In an ideal world.....

[GG Riva]

the manager of a football club would have an impressive array of skills in man management, tactical acumen, psychology etc. He would assemble a squad of talented footballers who all had a great attitude, worked hard and never knew when they were beaten. In addition, they would always put the needs of the team before their own and never behave in a way which would disrupt dressing room harmony. Furthermore, the manager would ensure that every player in his squad was happy, including those who weren`t regular starters.

Perhaps the only managers who come close to this ideal in these islands are Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp. It`s an almost impossible remit, so they`re worth every penny of their considerable salaries.

[Digs]

I disagree. Man management and psychology is as important, if not more important than some of the rest and applies at every single level of football. If you understand your players as individuals and what makes each of them tick, ie those that need a boot up the arse, and those that need a cuddle every now and then, the rest of what you're trying to do falls into place as they will all respect and buy into what you're trying to do. My way or the highway rarely works in any workplace. People follow leaders, not managers.

Assembling a squad can be a lottery because you can do all your due diligence on a player and you just don't get on or they have other stuff going on which puts all of that out the window. The tactics side of the game isn't that difficult. Agree, these guys are on another planet with that, but generally speaking it's about setting up how you want the game to go, and if that's not working recognising it and coming up with a suitable fix on the hoof. That only works though if you have the players at your disposal which isn't always fully in the managers hands.

[GG Riva]

3 hours ago, Digs said:

I disagree. Man management and psychology is as important, if not more important than some of the rest and applies at every single level of football. If you understand your players as individuals and what makes each of them tick, ie those that need a boot up the arse, and those that need a cuddle every now and then, the rest of what you're trying to do falls into place as they will all respect and buy into what you're trying to do. My way or the highway rarely works in any workplace. People follow leaders, not managers.

Assembling a squad can be a lottery because you can do all your due diligence on a player and you just don't get on or they have other stuff going on which puts all of that out the window. The tactics side of the game isn't that difficult. Agree, these guys are on another planet with that, but generally speaking it's about setting up how you want the game to go, and if that's not working recognising it and coming up with a suitable fix on the hoof. That only works though if you have the players at your disposal which isn't always fully in the managers hands.

I've read and re-read your post, Digs and I can't for the life of me work out what you disagree with. (Maybe I'm a bit dim.) I agree that man management and psychology are paramount, but a manager cannot be tactically naive, or he can only take a team so far. Jim Leishman is a case in point. Btw, the greatest manager of them all, imo, was Jock Stein. He was brilliant wherever he went, working with the players he inherited, spending the odd bag of peanuts to supplement his squad.  

[Digs]

1 hour ago, GG Riva said:

I've read and re-read your post, Digs and I can't for the life of me work out what you disagree with. (Maybe I'm a bit dim.) I agree that man management and psychology are paramount, but a manager cannot be tactically naive, or he can only take a team so far. Jim Leishman is a case in point. Btw, the greatest manager of them all, imo, was Jock Stein. He was brilliant wherever he went, working with the players he inherited, spending the odd bag of peanuts to supplement his squad.  

If I understood your post correctly (maybe not) you are sayig a good manager needs all of the qualities you mention but the inference that only the very top managers do and therefore it's unrealistic to expect every manager to have all of these things in his locker. 

I was making the point that I think all of those things should be a given for any manager with the psychology etc being an absolute must.

[GG Riva]

Thanks for the clarification, mate. Maybe I should have headed my post In a perfect world and it would have made more sense. Nor did I mean to imply that only the top managers have all the necessary attributes, although given they're managing elite footballers with egos to match, they're perhaps even more essential. By that, I mean that managing a team like the Pars has to be easier than managing Liverpool or Man City because you have a smaller squad and a larger proportion of younger players who should be more malleable than a large, star studded squad of experienced players, who may feel they know better than the gaffer.

This thread was aimed at our current situation. I believe that this past season the club assembled a squad containing a significant number of players who weren't easy to manage and that both PG and JH fell a bit short in trying to get the best out of them. Not their fault perhaps, although some managers do their homework very thoroughly and try to ensure that the players they sign will be an asset on and off the pitch. 

Edited May 10, 2022 by GG Riva

[parsforlife]

Of course, players are easier to manage if you given them reason to buy into your methods.

You're far more likely to get dissenting voices if you're not getting results.  More likely to get players who think **** this and try and do the best for themselves not the collective etc.