The significance of the term "man" in manager - From a football manager's perspective

Brendan Rodgers and David Moyes – contrasting approaches to man-management

Skipping back across the channel, in the Northwest of England there was another odd couple of managers who showed just how important it is to have the players tweet only good stuff about you. David Moyes took over at Old Trafford while Brendan Rodgers prepared his Liverpool side to bid for a Champions League spot. Fast forward 9 months and Rodgers is praying for West Ham to beat City so that everyone can forget that absolutely heart wrenching Steven Gerrard slip, while Moyes will be watching the final day of the season from the comfort of his lazy boy.

The contrast between the two teams was clear as day when they played each other. On one hand, the Merseysiders were playing their heart out for their manager. On the other, you had David Moyes trying to figure out how Sir Alex made Phil Jones look world class while Rio Ferdinand tweeted about how the manager needed to be buying his ’5? caps. Brendan Rodgers has managed to galvanize this Liverpool team and in a Ferguson-esque move, made Jordan Henderson look worth the money. He has got the most out of a team that on paper, should be no higher than fourth.

United on the other hand, are about where they should be. Especially if they’re going to play Juan Mata wide on the right. But thats a sob story for another day.

There are a number of other examples this season where it has been evident that the manager has either been able to inspire his troops to outperform their rivals or has completely failed to win their confidence and subsequently failed. Manuel Pellegrini too, to a certain extent is a testament to excellent personality management. He has got a group of superstars to sacrifice themselves for the cause. City are now favorites for the title despite having been in patchy form away from home and having to keep up with a 11 game winning streak from Liverpool.

That doesn’t just happen with a team performing as a sum of their parts. This year, there has been far less drama about City, with everyone in the camp seemingly happy. Considering the fact the Pellegrini’s English was as good as my Spanish when he first started, it is all the more commendable that he has got this team to play for him.

No article about man management can be complete without a mention of Harry Redknapp (at least not if your hoping for some eyeballs from England). He seemed to make a conscious decision to ignore the tactics board completely, favoring instead the tried and tested technique of putting an arm around the player’s shoulder to get him to play the way he wanted. While it was definitely not as bad as that, there is no doubt that Harry placed far greater importance on team spirit and inspiration than tactics and worrying about whether to play with three or four at the back.

It has proved to be largely successful too, as he has shown at Queens Park Rangers. Maybe after this season, and more importantly, this article, someone will offer him a job back in the Premier League. I hear the hot seat at White Hart Lane is currently empty. Wonder if he’d be interested..