Any Evertonian – and there was a fair proportion amongst their number – who hoped to see Michael Laudrup appointed as their club’s new manager might now just be wondering if the Merseysiders have dodged a proverbial bullet.
The rumblings of discontent emanating from Swansea City’s Danish boss this week, will not have been entirely unforeseen by anybody who has tracked his itinerant football career.
Laudrup is a hard man to pin down in one place for any period of time, and for that reason it is difficult to make a fair appraisal of his ability as a manager. The present suspicion is, that the man whose wonderfully creative playing talents earned him 104 caps for his country, operates extremely well from a position of strength.
If he is dealt a tougher hand, however, Laudrup’s tendency is to cut and run rather than risk any harm to his personal reputation.
Reports from South Wales suggest that the 48 year-old is disenchanted by Swansea’s perceived lack of progress in the transfer market during the three weeks since the last campaign concluded.
With spirits high in March, in the wake of Laudrup leading the Swans to their first major trophy in the previous month’s Capital One Cup Final, the Dane signed a year’s extension to his contract which had been due to expire in 2014. The manager acquiesced to the club’s wish that he commit himself further, after being guaranteed significant funds to strengthen his squad this summer.
The fulfilment of that promise made to their manager appears to the defining factor in whether or not Laudrup will remain at the Liberty Stadium for longer than his prosperous initial 12 months.
After securing a ninth place finish in his debut season in English football, Laudrup intimated that he would require ‘a couple of hundred million pounds’ to improve upon that performance. While there is no suggestion that the sum which the former Barcelona player expects to be invested in his squad is anything approaching that excessive amount, it is clear that Laudrup is not prepared to hang around if he feels his work is being stymied from above.
Prior to the Dane’s arrival, the work of Kenny Jacket, Roberto Martinez, and Paulo Sousa, across six years had taken the Swans from League Two into the Championship. Brendan Rodgers built upon a quick passing and fluid playing style which has become intrinsic to the club’s culture – subsequently winning promotion to the Premier League and securing 11th spot in Swansea’s first top-flight season for 29 years.
The bar had been set high, and Laudrup has raised it. Rodgers’ much lauded, progressive team was tweaked to provide an added dimension to its play. No longer were the team’s wingers condemned to spend their afternoon’s accumulating chalk on their boots. When appropriate, the ball could be hit direct for a forward to hold so ensuring the bright movement and incisive skills of Nathan Dyer, Wayne Routledge, Michu, and Pablo Hernandez were utilised in areas which would hurt the opposition.
In both his recruitment and development of players, Laudrup has proved remarkably astute. The form of Michu, signed for £2m from Rayo Vallecano in Spain, resulted in the striker being considered one of the Premier League’s bargain captures last term. No less notable was the clever acquisition of Michu’s fellow Spaniards, the centre-back Chico Flores, and attacking midfielder Hernandez.
The South Korean, Sung-Yong Ki, signed from Celtic, looked born to fit into the Swans’ unit, as did the Dutchman Jonathan de Guzman, whose permanent signing after a year-long loan from Villarreal will surely be a club priority.
Presented with the formidable task of replicating Rodgers’ achievements without two integral cogs of the Northern Irishman’s side, Scott Sinclair and Joe Allen, who were both lured away by greener pastures, Laudrup integrated his own men into a fresh looking team, while bringing a greater return from individuals already in place.
Routledge had looked destined to fall short of delivering on the readily apparent potential of his nascent career at Crystal Palace. A nomadic existence had only contained fleeting glimpses of an undoubtedly blessed individual. The 28 year-old settled under Rodgers, and during the past year has flourished.
In the attacker, Laudrup may see a kindred spirit, a player full of guile and imagination. So lengthy have been the strides made in Routledge’s all-round contribution, and the corresponding progress of Nathan Dyer now he’s been granted the freedom to roam, that the duo would not be undeserving of an England call.
Equally impressive was the confidence which Laudrup placed in young Welsh left-back Ben Davies. After regular starter Neil Taylor was lost to an early season injury, Davies was thrust into the team and has thrived to the extent that he now boasts five caps for his country.
It is this collection of adornments to his C.V., that Swansea’s manager will believe makes him deserving of his chairman’s unquestioned backing. Laudrup’s swift impact mirrors his earlier managerial efforts, but we are yet to discover if he possesses the tools to deliver more.
A first post with Brondby in his homeland enabled Laudrup to earn his spurs. Four years in the relatively low pressure Superlig brought one league title and two domestic cups, before he spent a year out of the game.
When Laudrup returned in 2007, with Spanish club Getafe, it would be for a season with which there is much in common to his campaign at the Liberty Stadium. Replacing the revered Bernd Schuster, who had steered the tiny Madrid based club to successive ninth placed La Liga finishes as well as a run to a Copa Del Rey Final, Laudrup had a hard act to follow.
His team slipped to 14th in the table, boasting a record incredibly similar to that of Swansea last term – Getafe won 47 points in 2007/2008 to The Swans’ 46 in 2012/2013.
Nevertheless, it was in the cups where Laudrup made his mark. He took his side to their second Spanish Cup final, in which they were defeated by Valencia. The aspiring boss gave serious notice of his aptitude for the job by guiding Getafe to the last eight of the UEFA Cup.
Enjoyed reading that. Very good.