives Community Champion Award for dedication to local projects

Foundation CEO Paul Thorogood said: “Graham is the perfect choice for this prestigious award. He regularly visits community projects and the dedication and enthusiasm he demonstrates to youngsters and volunteers is impressive. I am delighted that his peers in the game have selected him for this rightful recognition as the Football Foundation Community Champion.” In addition to his work in the media, Taylor is an ambassador for the Football Foundation and for Chance to Shine, a programme run by the Cricket Foundation. He is also a patron of Sense, a charity for deaf and blind youngsters.

Former England manager Graham Taylor has been honoured by the National Football Foundation. Taylor was presented with the Football Foundation Community Champion Award for his unstinting service to the game. Presenting the award at the Football Hall of Fame dinner, which took place in Manchester in September, Football

and views from the dugout

£1.4 Billion The value of the online sports betting business Betfair, as indicated by the recent sale of 15.2 per cent of the company in an initial public offering on the London Stock Exchange.

FA links with Umbro until 2018 Talksport cup boost This year’s FIFA World Cup helped TalkSport to boost its operating profit by almost 50 per cent. Revenue at the radio station rose by 23 per cent to £12.6m in the first six months of the year.

700 club

Seven clubs have contested more than 700 games in the Barclays Premier League – Arsenal, Aston Villa, Chelsea, Everton, Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur

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The FA has extended its technical sponsorship deal with its equipment supplier Umbro. The new deal, which will run until 2018, will see funds reinvested in all levels of the game. “We have a fantastic relationship with Umbro that spans almost 60 years,” said the FA’s general secretary, Alex Horne.

— News —

€12bn The value of the European football market, according to recently released figures from research consultancy Sport+Markt. In its Football Top 20 report, Sport+Markt says the game has 250 million followers in the region aged between 16 and 69. The most supported clubs are Barcelona (with 57.8 million), Real Madrid (31.3 million) and Manchester United (30.6 million).

MANAGER OF THE MONTH

A run-down of the managers whose results and performances have most impressed the judging panels in recent months September 2010

Hoddle launches Football40 Former professionals get opportunity to represent club and country in new 11-a-side tournament format

Former Spurs, Chelsea and England boss Glenn Hoddle has helped to devise and launch a new tournament format, designed to provide former professionals (aged 35 and above) with an opportunity to once again represent their clubs and countries in public competition. Football40 is an 11-a-side game played for 20 minutes each way, with unlimited ‘roll-on, roll-off ’ substitutions. Games will be played in four-team tournaments, contested as two semi-finals and a final. The first event, the London Legends Cup, will take place at West Ham United’s Upton Park ground. Hoddle, who has been involved with Football40 since its inception and will act as technical director to the events, said: “I am delighted to help shape a concept that we all believe will bring real opportunities for former players at both international and club level, while at the same time creating events for the fans that will have real excitement and competition. I am also delighted to have accepted the role of manager of the Football40 England team.” Future events planned include Masters Home Internationals, a Europe v South America clash between England, Italy, Brazil and Argentina, and an eight-team Legends World Cup in South Africa.

AWARDS

CLUB

Manager of the Month Roberto Di Matteo

West Bromwich Albion

W 2

DETAILS D 1

L 0

Manager of the Month Neil Warnock

Queens Park Rangers

W 2

D 1

L 0

Manager of the Month Gus Poyet

Brighton & Hove Albion

W 2

D 1

L 0

Manager of the Month Micky Adams

Port Vale

W 2

D 1

L 0

AWARDS

CLUB

August 2010 DETAILS

Chelsea

W 3

D 0

L 0

Manager of the Month Neil Warnock

Queens Park Rangers

W 3

D 1

L 0

Manager of the Month Alan Irvine

Sheffield Wednesday

W 3

D 1

L 1

Manager of the Month Paul Buckle

Torquay United

W 4

D 0

L 1

Manager of the Month Carlo Ancelotti

Football League honours war dead

DOncaster’s latest strip

Memorial to commemorate members of the Footballers’ Battalions killed during WWI unveiled in France

Players at Doncaster Rovers are set to unveil their new strip – but instead of the Yorkshire club’s traditional red and white colours, fans can expect to see a lot more of their heroes. A new charity calendar to be released later this year will see stars, including Billy Sharp, Martin Woods and James Coppinger, pose naked.

The Football League has erected a permanent memorial at Delville Wood in Longueval, France, to commemorate the members of the 17th and 23rd Middlesex Regiments – known as the Footballers’ Battalions – who died there during the battle of the Somme. Formed in 1914, the Footballers’ Battalions allowed professional and amateur players, referees, administrators and football supporters to enlist and fight together in the trenches. The campaign to erect the memorial, led by former soldier and striker Phil Stant, saw Football League clubs stage bucket collections at games.

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— News —

1,716 The number of Argentine footballers ‘exported’ last year, making that country the largest provider of footballers to foreign markets for the first time in more than a decade. Argentina’s trading figure, which was believed to be worth £74.5m to the country’s finances, easily eclipsed that of its nearest rival, Brazil, with 1,443.

cuts hit school sports

Funding for school sport has been hit hard by the coalition government’s spending cuts. The body responsible for community sport, Sport England, is to have its funding cut by 33 per cent over four years, while the body that governs elite athletics, UK Sport, will lose 28 per cent of its current income. Worst hit, though, is the Youth Sport Trust. The body that runs 450 School Sport Partnerships across the UK has had its funding completely withdrawn.

Barclays launches Community Award Gareth Southgate heads judging panel for monthly award to honour contribution to grassroots sports

Barclays has launched a new monthly award, designed to recognise the outstanding contribution to grassroots sports by individuals and groups across the UK.

140 José Mourinho’s run of unbeaten home league games, as of October 25th 2010

The award, which will complement the Barclays Player and Manager of the Month Awards, is designed to ensure that those working in community sport have the opportunity to receive acclaim for their achievements, in the same way that those at the top of the professional football game are recognised every month. Gareth Southgate, who launched the award and will head its judging panel, said: “Those who have played at the top of professional sport are used to receiving the plaudits and enjoy a fantastic and privileged position in sport. “However, sport is much bigger than the top end of professional games and is a fundamental part of communities in every part of the UK. Without volunteers, groups pushing to get people involved and not-for-profit organisations helping deliver access to sport for millions of people across the country, sport would not be such a force for good and a major part of our country’s culture.” Each monthly winner will receive £1,000 for their group or organisation, a limited-edition trophy and will be entered into the end of season award to win a further £5,000, all donated by Barclays’ community sports programme, Barclays Spaces for Sports. The end of season award winner will also receive a VIP trip to London to receive their award from Southgate.

the manager WINTER 2010

Five things I’ve learned Paul White Managing director, Frogmore Property Company 1. GOOD LUCK IS KEY: So make sure luck stays good by careful preparation and planning. 2. MANAGE YOUR RELATIONSHIPS: Look after the people who work with, for and above you and the rest will take care of itself. 3. GUT FEELINGS MATTER: It doesn’t matter how good a deal is, if you don’t feel comfortable with the people, don’t do it. 4. Thirty is a significant number: Because it takes that many years to build a reputation… and that many seconds to lose it. 5. JACKETS, TIES AND SHINY SHOES: They might be oldfashioned, but they’re still important. www.frogmore.co.uk

— News —

£156,000 The price fetched by George Best’s European Cup winner’s medal, which was sold at auction by Bonhams in October. The proceeds of the sale will go to the player’s sister, Barbara McNally.

The number of Manchester United players that featured in the all-time greatest Barclays Premier League team, as chosen by a worldwide poll of fans through the Barclays Football Facebook page. The full line-up was: Schmeichel, Neville, Terry, Adams, Evra, Beckham, Scholes, Gerrard, Giggs, Henry and Cantona.

Wenger signs up to help the homeless Arsenal boss adds support for next summer’s Homeless World Cup to be played in Paris

Arsène Wenger has signed up as president of the local organising committee for next year’s Homeless World Cup, which will take place in Paris from August 19th-29th. The Homeless World Cup is an annual, international four-a-side ‘street soccer’ tournament contested by mixed-gender teams of homeless people.

Performance of the Week

From basement battles to title deciders, FA Cup heroics to European exploits – any team’s efforts could earn them the LMA’s Performance of the Week award. Recent winners are... Week Ending

Manager

Performance

15/10

George Burley

Norwich City 1 Crystal Palace 2

08/10

John Coleman

Accrington Stanley 7 Gillingham 4 Leeds United 4 Preston North End 6

01/10

Darren Ferguson

24/09

Malky Mackay

Millwall 1 Watford 6 Ipswich Town 0 Queens Park Rangers 3

17/09

Neil Warnock

10/09

Keith Hill

03/09

Roberto Martìnez

27/08

Chris Hughton

20/08

Ian Holloway

13/08

Graham Turner

Southampton 0 Rochdale 2 Tottenham Hotspur 0 Wigan Athletic 1 Newcastle United 6 Aston Villa 0 Wigan Athletic 0 Blackpool 4 Shrewsbury Town 4 Charlton Athletic 3

The F&C Performance of the Week is decided by a five-man panel consisting of Sir Alex Ferguson, Howard Wilkinson, George Burley, Dave Bassett and Barry Fry. The winner receives an engraved crystal vase, in a presentation screened on Sky Sports’ Soccer Saturday programme.

the manager WINTER 2010

UEFA to talk fair play at Soccerex New requirements in club football finances across Europe to form part of two-day forum

The man responsible for the implementation of UEFA’s financial fair play rules, Andrea Traverso (the organisation’s head of club licensing), will outline plans for the implementation of the initiative at next year’s Soccerex European Forum event. “The new UEFA financial fair play requirements will be key in promoting more rationality and discipline in club football finances across Europe,” said Traverso. “Soccerex will allow us to engage with the clubs in one place.” The fair play session will be part of a two-day event that will take place from March 30th-31st 2011 at the Manchester Central convention complex.

2.3 seasons

The average tenure of a coach in North America’s National Hockey League – the lowest in America’s four major sports

Kicking off

— management conference 2010 —

“Football is not a metaphor for business... it’s a model” The LMA’s second Annual Management Conference provided a unique and valuable insight into the crossover between football and business management

Under the inspirational

banner of Leading the Team, a host of England’s elite managers came together on September 30th at London’s Cumberland Hotel for the LMA’s second Annual Management Conference. The event brought together a number of leading business thinkers, sports administrators and, of course, football managers who, over the course of the day,

discussed a host of issues that affect contemporary decision makers, both on the touchline and in the boardroom. Hosted by Sky Sports broadcaster George Gavin, the event kicked off with a keynote address from Professor Chris Brady (Dean of BPP Business School and the author of The 90-Minute Manager), followed by a lively discussion on the art

the manager Winter 2010

of leadership between Professor Brady, business guru René Carayol (see page 16) and Blackburn Rovers manager Sam Allardyce. A presentation on the current status of the FA’s new national football centre, St George’s Park, by FA board member David Sheepshanks was followed by an insightful and entertaining chat between Gavin and Tottenham Hotspur manager

— management conference 2010 —

Harry Redknapp. The proceedings were rounded off with a thoughtprovoking debate on the current position of the business of football between Arsenal’s chief executive officer Ivan Gazidis, The Daily Telegraph’s football correspondent Henry Winter and Birmingham City manager Alex McLeish. The underlying theme of the conference was neatly expressed in Professor Brady’s keynote speech, in which he declared that modern football management provides

“Football provides a very precise model for talentdependent industries” an academic ‘model’ that can and should be studied by managers in all areas of business. “We use models in the study of business because they provide us with a portion of reality – and football provides a very precise model for talent-dependent industries,” he said. “People often try to break this model

down, but it doesn’t break down easily. It works because football is so accessible... you can see the management happening.” Professional football, according to Professor Brady, is like a management laboratory, where everything can be observed. As a good example of this, he put forward the ‘instant appraisals’ that football managers deliver to their staff on the touchline. “The next time you’re watching a game, observe the process of the substitution,” he said. “If the manager looks away from the substituted player, that’s a bad appraisal; if he goes up to him and explains why he’s been taken off and how he’s the best player in the world, that’s a good appraisal. We spend a lot of time in the world of business on the appraisal process and I’m not sure we get it right. Football managers, on the other hand, do it – and do it well – on a near-daily basis.” One point that Professor Brady was keen to stress was that in football, as in all business, one of the manager’s primary tasks was the stewardship of the brand. All football clubs (like all businesses) have a ‘brand image’ and whether a new manager decides he wants to sustain that brand or change it, he has to realise its importance. “When I’m talking to CEOs

the manager Winter 2010

the first question I ask is always, ‘What’s your job?’,” he said. “About ten years ago I asked that question of the CEO of Virgin Atlantic, a guy called Steve Ridgway. His answer? ‘Protect the brand.’ In exactly the same week I interviewed Brendan O’Neill, who at that time was CEO of ICI. His answer? ‘Increase shareholder value.’ O’Neill was gone within a year… Steve Ridgway is still there. The brand is essential... and the best football managers understand this instinctively.” Professor Brady rounded off his address with some thoughts on the attributes shared by great ➽

“Nowadays, for me to be a good manager I have to delegate things to other members of staff. When I started out in management it was just me and my assistant... nowadays I run a group of about 20. Everyone manages in their own way, but that’s how I choose to do it and I learn an awful lot from all of the other people that I work with. I enjoy the job... actually it’s not a job, it’s a way of life.” Sam Allardyce, Blackburn Rovers

— management conference 2010 —

➽ leaders, in both business and football. “Great managers are always great learners,” he said. “They’re workaholics and they’re passionate about leading… they need to do it. They’re meritocratic and, above all, they’re clear about what they want to achieve and where they want to go.” Someone who fits that description was another of the conference’s speakers, Arsenal’s CEO Ivan Gazidis. Gazidis drew on his experience in US sports management (prior to joining Arsenal he was deputy commissioner of the Major League Soccer) to offer his vision on how football might progress from its current position. “We’re at a very important time in the game, with a very particular window of opportunity,” he said. “The Barclays Premier League is watched all around the world and we have the opportunity, if we want to embrace it, to become the first truly global league.” Pointing out that football is not without competition in this area, with both basketball and baseball also moving aggressively in this direction, he expressed his belief that the people and organisations within football are going to have to learn to work together.

“It’s difficult to have an out and out philosophy. If you stick to that philosophy and don’t get results then, in a results-driven business, you can get a knee-jerk or blame culture. There’s no hiding place.” Alex McLeish, Birmingham City

“It’s a lonely job. You’re not friends with the players. You have a great win and everybody’s delighted, but I have to go in and work with the ten players who didn’t play. They hate the sight of me. When you’re the coach, everybody likes you. It’s when you’re picking the team, that’s when it’s difficult.” Harry Redknapp, Tottenham Hotspur

“In order to take advantage of that opportunity we’re going to have to take the vast revenues that we generate and turn them into real value – and we don’t have a model at the moment that allows us to do that. In order to do that we have to think of ourselves not just as competitors on the field, but also as partners off it. We need to be able to come together and make strategic decisions.” One of those strategic decisions, in Gazidis’s view, is the expansion of the Barclays Premier League’s international TV audience. “I would say let’s not just think about the revenue that we generate with these TV deals,” he said. “When we go into China we should ask how we want to position ourselves to grow the audience. That might involve giving up revenue today, but for a longer-term benefit.” Despite his interest in taking English football to a global audience, Gazidis made it clear that he fully appreciates the role and value of the supporters who fill his own club’s stadium for every home game. “Every club has concentric circles of fans – and right at the heart of that are those

the manager Winter 2010

fans who are in the stadium every week,” he said. “The unique thing about football fans, particularly in club football, is that they’re not customers... they’re a lot more than that. They’re actually a very real, living part of what you present to the world as your club.” Responding to a statistic that Professor Brady had put forward regarding the brief average tenure of a Barclays Premier League manager (39 months, according to “three or four-year-old” research), Gazidis expressed his belief that the constant turnover of management is both inefficient and damaging to the game. “Clubs damage themselves by giving up on the expertise and experience they’ve got within their ranks,” he said. “It’s all to do with an over-responsiveness to day-today pressure. You need to have a long-term view, you need to stay consistent and you need to stay level-headed. Unless we, as clubs, give managers more security then they are going to take a short-term view. If they know that they are going to be around to live with the consequences of their decisions, I think we’ll encourage a lot more responsibility in the game.”

“It’s very difficult in this environment to make strategic decisions for the next five, ten and 20 years, but the game collectively needs to do that.” Ivan Gazidis, Arsenal

— management conference 2010 —

David Sheepshanks outlines plans for St George’s Park

Henry Winter of The Daily Telegraph

Professor Chris Brady

LMA CEO Richard Bevan opens the Conference

George Gavin of Sky Sports

LMA chairman Howard Wilkinson (left) in conversation with England manager Fabio Capello (right)

Professor Chris Brady, René Carayol and Sam Allardyce talk leadership

West Bromwich Albion manager Roberto Di Matteo (left) with Tony Mowbray

England assistant manager Stuart Pearce (centre) with Coventry manager Aidy Boothroyd (right)

Ivan Gazidis, Henry Winter, Alex McLeish and George Gavin in conversation

the manager Winter 2010

— management conference 2010 —

Collaboration Is Key

Following his appearance at the LMA Annual Management Conference, business guru René Carayol considers the growing similarities in working practices between business leaders and football managers As the business world becomes faster-moving, ultraaggressive and more unforgiving, no organisation or business is immune to the change. If in the good times, organisations got a little flabby and complacent, the tough times have forced them back into shape. For the best part of almost two decades, football has sat isolated in its own ‘bubble’ as the Barclays Premier League has gone from strength to strength, but times have changed and the progressive and far-sighted are fully aware that football clubs have to be run with a very different business model than before. Football and business are now so closely linked and intertwined that it is impossible to separate the two; when I sat with Sam Allardyce on the panel at the LMA Annual Management Conference, it became increasingly apparent just how similar the roles of business leader and football manager have also become. I spend most of my time acting as a mentor and ‘critical friend’ with first appointment CEOs, and by far the biggest hurdle they have to overcome is that of having nobody to talk to. At other times in their career they have usually been a part of a wider team, with peers who they would share most things with, and subordinates to keep them in touch with the front

line. But once they finally get to the premier position they had always hoped for, the loneliness of command becomes all too apparent. Life at the top is very different, as leaders can often find themselves working without a sounding board or support network. Be it hiring, firing, performance feedback, setting the vision, rallying the troops

“Adopting a more collaborative style of management does not mean a loss of authority” or deciding whether to divest or acquire, the big decisions and the big statements have to come from the leader. Most of these decisions are taken long-term, with a necessary and healthy run-up, but football managers don’t have the luxury of time. Listening to Allardyce was a masterclass in agility and man-management; reacting quickly to the shifting terrain

the manager Winter 2010

that engulfs any football club and making rapid decisions that are scrutinised by millions every day. No person can do this alone, otherwise the organisation can only move as fast as that one person develops. Nothing is best done alone anymore. Yet sharing personal pain with a critical friend is a big step, as I have found out first-hand over the years. My experience says that Europeans tend to be far more collegiate leaders who are willing to talk and trust more than their counterparts in the British boardroom, and once again football is in close alignment with business. If you look at the leadership model on the continent, it is a simple yet effective one of the division of labour and specialisation of roles. The reason many foreign managers are comfortable working with players who they have not personally hired, is because that’s the way they are accustomed to working in the European system. In most European clubs, there’s a director responsible for the commercial side, a communications director handling the media and so on. It means jobs are broken down into constituent parts, leaving each one to be done by an expert. Put simply, it comes back to the simple tenets that every good leader adopts: surround yourself

— management conference 2010 —

with people better than you and get your people doing the things they love. When people do what they love doing, they’ll never work a day in their lives; starting a virtuous circle that can only benefit the organisation. A leader’s job is to inspire others to follow their vision: set the tempo, see the bigger picture and utilise expertise among their people. A new generation of ‘British’ football manager/coach is finally emerging and some of our strong, solid, more senior managers are beginning to see the attraction of using experts in more specialised roles. The advent of this more collaborative style of management does not mean a loss of authority, but a means to increased success and, perhaps, less pressure. As ever, change can seem daunting and not an easy way forward, but the strong role models of José Mourinho at Real Madrid, England’s Fabio Capello and Chelsea’s Carlo Ancelotti, not to mention Roberto Martínez at Wigan Athletic and Roberto Di Matteo at West Bromwich Albion, might just be the way forward. The best of the best know that when you are surrounded with top talent you no longer have to give them tasks to do. You give them decisions to make. After all, no leader is flawless. I’ve had the privilege of working with some of the world’s great leaders – from Bill Clinton and Allan Leighton to Kofi Annan and Sir Richard Branson – and none of them is infallible. But they know exactly what the two or three things are that they are great at, and hone them to nearOlympian standard. They then put teams together behind them that compensate for their weaknesses. We are living in a world of coalition and collaboration is key. And it is a world where football and business need to keep learning from each other.

about René Carayol

René Carayol is one of the world’s leading business gurus, specialising in leadership and culture, drawing from his own unique experiences on the boards of the biggest British and American organisations – from Marks & Spencer and Pepsi to IPC Media and the Inland Revenue. He is the best-selling author of the leadership and culture bible, Corporate Voodoo, and has worked closely with some of the world’s highest-profile leaders – from former US president Bill Clinton and the seventh secretary-general of the UN, Kofi Annan, to former US Secretary of State Colin Powell and Sir Richard Branson. Carayol is a regular broadcaster for the BBC and has presented the influential Pay Off Your Mortgage in Two Years series, BBC2’s flagship business offering The Money Programme and two critically acclaimed documentaries, Mind of a Millionaire and Man from the Met. He is a broadsheet columnist, a frequent voice on Radio 5 Live and a regular expert commentator on Sky News and BBC Breakfast. In 2004, Carayol was awarded an MBE for outstanding service to the business community.

the manager Winter 2010

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Kicking off

— Talking point —

The Play-Offs For more than 20 years the Championship play-off final has provided all the joy and drama befitting the richest match in sport. The Manager pays homage Across the globe, many sporting events are described as ‘the richest in sport’. But very few come close in pure financial terms to a football match that takes place at Wembley Stadium in the early summer sun – the npower Championship play-off final. A report published by the accountancy firm Deloitte just before this year’s game estimated that the winners would benefit to the tune of more than £90m; roughly £40m of that figure coming in funding from the Barclays Premier League, a further £48m guaranteed in parachute payments (should the winner be relegated in the following season) and, of course, the extra money generated by higher attendances

and the other revenues that top-flight status brings. And that figure, of course, is a minimum. If the winning team should stay in the top flight for more than one season (as many do), the reward rises on an annual basis. The play-offs have become so much a part of football that it seems strange that they are less than 25 years old. Play-offs were first introduced to the Football League back in the 1986/87 season, as part of a process designed to reduce the old First Division from 22 teams to 20. In their original form, the playoffs featured the team finishing one place off relegation in a mini tournament against the teams that finished third, fourth and fifth in

the manager Winter 2010

the division below... effectively one team was playing for the right to stay in its current division while three others were aiming for promotion. To make matters slightly more complicated, all of the games (including the final) were contested as two-legged, ‘home and away’ affairs. The system was streamlined for the 1989/90 campaign, where all four play-off teams now came from the same division and the matter was settled by a one-off Wembley final. From this point on, the play-offs took their place as an established part of the football calendar. That season’s result wasn’t without controversy, though, for although Swindon Town beat Sunderland in the ➽

— Talking point —

➽ final, the Wiltshire club was prevented from taking its place in the top flight because of financial irregularities. The coveted First Division spot, therefore, went to Sunderland, which became the first club to reach the top flight having finished sixth in the old Second Division. While considered outrageous at the time, that situation has become commonplace over the years. In fact, teams that finish third in the Championship are only slightly more likely to emerge victorious from the play-offs than those that finish sixth (of the 24 teams to win the top-tier play-offs final over the years, eight finished just outside the automatic places while six have claimed the last spot). With so much riding on a single game, it would be understandable if the top-flight play-off final produced cagey, defensive matches, but on many occasions the opposite has been the case. The 1992/93 final saw Swindon take a 3-0 lead (with the first goal scored by their 35-year-old playermanager, Glenn Hoddle) over

Noughties Winners 2009/10 Winner: Blackpool Play-off position: 6th Beat: Cardiff City Subsequently: Remains to be seen... 2008/09 Winner: Burnley Play-off position: 5th Beat: Sheffield United Subsequently: Back down the following season 2007/08 Winner: Hull City Play-off position: 3rd Beat: Bristol City Subsequently: Narrowly preserved top-flight status by finishing 17th in 2008/09, but relegated last season

“The drama of the final is often followed by an extended hangover” Leicester City, who fought back to level the scores at 3-3 before Paul Bodin won it for Swindon with a dramatic late penalty. The 1998 final was, if anything, even more dramatic. The game, between Charlton Athletic and Sunderland, finished 4-4 with Charlton’s Clive Mendonca scoring a first-ever play-off final hattrick. There followed an extended penalty shoot-out, which the Londoners eventually won 7-6. The joy and drama of the Wembley final is often followed by an extended hangover, though, as many play-off winners struggle in the top flight (of the last 23 winners of the second-tier play-

offs, no fewer than 15 have been relegated at the first attempt). That said, some play-off winners go on to enjoy long (and lucrative) periods in the highest division. Bolton Wanderers, for example, were promoted via the play-offs in 2000/01 (see ‘Noughties Winners’, below) and have remained in the top flight ever since. The most successful winners were Blackburn Rovers who, having won the 1992 final, finished fourth in the inaugural Premiership the following season and went on to win the title in 1995. For all the financial gain, though, a play-off win provides the winning team with a lot more than just a better relationship with the local bank manager. Just ask those Blackpool fans who made the short trip to Anfield to watch their team beat Liverpool at the beginning of October... while in the same weekend their counterparts at Cardiff City (the team they beat 3-2 in this year’s final) were enjoying an away day at Barnsley. Sometimes riches can be measured by more than mere money.

2006/07 Winner: Derby County Play-off position: 3rd Beat: West Bromwich Albion Subsequently: Found the going tough and made a quick return to the npower Championship

2003/04 Winner: Crystal Palace Play-off position: 6th Beat: West Ham United Subsequently: Narrowly missed out on Barclays Premier League survival by a single point and have yet to return

2005/06 Winner: Watford Play-off position: 3rd Beat: Leeds United Subsequently: Made many friends, but were back down the following season

2002/03 Winner: Wolverhampton Wanderers Play-off position: 5th Beat: Sheffield United Subsequently: Back in the npower Championship for the next season, but returned to the top flight as champions in 2008/09 and are still there

2004/05 Winner: West Ham United Play-off position: 6th Beat: Preston North End Subsequently: Have remained in the top flight and qualified for the UEFA Cup by reaching the FA Cup final in 2006

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2001/02 Winner: Birmingham City Play-off position: 5th Beat: Norwich City Subsequently: Have spent six of the next eight seasons in the top flight (relegated in 2005/06 and 2007/08, but ‘bouncing back’ immediately both times) with a highest finish of 9th (2009/10) 2000/01 Winner: Bolton Wanderers Play-off position: 3rd Beat: Preston North End Subsequently: Have remained in the top flight ever since (finishing 6th in 2004/05) and have twice competed in the UEFA Cup

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leaders

— Carlo Ancelotti —

living the dream In a remarkable first season, Carlo Ancelotti added a Premier League and FA Cup double to Chelsea’s trophy cabinet. With European success now a priority, the Italian talks to The Manager about the people and ideas who have shaped his career and management style words sue mckellar Photography levon biss

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From the very moment in July 2003 that Roman Abramovich’s massive investment signalled his intent to challenge football’s elite, it’s fair to say that expectations changed at the west London club. Between that day and May 2009, five very different managers found themselves in charge of first-team affairs at Chelsea. But despite the fact that, during that period, the team won two ➽

— Carlo Ancelotti —

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— Carlo Ancelotti —

➽ Barclays Premier League titles, two FA Cups, two League Cups and reached the final of the UEFA Champions League, no manager has yet managed to deliver the club’s Holy Grail... the Champions League trophy. Then, on June 1st 2009, a new name appeared on the door of the manager’s office at Stamford Bridge, Carlo Ancelotti, who brought with him instant stability and success. A former Italian international with one Serie A title and two Champions League trophies already on his managerial CV, Ancelotti seemed the perfect candidate to take Chelsea’s expensively assembled squad to the heights that Roman Abramovich desired.

“I try to keep players stimulated by always introducing new ideas in training” And so it proved. Although Ancelotti hasn’t brought Chelsea’s owner the Champions League success he still craves, he has secured the club its first League and Cup ‘double’ and now, in his second season, has got his team off to a record-breaking start. Ancelotti insists he doesn’t impose his personality onto his team, but his influence is tangible at Chelsea’s Cobham training ground. A manager’s life may be a demanding one, but Ancelotti remains open and relaxed, happy to discuss football and his new life in England, which he has embraced with enthusiasm. It’s this attitude that has made his Chelsea both consistent and seemingly content.

In action against England in the third/ fourth play-off in the 1990 World Cup

You name Nils Liedholm and Arrigo Sacchi as your mentors; what particular qualities did they possess? Nils Liedholm was very quiet, very calm and never shouted at players. He retained a very good dressing room atmosphere. He was a very good teacher and he never lost his own identity; he maintained the same character at all times and had a very good relationship with the players. He made the players feel comfortable, whether they were training or playing in a match and the atmosphere was tranquil. All of the players showed him a lot of respect because although he was always calm he was a very strong man and a good leader. I met him 20 years later when I was at Milan and when I saw him I immediately felt the sensation of awe when I came back into his presence, and I still admired him so much even after all of those years. Arrigo Sacchi was a fantastic trainer; he had a lot of tactical knowledge and changed the Italian style of football. Usually, during this period, Italian teams liked to stay back to defend; he changed the mentality of the team and allowed us to play offensively. In training sessions he introduced a different type of training that

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involved more tactics, speed and concentration. How much did these experiences influence your style of management? I used my experiences of working with Liedholm to manage my players, and as I have grown through my own experiences I have become a better manager. I believe that all young coaches must learn and improve through their mistakes. It’s impossible not to make mistakes during your career, but I think that mistakes can improve your experience and ability to manage a club. When things aren’t going your way, as a manager you have to have courage and personality and prove your strength of character. In life you have to be able to overcome adversity; when I was a player I had two years out of the game due to injury, but those two years out were very important for me because it improved my character. Your passion and appreciation of your job as a football manager are evident. What is it about management that enthrals you so much? I was born wanting to play and this was my passion as a kid; it

— Carlo Ancelotti —

still is a passion and I want to maintain it. I live in a fantastic world. Football is not a real world; outside in the real world there are a lot of problems. Within the world of football I can work with my passion, because it’s not a job or a hardship for me and I want to cultivate this passion for a long time. For me it is not a hardship to watch the game of football, to try and improve myself and my team. I am living my dream and I want to continue to live it.

Comparing notes on the touchline with Sir Alex Ferguson

You are from a family of farmers, Sir Alex Ferguson from ship builders and Arsène Wenger was raised in a pub, all of which are working-class backgrounds. Do you think such backgrounds can shape a manager’s work ethic and hunger for success? I believe that every experience can form your character. Your relationship with your parents shapes you as a person because your parents are your most important teachers. They form your character and, as a manager, it is important to have character. You can’t be false about your relationship with your players; you have to be honest.

Does a successful manager need to impose his personality on the team? I wouldn’t want to actually impose my personality on my team. My approach is to have a relationship with my players that is on the same level. I don’t want to be higher than them in the hierarchy, but at the same time I don’t want to be lower than them either. I want to be on the same level as them so that together we can find the right solution by communicating to reach our target. Our aim is to play good, competitive football... and to win. The shortest road to making this happen is to make sure that the relationship between you and your players is very clear. I hope that my players feel about me what I felt for Liedholm and Sacchi. Obviously it is very important for a manager to also have a very good relationship with the club and its owner, because the club has to support the manager’s ideas to give the manager power to manage the players. I don’t want to impose my ideas on the players, but they have to be convinced that the ideas I propose are good.

“When I was 28 I thought I knew everything about football, but then I trained with Sacchi and learned a lot of new things” the manager WINTER 2010

Winning the UEFA Champions League for the second time with Milan in 2007

How conscious and attentive are you concerning the needs of your players, to improve their individual needs, and hence the collective performance? Every one of them needs to have an individual relationship with me – this is normal. There are players that you need to push and some that you don’t, so there are different types of relationships. You have to know the character of your players and recognise the players who want to talk or those who just want to listen; you must recognise their individual personalities. You describe yourself as an ‘old-fashioned guy’ who still likes to write everything down by hand. How important do you believe it is for a manager to be able to combine tradition with embracing technology? Football changes very quickly. It has changed so much since when I was playing 20 years ago and the players have improved in terms of their speed, strength and ability. The coach has had to move on over the years, too, and improve, and technology is very important. It is hard to miss ➽

— Carlo Ancelotti —

different than it was to managing in Italy; I try to keep players stimulated by always introducing new ideas in training sessions.

Unveiled to the world’s media as the Chelsea manager on June 1st 2009

➽ anything in a training session now because you have a lot of data available to you. By analysing the physical data from a match you can prepare individual training sessions for every single player. Technology is a very good support for a manager with regard to an accurate assessment of the physical condition of a player and their intensity of performance, acceleration etc. Tactically and technically, though, it is different because there is not a real correlation, for example, between possession and the victory; you may have a lot of possession, but not necessarily win. I analyse a lot of data from every game and every training session, both on the physical and tactical side. When you sign a player, regardless of his age or experience, is it your ambition to make them an even better player while you are their manager and that they would feel you had improved them? The important thing is that they want to improve. That doesn’t just refer to the young players; even the older player can acquire more knowledge during his career. When I was 28 I thought I knew everything about football, but then when

I trained with Sacchi I learned a lot of new things and it expanded my thinking. So I believe that everyone can be helped to improve further. It’s the first time you have managed an English club; how insightful was it for you to have managed David Beckham at AC Milan to enable you to understand the English mentality? Six months managing Beckham at AC Milan was, of course, an important experience. Beckham is a fantastic man and a fantastic professional who is very humble and unselfish. However, I knew a lot about English players because now, with the worldwide television coverage, you can watch every player and every game, so it was not a surprise or adjustment to manage players here in England. I knew a lot of things about the English players at Chelsea already and when I arrived I found a good atmosphere. Everyone supported me from the beginning and we started the season really well. When you have new ideas as a manager the players are always very interested and excited to try it; new ideas can improve concentration. My approach to managing in England is no

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You have equipped yourself with a new skill by mastering English very quickly; how hard was that? It was very hard. To learn a new language is not easy, but I had to do this because the most important thing is to be able to communicate with the players. I wanted to apply myself to the challenge and learn English as quickly as possible. I still have English lessons three times a week because I want to improve further. It is not easy to speak English every day, but I try very hard. You are a consigliere on the committee of the Italian Coaches Association; what is the main focus of that association and how is it similar to the LMA? The consiglieri decide the strategy of the Italian Coaches Association. The association’s structure supports all managers in Italian football and looks after the rules and regulations for managers in all of the professional categories, from Serie A to the fourth division. The biggest problems are faced by the managers in lower leagues where certain clubs don’t respect contracts. It is important for the managers in Serie A to support the lower league managers. The consiglieri also prepare the structure of the courses for the young coaches. There are many similarities between the Italian Coaches Association and the LMA, and both organisations have very important roles to play in the game. www.leaguemanagers.com/ managers/profile-508.html

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Eastern promise

Having left the white heat of the Barclays Premier League behind him, the former Leeds United and Aston Villa manager is now working at an even higher temperature words sue mckellar

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— david o’leary —

How did the opportunity to manage Al Ahli come about? I was asked in about May if I was interested in managing in Dubai and I said that I’d be willing to think about it when there was something concrete to consider. I was asked to come out and meet club president, Abdullah Naboodah, and I was very impressed by him. The club’s aim is to become more professional over the next three years and run along the same lines as clubs that play in the major European leagues. By doing this they hope to win the league and that the success will lead to other clubs out here copying the way we are doing things – in terms of fitness, coaching and medical support – and that the league as a whole will improve. This is not a retirement job; it carries a lot of responsibility because I am general manager of the club and not just coach of the first team.

When David O’Leary parted

company with Aston Villa in July 2006, it seemed certain that it wouldn’t be long before he was back in work at the highest level. However, more than four years passed before the former Republic of Ireland international’s next position was announced… and then it was at a club that only the most avid fan of world football would have even heard of. In July, O’Leary was announced as the new manager of Al Ahli, a Dubai-based club that operates in the United Arab Emirates Premier Division. Before his appointment (and, possibly, the club’s signing of Italy’s World Cup-winning captain Fabio Cannavaro a few weeks beforehand), not many people outside of the UAE would have been aware of football in the region. This is possibly because there isn’t, as yet, a great deal to know. The UAE Premier Division is contested by 12 teams from across the federation of states – with 10 of those coming from the two leading players, Abu Dhabi and Dubai. The national team has only qualified for one World Cup, back in 1990, where it went out in the group stages, losing all three matches. That said, there is a growing appetite for the game in the region; two of its airlines (Emirates and Etihad) devote significant funds to sponsorship, while one local – Sheikh Mansour – likes the game so much he bought Manchester City. The Manager caught up with O’Leary after his new charges had made a solid start to the new season (winning two and drawing two of their first five games) to find out how he was adjusting to his new working life in the rich, yet mysterious Gulf state.

“My job in Dubai is a standalone project to be judged on its own merits. I want to see if I can take this club and progress it” the manager WINTER 2010

What’s the club’s infrastructure in terms of the stadium and training facilities? We have very nice training facilities and the Al-Rashid Stadium is a good ground, but nothing compared to the likes of Al Jazeera in Abu Dhabi. My club has won the league five times since 1970, which is not a lot. Clubs from Abu Dhabi have dominated the league because even though Dubai is perceived as rich, Abu Dhabi can spend vast amounts of money on players that we can’t. For every £10m we can spend, clubs from Abu Dhabi can spend £100m and not even blink. ➽

— david o’leary —

In action on the touchline during Al Ahli’s victory over Dubai on October 15th

You’ve outlined the club’s ambition, but what do you believe is the realistic potential? It’s a big learning process for me this season because this is a new football market to me and I am having to learn about the teams and players as we go along. Generally, throughout my football career I have known the teams and players that I have been competing against. This has been a transitional time for me and I have never experienced anything like it. Ahead of my first match this season, there were no tapes available on the opposing team and it was the first time in my life that I didn’t know anything about the team that I was playing against. The first couple of months were very tough; the league and preseason started during Ramadan. It was a challenge to try and get athletes fit when they were fasting and couldn’t eat all day. In addition, it was 50OC during the day, so we were training and kicking off pre-season games at midnight – I never thought I’d be in a team dressing room at 2.30 in the morning. This was a very hard time for me, [coach] Roy Aitken and our backroom staff. We are

➽

now through that period, though, the temperature has lowered to about 37OC and it is amazing what a difference that has made. We’ll never be able to coach in the mornings over here, but we’re now able to train at 6pm, which makes a massive difference. You mentioned Ramadan. It is a very different culture that you find yourself working in, with religious beliefs and diets; how are you approaching this change in culture? When I accepted this job I was asked to shape the club, not just coach the team. We have addressed all aspects of the club’s approach, from the players’ eating habits to their timekeeping and mental approach. The project is massive because it is a different culture and the players are getting used to doing things that they have never done before. You have got to be a diplomat in terms of your management style; it’s no good bawling and shouting, you have got to win their respect and talk situations through. We are starting to see a difference

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and the players have made vast improvements in three months. I think the players here want to go out and just play and what we have got to do is try and improve their levels of concentration, get them more organised and instil discipline in them for the entire 90 minutes that they are on the pitch. I’ve had to expand and develop my management skills and become a lot more flexible to work within a different culture and I am enjoying doing so. People are commenting on the difference in Al Ahli and our ambition is to try and win the league and the President’s Cup over the next three years.

Al Alhi’s other high-profile signing, World Cup winner Fabio Cannavaro

— david o’leary —

How big a step was it to take the decision to move to Dubai? I’ve been coming to Dubai on holiday for about 10 years so I was fully aware of the place. But now I am here to work, so I have kept myself away from the ‘bling’ that is associated with Dubai and fully focused on the football experience. It is a bit strange that you don’t usually start your working day until 4pm, instead of 7am when you are a manager in England. Apart from the heat here, the adjustment is not too hard in day-to-day life; I shop at Waitrose, the people speak English and there is always English sport on TV. For all of its Arabic tradition and heritage Dubai also has many western ways.

“We’re now able to train at 6pm, which makes a massive difference” How important has it been to immerse yourself in the culture? It is very important to relate to the fans and the players and I enjoy that very much. I work for a very good person and have some excellent people around me at the club. There’s definitely a culture of highs and lows here; you can win and be an absolute hero, but they can get very low after a defeat. The club has been taken over by a new president, but prior to that it had four managers last year and decisions were taken on a whim at times – “you’ve had a defeat so just get rid of the manager”. However, the manager of Al Jazeera has been in his job for three years without winning the league, so I hope I will be given the same time and win

something. I have put my faith in Abdullah Naboodah, who wants the club progressed in a western way. He has a three-year plan and I am going to try and implement it. Did you feel it was necessary to grasp the opportunity to manage abroad once it presented itself? I always thought if I ever got the opportunity to do something abroad then I would take it. I could have moved abroad when I was playing with Arsenal, but I loved playing at Highbury. Everybody speaks English here so you don’t have the challenge of learning a language, which would actually be lovely to do. I couldn’t turn this opportunity down and I have taken Roy Aitken with me as my number two, who is also relishing the challenge. Roy has been invaluable to me because about 10 years ago Roy worked out in Dubai as a coach and actually coached my current boss at another football club, so they know each other. Roy really understands the culture of the clubs and the players in Dubai. As you coach in the evenings, how do you structure your day? For the past few months it has been an unusual existence really. Due to the 50OC heat I have just had to live indoors during the day where there is air conditioning, before stepping out at night into warm air. My wife and children are still based back in the UK where we have family obligations, so that is an adjustment, but my wife does come out for 10 days each month. I got back home to England for a week recently during the international break and I just loved stepping off the plane and into the cool fresh air. In Dubai the people can’t wait to get their summer over with in the same way that we can’t wait to get winter over with in England.

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Where do you place this opportunity within your career path? I know from managing in it for a long time that the Barclays Premier League is a fantastic league. However, I am not out here to try and do well and use this opportunity as a stepping stone back to it. My job in Dubai is a standalone project to be judged on its own merits. I want to see if I can take this club and progress it to beat the big clubs in Abu Dhabi. The challenge is to see if I can make this a better club and leave a legacy behind of the methods Roy and I have implemented, and that people might carry them on. Do you one day see yourself returning to manage in England? My entire focus is on this project in Dubai. Roy Hodgson didn’t take the job as manager of the United Arab Emirates to say he was going to end up as Liverpool manager a couple of years later; he will have done it because he thought that it was the correct decision at that time. I don’t know where I will end up in my future career; if it finished here for me in three years and there were no other opportunities to manage, then I know that I would not have missed this experience and will have enjoyed it. If a job offer after this project that was the right job in the right country came along, then I would do it. www.leaguemanagers.com/ managers/profile-318.html

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— john sheridan —

‘my job is all about winning’ 32

League Two Chesterfield are undergoing a transformation both on and off the pitch. The Manager talks to the man responsible, John Sheridan, about changes in the game and his club words Steve mckevitt

Standing in reception at the B2net Stadium, Chesterfield’s impressive new £13m home, is Steve Norris. During the early 1990s he was one of the country’s most prolific strikers; a legend as far as fans of Scarborough, Halifax and Chesterfield are concerned, but someone who spent his entire career in the lower divisions. Norris, who scored 44 goals in just 97 appearances for the Spireites, is here on football business. He is recommending a player who has just been released by a Barclays Premier League club’s academy and has no doubt that the player in question will be very interested in joining Chesterfield. After all, as he says: “This is a proper club these days.” He’s right, and it’s clear that it isn’t only players who are fired up by the new surroundings. There’s a palpable air of confidence evident in everyone at the new

stadium. Gates are up almost 100 per cent on last year and the Spireites have responded by starting the season strongly. John Sheridan is the man largely responsible for this newfound confidence. As a player, Sheridan’s game was very easy on the eye. He was the epitome of the cultured midfielder, a fine passer who rarely conceded possession... a match-winner. It is evident that Sheridan is trying to mould this Chesterfield side in his own image. The club’s final season at Saltergate was very much a work in progress, but among fans more used to a diet of workmanlike, percentage football, there was a belief that the manager’s own rebuilding programme could see their first season at the B2net end in celebration. While greater expectations inevitably bring greater pressure,

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Sheridan seems to be enjoying life. Winning football matches, he concedes, is what’s keeping the smile on his face. “The new stadium is beautiful – and the pitch helps us especially, because we want to try and play football – but it’s only an advantage because we’ve hit the ground running. My job is all about winning football matches. We’ve done well so far and as a result, the crowds are up, the fans are up, the atmosphere’s great and everybody at the club has just got that little bit more confidence.” Sheridan, who has witnessed numerous changes during some 30 years in the game, doesn’t believe that teams operating in the lower divisions cannot play attractive football. “I think people would be quite surprised if they haven’t seen League Two football for a few years,” he says. “It’s changed dramatically. The pace

— john sheridan —

of lower division football is much quicker than it once was and I think most teams are trying to play football. Take Crewe; on their day they’re as good as anyone in the division. But the key is being able to do it consistently – that’s how you get out of this league.” League Two does appear to be in rude health. Dario Gradi’s Crewe Alexandra may have a longstanding reputation for playing pretty football, but there are other sides displaying similar

“Crowds are up, the fans are up and the club has more confidence” qualities. But if the changes to the pitches, football and facilities have been for the better, there are some developments about which Sheridan is less enthusiastic. “I think players have definitely changed over the years,” he says. “Without being critical, I think that they are generally a lot more difficult to work with. With some of them, I really don’t know if they love playing football because of the money they’re earning. “In days gone by, I think that nearly all players really wanted to play. I’m not having a go at them – it’s a fact of life and I accept things have changed – but I do think ➽

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— john sheridan —

➽ that players today are a different breed. It’s not simply a question of money; there’s a different attitude. I respect a player who comes knocking on my door and asks me why he’s been left out of the side, rather than sitting around, trying to show me he’s not really bothered. That’s what most of the successful players I played with did. It’s what I did, too. It was common five or 10 years ago, but not any more.” Indeed, Sheridan goes further, questioning whether academies are producing match-ready teenagers, equipped with the right attitude to succeed. “I think the academy system has been a bit of a letdown, because they play within the same age group for too long. I learned my football by training with the first team at Leeds and made my debut at 17 as a result. I don’t think that happens at many clubs now. “Young players learn by playing with good players. There’s nothing better if you’re a youth-team player and you’re training with

“I respect a player who knocks on my door and asks why he’s been left out”

player playing next to you and giving you good advice.” Like many of his peers, Sheridan cut his teeth in the lower leagues before making it to the top flight, but it’s a career path that he believes would be difficult to emulate today. “Moving up the divisions is very difficult for players today. Today, you’ve either got to be an instant hit or accept that, even though the club may have paid a lot of money for you, that you’re just part of a squad. In the past you’d have been playing regular matches and improving your game. You won’t find many who are playing regularly today.” Chesterfield’s stated aim is to be playing in the Championship within five years and Sheridan believes that a few members of his squad are already capable of cutting it at that level. Sheridan may just be ready for that challenge, too.

the first team and you do something good and senior players are saying well done and talking to you. I’ve seen plenty of footballers who have been released by the top academies, both here and at Oldham. “In most cases they’ve been at these clubs for nine years, but when they’re put in with the first team they are found wanting. Technically, they are usually okay, but the physical side of the game is a struggle for them. They’re just not ready for that change. A coach can talk all day, but you benefit more when you have a first-team

www.leaguemanagers.com/ managers/profile-388.html

2 1 4 6 3

7 5

The class of ’91

One of the highlights of John Sheridan’s playing career came on April 21st 1991 when he scored the winning goal for Sheffield Wednesday as they beat Manchester United in that year’s League Cup final. Of the 11 players who started for Wednesday on that occasion, an extraordinary seven have since become managers. A tribute, surely, to their manager Ron Atkinson’s inspirational qualities.

1 Peter Shirtliff – Mansfield Town 2 Nigel Pearson – Carlisle United, Southampton, Leicester City and Hull City

5 Chris Turner – Leyton Orient, Hartlepool United (twice), Sheffield Wednesday and Stockport County

3 John Sheridan – Oldham Athletic and Chesterfield

6 Roland Nilsson – Coventry City, GAIS (Sweden) and Malmö FF (Sweden)

4 Danny Wilson – Barnsley, Sheffield Wednesday, Bristol City, MK Dons, Hartlepool United and Swindon Town

7 Nigel Worthington – Blackpool, Norwich City, Leicester City and Northern Ireland

the manager WINTER 2010

THE BUSINESS

— motivation —

Is successful management just a case of finding gifted people and applying them to the task in hand, or is the equation a little more complex? The Manager takes advice from some experts in the field of talent management

words Alice Hoey ILLUSTRATION Matt Murphy

Management guru Stephen Covey once said: “Motivation is a fire from within. If someone else tries to light that fire under you, chances are it will burn very briefly.” Speak to most performance consultants and they’ll tell the same story – you can’t motivate someone, they have to do it themselves. But if that’s true, where does it leave the manager? In fact, they play an essential role. While every member of a team – be they in a salesroom, changing room or orchestra – must light their own fire, it’s up to the manager to create the right environment to do so, and then constantly stoke that fire. One of the best ways to achieve this is to ensure that every employee feels that their contribution is valued. Whether they have a direct and immediate influence on achieving the team’s goal or are somewhat more removed, every team member should understand the long-term and short-term objectives and know where their cog fits into the machine. Keeping her team of telemarketers motivated is a challenge that Denise Effenberg,

managing director of Teleleads, faces every day. Her employees’ work, which involves making calls to businesses to generate meetings, is repetitive and the rewards can be a long time coming. “Success in telemarketing doesn’t happen overnight, so we try to balance the accounts people are

“Establishing a culture of reward and recognition is a must for any manager” working on so that they have a balance of long-term and newer opportunities,” says Effenberg. “This helps to keep people fresh and engaged.” She adds that, in this kind of job, competition between staff can be very motivational, so long as everyone’s contribution

the manager winter 2010

— motivation —

is recognised. “It’s important to reward someone who has laid the groundwork for a campaign just as you would the person who has made a dozen successful meetings in one week,” she says. “It’s about striking a balance so that everyone feels worthwhile.” Establishing a culture of reward and recognition is a must for any manager. Unfortunately, unless you’re one of the select band of businesses to have thrived in the

recession, incentivising staff with pay increases, bonuses and other financial rewards may no longer be a viable option. The good news, though, is that, while people tend to be initially attracted to a job by money and benefits, few are motivated dayto-day by fiscal rewards. The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development’s Employee Outlook survey showed

the manager winter 2010

that job satisfaction had improved between 2006 and 2009, despite all the doom and gloom in the economy. The findings suggest that happiness in the workplace doesn’t necessarily correlate with the amount of money kicking around. Even if the current economic ➽

— motivation —

➽ climate makes pay cuts or freezes a necessity, training and incentive schemes can help to keep hold of top performers and ensure their commitment. The fastest way to find out what would enrich someone’s job is simply to ask them. Communication is one of the most useful weapons in the manager’s arsenal when it comes to firing up team morale and productivity... and it’s free. Being transparent about the company’s situation – and asking your employees for their thoughts on ways to improve it – demonstrates that you value their opinion and gives them ‘buy-in’ to the business’s success. We also often forget how incredibly powerful a simple ‘well done’ can be, especially when it comes right from the top. Watching the recent Channel 4 programme Undercover Boss, it was striking how much it meant to the employees involved to hear that they were doing a good job and that their dedication was genuinely appreciated. Some were rewarded with the opportunity to feed in to advisory groups or to train colleagues, which only served to make them work harder still. However, according to Sheila Sheldon, director of European operations at jewellery firm Michael C Fina, we’re often our own worst enemy when it comes to praise. “Many Britons, when successful, imply or say that they don’t want a fuss made about it; but do they mean it as literally as we take it?” she asks. “If you were to ask most recipients of awards after a presentation, they would say it was the praise and thanks they received from a manager in front of their peers that they valued as much as the award itself.” Sheldon believes we should be less restrained about public back-slapping. “It boosts morale, not only for the individual, but for

the whole team,” she says. “Praise, however embarrassing it can be, is often what people want deep down, and it helps to inspire them and those around them. Praise breeds praise as success breeds success.” To be truly effective, though, the giving of rewards and recognition should always be balanced with discipline. It can be just as demoralising and demotivating for employees to see poor performance by colleagues go unchallenged as it is to see excellence recognised. The fear of failure or losing their job can put a rocket up some employees in the same way that the

“It’s essential that people feel you are involved in the work they’re doing”

the manager winter 2010

prospect of success fires up others. However, the ‘stick’ element of the carrot and stick approach should be used with care – its effects rarely last in the long term and the stress and anxiety that comes with it can actually inhibit performance. There are other pitfalls to motivating through fear, too. There’s little point surviving tough times, for example, if your team emerges irredeemably battlescarred. If people feel demoralised and underappreciated, they’re likely to jump ship at the first opportunity or continue to perform below par. The critical importance of the manager’s role in keeping staff happy and productive was underlined by recent research which found that, in addition to their positive influence, leaders also have the potential to make a negative impact on employee motivation, with poor leadership, lack of contact, poor communication, lack of support, poor decision-making and dishonesty cited among the main transgressions. Even something as seemingly minor as a manager’s everyday demeanour in front of his or her team can have a disproportionate impact. Roll into the office late, looking dishevelled, distracted and deflated, and this can set the tone for those around you. “You might have 1,001 things on your mind, but when you walk into the building it’s essential that people feel you are giving them your attention and are involved in the work they’re doing,” agrees Effenberg. Regardless of the challenges and concerns that may be lurking beneath the surface, a good leader will always appear enthusiastic, dynamic and inspirational. They’ll find the right balance between the carrot and the stick, be transparent and open about the team’s goals and achievements and keep the fire burning, however hard the wind blows.

THE BUSINESS

— management —

Learning to ‘manage upwards’ not only enhances relations with non-executive colleagues, but also teaches senior managers how to deal more effectively with those who work for them, too

words cath everett

Although rarely taught,

the art of ‘managing upwards’ is a crucial skill for senior business leaders; learning to manage your superiors is just as important, in fact, as learning to manage those who work for you. One of the key differences between the latter and former activities, however, is the natural balance of power in the relationship. While chief executives may have authority over their employees and be at the top of the tree in terms of decision making, the same is not true when, for example, working with the chair or other members of the board. In order to ensure an effective relationship with those in positions of seniority, managers must adapt their working practices and adopt

the role of ‘influencer’; a role that has elements of ‘push’ and ‘pull’. Sarah Hunter, account director at business management specialist Berkshire Consultancy, explains: “Pull is about eliciting ideas and information from people to understand their point of view, while push is having a different viewpoint and trying to communicate that. So you need to consider a balance of the two.” In some instances, this stance may involve acting as a sounding board for the chair’s ideas, but in others, it will involve questioning their views where necessary, rather than

the manager winter 2010

simply being a ‘yes man’ and rubber-stamping everything they say. Arguments and debates, however, can be wearing and counterproductive, which means that it is important for senior managers to pick their battles. This involves acknowledging that, while some things simply cannot be changed, others can and it is here that they should focus their efforts. Another common mistake, however, is to try too hard to impress and demonstrate that everything is under control, for instance, by only passing on good news and not being honest about any challenges that arise. The problem here is that the chair will likely want to be involved and feel that they are adding value. As Tom Fortes Mayer, performance coach and founder of open-source mindmapping software-provider FreeMind, says: “Being honest about challenges, inviting

— management —

their input and using them as a mentor flatters and includes them. But unfortunately, people often miss the importance of inclusion going upwards.” Another potential reason for tension can simply be the failure of senior personnel to understand each other’s roles and objectives, which can lead to clashes. As a result, it is critical to both share information and knowledge and ensure that everyone is clear about what is expected of them. Iain McMath, managing director of rewards and recognition consultancy Sodexo Motivation Solutions, explains: “It’s usually the chair who is responsible for managing stakeholders and their expectations and for developing strategy, while it’s the chief executive who carries it out. The two should be totally aligned, but they’re often not, so it can lead to misunderstandings.” Another key to effective management, however, lies in understanding the other person’s agenda, aims and requirements at both a business and personal level. Communicating in such a way as to get the best out of them is likewise important, as is treating them with respect. In terms of communicating effectively, it is useful to understand what approach both you and your boss respond to positively. Roughly 50 per cent of people, for example, are classed as ‘knowers’ – people who like to see the bigger picture. About 30 per cent are

‘thinkers’, who focus on detail, while the remaining 20 per cent are ‘feelers’, who react emotionally and like to know how any given scenario will affect both them and other people. Showing respect, on the other hand, does not imply friendship or even that it is necessary to like the boss on a personal level. What it does mean, however, is behaving with integrity and

“It’s about managing egos and making them feel that you take them seriously” avoiding judgemental hornlocking. It also means protecting them by ensuring that you never embarrass them or do anything to undermine them. While again this does not mean always having to concur with the boss on everything, it does entail putting up a united front to others, even if

the manager winter 2010

you disagree with the decision taken, which in turn helps to build trust. “You have to work from the basis that trust is about being open and honest because neither of you can perform your roles if the trust isn’t there,” McMath says. If you happen to believe that the boss has come up with a completely madcap and unworkable idea, however, there are ways of dealing with the situation without ending up in conflict. The first thing to do is start by thanking them and making a positive statement on what you like about the concept – even if it is just the fact that they came up with an idea in the first place. “It’s like having a bit of credit, a positive balance in the bank, but it has to be genuine or people will spot it very quickly,” says Hunter. “So if you say, ‘I like that, but I’m not sure how it would work’, you’re not criticising them – just the suggestion. It’s about not making it personal, but focusing on the idea instead.” The next step is to ask for time to investigate how the concept might work in reality. A team can then be put together to garner objective input. But managing such a team will involve the “art of solutionfocused questioning”, says Fortes Mayer – a technique that is otherwise known as “asking leading questions”. Rather than simply telling participants what to think, the aim is to encourage them to discover answers for themselves in those areas where a response is required – a practice that can equally well be applied to the boss, too. ➽

— management —

serving three bosses

➽ To illustrate the point, Fortes Mayer uses the example of car sales. “If you go into the showroom, the salesperson won’t ask you if you want to buy a car. They’ll ask you what kind you’d like, which presumes that you want to buy something,” he explains. After the input exercise has taken place, it will then be possible to return to the chair and say, “While it was a great idea, the team felt that it would not work this time because of a, b and c,” which again depersonalises the situation. “If people think an idea has been thought through and you’ve spent time on it, they’ll value your opinion more than just seeming to come out with an off-the-cuff remark,” McMath explains. “It’s about managing egos, but it’s also about making them feel that you’re taking them and their ideas seriously.” Another thing to bear in mind is that people do not just want to hear “no” if an idea does not work, but instead like to be given alternative options for consideration. If things go wrong and the relationship breaks down, however, it may still be possible to retrieve the situation. One option is to call a meeting with the aim of jointly agreeing how to make it work more effectively.

One manager with as much experience of managing upwards as any is Accrington Stanley boss John Coleman. Coleman, the country’s third-longest serving manager behind Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsène Wenger, has regular dealings with three of the club’s leading lights: Ilyas Khan (the financier helped to rescue the club from its recent financial difficulties); managing chairman David O’Neill and chief executive Robert Heys. “Managing upwards is a skill that every football manager needs; in fact, it’s one of the modules in the pro licence course,” he says. “We’re taught various techniques, but the most important tool is knowledge. You should always arm yourself with as much knowledge as you can about how your bosses operate.” Other than that, Coleman believes that managing upwards is a part of human nature. “It all comes down to how good your interpersonal skills are. What I tend to do is concentrate on working with one person and try to avoid situations where I might end up playing people off against each other. You have to be careful not to fall into that trap.”

“Even if you think they’re responsible, put your hands up and say, ‘I’m not approaching this in a way that’s working for you, so can we sit down and redesign the situation according to what you need and what the organisation requires’,” says Fortes Mayer. This activity involves going back to basics and spelling out all the unwritten rules

the manager winter 2010

around the relationship, including how decisions will be made and who will communicate them, so that they can be formally agreed upon. If the situation is too tense, however, it can be useful to seek the help of an unbiased thirdparty mediator, such as a nonexecutive or financial director who is trusted by both sides. The golden rule, though, is to keep emotion out of any discussion and instead to focus on the positive outcomes that could result for the organisation if the relationship were more constructive. It should then be possible to work backwards to understand and agree on how such a situation could be achieved. Interestingly, however, Fortes Mayer, believes that learning to manage ‘upwards’ effectively improves ‘downward’ management skills, too. “Although what you’re hoping to achieve will be massively different, the skills up and down are the same,” he explains. While managers may instinctively behave in a more ‘dictatorial’ fashion with those working for them, such an approach is neither empowering nor does it give people the space to find answers for themselves. Being “deferential and respectful as well as honouring someone else’s intelligence and authority”, whether they are above or below you in rank, on the other hand, will. “When you dictate to someone, what you do is kill empowerment and creativity, but you rarely dictate to the chairman so you can learn a lot,” Fortes Mayer concludes.

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THE BUSINESS

— career development —

Do you know what your next career move will be? If not, maybe it’s time to start planning

➜

words chris alden

Many managers only start thinking seriously about their career at times of stress. When a promotion comes up, they start wondering who will get the job; when they get a call from a headhunter, they wonder if they should jump ship; when they’re made redundant (or when people around them are losing their jobs) they start thinking about their future job security.

the manager winter 2010

£ ➜

— career development —

➜ ➜ If that’s you, it’s time to stop reacting to career events – and start managing your career proactively, in the same effective way you manage the day job. After all, management is what you do. The secret, says Rebecca Corfield, a careers expert and author who has advised politicians on their career options, is to make regular time for career planning – because if you make a plan when the going is good, you’ll have something to fall back on when times are hard. In fact, she believes it’s so important, that you should put aside a specific time in your diary every six months to spend precious time (either on your own or with

a trusted confidant) to work on your career development plan. “The longer you can have to think about the pros and cons of something, the more likely it is you’re going to make a sensible decision,” she says. “You want to think what the options are, ahead of time.” Plan out where you want to go in your career over the long term, in other words, and you can make the right decisions in the short term when those career events start happening to you. “It’s like everything else in life: the difference between strategy and tactics,” says Paul Nolan, founder of Nolan Partners, which specialises in executive search and

“Fit is everything: it’s not just , what you do but the way you do it” selection in sport. “Should you have a strategy? Yes. Do you need to make some tactical decisions along the way? Probably.” So what goes into that allimportant career development plan? The most basic step, suggests Nolan, is spending time thinking about what jobs you might want to work toward in future – and what skills and

the manager winter 2010

experience you would need to acquire along the way. So far, so good. But Nolan also stresses that skills and experience will only get you so far in a job search – because when it comes to going for that dream job, much comes down to cultural fit. So the next step is to take perhaps the oldest bit of career development advice in the book, the words inscribed on a pillar at the Temple of Apollo at Delphi: “Know Yourself.” If you get to know your own style, and are honest with yourself about your personality, behaviour and idiosyncrasies, career experts agree that can help you work out which jobs fit you best. “While, yes, the skills and experiences absolutely matter,” Nolan says, “You know what? They’re a given. Fit is everything: it’s not just what you do, but the way you do it. When people fall out of organisations, it’s not necessarily because – or only because – of results; it’s also about relationships, behaviours, all of those things that go on to make up cultural fit. They’re just as important to the individual as to the organisations.” Of course, sometimes the worst happens whatever you do. So the next element of your career development plan is to start thinking about your backup options should you lose your job – what you would do for money in a hurry, perhaps, or what job you would aim to do. ➽

— career development —

➜

➽ “Wise people invest in themselves before a crisis,” says Corfield. “So you should have a ‘plan B’ option for when things go wrong. If you’ve got ideas about other avenues you can follow, you can start to build up your credibility in that area.” In many ways, losing a job can be a positive thing, she says. When you are made redundant, you could end up going one step back to go two steps forward. That might mean moving to a smaller operation or an up-and-coming competitor. “You could be a bigger fish in a smaller pond, with your skills and experience – and be transformational,” she says. Careers guru Steve Preston, director of SMP Solutions and an expert in redundancy support, believes managers who lose their job should avoid dwelling on the past. Instead, they need to re-evaluate their priorities and establish their marketability in the same way as before. “Letting go and moving forward is so important in this process, and if they can do that they can come back strong. Sometimes people have to do that in life,” he says. The next piece of the career development jigsaw is to use others as a sounding board – whether it’s people in your peer group or people further on in the career structure. So try to find a mentor (“with a small ‘m’,” says Corfield) to whom you can turn, to talk over your

“Wise people invest in themselves before a crisis, so you should have a ‘plan B’ option for when things go wrong” career options with; and don’t be reluctant to do the same for people coming up the tree, too. Most people, she suggests, are happy to share information “if they find someone who’s admiring and interested in what they can learn”. All that networking can be particularly useful, suggests Corfield, when it comes to finding out about a new opportunity. And it can apply whether you see a job in the paper that takes your fancy, you’re headhunted, you’re invited to interview for a job out of the blue, or your company just wants to move you sideways. In all these cases, use your hard-won contacts to ask people what they know and what they’ve heard. Any inside information you can get, Corfield suggests, is worth having – including knowing why the previous manager left. “Google the key people. What

the manager winter 2010

is the dead weight there? What are the exciting things? Get what knowledge you can quickly. It’s about hoping for the best – and planning for the worst.” And when the time does come to make a decision, Corfield advises, ask yourself this question: in five years’ time, which option will you least regret... “never having risked it, or having taken it and fallen flat on my face?” And while we’re on the subject of other people, don’t forget to take into account your family when planning your career – because they might not be happy with you taking that big job in London if they’re quite happy in Aberdeen, thank you very much. “If the family’s unhappy, it’s going to impact on the person and how they perform in the job,” says Preston. In the meantime, career planning is something you shouldn’t feel guilty about, Corfield says. “There’s a slightly funny thing in this country that ambition is bad – and people sometimes look askance at senior people who say, ‘I have to build my own career.’ But there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s sensible – and the more fickle the industry, the more sensible that’s going to be for your own safety and survival. Dump the guilt.” And as Nolan points out, no-one else is going to organise your career for you. “The only person who’ll manage your career,” he says, “is you.”

THE BACK OFFICE

— PROFILE —

THE

Jeremy Snape words alex mead photography Hannah edwards

In his career as a cricketer, Jeremy Snape was known for his ability to outthink his opponents. these days he’s bringing that same skill set to the boardroom

As a cricketer, Jeremy Snape

was no Freddie Flintoff. He played for England at ODI and Twenty20 level and won a hatful of trophies at county level, but, by his own admission, he didn’t have an abundance of natural talent like the recently retired England legend. Snape, therefore, had to devote considerable time and effort to turning himself into a winner – a process that continues to pay off in his post-cricket role as performance coach. “I was never the most skilful player,” he admits, “but I enjoyed the mind games and tried to be innovative – I was the slowest spin bowler and created something called the ‘moon ball’.” This trademark lobbed ball was so slow (about 40mph) that it threw batsmen off their stride and Snape reaped the rewards. At Twenty20, in particular, Snape was considered a specialist and he helped Leicestershire to the abridged game’s championship in 2004 and 2006 (the latter as captain). “I always tried to think of new ways to get a competitive advantage in games,” he says. Thinking about the game is what Snape does best. Having moved to sports psychology, he’s continued to win at the highest level; earlier this year he finished a two-year stint as performance coach for South Africa, during which time he helped them overtake Australia as the world’s number one cricket team. “I was supporting Mickey Arthur [former South Africa

coach],” says Snape. “I worked mainly with the leadership group, using ideas and best practice from other sports. I also helped Mickey and Graeme [Smith, the South Africa captain] to make sure their messages were hitting the mark and bringing the team together.” Snape is pretty much a pioneer when it comes to his specific role in working with the minds of cricketers. Although he only retired from first-class cricket

“The worlds of sport and business share many of the same principles nowadays” in 2008, he had already been planning a career in the field before then, completing a masters degree in sports psychology while still a player. “I was always more fascinated with the mental side of sport than the technical and tactical side. I’d played for sides that on paper should win everything but didn’t, and I’d also played for a Gloucestershire side that was essentially made up of journeymen and yet won six trophies in five years. It was this kind of experience

the manager WINTER 2010

that made me get interested in team cultures and different coaching styles.” With Snape’s CV broadening by the month, his new profession has also taken him to India, where he’s worked with Shane Warne’s Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League. Here, the challenge is gelling a wide variety of cultures into one tight unit. “I was brought on board as performance psychologist, but I think Shane was initially sceptical – I think he’d already bought my return ticket in case I was too theoretical,” says Snape. “He was quoted as saying the only time players need a coach is to drive them to the match, so I was a little apprehensive. We had big names, such as Shane and Graeme Smith, who had been big rivals beforehand, then there were the Indian international stars and some juniors players who were in awe of their new, iconic teammates. It was a fascinating journey, but our strong team spirit helped us to win that inaugural IPL.” Success has not only given Snape credibility in the sporting world, but it has also allowed him to take some of his lessons into business. “The worlds of sport and business share many of the same principles nowadays, with businesses needing mental toughness and sports teams needing strong commercial principles,” he says. Snape’s company, Sporting Edge (www.thesportingedge.co.uk), has just been engaged by the LMA

— PROFILE —

to offer support to its members. “We’ve had a good uptake so far,” he says. “We help the managers with the varied performance challenges they face, whether it’s presenting to the board or managing their players. Managers are under a lot of pressure; everything is analysed from 20 different angles, there’s stats, there are cameras in the dugout… their world is high paced, volatile and open to the media’s gaze. Having some objective support can help bolster the skills for coping with this pressure.” Snape insists his view of psychology is all about “simplifying the complicated”. For football managers a lot of their problems

come from one source – players. “The main thing that challenges leaders is how to manage their talent. In the modern world, the power base is with the player and the agent, so understanding the players’ motivational needs is critical to their recruitment, management and retention.” Team spirit is another priority. “We need to create special team cultures,” says Snape. “With the internet and technology such as Twitter, players are becoming strong brands individually, so we need to ensure that they play for the badge on the front of the shirt rather than the name on the back.”

the manager WINTER 2010

Perhaps the biggest selling point for making the most of Snape’s expertise is his neutrality. “The higher you get in an organisation, the more privileged the information you have,” he says. “You can’t share your fears with everyone because it dilutes your potency to lead. Sometimes you need a sounding board to help you untangle a series of challenges and simplify it into a simple and effective plan. People shouldn’t be afraid of exploring psychology; it’s probably the biggest factor for sustained success.”

THE BACK OFFICE

— comment —

The LMA chairman reports from FIFA’s post-World Cup Conference and considers the case for the introduction of a winter break Howard Wilkinson

In September I spent a little time

in Madrid, along with more than 150 technical directors and national coaches from every country in Europe. We were there for the FIFA World Cup Conference – an event designed to allow analysis and discussion of this year’s tournament. The conference generated a number of very interesting discussions, such as the changing nature of international competition, the increasing influence of coaching and the wide-reaching effects of a national side’s success on all levels of teams and that team’s country. As the victorious Spain coach Vicente del Bosque said: “Living and travelling in Spain since we won the World Cup, I came to realise that international team success goes far beyond football in its influence, value and appeal. It has united and enthused our nation at all levels.” All agreed that Spain had the best team and players in the competition, with many of these players (as Ángel María Villar Llona, president of the Spanish Federation, was proud to point out) products of a fantastic youth development strategy that’s been refined over a period of 20 years.

It was also generally agreed that the World Cup is no longer the place to see the world’s best football players playing the world’s best football. With the elite players now almost exclusively distributed through Europe’s top five leagues, it is in European club competition that we now experience the crème de la crème of world football.

“A winter break would benefit both clubs and the national team” Clearly, football’s governing bodies and the media need to recognise this gradual change of emphasis and take the necessary steps to communicate that the World Cup offers different things. It may not offer the best football, but as far as the good of the whole game is concerned, the World Cup can still offer the best value. One reason the World Cup no longer offers the ‘feast of football’ of the past is that improving

the manager WINTER 2010

standards of coaching across the world have given the traditionally weaker teams the opportunity to become better organised and harder to beat, resulting in a growing number of tight games. Despite their obvious and increasing ability to achieve excellence in many areas, the coaches agreed that they all battle against a common enemy... time. Time is no friend to the coaches and managers of international teams. They don’t have enough of it during qualification periods, but when it comes to the tournament itself, they find themselves with too much on their hands. Netherlands coach Bert van Marwijk described how he tackled the nine weeks of commune life that is inevitable for those with aspirations of a place in the last four. Acknowledging the recurring problem that had plagued his country’s team in previous tournaments, he said: “With a little success we can easily become cocky, arrogant, self-opinionated and argumentative, with a tendency to self-destruct, so team building and the development of a team spirit were going to be crucial.” Van Marwijk knew that, if they were to achieve the ultimate prize,

— comment —

then each and every member of his squad had to accept personal responsibility; they didn’t have to be friends, but they did have to respect each other’s qualities, strengths and weaknesses, and recognise that winning a World Cup requires sacrifice. “Spirit does not come from being nice to each other; it comes from them being honest. Boredom comes with the territory,” he said. Van Marwijk also cited his squad’s visit to Robben Island as a key moment, sensing that experiencing the site of Nelson Mandela’s imprisonment and sacrifice gave his players a real perspective on the very fortunate positions they enjoy. It was clear that boredom is the inevitable bed partner of success and one that players have to come to terms with. Another of the tournament’s successful coaches, Germany’s Joachim Löw, touched on an increasing concern he has. He was seriously worried at the increasing workload being placed on his young players. It surprised the English representatives that the Germany coach raised this concern, as his players generally play fewer games than their England counterparts (see ‘Rooney and his Contemporaries by the Numbers’, above), but Löw believes that these days, the increasing workload on younger, successful players means less time to focus on ongoing technical development and, more importantly, could lead to premature burnout. I think this view resonated greatly with Fabio Capello, given that analysis of England’s performances and results over the past 30 years clearly show that the England team achieves its best results in the period between September and Christmas. In my opinion, the introduction of a winter break for elite players in this country would benefit both

rooney and his contemporaries by the numbers Age

Club

Int.

Total

Wayne Rooney

364

431

Lukas Podolski

226

307

Bastian Schweinsteiger

313

396

Lionel Messi

220

271

Germany’s coach Joachim Löw believes that the workload placed on some of his players may lead to premature burnout. However, as our figures show, Löw’s charges seem almost underworked when their statistics are compared to those of England’s Wayne Rooney.

clubs and the national team. The Barclays Premier League places extraordinary demands on players (they generally run further and faster than their counterparts in other European leagues), and the horror that is relegation ensures that almost all games remain fiercely competitive right to the final day of the season. Research shows that from January on, the incidence of ‘in-game’ injuries in the Premier League rises and is also significantly higher than in other European leagues. Whether they like it or not, clubs have a responsibility towards the national team because of its value and importance to the whole game, in the same way that oil companies have a responsibility to the wellbeing and overall good of the environment from which they extract their oil and livelihoods. In my opinion, a mid-season break would benefit our players (and, as a consequence their clubs and countries) as it would significantly reduce the ‘wear, tear and fatigue’ that generally starts to afflict players in those final months of the season. Fernando Torres, for example, who has now had three continuous years of Barclays Premier League and international football, is but a pale shadow of the young genius that made his Liverpool debut back in 2007. The Conference ended with Fabio Capello and Ottmar Hitzfeld, two of the oldest working managers

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in the game and two of the most successful, giving their advice to coaches starting their careers in today’s demanding and rapidly changing game – a game of increasing globalisation and (as we saw in the World Cup) player power. Capello said: “You must have a clear vision of how you want your team to develop and play. Create team spirit based on what you believe and value. Don’t waver.” Hitzfeld was equally clear: “You must be true to yourself, to your values, be authentic. Pay no attention to the media. Do it your way, according to your vision and strategy for the future.” Sound words from two men who have almost done it all.

Howard Wilkinson, in association with Sports Path, has devised the LMA School of Football Management, a series of online courses designed to help coaches and managers develop their leadership skills. The first course, Creating a Culture of Excellence, is currently in use at more than 40 per cent of English professional clubs and has attracted learners from more than 30 countries. Find out more at www. leaguemanagers.com/technical/ lmaschoolofmanagement-158.html

THE BACK OFFICE

Media

matters Neil Jones, News International

while its core business remains the same, news international once again finds itself at the vanguard of the latest paradigm shift in publishing technology words alexandra willis

Rupert Murdoch has never

been afraid to buck a trend. The CEO of News Corp, the parent company of newspaper giant News International, is famous for taking bold steps in his relentless drive to keep one step ahead of the competition. Of all of the media mogul’s audacious moves, however, none has been examined as closely as his recent decision to bar access to his company’s web content to all but the paying customer. In May of this year, Murdoch personally ordered that the websites of both The Times and The Sunday Times should be placed behind ‘paywalls’ (making them the first newspaper websites in the UK to do so). In October, the News of the World site followed suit. “Some people think we’re mad... I don’t,” says Neil Jones, News International’s director of commercial strategy. “This is a global strategy. It’s mouldbreaking. By the end of our fiscal year – that’s June 2011 – every newspaper in our portfolio will be behind a paywall. Everyone is watching this space to see what will happen. I’m very confident other newspapers will follow.” News International’s print offerings (The Times, The Sunday Times, News of the World and The Sun) currently account for

39 per cent of the UK’s national newspaper circulation, a market share that has remained stable during a general decline in newsstand sales. “Yes, circulations are decreasing and stabilising, but the changing trend is how people consume news,” explains Jones. “The younger people in the UK – 16 to 24-year-old adults – is where the biggest drop-off in purchase has been and that’s because they look to the web for their news. That’s why we’re focusing on that as an opportunity. We’re a content business, we invest massively in journalism… and that costs money.” The result – three all-singing, all-dancing online newspapers (thetimes.co.uk, thesundaytimes. co.uk and newsoftheworld.co.uk) – has not only thrown down the gauntlet to the rest of the media world, which is watching and waiting intently for the results, but it has also opened up new avenues of investment for News International. “It’s a really interesting challenge, for both journalists and advertisers,” explains Jones. “It’s no longer just about the written word. For example, one of our star columnists, AA Gill, now produces video content for the website, which is much more engaging. Similarly, for advertisers, in a

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newspaper they can just book a page, but on the web they can link directly to their most recent video or their website.” The paywall strategy is not only about breaking down barriers and gaining new revenue, it’s also about creating a deeper, more engaged audience, something News International is keen to supplement with a variety of other products. The newspapers remain the first port of call, but

“It will be really interesting to see how the market develops” from there, readers can engage on a series of different levels, such as The Sunday Times Wine Club, The Sun Bingo or The Times Plus member’s club. “As part of our drive to add value to our members, we offer unique access to events for free,” says Jones. “For example, we did an advance screening of Toy Story 3 and the tickets were gone within a matter of minutes.” Another landmark development

about Neil Jones Neil Jones has been director of commercial strategy for News International since April 2009, before which he was managing director of media agency Carat (which counts British Gas, Nokia and Debenhams among its clients). Jones has two main responsibilities at News International: managing strategic relations with the brand’s commercial customers (including advertisers, agencies and partners) and overseeing new and alternative streams of revenue and efficient working methods.

in News International’s brave new technological world has been Apple’s iPad. News International was the first media organisation to launch a newspaper application for Apple’s tablet computer and the result, The Times iPad app, has remained firmly on the iTunes bestseller list ever since. “My personal reaction to the iPad, like that of many, was fascination,” explains Jones. “We all saw it as an amazing opportunity and we’ve been really pleased with the take-up that we’ve had so far. The added value it presents is phenomenal. Whereas we might have just one picture for a story in the newspaper, on the iPad there’ll

be five or six. For sport especially, that’s incredible. Not to mention the commercial implications for advertisers – videos, links to websites – it represents a massive opportunity for business.” The iPad, it would appear, is only the first rung on the ladder of tablet browsing. With approximately 30 different devices due to be launched in the next six months, News International will have its work cut out to keep up. “It’s all very new,” says Jones. “If we wanted to be on every single platform, there is a large infrastructure cost associated

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with that. At the moment we’re only on the iPad, but that might change; we might go onto Google’s Android platform as well. It will be really interesting to see how the market develops.” So is Jones happy with News International’s seat at the technology table? “Absolutely. We’re leading the market, something that Rupert Murdoch is renowned for. Some of the things we do won’t work, but you’re not taking risks unless some things fail. I see us continuing to be at the forefront of what’s happening.”

THE BACK OFFICE

— comment —

The Coach's view

Photography Hannah Edwards

Huw Jennings, academy director for Fulham and the Nike Academy, stands up for youth development It’s a bit of a joke among those of us who work in youth development that “if the first team loses then the kids get the blame”. Never has this been more true than in the weeks that followed this year’s FIFA World Cup, when the media instantly pointed out the main culprit for England’s poor showing… failures in the youth development system. I genuinely welcome any media examination of England’s youth development, as it gives us a good opportunity to demonstrate the qualities that exist within the system. However, much of the coverage that appeared post-South Africa seemed to be little more than finger-pointing. My own belief is that if media people chose to investigate a little more thoroughly, they would find that there is a huge amount of excellent practice going on in youth development in the professional game in England. The resources that have been invested in academies since they were introduced in 1998 have resulted in a system that is admired across the world for its depth. The work carried out with even the very youngest players (from six years of age and upwards) gives those youngsters access to high-quality coaching and all manner of support and

services (everything from diet and fitness coaching to education support and child welfare services). It might be due to our London location, but at Fulham we regularly host visiting groups from all over the world; almost all of whom go away amazed at the depth of our youth development programme and our enormous investment in people. One of the accusations thrown at us is that much of this investment is lavished on ‘foreign’ youth, at the expense of English talent. This argument, however, doesn’t stand up to even the mildest scrutiny. Ours is a complicated, pluralistic football society, which has evolved over more than a century. The key to long-term success is for us to embrace this pluralism and not see things in terms of ‘English versus foreign’. Nowadays, a significant number of the players we get to work with are ‘dual qualified’ (and, in some cases, are qualified for multiple nations). Fulham’s academy has players with roots in, among other places, Ghana, the Ivory Coast and Nigeria. When we complete our ethnicity census for the Barclays Premier League, those players will describe themselves, for example, as ‘British Nigerian’. Figures quoted from the results of the most recent census show that 85 per cent of scholars in the

the manager winter 2010

academy system (that is, 16 to 18-year-olds) are British, which scotches this myth that our academies are crammed full of foreign players. If you look at the players who have made it through the academy system since its inception in 1998 (and by that, I mean players who are under the age of 28), I believe that they bring with them a freshness, a liveliness and expression of quality that sets them apart from the players who were developed in the generations that preceded them. Some good examples of this are Gareth Bale, Aaron Lennon, Theo Walcott, Adam Johnson and Jack Wilshere. These players demonstrate the talents that we need to embrace for the future good of the professional game.

ABOUT Huw Jennings

Huw Jennings is academy director for both Fulham and the Nike Academy. He started his football career with a ‘12-year apprenticeship’ in the Oxford area, where he coached schools, district, county and regional teams, while simultaneously working at Oxford United’s Centre of Excellence. Huw joined Southampton in 1998 as head of education and, having earned his academy manager’s licence, became academy manager in 2001. Between 2006 and 2008, Huw was youth development manager for the Barclays Premier League where he worked on developing, supporting and promoting youth football. He has helped nurture the early careers of many international footballers, including Theo Walcott and Gareth Bale.

— Huw Jennings —

However, these players are all what one of my mentors, the great coach Mick Buxton, described as ‘chiefs’. Buxton argued that in any club’s system – and, in fact, in any generation – there would only be a small number of chiefs, which would be supplemented by a significant number of ‘Indians’. In my view, it’s in the development of these lesser lights that the academy system has made particular strides and, as a result, the standard of football that’s played in the lower Leagues has vastly improved. We have more professional clubs than any other

country and, as a consequence, more players on professional agreements. The quality of play, the skills on display and the ability of young players to excite and entertain have resulted in the gates in the Football League rising significantly, even in a time when the media is intently focused on the Barclays Premier League. That, in itself, is a statement of how the academy movement has improved the depth and quality of the professional game. Maybe in a few months’ time, when the dust from South Africa has well and truly settled, the media may come back and take a more measured look at things. And maybe then they’ll see that the future of our players is significantly brighter than they first thought.

About the Nike Academy

“There is a huge amount of excellent practice going on in youth development in the game” the manager winter 2010

Launched in July 2009 as a joint initiative between the Barclays Premier League and the international sportswear manufacturer, the Nike Academy is a dedicated, pro-level training programme and support system for young footballers who have failed to gain, or are without, a professional contract. The academy’s aim is to assist those footballers in their quest to re-enter the game. It also gives insights into non-playing careers, such as coaching, refereeing and sports science. Based in London, the academy operates nationwide, with training sessions and matches taking place in a variety of venues (including Manchester United’s training HQ in Carrington). For more information, visit www.nikefootball.com

THE BACK OFFICE

— Leadership —

Insider The

Tyson Henly

with the 2012 european championships looming large on the horizon, the manager talks to the man responsible for ensuring the event’s commercial success It’s possible that football has driven many managers to drink, but it must be rare for drink to have driven someone to football. Like many others in sports marketing, UEFA’s head of global sponsor management, Tyson Henly, started out in the world of fast-moving consumer goods – in his case, with the drinks giant, Allied Domecq. Henly first became involved with UEFA when he joined the organisation’s exclusive marketing agency, Team Marketing, in 1995 to work on the then fledgling Champions League. “At that point the sports marketing industry was just beginning to bring in people with more traditional marketing backgrounds,” he says. “I arrived at a time when the Champions League was only in its third season. The competition has really developed since then – it’s almost become a case study in sports marketing – and I was fortunate enough to be there as quite an integral part of the process from an early stage.” After ten years with Team Marketing, Henly moved to his current role within UEFA in March 2005. As well as taking him ‘in house’, this move also shifted his focus from club football to the international game, as he took the lead in delivering the full marketing programme for the European Championship. With Euro 2012 now less than two years away, that event is

currently top of Henly’s agenda. However, he’s quick to point out that it’s not the only event making demands on his time. “We have something that we call the ‘UEFA Eurotop programme’,” he says. “This is a collection of four tournaments: the Euros, the U21s, the European Women’s Championship and the European Futsal Championship. It’s my team’s role to ensure that we

“The appetite for commercial rights to the highest level of football remains strong” deliver a consistent rights package across all four.” UEFA, and Henly’s team in particular, is already a long way down the road towards achieving its commercial targets for the 2012 tournament (which will be jointly hosted by Poland and the Ukraine, kicking off on June 8th 2012 in Warsaw and climaxing on July 1st in Kiev). There are a total of 18 commercial rights packages built in to the event; 10 of them global,

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the others being national rights packages divided between the hosts. “We’ve already formally announced seven of our global partners and we’re a long way advanced in finalising the other three,” says Henly. “So far it’s been a very successful programme in terms of the pace of renewals – even in this very demanding climate we’re finding that the appetite for commercial rights to the highest level of football remains strong, both on and off the field.” Henly believes that major global corporations such as Coca-Cola®, Carslberg and McDonald’s have made strategic decisions to align themselves with football and have prioritised their marketing budgets accordingly. “While they still very much want to be a part of football, what we’ve noticed is that they’re a lot more focused on what they want to get from their rights. It’s not, ‘Should we be a part of it?’ so much as, ‘How do we get the most out of it?’” As a result of this, Henly and his team now find themselves working more closely with their partners’ marketing operations. “Nowadays we work with our partners to plug in to their corporate strategies,” he says. “We try to bring an almost consultative approach to the process, rather than simply saying, ‘There’s your tickets and logo package,’ and leaving them to it.”

— Tyson henly —

This approach, Henly believes, has resulted in UEFA building a strong roster of long-term commercial partners. “We’re not into the commercialisation of football for the short term,” he says. “If you look back at the clients and sponsors that are involved, we have some partners who’ve been around for a number of years; Carlsberg, for example, have been working with us since 1988.” Henly is confident that the tournament itself will provide a compelling spectacle, no matter which 16 teams make up the final line-up. “The Euros is arguably the highest-quality national team tournament in the world these days,” he says. “The fact that three of the four semi-finalists in the last World Cup were European is a statement of the strength of the game in the region and we will have 16 of the best European nations competing over 31 matches, so by definition you don’t really get such a thing as a lesser match.” So how will a successful 2012 tournament look to Tyson Henly? How does he hope the world will look when he wakes up in Kiev on July 2nd 2012? “Well, first of all I hope that I don’t wake up too early,” he says, “and, hopefully, I’ll still be toasting an England victory from the day before… then I’ll get straight back on to helping to organise Euro 2016.”

UEFA’s Eurotop programme – the ‘other three’ UEFA European Women’s Championship

UEFA European U21 Championship

UEFA European Futsal Championship

Starting in the early 1980s, the competition was rebranded as the UEFA European Women’s Championship for the 1989/91 event. It is now a fully fledged 12-team tournament staged every four years. The next finals will take place in July 2013 in Sweden.

Europe’s youth tournament has evolved since the introduction of a ‘Challenge Cup for national representative teams aged under-23’ in 1967. The format changed over the years, with the age restriction changing to under-21 in 1976. The next finals will be in Denmark in June 2011.

Futsal is indoor football, played on a hard surface between teams of five players each. The European Futsal Championship (running since 1996) is contested every two years between 12 qualifying countries. The next event will take place in Zagreb, Croatia, in 2012.

the manager winter 2010

THE BACK OFFICE

— HEALTH and WELLBEING —

Health &

Wellbeing With Dr Dorian Dugmore

STRESS, PERFORMANCE AND THE modern MANAGER Although stress is generally (and, to some extent, correctly) perceived as a negative thing, we all need some level of it in our lives. Stress can bring focus, energise us and drive us to succeed. Without it, there would be no desire and with too little stimulation we can become bored, frustrated and even depressed. One of the pioneers of research into stress, Dr Hans Selye, identified what can be called good stress or ‘eustress’, where we experience heightened energy and motivational levels that enable us to function to our optimum. On the other hand, too much stress reflects an inability to cope with mounting pressure. Stress can be thought of in terms of a violin’s strings… when they’re taut, they make sweet music; stretched too tight, they break. The immediate physical response to stress is an increase of production of the body’s stress hormones: cortisol, adrenaline and noradrenaline. This, in turn, causes a cascade of responses; stored fats and sugars pour into the bloodstream to provide fuel, breathing quickens, heart rate and blood pressure rise in preparation to carry extra oxygen, and digestion slows down to make extra blood available to muscles and extremities. Blood clotting mechanisms can also become activated in anticipation of injury. Many of these responses were evident in the 2002 Tonight TV

documentary on stress and football management, where the vital signs of Sam Allardyce (then Bolton Wanderers) and Dave Bassett (then Leicester City) were monitored during a match. The heart rates and blood pressures recorded were higher during the game than when they’d both been pushed to exhaustion some weeks earlier on a treadmill in a clinical setting. The constant and relentless ‘lash of ambition’ that most managers experience can have a physiological and emotional effect on the body. The end result is a series of changes that can result in a manager almost being permanently ‘switched on’. The long-term results of stress range from elevated cholesterol (due to a slowing of the liver’s capacity to prepare for cholesterol excretion as blood supply to the internal organs is compromised), an increase in the production of the amino acid homocysteine (potentially promoting the inflammation of blood clots), and an increase in the ‘stickiness’ of blood platelets, all of which can contribute to blocked arteries and premature heart disease. So what’s to be done? The first step is to recognise there’s a problem (see ‘Warning Signs’, opposite), the second is to manage it by recognising the level of stress under which you can function safely. Only then can you develop ways in which you can control stress above the level that suggests you are potentially unable to cope.

the manager WINTER 2010

— HEALTH and WELLBEING —

EXPERT COMMENT

“Stress itself is not a health hazard; it’s our response to it that’s potentially dangerous” Dr Barry Franklin

Warning Signs

Excess stress levels can be heralded by the onset of some or all of the following symptoms (many of which can occur simultaneously)

■ I ncreased muscular tension (neck and back aches) ■ Stomach and intestinal problems (irritable bowel syndrome) ■ Numbness or tingling in the arms or hands ■ Chest pains or shortness of breath ■ Skin eruptions and cold sores ■L oss of self-esteem or a feeling of worthlessness ■ Difficulty making decisions, trouble meeting deadlines ■ Sense of paranoia, increased sensitivity to criticism, short tempered ■ Feeling of fatigue, boredom, unhappiness and sadness ■ Hard time concentrating, being productive and creative ■M oodiness, depression ■ Trouble sleeping, raised resting heart rates, sweating during sleep ■ Poor memory, rigid behaviour ■ Poor lifestyle habits, overeating, abusing alcohol, too tired to exercise ■O versleeping or not getting enough sleep

“Laughter is an instant vacation” Milton Berle

“The past 20 years have produced significant breakthroughs in understanding the stress/ performance/health equation. Ironically, even though the heart often suffers due to relentless, prolonged stress, it can also be our ally in our fight against stress. Research conducted at the Institute of HeartMath in the US has proven that learning to manage stressful emotions can not only improve heart function and overall wellbeing, it can also dramatically enhance brain function, decision-making and professional effectiveness. New ‘cardiofeedback’ technology can assist the manager to create a new foundation of healthy function and effective, sustainable high performance.” Bruce Cryer, HeartMath LLC, California, US

STRESS ANTIDOTES FOR MANAGERS

■L earn how to produce a relaxation response by using the HeartMath technique (see ‘Expert Comment’). This one-minute technique helps an individual to quickly stop the stress response and move to a state of higher physiological functioning. This is achieved through a combination of paced breathing and reflecting on a positive experience. ■ Even if you can’t change things, you can change the way you perceive them. Positive perceptions (even to a crisis situation) can change body chemistry, reducing production of stress hormones. ■ Keep a journal. Note your emotions – ‘a trouble shared is a trouble halved’. ■ Practice positive self-talk; no self-defeating comments. ■ ‘Write your own epitaph.’ Do you want to be remembered as the great manager who was always stressed? ■ ‘Tranquillise with exercise.’ Moderate exercise is driven by endorphins, the feel-good hormones. ■ Breathe deeply and meditate for ten minutes daily; this promotes stressreducing chemistry. ■ Get enough sleep. Most people need eight hours for body and brain chemistry repair. ■ Practise progressive muscular relaxation; contract a group of muscles for a few seconds then release. This promotes stress-relieving chemistry during relaxation. Dr Dorian Dugmore is founder of the LMA’s Fit To Manage programme, run in association with Wellness International at the adidas Wellness Centre in Stockport, funded by the Barclays Premier League

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The BACK OFFICE

— ANALYSIS —

Analysis

early season data compiled

by Castrol and Opta’s expert analysts suggests that, despite predictions of a season of struggle for the three newly promoted sides in the Barclays Premier League (Blackpool, Newcastle United and West Bromwich Albion), all three look on course to avoid relegation. The table, right, shows that the three teams picked up a combined total of 24 points after their six games, the joint-highest total recorded in any of the past ten Barclays Premier League seasons (level with 2002/03). Over the past decade, whenever the three new arrivals have collected a combined total of at

least 20 points from their opening six matches, then at least two of the clubs have avoided the drop. All three (Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanderers and Fulham) survived in 2001/02, the only time this has happened in the history of the Premier League. With this season’s trio sharing the points fairly equally, all three sides can face the remainder of the season with confidence. Castrol Performance data shows that single-mindedness in front of goal has been the hallmark of this season’s promoted sides, especially when compared to the three teams who went down last season. During the opening six games, Blackpool scored with almost one in every five shots, while Newcastle’s

promoted points haul indicates successful season for top flight new boys

conversion rate of 15 per cent was, at that stage, only one percentage point lower than that recorded by the 2009/10 champions Chelsea. West Brom’s strikers have been less clinical, but their pass completion rate in the attacking half (of almost 72 per cent) allowed them to dominate their early games and collect seven points, despite scoring just five goals. Promoted teams’ combined points total after six games Season

Total points

Promoted survivors

2010/11

tbc

2009/10

2008/09

2007/08

2006/07

2005/06

2 1

2004/05

2003/04

2002/03

2001/02

Performance of promoted clubs after six matches (compared to relegated teams during 2009/10)

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Team

% Goals to shots

% Pass completion in opp half

Blackpool

17.70%

66.10%

Newcastle United

14.50%

69.30%

West Bromwich Albion

12.70%

71.60%

Burnley 2009/10

11.40%

62.20%

Hull City 2009/10

11.10%

55.60%

Portsmouth 2009/10

4.80%

68.10%

— ANALYSIS —

THE CASTROL LMA MANAGERS’ PERFORMANCE TABLE Club

PTS

TT score

Carlo Ancelotti

Chelsea

174

145

Arsène Wenger OBE

Arsenal

160

133

Neil Warnock

Queens Park Rangers

166

128

Sir Alex Ferguson CBE

Manchester United

136

113

Roberto Mancini

Manchester City

146

112

Dave Jones

Cardiff City

149

106

John Sheridan

Chesterfield

155

103

Ronnie Moore

Rotherham United

155

103

Micky Adams

Port Vale

165

103

Brian Laws

Burnley

143

102

Malky Mackay

Watford

137

Alan Knill

Bury

137

Dario Gradi MBE

Crewe Alexandra

145

Gary Johnson

Peterborough United

154

Gus Poyet

Brighton & HA

134

Lee Clark

Huddersfield Town

142

Brendan Rodgers

Swansea City

141

Harry Redknapp

Tottenham Hotspur

120

Graham Turner

Shrewsbury Town

147

Alan Irvine

Sheffield Wednesday

147

Pos

Div

Manager

The Castrol LMA Managers’ Performance Table (powered by Prozone) allows managers to test themselves against one another. Points are awarded for wins and draws, with results away from home scoring higher. Points for clean sheets and goals scored accumulate throughout the season, while a team’s winning margin also counts towards the total. POINTS SYSTEM Home win 10 points Goal scored 1 point

Away win 12 points Clean sheet 1 point

Chelsea’s Carlo Ancelotti has continued where last season left off by leading the way in the Castrol LMA Managers’ Performance Table. Ancelotti tops the table for quarter one, closely followed by Barclays Premier League rival Arsène Wenger and Neil Warnock, boss at Championship pacesetters QPR. Peterborough manager Gary Johnson and Chesterfield’s John Sheridan fly the flags for Leagues One and Two, respectively.

Home draw 5 points Away draw 6 points Winning margin per goal 1 point

There is also a factor included in respect of knock-out matches (‘Cup points’), based on the League status of the relevant club. Points are divided by the number of games played. This number is then multiplied by ten – to exclude decimals – producing the final Top Twenty score.

the manager WINTER 2010

WP Win points DP Draw points GS Goals scored CS Clean sheets WM Winning margin per goal CP Cup points

Season 2010/11, Quarter One (up to October 22nd 2010)

LMA PEOPLE

— The prince’s trust managers’ cup —

It’s A Royal Knock-Out

Eight LMA members went head to head at this year’s competitive Prince’s Trust Managers’ Cup The second annual Prince’s Trust Managers’ Cup, which took place in Openshaw in Greater Manchester on October 7th, saw eight LMA members go head to head in the spirit of friendly competition. The eight managers – Gareth Southgate, Phil Brown, Martin Allen, Dave Penney, Tony Mowbray, Glenn Roeder, Kevin Blackwell and Alan Curbishley – each took charge of a team of 16 to 25-year-olds who faced off in a highly competitive, day-long, six-a-side tournament. The tournament was won by Glenn Roeder’s Openshaw team. They, along with the individual prize-winners, were presented with their trophy and medals by Wigan manager Roberto Martínez and LMA technical manager John Duncan. Engaging managers in the Prince’s Trust’s activities is part of the ongoing relationship between the LMA and the Trust. The aim is to bring not only profile and awareness to the Prince’s Trust’s work, but also to see managers actively participate in the programmes, passing on their knowledge and experience.

Tony Mowbray gets his team into shape

www.princes-trust.org.uk

“It’s great to be able to put smiles on faces. These kids have great spirit, desire, will to win and energy, which makes it lovely to be here. Being a manager is stressful and at times can be very difficult, but to be involved with the people here today puts all of that into real perspective.”

Alan Curbishley passes on the benefit of his experience

Martin Allen

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— The prince’s trust managers’ cup —

“The Prince’s Trust is a great organisation. Young people need time, people to believe in them and to be presented with opportunities like the Managers’ Cup. It’s fantastic that it takes place.” Gareth Southgate

Glenn Roeder moulds his winning team

“Events like this help you keep your feet on the ground. It was great to see such a competitive spirit… and not just from the players, but from the managers, too.” Kevin Blackwell

“These kids are just looking for a chance in life, so it’s great to be able to provide them with this opportunity.”

Phil Brown (Who found himself drafted into the action as an emergency goalkeeper for his depleted team)

The Keith Alexander Player of the Tournament Award, named in honour of the late Macclesfield Town manager, was presented to Kyle Winrose (right, of the Pendle team) by Keith’s son, Jack (left).

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LMA PEOPLE

Hall of Fame Lawrie McMenemy

in association with

The Manager honours the man who took an unfashionable Second Division south coast club to one of the biggest FA Cup upsets in history

When Lawrie McMenemy

attended Buckingham Palace to collect his MBE in February 2006, the Queen asked him about his time in football. “I reminded her that the last FA Cup final she attended was when my team won it and she presented us with the cup,” he said. Had the pair had time for a longer discussion, McMenemy might also have informed Her Majesty that he was quite familiar with his surroundings, having guarded Buckingham Palace during his National Service days when he served with the Coldstream Guards. McMenemy’s long and distinguished career in football management (which eventually saw him oversee more than 1,000 games at all levels) began in 1964 when – his playing career having been cut short by injury – he took the reins at non-League Bishop Auckland. One of the powerhouses of non-League football, Bishop Auckland had been relatively successful before McMenemy’s tenure, but he still managed to improve the team’s fortunes, leading them to the third round of the FA Cup and to victory in the Northern League championship and the FA County Cup. McMenemy got his first taste of League management in 1968 when he took charge of Doncaster

Rovers. Having won the Fourth Division championship twice over the next five years (with Doncaster and Grimsby Town), McMenemy started to attract the attention of clubs with higher aspirations and, in July 1973, he took charge of Southampton, then enjoying its first spell in the top flight. Although it is now fondly remembered as the most successful period in the club’s history, McMenemy’s tenure with

Southampton have ever won, and it was totally unexpected,” McMenemy said of his side’s triumph. “That’s why people in Southampton, whether they were Saints fans or not, enjoyed it so much. I get grandmothers stopping me on the street telling me where they were for the parade on the Sunday. They all came out – more than 250,000 of them.” The club enjoyed considerable success over the next few years,

“The football ground is a place where people came to get away from their daily lives. Players are privileged to do what they do” Lawrie McMenemy

Southampton did not begin well and the club was relegated at the end of his first season, albeit by the narrowest of margins. McMenemy used his time in the Second Division wisely, bringing in seasoned players such as Peter Osgood, Jim McCalliog and Peter Rodrigues. All three were mainstays of the Southampton team on that fateful day in May 1976 when McMenemy’s underdogs upset the FA Cup final odds by beating Tommy Docherty’s Manchester United 1-0. “It is the only major thing

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winning promotion in 1978 and going on to finish as high as second in the top flight (in 1984). In June 1985, McMenemy returned to the north east as manager of Sunderland. His time on Wearside was not a success, though, and he quit less than two years later. When talking about his time at Sunderland, McMenemy often refers to a joke told by his friend Jimmy Tarbuck: “Lawrie McMenemy and the Titanic have one thing in common... neither should have left Southampton.” Outside a brief return to

Lawrie McMenemy FACT FILE

Southampton (when he became the first director of football in the English game in 1993), McMenemy’s involvement with football after Sunderland came in the international arena; he worked with Graham Taylor during his time as England manager (as assistant manager to the national side and coach to the U21s) and managed Northern Ireland between 1998 and 2000. Although he’s no longer involved with the football team, McMenemy’s connections with Southampton remain strong; he was awarded the freedom of the

city in 2007 and Southampton Solent University named its newly opened research facility, The Lawrie McMenemy Centre for Football Research in 2009. Since 2003 McMenemy has devoted much of his time and energy to his duties as chairman of Special Olympics Great Britain, a charitable organisation that provides training and competition for people with learning disabilities in 23 Olympic-type sports. He is also involved with many other charities and is a founder member and life vice-president of the LMA.

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Born: Gateshead, Tyne & Wear Playing career: Centre-half. Gateshead (1959-1961). Managerial career: Bishop Auckland (1964-1966); Sheffield Wednesday (coach, 1966-1968); Doncaster Rovers (1968-1971); Grimsby Town (1971-1972); Southampton (1973-1985); Sunderland (1985-1987); England (assistant manager, 1990-1994); Northern Ireland (1998-2000). Honours and achievements: Fourth Division champion (1969, 1972); FA Cup winner (1976); awarded MBE (2006).

If you see, hear or are the victim of racial, homophobic or disability abuse call Kick It Out on

0800 169 9414

LMA PEOPLE

— Profile —

barrett seeks volunteers Former England full-back creating opportunities with Kick It Out

Not so long ago, the majority of professional footballers who hung up their boots simply drifted away from the game. These days, however, this trend appears to be changing, with more and more opportunities opening up allowing former players to stay within football. One such player is the former England full-back, Earl Barrett, who is now finding ways to bring young people into the business of football through his work with Kick It Out, football’s equality and inclusion campaign. In June this year, Barrett took on the role of project leader for the campaign’s Mentoring and Leadership Project, which has been developed in partnership with the Equalities and Human Rights Commission to address the under-representation of diverse communities in the football industry. “If you look at the Barclays Premier League, statistics show that just under 25 per cent of the players are from diverse backgrounds,” says Barrett. “But if you look at similar statistics for management? There’s only one black manager and a couple of black coaches that I know of. We’re just trying to combat that discrepancy by working up from a grass-roots level. “The idea is to get people from black and ethnic minority communities involved in the football industry by providing them with volunteering

opportunities at clubs across the country. We’re talking about all different roles: media, catering, IT administration, security, ground maintenance, community coaching… anything that provides work and experience.” Having just completed a series of open evenings in Birmingham, Bristol and Newcastle to speak to interested parties about the programme, Barrett is now beginning to work with club administrators to find suitable volunteering opportunities. “This will be a two-way process,” he says. “It will give the clubs a good way to get more involved with their local communities and it will allow the volunteers to gain valuable skills and experience. Our hope is that it will also help the participants to gain qualifications and, eventually, paid work.” In addition to his work with Kick It Out, Barrett (who has a degree in sports science and is working towards his UEFA A coaching qualification) is working with Stoke City, coaching the club’s U14s. “I want to give something back to young players and if I can pass something on that would be a benefit to anybody, then that would be great,” he says. So is management a long-term career goal? “Of course. Football’s been a significant part of my life and I can’t just switch it off,” he says. “I hope to make my mark in two ways: by getting more people from diverse backgrounds into the football business and also by personally improving that statistic about black managers in the professional game.”

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LMA PEOPLE

— obituary —

an Innovator and a legend The LMA marks the passing of Malcolm Allison – an inspiration to many The world of football

management lost one of its most flamboyant characters on October 14th when Malcolm Allison passed away, aged 83. Although he may well be remembered for his playboy lifestyle and immense charisma (not to mention his unique sartorial style), it should not be forgotten that Allison was a gifted and innovative coach who achieved great success both at home and abroad. Born in Dartford, Kent, the son of an electrical engineer, Allison grew up in Bexleyheath in South London where his talent for football was evident from an early age. Following brief stints as a Fleet Street runner and a grocer’s delivery boy, he signed with Charlton Athletic in 1945 at the age of 18. Although he spent three years at Charlton, it wasn’t until he moved to West Ham United that the young centre-half ’s career took off; he went on to make 255

appearances over six years for the Hammers, passing on some of his knowledge to a young Bobby Moore along the way. “Malcolm taught me everything I know,” Moore would later say. “He took a liking to me when I don’t think anyone else at West Ham saw anything special in me.” Allison’s playing career was brought to a premature halt in 1958 when he contracted tuberculosis and, as a result, lost part of a lung. Although he drifted away from football, his love of the game and aptitude for coaching soon brought him back and he took his first step in what was to be a long and successful career by joining Bath City in 1963. In just five years he had reached the top of his profession, winning the First Division championship as coach to Joe Mercer’s Manchester City. He and Mercer proved to be a winning combination, as City also added the League Cup, FA Cup and European Cup Winners Cup to their trophy cabinet during their time in charge. Commenting on Allison, LMA chairman Howard Wilkinson said: “An innovator

MALCOLM ALLISON FACT FILE Born: Dartford, September 5th 1927 Honours and achievements as a manager/coach: First Division champion (1968); Second Division champion (1966); FA Cup winner (1969); League Cup winner (1970); European Cup Winners Cup winner (1970), all Manchester City; Portuguese Liga champion (1982); Cup of Portugal winner (1982); Portuguese SuperCup winner (1982), all Sporting.

who was ahead of his time and in his time Malcolm was a legend. He was generous, humorous and a fantastic coach who lived life to the full. Malcolm was inspirational to all would-be coaches, including myself and the likes of Terry Venables. He will be truly missed by everyone.”

Malcolm Allison, football manager, born September 5th 1927; died October 14th 2010

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StoppagE

Time

The price of peace is eternal vigilance

The European Championship qualification game between Italy and Serbia on October 12th was abandoned after only seven minutes when a contingent of the visiting fans burned a flag, broke barriers and threw flares and fireworks onto the pitch and into the home fans’ section. Just six days later, a Serie A game between Cagliari and Internazionale was brought to a halt after three minutes because of the racial abuse directed at Inter’s Samuel Eto’o. Although the club game was restarted almost immediately, incidents such as these show that football can never afford to grow complacent in the ongoing fight against hooliganism.

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