WHICH MANAGER IS CURRENTLY ENGLAND'S BEST?

Wednesday night’s FA Cup clash at White Hart Lane pitted together the two finest English managers of their generation.

Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp and Fulham’s Roy Hodgson are the same age, but their careers have followed very different paths.

Both are clearly very different creatures. Hodgson, is, by all accounts a quiet, unassuming English gentlemen and a true student of the game. He is also someone who appears to throroughly enjoy the tactical side of football.

Redknapp is a little more brash, emotional and outspoken. He portrays a true ‘cockney geezer’ persona and relies on his man-management techniques and jovial personality to get the message across to his players.

So who do you think is more effective?

The two bosses have very different backgrounds. Hodgson entered coaching at a very young age and has carried out most of his best work abroad, becoming multi-lingual in the process.

Harry Redknapp has plied his trade closer to home, having never left the south of England. He was also far superior player to Hodgson, excelling as a winger at West Ham in the early 1970s.


So the question I want to ask this week is: Who is the currently the finest English manager in the game?

I used to think Alan Curbishley was. The former West Ham player achieved wonderful things at Charlton, but I can’t really include him in my list as he is currently, scandalously, out of work.

I have narrowed the list down to four and will suggest what I think are the various merits, and downfalls, of each contender.

The two names formerly mentioned are the elder statesmen of this elite group. But I also want to include two much younger candidates. They are Sam Allardyce and, perhaps surprisingly for some, Steve McClaren.

I believe the latter deserves a mention. A year or so ago, I wrote a blog commending his achievements at FC Twente in Holland. His side went on to finish runners up in the Eredivisie last season and lost in the Dutch Cup Final. This is not a bad first season by anyone’s standards.

This season however, he is faring even better, and Twente are well on course to win the Dutch title for the first time in their history – they currently lead by four points with six games left.

McClaren has competed with, and appears to have beaten, the two giants of Ajax and PSV Eindhoven to the championship. He has also managed to do so by playing attractive and attacking football, elevating the club from a fourth place finish two years ago to the position they are now. He deserves huge credit for re-inventing himself after the fiasco he endured as England boss.

It is now evidently clear that he was appointed national manager too early in his career, but is this his fault or is it the FA’s? Let's be honest, how many English managers would turn down the England job? Whatever the candidates' age, it might be their only chance.

It must also be remembered that the two teams that finished above McClaren’s England in qualification for Euro 2008 both had very good tournaments.

Guus Hiddink’s Russia went all the way to the last four, while Croatia, under Slaven Bilic, were themselves only thirty seconds away from a semi final berth.

Of course the critic’s will not pursue these facts, they just like to destroy a man when he is down. But McClaren has proved he is mentally strong enough to come back and for this he has to be respected.

I believe that he may be an outside contender for the now vacant Celtic job. Watch this space…


Sam Allardyce is a chronic over-achiever in my view, but deserves it for his innovative and unique ideas. He was one of the first top flight bosses to implement sports psychology into his regime at Bolton Wanderers, and has, down the years, proved himself to be an excellent manager who can compete with the very best.

I have to say, as a character, I am not his biggest fan. I feel his bullying tactics towards Rafa Benitez over the last year have, at times, made him look pathetic and vindictive. But no one can knock what he has achieved in the last decade, even Newcastle United fans.

‘Big Sam’ was not given a fair crack of the whip at Newcastle. And I am not alone in thinking that Newcastle certainly wouldn’t be in the Championship now if he was still there.

His teams may not play the most attractive football, but they are effective, and Blackburn have quietly lifted themselves into 11th place this season, mainly due to a terrific home record.

While Allardyce’s teams know how to rough opponents up, they can often play a bit too. One thing is for sure, the former Notts County boss certainly knows how to motivate his players.

I think he is particularly skilled at rekindling the careers of players who appear to be in rapid decline. And there have been several examples of this under his stewardship.

At Bolton, he certainly helped Youri Djorkaeff, Jay-Jay Okocha and Ivan Campo play on at the highest level for longer than anticipated. In addition, he also helped Kevin Davies to fulfil some of the outstanding potential he showed as a youngster, all-be-it as a rough and tumble target man.

At Blackburn, meanwhile, he has made Paul Robinson believe in himself again. He has worked wonders with the club, who were bottom of the league when he took over from Paul Ince in December 2008. And, once again, he has done this, under most people’s radars.

Most significantly though, Allardyce was a revelation at Bolton Wanderers. After gaining promotion in 2001 he took them to a Cup final and four consecutive three top eight finishes between 2004 and 2007, as well as two European campaigns. In 2004-2005 they even finished level on points with Liverpool – the Champions of Europe that year – and they only finished three points off a Champions League spot. This is a remarkable achievement for such an unfashionable club.

His successes in Lancashire have been somewhat overlooked in the aftermath of the Newcastle debacle, but he certainly, in my mind, deserves to be in this elite list.


All of which brings us back nicely to Harry Redknapp and Roy Hodgson. Only five months separate the two Londoners and both have been in management for over 25 years, so it is difficult to separate them. Both their teams play decent football, so I don’t believe a differential can be made on that basis.

Hodgson has won Championships in Sweden and Denmark and has also guided Inter Milan to a European final when they were perceived to be a very average side in 1997. The Fulham boss has also managed to guide Switzerland to a World Cup in 1994 – at that time their first finals in 50 years.

Just before he hooked up with Fulham, Hodgson also took the Finnish national team to within a win of Euro 2008 qualification, a stunning achievement for such a small foot-balling nation.

There have been low points too, including poor spell at Udinese, and, following a bright start, a disastrous second season collapse at Blackburn Rovers.

But what Hodgson has achieved at Fulham is nothing short of miraculous. He has given the supporters at Craven Cottage an un-paralleled last couple of years they could only have dreamed of when he was appointed in December 2007.

The club were staring relegation in the face for pretty much the whole campaign. But a dramatic last day win at Portsmouth (ironically managed by Harry Redknapp) and an incredible 12 points from their last five games kept them up by the skin of their teeth. Since then, the club have gone from strength to strength.

Fulham finished last season in seventh place - their highest ever top flight finish - and are currently in the Europa League quarter finals after an incredible recent second leg comeback against the mighty Juventus. They have defeated Manchester United twice and Liverpool comfortably in the last year, and in addition have reached the last eight of the FA Cup in both of the last two seasons.

But perhaps his greatest achievement at Fulham (and I am not joking here) is how he has moulded Bobby Zamora into a feared Premiership striker with a superb all round game and strike rate. For that achievement alone, he surely deserves to be top dog, doesn’t he?


But then there is Harry Redknapp. I, like many have mixed feeling about the Spurs boss. As Barry Glendenning stated on the Guardian Podcast this week, Redknapp has helped to destroy Bournemouth, Southampton and Portsmouth with his free spirited spending in the transfer market, and that has to be taken into account when you analyse the success he has had.

Portsmouth’s FA Cup win in 2008 still ranks his greatest achievement as manager, but are we now seeing the true cost of it at the Fratton Park club? What seemed such a magical achievement at the time does not seem so wonderful two years down the line does it?

He is, however, not the only big name manager to have spent a lot of money. In fact many bigger names than him have failed miserably in this respect.

Plus of course, it has to be remembered that the board does have to give the green light to a manager before they spend, so not all the blame can be placed on Redknapp’s broad shoulders.

That said, his record at Tottenham is pretty remarkable, although he has had money to spend.

If you consider that the club were rock bottom when he took over in November 2008 and now lie in a Champions League place with eight games left this season, it speaks volumes.


Redknapp also guided his sole club, West Ham United, to their only top six finish in the last 25 years. But perhaps, most potently, he deserves a huge amount of credit for the stream of top players who came through the much yielded West Ham youth system to become true global stars.

Rio Ferdinand, Frank Lampard, Michael Carrick, and Joe Cole are all players who began their careers under Redknapp’s tuterlege. They now have 11 Premiership winners' medals and over 250 England caps between them, and it cannot just be a coincidence that Harry Redknapp was their first boss. They are starlets from his academy and his nurturing skills cannot be overstated.

This list of stars, more than anything, has to be the reason why he just get’s the nod ahead of Hodgson on my list.

And if Redknapp can deliver the FA Cup and a Champions League place to Tottenham Hotspur over the next two months, he will certainly be classed, undeniably, as the greatest English manager of his generation.

However, if the un-thinkable happens, and Roy Hodgson delivers the Europa League trophy to Craven Cottage in May, then a re-count may well be on the cards.

BENNY'S VALUABLE INFORMATION OF THE WEEK

So who do you think should go to the World Cup?

It is pretty much nailed on that Fabio Capello will pick four strikers to go to South Africa.

But which frontmen deserve to go?

We all have our opinions, but who has the best goalscoring records of the contenders?

The following stats from the last five seasons make for some interesting reading.

The figures below are taken from the beginning of the 2005-2006 season up to and including each player's last Premiership appearance. The figures include premiership goals only


Name Clubs Appearances Goals Strike rate

Gabriel Agbonlahor Aston Villa 148 44 29.72%

Darren Bent Charlton, Tottenham,Sunderland 157 67 42.68%

Peter Crouch Liverpool, Portsmouth, Tottenham 152 38 25.00%

Jermaine Defoe Tottenham, Portsmouth, Tottenham 155 68 43.87%

Emile Heskey Birmingham, Wigan, Aston Villa 153 24 15.69%

Wayne Rooney Manchester United 156 79 50.64%



Of course, these figures can be deceptive. Darren Bent was often a substitute at Tottenham, while Peter Crouch was frequenyly used as a subsitute at Liverpool, perhaps distorting his figures.

In addition to this ambiguity, Emile Heskey, Gabriel Agbonlahor and Wayne Rooney have not always been selected as srikers during their careers.

However, on goalscoring records only, the four strikers going to Africa should be Wayne Rooney, Jermaine Defoe, Darren Bent and Gabriel Agbonlahor, according to the figures.

Although being a striker is not all about goals, it is, I would suggest, quite important. Are you taking note Mr Capello?





REFERENCES:

Wikipedia
Answers.com

WAYNE ROONEY - FINALLY LIVING UP TO EXPECTATIONS...

One year ago I wrote a blog claiming that Wayne Rooney had not yet lived up to the unbelievable potential he had shown as a teenager.

I outlined many reasons for this, ranging from Rooney being forced to play the wrong position for Manchester United to the frequent suspensions the former Everton star gathered.

At this point, on the 11th March 2010, the England star is without the doubt, currently the best player on the planet.

Where would Manchester United be without him this season? In the same position as Liverpool or even lower I would suggest.

But the 24 year old is at Old Trafford, and even in second gear last night, he helped demolish an all-be-it poor Milan side with yet another expertly taken headed goal.

This is an area of the game we weren’t expecting Rooney to excel, but at this point of his career, the striker seems to be capable of anything. Nine of his last eleven goals have been headers and he has added yet another dimension to his already outstanding repertoire of skills.

The England front man now has 30 goals in 35 games this season and has a more than even chance of surpassing Christiano Ronaldo’s 42 goal total of two seasons ago.

But let’s get one thing straight here. Ronaldo, as good as he was (or is) didn’t carry United. As I commented a year ago, the Portuguese star had two excellent players – Rooney and Carlos Tevez - frequently doing his donkey work and creating the space he needed.

Rooney has no such luxuries week in week out. His usual strike partner, Dimitar Berbatov is anything but a work- horse, and United no longer possess the wonderful players they used to have in midfield.

Nani,on his day, can be a thrilling player, but not on a consistent basis.

Antonio Valencia, meanwhile, is a terrific crosser of the ball, but, is neither a work-horse, or indeed a Ronaldo.

Park Ji-Sung is a willing runner and certainly aids Rooney, when he plays. In the league, however, the Korean is not a frequent starter.

Most of the credit has to go to Rooney himself, and he has distinctly carried the team at times this season.

As England fans, we must hope that Rooney doesn’t suffer from burn out, and that he can show the same form for England this summer in South Africa.

His recent form in an England shirt certainly bodes well. He was the overall top scorer in the European World Cup qualifying pool with eight goals, and was outstanding. He was however, certainly aided by another work-horse - Emile Heskey, alongside him.

The Aston Villa striker is a crucial side kick for the United front man. He keeps defenders busy, and, as he so often did for Michael Owen before him, creates the platform for Rooney to excel.

Rooney has been a completely different player for England under Fabio Capello, and is now, without question, the main man for both club and country.

The Liverpool born forward has also improved his discipline and big game temperament. He already has four goals in the Champions League knock out stages, and has barely missed a game through suspension in the last year.

He also scored the winner in the League Cup final at Wembley and in all truth it is difficult to find any obvious flaws in his game.

For England however, it’s important that Rooney is given every chance to show his worth. In the recent friendly against Egypt he started alongside Jermaine Defoe, but this looked an un-balanced combination. Defoe is a good goal-scorer, but a selfish player who is not a particularly intelligent footballer.

The Tottenham striker is not always aware of the position of players around him and expects the team to play to his strengths.

But Rooney, not Defoe, is England’s key player. And, while Heskey may lack Defoe’s predatory instincts, the former Liverpool forward is a far more intelligent and team orientated individual.

In the Premiership his season, Wayne Rooney has 23 goals in 27 games. While this may surprise many, it doesn’t surprise me. He has always been a great finisher with supreme technique, he just needs to be playing as the furthest man forward to demonstrate this talent.

Capello has to be given much of the credit. He, and not Alex Ferguson installed this belief into Rooney, that he could play as the out and out front man.

Since the Italian has been England manager he has tried to revolve the team around Rooney and Steven Gerrard, two wonderfully gifted footballers who are also good friends away from the pitch. This is a simple, but very important master-stroke that seems to be paying dividends.

Rooney’s personal life may also be a factor in his greater consistency this season. He is now a father, and perhaps this increased responsibility off the field has helped make him a better role model on it. It certainly appears to be the case.

He is certainly the player of the season so far, both in Europe and domestically. And, just to add icing onto Rooney’s already delicious cake, Ronaldo’s Real Madrid team are out of the Champions League.

One major rival for World and European player of the year has surely left the reckoning by exiting the world’s premier club competition at such an early stage.

If ‘our Wayne’ can light up South Africa in June and July and perform to anything like his best, then surely global recognition beckons at the end of the year.

Let’s hope so….