TRIED AND TESTED MANAGERS WILL GET JOB DONE — KEVIN KILBANE
When your backs are to the wall, a tried and tested manager is best
THE last four managerial appointments in the Premier League did not exactly receive widespread, popular support.
And yet it is, so far, so good for Roy Hodgson, David Moyes, Alan Pardew and Sam Allardyce, who are proving there is nothing wrong with going back to basics and being boring.
One of those British coaches who has always been more popular among his players than the supporters is Roy Hodgson.
Over the years, the likes of Damien Duff and Steven Reid couldn’t talk highly enough of the former England manager from their early days at Blackburn, and then, later in their careers, at Fulham and West Brom respectively.
They both said he was an excellent coach on the training ground, but it is his personal touch and how he deals with his players on a daily basis which really set him apart.
And it is typical of Hodgson that he has recognised what Steven did for him as a player and appointed him to his coaching staff at Crystal Palace. It is great to see my old Ireland team-mate on the bench as a Premier League coach.
Sometimes, players just like simple day-to-day routine and organisation, so there is a lot to be gained from working continuously with the starting 11.
Tony Pulis is another classic example of this and you know that his sides will mirror the work that is done on the training ground.
Roy Hodgson is the same, but it will not just be about working to stop the opposition, especially when you have an attacking option like Wilfried Zaha in your side.
The winger was injured when Palace got off to a dreadful start to the season under Ronald de Boer, losing their first seven Premier League games.
Now, he is one of the form players in the division and Hodgson is getting the best out of him. It doesn’t surprise me. He is a master at that, as we saw with Damien Duff.
The attacking side of the game came naturally to Duffer. From an early age, we gave the ball to him as quickly as possible and he went out and did his stuff.
But he also developed the defensive side of his game and was a great one to play behind because he was very disciplined in those defensive duties. That had to be learnt from coaches like Hodgson.
And now that Zaha is back to fitness, it is no wonder Palace’s results have started to improve.
When Christian Benteke scored the first at Leicester last week it was their first away goal for 934 minutes, dating back to last season. In fact, it was his first goal in 1,106 minutes of Premier League football, and after 28 shots.
Yet, while they have improved offensively, it is the basics at the other end of the pitch which have really improved the fortunes of Palace. They had drawn two away before their win at Leicester.
Hodgson, Moyes, Pardew and Allardyce have all addressed the lack of clean sheets first, and then worried about the attacking side. They all know there is nothing wrong with getting the fundamentals right.
People might see that as boring and unexciting football and obviously everyone would love to be a Manchester City fan at the moment. It doesn’t matter if Pep’s side are two-up or three-down they will play the same way. But it has cost a few quid to put that squad together.
City are a one-off. I am too young to remember the Liverpool sides of the ’70s and ’80s, but I have never seen the standard of football they are producing every week.
And in these days of one-click football, you can watch a ten-second clip in an instant, and see Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo producing breathtaking skill, or a City player drilling a ball into the top corner after a 20-pass move.
But these are the exception, not the rule. The standard of the Premier League’s technical ability among players is high but at times teams do cancel each other out and not enough risks are being taken.
And if a team seen as the underdog gets the first goal, you fear a game will become boring because they will try to kill the game, no matter how early they go in front.
You hope the favourites score first so it opens the game up and the supposedly weaker opposition have to go for goals.
There is part of me that wishes Ronald de Boer had been given more time at Palace to see if his methods and style of football would work. But they were quickly running out of time.
And if rumours are correct that the players were not responding to the former Netherlands international, who felt they were beneath him, perhaps it is no surprise it didn’t work for him.
His experience has certainly taught us that there is nothing wrong with a faithful, safe pair of hands like Roy Hodgson.