The new Swansea boss! Tactics nerd who loves Jose...and a duffle coat

CARLOS CARVALHAL arrived in English football two and a half years ago with a reputation as a restless wanderer, having skipped through 15 different jobs in as many years. Just like his playing career, which started with hometown Braga and saw him never stay anywhere for long, his managerial career has been wildly nomadic. He left his native Portugal in the post-Mourinho wave of coaching exports and ventured briefly into Greece and turkey before landing at Sheffield Wednesday in 2015 after three fallow years. the Portuguese soon grew tired of national media interest in his friendships with Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho and his trusty sidekick Rui Faria. Carvalhal and Faria studied together at university and they remain in close contact but the former Wednesday boss always preferred to talk about tactics than the famous friends he will meet again when he takes Swansea to old trafford at the end of March. As opinion at Wednesday turned against him this season, Carvalhal’s obsession with deep tactical explanations began to come across more like a cold list of excuses and a way of avoiding the real issues inside the club. He always seemed content with his limited input into the club’s recruitment strategy, coaching the players signed by the club, and it was an easy way to dodge pointed questions. Carvalhal was the first non-British manager to be appointed at Hillsborough. His brief was to lead the owls back to the Premier League and he came close in his first season, losing 1-0 against Hull in the 2016 play-off final. Wednesday reached the playoffs again last season, losing to Huddersfield on penalties in the semi-finals. Carvalhal restored hope at Hillsborough, backed, it must be said, by a substantial increase in investment from thai owners. He was a popular Wednesday boss. He was polite and occasionally fiery. He wears his winter duffle coats and furry upturned collars with an element of panache. He is approachable, active on social media and eloquent, even with his quirky command of English. Carvalhal is experienced and confident in his ability and he will bring personality to the touchline. Whether that is enough to survive the drop is another matter.