‘A look at the week ahead reveals a few candidates: Steve
McClaren, Bobby Robson (again) and Gérard Houllier (yet
again) chief among them. Sir Alex Ferguson, coming up fast
on the rails, may be an addition on Saturday, though Claudio
Ranieri and Kevin Keegan should escape by virtue of the
simple fact that Chelsea and Manchester City do not have
matches.
‘Managers under pressure: I blame the system of transfer
windows (nothing much to speculate about between them) and
our instant-gratification culture. Curse the explosion of
outlets in the media if you like, with their platforms for
the uninformed, but with the increased number of forums for
fans to have a say and the internal demands within clubs,
managers are being held accountable and lambasted, as never
before.
‘The classic, almost clichéd, example is Manchester United.
Five years into the job, Ferguson had not won a trophy and
there were calls for his head. Chairman Martin Edwards kept
his nerve, the FA Cup was won and finally, after seven
years, the Championship. The rest has been history.
‘And now hysteria. Ferguson's team are in transition and not
delivering the results usual as this business end of the
season begins. Has he lost it (part 94)? The signs in the
title race, and last week in Porto, have not been good.
Clearly there have been some questionable decisions,
beginning with the release of David Beckham and the
recruitment of some expensive players not yet up to the
task. Ferguson has been this way before, however, and made
monkeys of all the critics.
‘A few years ago, for example, before a Champions League
quarter-final also against Porto, I recall asking Ferguson
how he felt about that month's World Soccer magazine's
cover, which read, 'Porto: Be very afraid'. He didn't reply,
merely sneered. United won 4-0.
‘Ferguson's record demands that he be given the chance to
see how the new dynasty he is building turns out, even if it
fails to land a trophy this season. If it continues to fail,
then maybe the relationship has reached its natural
conclusion - about 15 years after many critics thought it
should have been ended.
‘It takes courage to be in a position of responsibility
within football, to be willing to be publicly shot at.
Sometimes the courage is to walk away, sometimes to stay;
sometimes to sack, sometimes to retain. The skill is in
determining the timing and the right alternative. Those
things take more than a week.’