Comments on: Brian Barwick’s comical search for England’s next messiah http://soccerlens.com/brian-barwicks-comical-search-for-englands-next-messiah/4356/ Football News Fri, 10 Feb 2012 21:17:04 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v= By: Ian http://soccerlens.com/brian-barwicks-comical-search-for-englands-next-messiah/4356/#comment-70250 Ian Tue, 04 Dec 2007 14:48:42 +0000 http://soccerlens.com/brian-barwicks-comical-search-for-englands-next-messiah/4356/#comment-70250 Barwick et al are supposed to be in charge of a national institution and they look like amateurs. Surely with a possible sacking of Maclaren approaching they should have formed their short list of replacements before he was sacked. In fact I can´t understand why, even at any time during Maclaren's tenure, they didn´t have a short list of replacements. It should be an ongoing thing with odd quiet word to the main candidates to canvass interest. Barwick et al are supposed to be in charge of a national institution and they look like amateurs. Surely with a possible sacking of Maclaren approaching they should have formed their short list of replacements before he was sacked. In fact I can´t understand why, even at any time during Maclaren’s tenure, they didn´t have a short list of replacements. It should be an ongoing thing with odd quiet word to the main candidates to canvass interest.

]]> By: Frankie http://soccerlens.com/brian-barwicks-comical-search-for-englands-next-messiah/4356/#comment-70161 Frankie Mon, 03 Dec 2007 16:31:49 +0000 http://soccerlens.com/brian-barwicks-comical-search-for-englands-next-messiah/4356/#comment-70161 I think Barwick is right to approach all those that he has and intends to. It's a great opportunity to get diverse views from the great and the good who also know a fair bit about football, players, management and administration (Beckenbauer, Platini, Charlton, Wenger, Ferguson, some of the senior players etc.). The issue is not simply about choosing the right person for the job; it is also about that person the right brief. To discuss the real difficulties experienced by the players behind the scenes, the tactical short-comings, the tension they feel representing England, the suffocating fear of failure and ridicule by the media and fans. How are the preferred candidates going to deal with all these things? Does the candidate's views of the reasons for England's repeated failures accord with the views of others? Has the candidate presented a new insight? In life, the best way of making a decision is to make an informed decision. That means you take all the relevant information you can from a variety of sources and then sit down, analyse and decide. England at international level are a bit of a basket case. It is not as simple as saying to the guy you are thinking about appointing: "Oh, just go out and win the world cup" The likes of Beckenbauer and Platini are no longer trammelled by narrow national interests. It is in the interests of FIFA and EUFA to have a big money spinner like England (perhaps the biggest money spinner in the world) present in the later stages of the big international competitions. Beckenbauer and Platini will want to see England fare well. I would set great store by their views. They are highly intelligent men, were amongst the greatest footballers ever to play the game, are world cup and Euro cup winners, repeated winners of the champions league (European Cups)went on in the case of Beckenbauer to manage a world cup winning team, and then each rose to the top of football administration. These are exceptional men. Their views carry great weight. Only the ignorant would dismiss them, or their views, out of hand. Just because we may disagree from time to time with someone's views (e.g. Platini) does not mean that those views are not worth seeking. After all, it is always possible that he might be right, and we wrong. No one owns a monopoly on always being right, although we all like to think so when it comes to our own views. In truth, you lose nothing by seeking someone's views. Currently, there is no urgency to appoint an England manager. If Mourinho really wants the England job, he'll get it. But does he really want it? A 4-year contract with England with a 2 year break clause (after the next World cup) should suit Mourinho fine. He could do a good job, take England to world cup glory or get very close to it and then return to club football at Madrid, Barcelona, Milan, Bayern Munich or a club in the premiership (Manchester United? - now you could imagine Mourinho and Carlos Queiroz working together after SAF's retirement). The opportunity to coach a team as big as England, the media exposure, his knowledge of the English players, the popular well of English support, the pride the Portuguese people would take in his appointment, must appeal to Mourinho's not inconsiderable ego. To go down in sporting and cultural history as the man who unleashed the Three Lions on the world... now that is a challenge and legacy Senhor Mourinho might relish. How could coaching a club side to a domestic title ("seen it, done it, got the tee-shirt") or to the Champions cup ("seen it, done it, got the tee-shirt") or any other honours at club level possibly compare with taking England to a world cup win? The chance to coach England might never come again. Opportunities at club level will always be there for a man with his record of achievements. I think Barwick is right to approach all those that he has and intends to. It’s a great opportunity to get diverse views from the great and the good who also know a fair bit about football, players, management and administration (Beckenbauer, Platini, Charlton, Wenger, Ferguson, some of the senior players etc.). The issue is not simply about choosing the right person for the job; it is also about that person the right brief. To discuss the real difficulties experienced by the players behind the scenes, the tactical short-comings, the tension they feel representing England, the suffocating fear of failure and ridicule by the media and fans. How are the preferred candidates going to deal with all these things? Does the candidate’s views of the reasons for England’s repeated failures accord with the views of others? Has the candidate presented a new insight?

In life, the best way of making a decision is to make an informed decision. That means you take all the relevant information you can from a variety of sources and then sit down, analyse and decide. England at international level are a bit of a basket case. It is not as simple as saying to the guy you are thinking about appointing: “Oh, just go out and win the world cup”

The likes of Beckenbauer and Platini are no longer trammelled by narrow national interests. It is in the interests of FIFA and EUFA to have a big money spinner like England (perhaps the biggest money spinner in the world) present in the later stages of the big international competitions. Beckenbauer and Platini will want to see England fare well. I would set great store by their views. They are highly intelligent men, were amongst the greatest footballers ever to play the game, are world cup and Euro cup winners, repeated winners of the champions league (European Cups)went on in the case of Beckenbauer to manage a world cup winning team, and then each rose to the top of football administration. These are exceptional men. Their views carry great weight. Only the ignorant would dismiss them, or their views, out of hand.

Just because we may disagree from time to time with someone’s views (e.g. Platini) does not mean that those views are not worth seeking. After all, it is always possible that he might be right, and we wrong. No one owns a monopoly on always being right, although we all like to think so when it comes to our own views. In truth, you lose nothing by seeking someone’s views.

Currently, there is no urgency to appoint an England manager. If Mourinho really wants the England job, he’ll get it. But does he really want it? A 4-year contract with England with a 2 year break clause (after the next World cup) should suit Mourinho fine. He could do a good job, take England to world cup glory or get very close to it and then return to club football at Madrid, Barcelona, Milan, Bayern Munich or a club in the premiership (Manchester United? – now you could imagine Mourinho and Carlos Queiroz working together after SAF’s retirement).

The opportunity to coach a team as big as England, the media exposure, his knowledge of the English players, the popular well of English support, the pride the Portuguese people would take in his appointment, must appeal to Mourinho’s not inconsiderable ego. To go down in sporting and cultural history as the man who unleashed the Three Lions on the world… now that is a challenge and legacy Senhor Mourinho might relish. How could coaching a club side to a domestic title (“seen it, done it, got the tee-shirt”) or to the Champions cup (“seen it, done it, got the tee-shirt”) or any other honours at club level possibly compare with taking England to a world cup win? The chance to coach England might never come again. Opportunities at club level will always be there for a man with his record of achievements.

]]> By: Alexisonfire17 http://soccerlens.com/brian-barwicks-comical-search-for-englands-next-messiah/4356/#comment-70157 Alexisonfire17 Mon, 03 Dec 2007 15:19:45 +0000 http://soccerlens.com/brian-barwicks-comical-search-for-englands-next-messiah/4356/#comment-70157 Le sigh. This is driving me mad now. Every day straight to the papers or on the net to find out if there's a smidgen of news. It's torturous. Seems like Mourinho wants the job by latest news-he speaks English, has the support of most fans and media, knows the players and has all the qualities you listed above.So just ask him dammit and give us a silver lining. If Capello really can't speak English(i spose he'd have plenty of time to learn but still....)then i don't want him.If we can't produce a talented, inspirational manager ourselves we can at least employ one who speaks the same language as the players. I vote for a public vote!The FA Have had plenty of chances to pick the right man. They failed. Our choice couldn't be any worse than theirs.Now they're putting off all the people who are interested with their dithering.End of rant :) Le sigh. This is driving me mad now. Every day straight to the papers or on the net to find out if there’s a smidgen of news. It’s torturous. Seems like Mourinho wants the job by latest news-he speaks English, has the support of most fans and media, knows the players and has all the qualities you listed above.So just ask him dammit and give us a silver lining. If Capello really can’t speak English(i spose he’d have plenty of time to learn but still….)then i don’t want him.If we can’t produce a talented, inspirational manager ourselves we can at least employ one who speaks the same language as the players. I vote for a public vote!The FA Have had plenty of chances to pick the right man. They failed. Our choice couldn’t be any worse than theirs.Now they’re putting off all the people who are interested with their dithering.End of rant :)

]]> By: Andrei http://soccerlens.com/brian-barwicks-comical-search-for-englands-next-messiah/4356/#comment-70155 Andrei Mon, 03 Dec 2007 15:05:28 +0000 http://soccerlens.com/brian-barwicks-comical-search-for-englands-next-messiah/4356/#comment-70155 Well, it was nothing less than what we should have expected really. I do not find anything weird in asking Wenger or Fregie about potential replacements though as they will NOT tell him anything that he actually knows. What he will get from those two, however, is the tactical ability of managers. They say it takes one to know one, right? so Fergie, having come up against Mourinho for example knows, to a certain extend, what he can and cannot do. Add to that that he has plenty of English players in the squad whom he knows inside out by technical and tactical ability and he will be able to explain to Barwick if a certain manager has any chance of getting the best out of his players/team. Wenger, who has no English players in his team, will be able to give his view on opposition abilities. For example, in their current group for WC2010 qualification he will be able to tell him what manager would best be able to combine England's "experience" and their relatively promising youth. These managers know what goes on behind the scenes and they will be able to recognize a good manager from a mile away. Barwinck might know what it takes to be a manager but... wait, he thought McLaren was a good manager. Anyway with the help of two of the best football has ever seen, it should be easier to pick the right man for England. Going back to your qestion one though, you have to remeber that the population was screaming it lungs out for an english manager. McLaren was the best/available one. Pearce, as he has proven at the youth level is quite all right! So another mistake on Barwick's account. Well, it was nothing less than what we should have expected really. I do not find anything weird in asking Wenger or Fregie about potential replacements though as they will NOT tell him anything that he actually knows. What he will get from those two, however, is the tactical ability of managers.

They say it takes one to know one, right? so Fergie, having come up against Mourinho for example knows, to a certain extend, what he can and cannot do. Add to that that he has plenty of English players in the squad whom he knows inside out by technical and tactical ability and he will be able to explain to Barwick if a certain manager has any chance of getting the best out of his players/team.

Wenger, who has no English players in his team, will be able to give his view on opposition abilities. For example, in their current group for WC2010 qualification he will be able to tell him what manager would best be able to combine England’s “experience” and their relatively promising youth.

These managers know what goes on behind the scenes and they will be able to recognize a good manager from a mile away. Barwinck might know what it takes to be a manager but… wait, he thought McLaren was a good manager. Anyway with the help of two of the best football has ever seen, it should be easier to pick the right man for England.

Going back to your qestion one though, you have to remeber that the population was screaming it lungs out for an english manager. McLaren was the best/available one. Pearce, as he has proven at the youth level is quite all right! So another mistake on Barwick’s account.

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