10 famous player-manager fall-outs

Footballers and their managers often share a very volatile relationship. Egos and differing opinions come in the way. Players do not like being told what to do by people who cannot play themselves, while managers are threatened by players whose presence threatens their authority in the dressing room. This is a look at some of the most controversial breakdowns of working relations between players and managers over the years (arranged chronologically).

#1 Hatem Ben Arfa and Alan Pardew

Hatem Ben Arfa has had an alarming number of clashes with his seniors over the course of what has been a highly promising career, if only in spurts. He clearly does not see eye to eye with whoever tells him what to do with or without the ball. He had to depart from Lyon after a scuffle with veteran defender Sbastien Squillaci in 2008.

At Marseille, he courted controversy by not warming up when ordered by manager Eric Gerets,and got into a much-publicized training ground argument with the subsequent manager, Didier Deschamps, which might have played a role inhurting his 2014 World Cup chances.

At Newcastle United, his showboating and seeming ability to conjure up moments of genius out of nowhere have made him a fan favourite, but his relationship with Alan Pardew has been steadily growing worse and has now reached an unbreakable impasse where either player or manager must depart. A strange turn of events from whenone had likened the other to Lionel Messi.

Ben Arfa has recently been relegated to training with the Newcastle U-21s, while the players agent has predicted that Pardew will soon get the boot and Ben Arfa will return to first team action. Football risks losing one of its most attractive practitioner unless this fall-out is resolved soon.

#2 Nicolas Anelka and Raymond Domenech

The half-time row between Domenech and Anelka in the World Cup 2010 group match vs Mexico is remembered as the moment which changed theway the French national team was looked at for a long time. Skeletons came tumbling out of the French closet following the incident. The players went on strike in a show of solidarity towards the banned Anelka, and the coach was left looking a picture of impotence, in charge of a team rocked by player revolts and training ground brawls. It allegedly fell upon the coach to read aloud a letter of revolt signed by all the players on the team bus.

Anelka never played for his country again, and Domenech was so scarred by the incident he has not returned to management yet. In his book written in 2012, All Alone, the former PSG player revealed what exactly was exchanged between him and Anelka. He told the player to drop back more and threatened to take him off if he did not.

Anelka thought he was doing exactly what he should and told the gaffer to f*** off, look after your sh**** team alone". Gignac was duly brought on in the second half in place of Anelka. Domenech says in his book, I was less shocked by the insult than by the fact he used it towards me, it broke a barrier of positions, ages, hierarchy.... Anelka had killed the squad."

#3 Wayne Rooney and David Moyes

Wayne Rooney was handpicked as a 16 year old by Everton coach David Moyes, but the hardline disciplinarian in charge of a gutsy Everton side immediately got off to a fractuitous relationship with the arrogant teenage prodigy. Moyes justifiably feared Rooney was so good he would be considered bigger than Everton to the point where his own authority would be undermined, while the striker felt early on being under his mentors shadow at Goodison could not satisfy his ambition.

I would have gone almost anywhere just to get away from David Moyes, Rooney wrote in his book as a 20 year old. To me he appeared overbearing, just wanting to control people...There was only one person who seemed a bit upset and envious of what was happening to me - and that was Moyes.

Moyes went on to sue his precocious ward for false accusations thrown at him in the book, My Story So Far: Rooney, the only instance of a court case between a EPL manager and a player. When they met in the same capacity for Manchester United, Moyes again built his team around Rooney, who he remarked had grown older and wiser.

Today, the duo acknowledge how they helped each other, Moyes showing the courage to thrust Rooney into the Premier League astonishingly young and the striker elevating the profile of his club and manager as much as himself. Rooney reportedly raged against United players who were celebrating the departure of Moyes.

#4 Andrei Shevchenko and Jose Mourinho

Chelsea won back-to-back league titles under Jose Mourinho in 2005 and 2006, but the self-styled Special One was given the boot from Stamford Bridge following his rapidly failing relations during the dismal 2007 season with club owner Roman Abrahimovich. One of the biggest causes of conflict between the two was regarding the utilization of Ukranian striker Andriy Shevchenko, a friend of the Russian magnate who was brought to the club for 30 millionbut was pointedly ignored by Mourinho on several occassions.

It was clear Shevchenko did not fit into Mourinhos scheme of things at Chelsea, and the boss told the media the striker had to improve to find a place in his team. Abrahimovich for his part shot down Mourinhos requests for signing strikers Jermain Defoe and Milan Baros, insisting that his choice be played instead. Moreover, Mourinho was left infuriated when his assistant was fired to be replaced by the Russian-speaking Avram Grant to help Sheva regain his form.

Former Chelsea player Pat Nevin said, If you put someone of that ego, and I say that in a likeable way, in charge and then you tell him you're not quite in charge, then I think it was a recipe for disaster.

#5 Antonio Cassano and Fabio Capello

Cassano had a diffcult childhood of poverty and hardship in the backlanes of Bari;he had once said that he would have been a criminal had football not rescued him. Fabio Capello brought him to Roma as a 19 year old, and a contemporary Roma player has described the relationship between the two as a father-son tough love. Cassano liked to pick fights with team-mates, referees, match officials, but most of all with the very coach who had recruited him.

Capello was reunited with his troublesome ward at Real Madrid, and the serial offender was by then overweight, under-performing, and regularly challenging Capellos authority. He was famously caught by TV cameras impersonating the coach during a training ground drill. The player was subsequently banished from the squad and told to train by himself, after which the player went on a rant against Capello saying youre a piece of sh*t, youre more fake than Monopoly money.

Capello had this to say on Antonio Cassano last year: Its a shame, He could have done a lot more in his career than he has. He doesnt know the boundaries when it comes to respect. He needs to understand that, at certain times, he has to accept the decisions of others.

He also coined the term Cassanata, now used in the Italian media to describe any behaviour incompatible with team spirit in football.

#6 Jaap Stam and Alex Ferguson

During his 26 and a halfyears in charge of Manchester United, Sir Alex tookthe club to new heights, and at the same time has garnered a reputation for being ruthless with any of his players who threatened to challenge his authority. He famously kicked a boot at David Beckhams head, a blow from which the player emerged from the dressing room with stitches on his left eyebrow.

Jaap Stam makes it to this list because Sir Alex went on record last year saying his misunderstanding with the Dutch central defender was a disappointment and his sale to Lazio the biggest mistake of his managerial career. Ferguson was furious with the defenders allegations in his book, Head to Head, about colleagues and the coach himself at United in 2001. The Scot intercepted Stam at a petrol pump near his house to abruptly tell him to quickly move to Lazio.

Stam still has respect for his old boss, but has said, When I think about it now, I find it unbelievable I let that, as a player, happen to me.'

#7 Roy Keane and Mick McCarthy

The Republic of Ireland played out a brave campaign in Japan-Korea 2002, but were rocked by a bitter clash between captain and coach just prior to the tournament. Roy Keane, Irelands talisman wasfamous for calling a spade a spade, and took several issues with the preparations of the Irish team, and as usual was not hesitant in voicing them. He had a problem with the training field, 2nd class travel arrangements for the players, players diet among other things, and said all this to an interview to the Irish Times.

Mccarthy held up a copy of the article in a team meeting and quizzed Keane about it. An argument ensued, and Mccarthy tipped Keanes temper over by accusing him of faking injury in a match. Keanes 10-minute verbal tirade included the following: Mick, you're a liar you're a f*cking wanker. I didn't rate you as a player, I don't rate you as a manager, and I don't rate you as a person...you can stick your World Cup up your arse. The only reason I have any dealings with you is that somehow you are the manager of my country!

Keane was sent home and the Irish population was divided in the apportioning of blame about the incident. Senior Irish players stood by the manager, and Roy Keanes international career came to all but an unceremonious close. He was briefly recalled by the next Irish manager, but retired soon enough.

#8 Alan Shearer and Ruud Gullit

Ruud Gullit was forced to depart from Newcastle United after breaking the most fundamental Geordie rule: Thou shalt not insult Alan Shearer. He said in public, I told him to his face he was the most overrated player I have ever seen, and dropped the legend for a 2-1 derby defeat to Sunderland. The Dutchman later complained that the Newcastle legend did not give his best under his charge, and Shearer later said that he would have had to leave his hometown club had Gullit not been fired.

The power struggle between star player and manager unusually ended in the players favour on this occasion. Time has healed the rift apparently, Gullit and Shearer joked about their fall-out and shook hands over it during a BBC TV show during the World Cup. Gullit was asked whether he would have the courage to drop a big name from his squad, and he pointed to Shearer and the two proceeded to have a laugh about it.

#9 Edgar Davids (and rest of Netherlands) and Guus Hiddink

A dispute within Dutch ranks was an integral part of any major tournament in the 1990s---Ruud Gullit refused to play for Dick Advocaat---and these clashes have always been labelled as creative differences rather than personality clashes.

In the Euro 1996, the Dutch team under Guus Hiddink suffered an implosion of a very public nature. There was a controversy about white players in the team getting higher club salaries than their black team-mates. The crisis reached a head when a photograph was taken of black and white players sitting at different tables, and Hiddink with his arm raised in an attempt to stop the photograph being taken.

The racial divide in the team was split open when the flashy Edgar Davids confronted Hiddink saying he was "too deep in the ass of Danny Blind [the captain]". Davids was promptly sent home.

#10 Roy Keane and Brian Clough

Roy Keane makes a second appearance on this list, but only as an aggrieved party. The antagonist in this episode is the inimitable Brian Clough, who has a prolific record of aggressive run-ins with his players. He was known to have been an arch-motivator with highly unorthodox techniques. Young striker Nigel Jemson allegedly got punched for not trying hard enough. "Have you ever been hit in the stomach?" Clough apparently asked him. When Jemson replied in the negative, he wasapparently thwacked in his stomach and told, "You have now, son".

Clough gave Roy Keane a start to his professional career by signing him for Nottingham Forest in 1990, and apparently had no idea that the Irishman was of an equally volatile temper. After a costly mispass against Crystal Palace, Clough punched Keane in the face in anger, knocking him to the floor. "I only ever hit Roy the once", admitted Clough once, "He got up so I couldn't have hit him very hard".

Keane apparently has respect for people who fly off the handle as much as him. He did not hold the incident against his manager, and said it was owing to the pressures of hismanagerial career.