Game management or lack of it dominating the soccer conversation at every level
Much like the oft (and rightly) maligned concept of net spend, game management was not a term that the soccer watching public used to be aware of. Now, though, you rarely hear little else. The concept essentially boils down to players making the correct decision, playing the percentages if you prefer, depending on the time left and current score.
West Ham United’s Michail Antonio is now aware of game management after Saturday’s game against Crystal Palace. His manager Slaven Bilic was pointedly referring to him when he said the Hammers were “unhappy with their management of the game” following Wilfried Zaha’s 97th-minute equalizer. The goal came seconds after Antonio decided to cross for goal rather than killing time near the corner.
It might be the buzzword of the game right now. The term shows up in both praise and criticism from pundits, managerial press conferences and coaching manuals alike, but game management is not a new concept. The enduring image of Manchester City’s relegation on the last day of the 1995-96 season will forever be the already substituted Niall Quinn running down the line screaming at Steve Lomas running the clock down in the corner with the score at 2-2 – little did Lomas know that City needed a win to ensure survival.
Nowadays, table-topping City are lauded for their game management. The club website’s roundup of reaction to their weekend win away at West Brom highlighted Manchester Evening News writer Stuart Brennan’s praise of an improvement in game management from last season. His view was that a season ago City would have chased another goal and been vulnerable on the counter but this campaign’s side trusted in their possession game, scoring the goal that would prove the winner.
A commitment to possession should be expected from a Pep Guardiola team but the concept of game management differs between managers. Bournemouth’s Eddie Howe defended his side’s game-management techniques a week ago after his players were criticized by Stoke City manager Mark Hughes for wasting time as Stoke chased an equalizer. They might have disagreed but at least they could shake hands after Bournemouth’s 2-1 win.
Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho knows all about that and also knows as much about game management. According to his biographer Diego Torres, Mourinho has a set of seven points that lay out his ideology, starting with, “The game is won by the team who commits fewer errors.” It’s his master plan for playing the percentages and one he sticks to in big games.
The concept goes from the very top to the very bottom. While Juventus manager Max Allegri mentioned the need for game management ahead of their Champions League tie against Sporting Lisbon, the manager of Northwest Counties Premier Division side Widnes FC was decrying a lack of it. “It all comes down to game management,” said Steve Akrigg of 57 injury-time seconds that saw his side go from 3-1 up to a 3-3 draw with Padiham. Fittingly, the video of that, much like the concept of game management itself, has gone viral.