‘This is the kind of opportunity that any coach would relish. Southampton is a club with great heritage, and an even more exciting future.
‘There is a clear vision to take the club to a new era of sustained success in the Premier League, and beyond, which I’m delighted to be part of.’
Those are some of the first words spoken, to a wholly sceptical audience, by Mauricio Pochettino upon his appointment as Southampton’s manager on January 18th 2013. The ruthless sacking of Nigel Adkins, the man who had led Saints back to the Premier League from their League One nadir, and his immediate replacement by a little known Argentine whose only previous managerial assignment had ended with his leaving Spanish outfit Espanyol rooted at the foot of La Liga two months earlier, drew severe criticism, bordering on ridicule.
Legendary player Matthew Le Tissier described his club as having become a ‘laughing stock’, and Lawrie McMenemy, who guided Saints to their 1976 FA Cup triumph, was moved to say;
‘Well I am shocked. I said right from the start that to finish fourth bottom in the first season in the Premier League is success.
‘The ambition this year is to stay in the Premier League and they look set for that, not many teams will go to Chelsea and get a draw (Southampton had drawn 2-2 at Chelsea two days prior to Adkins’ removal).
‘With due respect to Pochettino, what does he know about our game? What does he know about the Premier League?’
Nicola Cortese, chairman at St Mary’s, has an entirely different concept as to what constitutes success for the club at which he arrived in July 2009. Even then, when they were about to embark on their first third-tier campaign since 1959, the Italian was setting out his objective for the Saints, within five years, to be a Premier League team, featuring a number of home-reared young players and producing an attractive brand of football.
Cortese identified Pochettino as the man to deliver his vision.
‘This decision has been made with the long-term ambitions of Southampton Football Club in mind. Whilst we acknowledge the contribution Nigel has made during the past two years, for the club to progress and achieve our long-term targets a change was needed’.
‘Mauricio is a well-respected coach of substantial quality who has gained a reputation as an astute tactician and excellent man manager.
‘I have every confidence that he will inspire our talented squad of players to perform at the highest possible level’.
When the then 40 year-old took charge of the South Coast outfit they had earned 22 points from the same number of games played. A further nineteen points accrued across the final 16 fixtures placed the Saints five points clear of the relegation zone at the season’s end.
Despite a recent downturn in results, there can be no argument with the sustained progress that has been achieved at St Mary’s this term. The chairman’s wish list is being adhered to, with a raft of exciting English players contributing to the production of some of the most compelling football seen anywhere in the land.
Reflecting in the summer on the auspicious start to Pochettino’s tenure, and the manner in which it came about, Cortese explained the timing of his managerial change.
‘It seems cold, but I do everything in order to progress. I don’t want to lose five matches in a row before I sack the manager – I do it before that happens’.
Whether the same clarity of thought exists in the recent maneuverings at Cardiff City is uncertain. The overwhelming priority of the Bluebirds’ eccentric owner, Vincent Tan, has plainly been the removal of the team’s former boss, Malky Mackay.
For his own reasons Tan was desperate to rid himself of the Scot who, during two-and-a-half years at its helm led the club to a League Cup final and, for the first time since being relegated in 1962, the English top-flight.
Throughout what appeared a concerted campaign to unsettle Mackay in an attempt to force his resignation, it was never apparent how much thought was being spared among Tan and his allies towards the identity of a prospective successor.
Here, the Malaysian is perhaps due some extremely rare credit. The swift recruitment to his manager’s office of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer suggests that moves were afoot to hire the Norwegian well in advance of Mackay’s inevitable dismissal on December 27th.
The Norwegian assumes control at the Cardiff City Stadium with his team situated one point above the bottom three – exactly as they were when Mackay departed, and two points closer to the dreaded 18th spot than Southampton were when Adkins was ousted.
When he met the media, six days on from the axe swinging on his predecessor, Solskjaer’s emotions were remarkably alike those expressed by Pochettino nearly a year ago.
‘It is a fantastic challenge. Cardiff are ready to take the next step up. I hope I can help them. I’ve always dreamt of being a manager in the Premier League and I’m delighted to get the opportunity.
‘I am really looking forward to convincing the Cardiff fans that I am the right man to take them forward. I will try to convince the fans with my hard work, loyalty and my brand of football. I’m a very positive manager’.
The similarities between the former Manchester United striker and his Southampton counterpart do not end with their first day press conferences.
Both were assigned their maiden Premier League challenges by exceptionally demanding chairmen, arrived with experience of only one previous managerial role – Solskjaer spent three years in charge at Molde in his homeland – and, took on their new responsibilities at the relatively tender age of 40.
None of which is any guarantee that Solskjaer’s Cardiff regime will replicate Pochettino’s time, thus far, at Saints.
The two time Norwegian championship winning manager is not taking control of a group of players to compare with those that were waiting for the Argentine at St Mary’s. Certainly, there is not the homespun talent at Solskjaer’s new club to rival Southampton’s breed which included Luke Shaw, Adam Lallana, James Ward-Prowse, Nathaniel Clyne (brought in by Adkins) and the freshly emerging Callum Chambers.
Moreover, Pochettino had Rickie Lambert already in the ranks; a performer whose goals and all-round centre-forward play were so important to his side’s rapid evolution.
This is not to say that Solskjaer will find himself bereft of the requisite tools with which to fight his impending relegation scrap. Frazier Campbell can provide a cutting edge, while 22 year-old Jordon Mutch’s attacking guile has comfortably survived the jump to Premier League level.
London born Steven Caulker has the potential to be an international centre-half, Gary Medel, as exhibited by his masterful display for Chile in November’s Wembley friendly against England and across his opening months at Cardiff, is a terrifically versatile and effective footballer. There is creativity in the left-boot and knowhow in the brain of Peter Whittingham, and Solskjaer has already emphasised the importance of restoring fire-cracker forward Craig Bellamy to full-fitness.
Shrewd player recruitment will, nevertheless, be essential to City’s new boss’ hopes of retaining his team’s top-flight standing. If, as has been reported, Solskjaer will have £25m available to spend in January, he will do well to match Pochettino’s savvy in the market.
Cortese freed approximately £35m for his manager to spend in the summer, and was rewarded with unqualified successes in Victor Wanyama and Dejan Lovren, as well as Pablo Osvaldo who is belatedly displaying signs of real promise.
It will be devilishly difficult for Cardiff to ape that type of return for their money; January being a notoriously awkward time to strike deals whose benefit equates to their cost. Solskjaer will be keenly aware, though, that Tan takes extremely seriously the spending of his cash. The owner’s belief that his club, after securing promotion last season, had overspent on transfers put the greatest strain on his relationship with Mackay.
Indeed, regardless of the 61 year-old billionaire’s competence in securing Mackay’s replacement, it is his well-documented total lack of football knowledge that caused outsiders to believe working in his employment would be a risk too far for any manager.
That was to reckon without the chance that taking the Cardiff City challenge offers to operate at the forefront of Europe’s highest profile league. Furthermore, at his unveiling Solskjaer declared that ‘everything isn’t always exactly how it seems from the outside’.
Of course, plenty of the information that escaped from inside club walls did so due to Tan’s very noisy and public stand-off with his last manager. That, though, is in the past. Having already flirted with the Aston Villa job in 2012, Solskjaer couldn’t let another Premier League opportunity pass him by.
Steadily there is a fresh batch of young bosses entering the scene, edging out the familiar names as they do so. This is the right moment for a man long tipped for a bright managerial career to pit himself against Pochettino, Roberto Martinez, Brendan Rodgers, David Moyes, Tim Sherwood, Gus Poyet, and Renee Meulensteen et al.
Tan has got plenty wrong – primarily changing the club’s colours and his unsavoury handling of Mackay. He has, however, provided the finance to aid Cardiff’s Premier League ascension, and he might just have enlisted the services of the man that will keep them there.
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