Scottish Managers Sent Home To Think Again

It is possible that we are seeing the passing of a particular epoch in the history of the English Premier League. On the final day of the season, 7 of the league’s 20 teams were managed by Scots-two more than the number managed by Englishmen. This is remarkable in the context of the current low standing of Scottish football.  At this stage, the number will stand at 3 next season although there is scope for that to fluctuate. Alex McLeish and Kenny Dalglish have been sacked by Aston Villa and Liverpool respectively. Steve Kean and Owen Coyle have gone down to the Championship with Blackburn Rovers and Bolton Wanderers respectively but they haven’t been sacked yet. Coyle faces a daunting rebuilding process after it was announced that 15 players have already left Bolton. Kean seems impervious to even torrential volumes of criticism but if he does stay at Ewood Park, he too is likely to face significant challenges in restructuring his squad to cope with the different demands of life in the second tier of English football.

Kenny Dalglish was sacked as Liverpool manager after finishing a disappointing 8th in the Premier League. Success in the League cup was the silver lining on a dark cloud of a season and prompted John W Henry and Tom Werner to get rid of big-spending Dalglish. In retrospect an appearance in the FA cup final was irrelevant-an assessment the players apparently agreed with at the time. The King’s legendary status ultimately failed to protect him after a season of underachievement by decidedly common players.  Dalglish, quoted on the BBC Sport website, said: “I am disappointed with results in the league, but I would not have swapped the Carling Cup win for anything as I know how much it meant to our fans and the club to be back winning trophies.” But the prestige that Liverpool fans desire and expect will not be bestowed by winning a trophy against Cardiff City and inherited from Birmingham City.

Alex McLeish’s departure from Aston Villa was as swift as it was predictable after a season of serious underachievement. A club of that stature isn’t well equipped to deal with finishing 16th and only securing safety from relegation in the penultimate round of matches. This compounded a difficult relationship with the fans that had festered since he came to Villa fresh from guiding their city rivals to relegation. McLeish’s reputation has surely suffered considerable damage over the course of the last two seasons. In mitigation, it should be pointed out than he did win the League Cup with Birmingham but it would be surprising if he were given another Premier League job at this stage.

David Moyes guided Everton through yet another season that was predictably commendable, even if he has nothing but praise to show for his endeavours. Finishing one place above their big spending neighbours allowed them to usurp some local pride but for how much longer will the mere appearance of overachievement actually be sufficient. Moyes seems to be omitted from serious consideration for vacancies at ‘the big clubs’ so at present any move for him is likely to be lateral at best.  Paul Lambert, as a first time manager in the Premier League, garnered more praise after his Norwich City side finished a respectable 12^th. The primary objective managers of newly promoted teams is to stabilise the club in the top flight and thus avoid being relegated straight back to the Championship. Lambert achieved this relatively easily and it is worthwhile pointing out that his team finished level on points with Brendan Rodgers’ Swansea City despite the Welsh side receiving more attention for its results and playing style.  His task will be making astute signings to prevent his club succumbing to second season syndrome. The alpha, the template remains Sir Alex Ferguson but this past season has demonstrated that you need more than a Scottish accent to be a success at the top of English football. The assertion that Scottish managers are somehow programmed to secure achievement has been undermined but Sir Alex will always give it that varnish of authenticity.

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