Confrontation a part of management

Posted by Jon Champion on 10/12/2009

As we career headlong towards Christmas, some members of the footballing fraternity have clearly forgotten about the season of goodwill. As if the coming together of manager and star striker at Stoke wasn’t bad enough, Monday brought another confrontation between Queens Park Rangers’ Jim Magilton and his mercurial Magyar, Akos Buszaky.

Such disagreements have always been a part of dressing room life. That’s not to justify them, merely to put these latest incidents into some sort of context. Latest reports suggest Magilton may lose his job for losing his temper. In truth, there wouldn’t be too many managers in work if every bust-up ended in disciplinary action.

Any ex-pro will regale you with tales of far more serious bust-ups that simply went unreported, but times have changed and player power has increased dramatically. A clip round the ear may be tempting for a frustrated manager, but its consequences could be career-threatening. A point for Richard Bevan and his staff at the League Managers’ Association to ponder.

Of course, if such scrutiny had always existed, the career of British football’s most successful manager might never have got off the ground. Popular rumour suggests Sir Alex Ferguson has never been averse to a confrontation. Players at East Stirling, St. Mirren, Aberdeen and – for the last 23 years – Manchester United have been kept in line by a man with a hair-trigger temper. Yet crucially, Ferguson has used the threat of an explosion as much as the temper itself when dealing with the precious commodities who make up his teams. As a result, he commands enormous respect.

When he addresses his depleted forces ahead of ESPN’s live Premier League match against Aston Villa this Saturday, Ferguson will emphasise the importance of the next couple of months. This is his favourite time of the season when, with the Champions League and international calls out of the way for a while, his team can move through the gears.

The first signs that the reigning champions were finding their feet came in their unlucky defeat at Chelsea. Since then there’s been a growing sense of conviction in their performances. The biggest threat to them on Saturday would appear to be from their own injury list. The absence of seven defenders tests even the deepest of squads.

The other issue for them this weekend will be dealing with the pace and exuberance of Aston Villa. The return to fitness of Stewart Downing has allowed Martin O’Neill to field James Milner in central midfield, and in the past two games he’s been a revelation. The former Leeds United ball-boy is one of six candidates for England’s World Cup squad likely to start at Old Trafford.

It’s 26 years since a Villa team won there. Of 34 Premier League meetings home and away, Aston Villa have won just two. History suggests a Manchester United victory, so does the time of year, but there is no better motivator of players for a challenge than Martin O’Neill, so this game should produce the sort of dust-up that no-one will see fit to complain about.

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Posted by Dapuma on 11/12/2009

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