30 July 2011

Feature: Managers/Coaches are not Magician

This week is probably not a good week for coaches, Batista, coach of Argentina national team and Bradley, coach of the United States national team were both being sacked. We all aware that football world is very realistic, if you cannot provide good results, then sorry coaches, you will be removed from the position. Some coaches were horrible, they used their players in a wrong way, used ridiculous tactics, or just simply don't know how to coach, we get that, but along the way, we have also seen many good mangers/coaches being sacked.

Sam Allardyce sacked by Blackburn last season was a shock to many people; Chris Hughton too, when he was sacked by Newcastle; and now, Bob Bradley.

Coaches alone, cannot bring defeat to a team, there are many other reasons that caused the outcome. So it is unfair, to only blame the coaches when a team is doing bad. Let's begin with Argentina, we have talked about what's wrong with Argentina last week, and apparently, Batista is not the main issue. I am pretty sure whoever you put in Batista position now, will have to face the same problems he did, and immediate results is unachievable. Coaches need time to fix problems, and progresses will not appear in two days just because they are good coaches. Rebuilding a team needs a lot of patients and hard work. If you constantly sacked your coaches and hire a new one, your progress will have to restart, as different coaches have different ways in building a team they want, so this will only lengthen your road to success. Have you ever seen a team which sack their coaches all the time, bring home a trophy?

Alex Ferguson did not win any trophies for Manchester United in his first few seasons, and if the board sacked him then, they will not be able to see the glory United is having now. One year is only enough for players to build the bond with their coach, getting the best out of players, finding the best person for each position, building a team spirits, team style, suitable tactics, these things all need years to achieve, especially when you only have limited resources in hand. Bob Bradley, is one of the coaches that I find doing well in recent years. He didn't has the best players in the world, but he managed to beat the best team, Spain, in the Confederation Cup. He also managed to bring the United State into the last 16 in World Cup last year, which to a lot of people, was quite some achievements. Although it was a bad defeat in the Gold Cup final against Mexico, United State was leading two goals and Mexico managed to fight back with four goals and brought home the trophy. But Mexico had a pretty strong squad and the US players hold the responsibilities too. Coaches are there to guide, to give instructions and to motivate the players, but that is as much as they can do in a game.

Managers and coaches are not magicians, they cannot get you the trophy by waving their wand, they cannot turn mediocre players into Messi and even magicians take time to practice their tricks. I know the footballing world nowadays is demanding, but there is really no shortcut to success. None of the teams at the top now get there because they happened to hire a wonderful coach and within a blink, they are there! They all took a lot of time to build their team from the bottom, and slowly get to the top. If you sack your coach too fast, don't be surprise to find him holding a trophy in a few years time with another team, when your team is still struggling in the middle. Because the other team has apparently given him something that you're not willing to give, patience.

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