Howe should be a catalyst for change
The revival of Newcastle United has added a fascinating new element to the Premier League title race this season. Strong investment in players by the Saudi Arabian owners is part of the explanation, of course, but equally important has been the astute work of manager Eddie Howe in moulding a dynamic team.
Howe’s excellence and instant impact should be no surprise, but clearly was to many observers – perhaps because he is a member of that endangered species best described as the “Lesser Spotted English Football Manager”.
At the time of writing, he was one of only four permanent English first-team bosses in the Premier League (along with Gary O’Neil, Graham Potter and Sean Dyche). Four out of 20: an absurd figure. The contrast with other major leagues is stark: 17 of 20 are local in Italy, 13 of18 in Germany, 15 of 20 in France, 13 of 20 in Spain.
In no other country would a manager as impressive as Howe been made to wait15 months for his next job after leaving Bournemouth, disdained by a succession of wealthy clubs. Tottenham, Chelsea and Everton all looked abroad during that period, while Manchester United dithered for so long about removing Ole Gunnar Solskjaer that the option vanished.
By that time Howe had gone to Newcastle, putting in place the same basic principles of good management that inspired Bournemouth to rise from the fourth tier of English football to the Premier League.
Howe is still only 45, yet has 600 matches of experience as a manager. He retains the vigour of youth while being steeped in the holy trinity of his profession: spirit, fitness and tactics. Get all three right and you can build a winning team. He is doing just that.
It is only in England that major clubs routinely turn their noses up at the finest local talent, seeking solutions elsewhere. It is only England that has developed such an inferiority complex.
Italian football likes to think it produces the finest coaches in Europe. Superficially, the track record suggests this is true because so many have had fine careers – from Carlo Ancelotti to Roberto Mancini, Antonio Conte, Fabio Capello and others. The deeper reason is not that they are much better; more that they are given many opportunities to work at a high level – to win, to lose, and above all to learn.
Stefano Pioli, head coach of current champions Milan, is now managing at his13th different club, eight of which are currently in Serie A. Last year’s
Scudetto was his first title triumph. This season’s hottest coach has been Luciano Spalletti, driving Napoli seven points clear by early January. He is at his eighth different club in Italy, with almost1,000 matches as a coach. Spalletti has never won the Scudetto, and nothing at home since the Italian Cup in 2007 with Roma. Yet there was no temptation to write off his talent.
Are the Italians and Germans and Spanish so much better than English managers? Or is the difference merely that they get the chance to learn and bounce back from disappointments?
Howe grafted his way up from the lower leagues. It was his only route into the Premier League pleasure dome. Another English manager at a top club, Graham Potter, learned the trade and developed his principles and methods while operating in Swedish football. He is clearly one of the finest around now, yet it was a shock when Chelsea chose him to replace Thomas Tuchel.
A crucial question hangs in the air: can Howe and Potter help to break the contemptible cycle of English managers being scorned as second-rate?
It is profoundly astonishing that no English manager has won the Premier League title in its 30 years of existence. It is ten years since Tottenham had an English boss; 16 years at Manchester City. There has been no permanent English manager for the last 37 years at both Arsenal and Manchester United.
The numbers brook no argument. They tell the story of a rotten culture that needs to change.
In no other country would a manager as impressive as Eddie Howe been made to wait 15 months for his next job after leaving Bournemouth