Squad Numbers

It is important to preface that this was originally written in April 2023, so some of the references are slightly dated and are accurate as of the 2022/23 season-see my praise of Nottingham Forest for sticking with Steve Cooper (ouch), but the points that I’m making remain relevant today in January of 2024.

Ah yes, a project, the classic terminology used by clubs at the start of every managerial tenure, and so often what fans of every club around the world buy into with such enthusiasm. Only for that same “project” to be thrown down the drain as the unfortunate manager’s head is on the chopping block. What are the foundations of a successful project and why do so many fail? Let’s take a look.

Of the current managers in the premier league, only 9 of them have been in post for the entirety of this season, those being; Mikel Arteta of Arsenal, Pep Guardiola of Manchester City, Erik Ten Hag of Manchester United, Jurgen Klopp of Liverpool, Eddie Howe of Newcastle United, Thomas Frank of Brentford, Marco SIlva of Fulham, David Moyes of West Ham and Steve Cooper of Nottingham Forest. 

This list is interesting as all of the managers above excluding Ten Hag were in charge of their club for the previous season as well as this season. This might not seem like a significant observation but it does show that all of these managers have been trusted by their clubs over a prolonged period of time, by the standards set by the current premier league that is. Many of these clubs has been successful during their current managers time as well, City winning 4 premier league titles under Pep Guardiola, Liverpool with one premier league title, 3 champions league title and one victory in that competition, Mikel Arteta has Arsenal at the top of the premier league at this moment in time, Eddie Howe has guided Newcastle from relegation candidates to top 4 contenders, Steve Cooper has taken Forest from bottom of the championship to premier league mid table, the list goes on. The key underlying factor here is time. 

This success wasn’t achieved instantly. Guardiola himself labeled his first season as Manchester City manager a “failure”, with the club finishing 3rd in the premier league and not picking up a single trophy, in the next three seasons city won two premier leagues, with a domestic treble coming in 2018/19 and have become the dominant force in English football, with Guardiola revered for his fluid attacking tactics. Jurgen Klopp finished 8th in his first season with Liverpool and Mikel Arteta repeated the same position in his first full season with Arsenal and infamously was bottom of the premier league after the first three games of the 2021/22 season.

These three managers were backed and did eventually achieve success, showing that patience is a virtue, especially as we take a look at some of the “failed” projects. 13 managers have been sacked in the premier league this season and two stand out particularly when it comes to the topic of projects; Graham Potter-Chelsea and Patrick Vieira-Crystal Palace. All of these managers were, at the time of their appointment, managers coming into their respective clubs to help transition them into their own vision and change the landscape of said clubs. 

Potter was brought in by Todd Boehly and the Chelsea board as they never really fitted with the old manager Thomas Tuchel, who was appointed by the previous ownership. When Potter was announced Behdad Egbhali and fellow co-owner Jose E Feliciano said “Graham is a football innovator and winner on the pitch and a leader off the pitch. He has deeply impressed us with his ideas and approach to football. We are thrilled to partner with Graham to build a winning team, one that embodies the culture of collaboration, innovation, teamwork, player development, and a commitment to excellence on and off the pitch.” The announcement also stated that Potter has signed a 5 year deal to bring his “Progressive” and “Innovative” coaching to the club. 7 months later he has been sacked. The Chelsea squad has been flooded with new signings making Potters job very difficult as he would have undoubtedly struggled to keep the group happy as so few of them can actually play on the pitch. It was an impossible task for Potter as how is it meant to develop and improve the players given to him if there are so many of them? There must’ve been little if not any tangible one to one time for Potter and his players, which would have hampered the integration of new signings Mykhailo Mudryk, Nodi Madueke and Enzo Fernandez, amongst others. Potter was promised time to bring his ideas to the club, and would have felt that backing due to the 5 year deal he signed, for all of that backing to be thrown away during a couple of months of underperformance tells you all that is wrong with Modern football. Chelsea were creating plenty of chances in their games, with Xg that outperformed their opponents, and that’s about as much as the manager can do is it not, it isn’t the fault of the manager that their players don’t take their chances when they come to them. 

Patrick Vieira was brought in to change the culture at Crystal Palace, to progress them away from the stale, defensive football of the past. He was a success. His first season at Selhurst Park saw Palace finish 12th in the league, getting to the semi final of the FA cup with the fanbase inspired by intense, attacking football. Vieira brought in a definite shift of culture to Palace, with young, exciting talents coming in; Marc Guehi, Michael Olise, Cheick Doucoure, Naoirou Ahamada and Odsonne Edouard all being signed under Vieira, as well as the loans of Connor Gallagher and Albert Sambi Lokonga. His second season started off well, If Palace had won at Nottingham Forest in the final game before the world cup they would have gone into the break in the top 7. As it was they didn’t win that game and that foreshadowed what was to come after the break. Palace went on a run of 11 games without a win, playing football which was a world away from the dynamic, all action style of the season before, leaving discontent in the stands and the boardroom. Vieira was sacked following the 1-0 loss to rivals Brighton and Roy Hodgson was appointed to steer the club clear of danger amid worries of Palace dropping into the relegation zone. What is important to note is that the winless run was formed of very difficult games, with each of the “big 6” featuring against Palace, and they did indeed take a point from Liverpool and Manchester United. It always felt that Vieira would get Palace out of danger as there was a much “easier” run of games on the horizon, and the fanbase did generally feel as though the overarching plan that Vieira had was the right one to take the club forward. However, the club acted, appointing Roy Hodgson in what seemed like a real step backwards for the club as the aim of bringing Vieira in as earlier stated was to move away from the past. It is rather worrying that at the first sight of danger, the club threw caution to the wind and went back on all that they had promised and invested in since they made the decision to appoint Vieira in the summer of 2021. 

In conclusion, a project in football must be treated like one for its full duration, otherwise you will never see its full potential. If Chelsea had backed Graham Potter for 1 or 2 more years he may have found a way to get his squad working together, he is a well respected and “innovative” coach after all, he only had a matter of weeks to work with his new players signed in January and integrate into a system which even he hadn’t figured out yet. The proof in the pudding is Steve Cooper at Forest. They were bottom of the league at one point this season after they brought in a plethora of players in the summer, and eventually he found a way to get the best out of his players in a system which helped them get results. If you stick it through the difficult periods it will aid the confidence of all involved, bring stability to the club right to its core. Mikel Arteta had two, possibly three if you count the half season he did in 19/20, mediocre campaigns by Arsenal’s standards and now they are absolutely flying, with the fans enthralled by the sensational, scintillating football being played. Projects can be that. They can be successful, if you give them time and work out the way to get the best out of all the tools that you have available to you. Patience.