Bitter feud is highlight of the season. Long may it rage on
Conte v Mourinho proves the best managers share the most compelling character flaws
One hopes the League Managers’ Association has a strong message for Antonio Conte and Jose Mourinho this morning.
Something along the lines of: “Carry on boys, this is great.”
With respect to the excellence of Manchester City and majesty of Kevin De Bruyne and David Silva, Conte and Mourinho’s ongoing spat is the highlight of the season. Those wishing to halt it ought to pipe down, turn off social media and spend the next few weeks in a darkened room overdosing on images more in tune with the sensitive disposition; just watch your box set of Last of the Summer Wine and let the rest of us look forward to the next instalment of managers at war.
Why discourage Conte and Mourinho tearing a strip off each other? Yes, it is undignified. Of course, it exposes the deep insecurities and egomania which anyone who deals with top-class managers sees on a daily basis.
But it is riveting too see them unable to utter each other’s name for fear of blistering their tongue. Instead of appealing for calm, we should demand Eddie Hearn is recruited to host their press conferences. Better still, when Chelsea travel to Old Trafford the Premier League should follow the example of Germany, where opposing managers host their post-match briefing at the same time. Forget the game. Just hand Conte and Mourinho a microphone and turn United’s press room into a recreation of the set of Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?
Conte and Mourinho: the Bette Davies and Joan Crawford of the Premier League era.
Some worry this feud will spiral further out of control. Splendid. The more personal and vindictive it gets, the better. Obviously there are some pleading for peace talks. Let them march upwards while we buy tickets for the cesspit.
There is nothing more satisfying than the artifice of managers respecting their peers crumbling. Let the public see and hear what they really think of each other.
Conte and Mourinho are demonstrating what anyone covering the highest level of the game has long known but is disguised in choreographed PR pap. The most successful managers cannot stand each other. They issue a few platitudes, but deep down they all think they are superior and would crawl over a pitch laid with barbed wire to steal each others’ jobs.
A few years ago I had the pleasure of assessing the relative qualities of the world’s leading coaches with one of Europe’s most successful managers.
When discussing his rivals he sounded like James Bolam in that famous scene from The Likely Lads, contemptuously dismissing the virtues of anyone he had met.
“What do you think of Ferguson?”
“Not a coach. He does nothing on the training pitch.” “Mourinho?”
“An actor. He can only work with money.”
“That Guardiola is doing well in Barcelona, isn’t he?” “Lucky. He has Messi.”
“Do you like Ranieri?”
“A disaster in Valencia.” “Wenger?”
“He’s not bad.”
Such conversations will be repeated at clubs around Europe every season, managers studiously assessing their opponents’ squad and formation with a potent cocktail of jealously and disdain.
This is what makes them tick, at least 90 per cent of the most successful coaches possessing idiosyncrasies making it impossible for us lesser mortals to avoid the conclusion that they are very, very odd.
It is what separates the winners from the rest. Too many psychologists have published studies into the benefits of being a sociopath if you want to be a truly successful leader for the notion not to have merit. The greatest are so great because of their imperfections as much as their strengths. Flawed geniuses are more interesting.
As long as you win trophies regularly, managers are forgiven just about anything by their fans.
So let us have no appeals for Conte and Mourinho to kiss-andmake-up. Tell Kofi Annan to stay at home. We do not need a stoppage. Let this one go the distance. Eric Lichaj Nottingham Forest’s American international scored twice against the Cup holders, his second a memorable volley, and ended Arsene Wenger’s hopes of another Wembley triumph. So often the FA Cup has been a Philippe Coutinho The boyhood dream is realised by moving to Barcelona, regardless of the effect it has on the club he leaves behind. Coutinho is reunited with Luis Suarez and gets to Mark Hughes Hughes’ P45 might have been delayed in the Christmas post. He knew what was coming after defeat by Coventry City. It was a surprise he even had the chance to get on the exchange passes with Lionel Messi. There is some distaste at the timing – if Liverpool do not finish in the top four his exit will be blamed – but he will not care when wearing his new shirt.