There is a
popular saying that there are only two types of coaches, those who have been
sacked and those waiting to be sacked. The job of a football (soccer) coach, especially,
in the top flight, is one of the most unstable in the world. As a profession,
professional football coaching offers little in terms of job stability. The
frequency with which coaches are sacked is quite alarming. In almost all the
cases of a coach losing his job, the reason usually given for the sack is the
non-performance of the team on the field of play. In other words, if a team is
performing badly on the field of play, it is the coach’s fault. This problem is
further aggravated by the completely unrealistic expectation of fans and club
management, who expect their teams to win any time they play. But, is this
expectation sensible? Are coaches victims of indifferent players? Or, can there
be issues of power-play between coaches and their charges? Let’s look at the
little we know about a coach’s job.
Modern professional football coaches
always have two sides to their jobs – the technical side and the administrative
side. Both sides are equally important, however, the side that is most visible
to the public is the technical side.
On the technical side of a coach’s job,
these will include, but is not exclusive to – First, they design and organize
the players' training program. It is his duty to make sure that the players
are always match-fit, no matter how strenuous the playing season may be.
Second, he is responsible for team
tactics. Team tactics are the actual “plays” to be employed on the field of
play. It usually depends on how the coach “reads” the game of the opposing
team.
Third, the coach is responsible for the
overall team psychology. He should be able to give the players a sense of
belonging and, motivate them to optimum performance on the field of play.
Fourth, the coach is responsible for
organizing the team. In this case, we are not talking of only the players but
also the entire coaching staff.
Last, the coach is solely responsible
for team selection. He decides who gets on the field of play. This is a very
important function and, is why people tend to blame the coach when the team
messes up.
"It is believed that some players are so influential amongst their colleagues, that they can lead a conspiracy to getting the coach sacked" - Ayo Sodipo
On the administrative side of a coach’s
job, these will include, but is not exclusive to – First, liaison with the club
owners. The coach has to keep the club owners up to date on the activities of
the club. This will allow for proper planning and strategizing.
Second, the coach has to be conscious of
taking decisions that will result in profitability for the club. A football
club is a business entity and, the owners expect to make a reasonable profit. A
coach that kept his job for a very long time because he made the club owners so
rich is former Arsenal coach, Arsene Wenger. He had a knack for buying players
cheap and selling them for large sums. An example is the case of former Arsenal
and Barcelona star, Cesc Fabregas. Fabregas was bought for 50,000 pounds and
sold for 35 million pounds; a profit of over 34 million pounds.
Third, the coach is also in charge of
organizing the backroom staff. These include a sizeable number of personnel
like doctors, therapists, masseurs, etc.; needed for the smooth running of the
team.
Last, the coach, in most cases, is always
heavily involved in players’ compensation. This involves how much a player
receives for his services as remunerations.
An inability to perform any of these
tasks effectively can result in a coach losing his job but, usually, this
happens when the team is doing badly in the field of play.
Do players gang up on their coaches in a
conspiracy to get them sacked? When one looks at the teams where the coaches
have been sacked, one may tend to believe in the conspiracy. Close observation
shows that the way a team plays does not necessarily change after a coach is
replaced. Although results may change, the style of play doesn’t; except if the
replacement coach has been there for quite some time. Usually, games are lost
through unforced errors and mistakes which shouldn’t be made by somebody who
does what they do for a living. This brings to mind the cases of Jose Mourinho
at Chelsea and Manchester United and Ranieri at Leicester. There was a drastic
change, for the better, in the fortunes of these clubs the moment their coaches
were sacked. This lends credence to the conspiracy theory.
It is believed that some players are so
influential amongst their colleagues, that they can lead a conspiracy to
get the coach sacked. These players are influential because they possess
certain traits.
In some cases, these influential players
may be people who have domineering personalities. Their personality is such
that they are able to cajole other players to gang up on the coach by
performing badly on the field of play. In this way, the coach is fired.
In some cases, you can have a charismatic
personality as the unofficial leader of the players. This would be somebody the
others look up to. If such a person has a falling out with the coach, it is
easy for the other players to take his side.
Sometimes a player with obviously
superior skills can by this virtue assume a position of leadership in the team.
In this instance, the coach and other players look up to the performance of
such an individual to aid the team’s fortunes. Such a player may even have direct input in tactics. A falling out with such a player may result in the
coach’s sack. This is because all the player has to do is reduce his
productivity for the team to start doing badly.
A coach can cause problems for himself if
he has a weak personality. If he is somebody who can be easily bullied, he stands
the risk of losing respect.
Another reason why players may gang up
against their coach is if he is partial in the team selection. If it becomes
obvious that he favors certain players no matter their current form, the other
players may stage a mutiny, gang up on him and; get him sacked.
There are so many other reasons for
players’ disloyalty, and the trend will surely continue.
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