YOUNG BLOOD WORTH A RISK
FOOTBALL is a terrible game for trends. Antonio Conte is making three at the back fashionable again and even men in pubs are talking about playing against ‘the press’.
Likewise, relatively young coaches with no discernible playing career being propelled into relatively high-profile positions is very much in vogue.
In Germany, Julian Nagelsmann has turned Hoffenheim from relegation material to a top-six side at the age of 29.
Last season, Jakob Michelsen spearheaded an unlikely title challenge from little-known SonderjyskE and is one of a number of bosses in Denmark’s top division with little in the way of playing pedigree.
‘Maybe part of it is that Danish football is struggling,’ said Michelsen. ‘Things change when results are bad.’
Results, of course, are pretty bad here right now. It is surely no coincidence that Austin MacPhee is leading the chase for the SFA performance director’s job while Ian Cathro seems destined for Hearts.
Both are well-travelled characters with intriguing backgrounds. It is tempting to think of them as a pair of mavericks, obsessives, ready to shake up the established order.
The truth is we will have to wait and see. MacPhee seems a decent fit for the SFA job. Cathro has always wanted to be his own man, but managing a top-flight side is about more than innovative coaching and tactical nous.
Both men come with a risk but Scottish football has so little left to lose that the mood seems right to experiment with new approaches.
The days of the usual suspects walking into jobs are pretty much up.