[Football] Head Should Rule Over Heart As Newcastle Look Ahead

If, in appointing Graeme Souness as their manager, the Newcastle board took everyone by surprise there was nothing unforeseen in their decision to part ways with him this week. In one of the most predictable sackings in football Newcastle were ultimately admitting that they went for the wrong choice when this vacancy last came up.

To anyone who had scanned his track record, it was clear from the start that Souness wasn’t up to the task of fulfilling the club’s ambition. Apart from his initial managerial spell at Rangers and a decent job done at Blackburn, he had been sacked by every other club he managed.

To their merit, Newcastle continued to back their man, funding a series of expensive but ultimately flawed signings. A scan through their squad reveals only a handful of quality players. Souness’ successor will basically have to rebuild the squad from scratch.

Right now, however, the big question is who that successor will be. And, with Alan Shearer being such an icon to the fans, it is unavoidable that his name will be mentioned.

Yet the instances where players made this immediate transition successfully are rare. The only recent example is that of Kenny Dalglish who won the double for Liverpool as player-manager. Dalglish, however, had an experienced backroom on whom to turn whilst Bob Paisley was always around to help out.

Had Shearer succeeded Sir Bobby Robson in a couple of years’ time, perhaps with the former England boss assisting from behind the scenes, it would have been the ideal scenario. But trying to make the step up now would be too soon for Shearer. He should only look at Stuart Pearce’s attempt to save Nottingham Forest from relegation in 1997 or John Barnes’ failure at Celtic.
For his, as well as Newcastle’s sake the job should go to someone with more experience.

Yet Newcastle couldn’t have picked a worse time to replace their manager. With England also looking for a manager it will seriously limit Newcastle’s options. All those on the list of English candidates – headed by Sam Allardyce – will be reluctant to change jobs in the hope of filling the national team’s managerial vacancy.

The same applies to the leading foreign candidates, particularly Guus Hiddink. The Dutchman’s success in the Champions League with PSV shows that he has the ability to fashion winning club sides despite not having vast sums at his disposal. Having spent so heavily with so little return, such abilities should surely be high on Newcastle’s list.

There are other difficulties regarding foreign managers. Rafael Benitez recently admitted that it took him a year to come to terms with what is required to do well in English football. Although Newcastle won’t expect immediate success by whoever is appointed, such a transitionary period could lead to disastrous results.

Ironically therefore, it could turn out that the best available candidate is Sven Goran Eriksson himself. His recent problems in the England job have overshadowed his past as an exceptional club manager who was a success wherever he went.

An added benefit, apart from his knowledge of both the English and international game, is that he could be the guiding figure that Shearer needs if he is to start his managerial career at Newcastle.

It is, after all, something that he has already done in the past. At Lazio, Eriksson named Roberto Mancini as his assistant immediately after the striker announced his retirement. Given Italian football’s conservative nature it was a bold move but one that was popular with players and fans alike. Mancini benefited greatly as well from this exposure as it enabled him to gain experience before eventually embarking on what has, so far, been a successful managerial career.

Shearer has got the potential to do just as well. Such potential, however, will hardly develop naturally if placed into the glare of such a high-pressured job straight away.

This article appeared on http://www.squarefootball.net/article/article.asp?aid=2756 on the 4th February 2006