In general, what qualities should we actually be looking for when we appoint a manager?

sullydnl

Ross Kemp's caf ID
Joined
Sep 13, 2012
Messages
34,063
Reading through the thread(s) asking who the next manager should be, it seems there is a divided opinion on the qualities that are essential in a new appointment. A lack of clarity that has been reflected in appointments to date:

Moyes - Was appointed off the back of a percieved good job during a long spell at Everton, getting them to the CL on one occasion. Was percieved as being hard-working, humble, steady and a safe pair of hands for the long term.

Van Gaal - Was appointed off the back of a long history of managing and succeeding at top European clubs, in contrast to Moyes' lack of experience in that regard. Was percieved as bringing top level experience, a strong personality and a defined philosophy on how the game should be played, all of which also contrasted with Moyes.

Mourinho - Shared some of the same percieved strong points that LVG had over Moyes (a strong personality and experience at the top level) but crucially had more recent success, was experienced in the PL, a results-first approach that contrasted with LVG's dogmatic posession philosophy and a focus on shorter-term success.

Solskjaer - A manager with almost no experience at this level, in contrast to all three prior appointments. Was percieved to have a strong connection to the club (where Moyes, LVG and Mou were outsiders), a softer approach (more similar to Moyes than the strident LVG and Mou), a desire to return us to the style of football of our glory years (as opposed to the possession-based LVG or the defensive Mourinho) and a longer term, youth orientated approach (in contrast with Mourinho).

Managers with a mixed bag of traits, often appointed for qualities that contrast with their predecessors, none of whom have succeeded here.

So, my question: What qualities are essential in our next appointment in your view? What type of manager do we need? I'm not really looking for suggestions of who we should appoint, just what profile they should be.

Do they need to have extensive experience at the top level or should they be a younger, modern manager? Do they have to have won trophies or is other criteria more important? Do they have to play an attractive brand of football or are you fine with a pragmatic approach? Do they have to be cognisant of the traditions of the club or should they look to forget the past and stamp their own identity on the club? Should it be someone who looks to build for the long term or does it have to be someone who gets results now?
 

sullydnl

Ross Kemp's caf ID
Joined
Sep 13, 2012
Messages
34,063
A manager that has a clear style of play, is succeeding at top level right now and has a good record of improving players.
Does it matter what the clear style of play is?

You could argue that Mourinho and certainly LVG had clear styles of play, they just weren't particularly attractive.
 

Sir Scott McToMinay

New Member
Joined
Feb 25, 2018
Messages
2,737
Location
Acapulco, Somalia
Someone fairly young who hasn’t peaked, with a proactive and clear style of play, a good record of improving players and the ability to compete with bigger clubs.
 

MyOnlySolskjaer

Creator of Player Performance threads
Joined
Nov 27, 2014
Messages
26,844
Location
Player Performance Threads
Does it matter what the clear style of play is?

You could argue that Mourinho and certainly LVG had clear styles of play, they just weren't particularly attractive.
It doesn’t as long as it isn’t outdated which is my second requirement.

I don’t even like Gegenpressing as a style but it’s pretty damn effective in the modern game.
 

Dec9003

Correctly predicted Portugal to win Euro 2016
Joined
Jul 31, 2015
Messages
8,922
They should be Argentinian with chubby cheeks.
 

Amerifan

Full Member
Joined
Aug 8, 2019
Messages
986
This will be an interesting thread. Six years on I wonder if the consensus will still be SAF 2.0.
 

devilish

Juventus fan who used to support United
Joined
Sep 5, 2002
Messages
61,525
At this point

A- excellent man management skills
B- great tactician (plan A, B, C)
C-Great scouting ability
D-a big name (to attract players)
 

Spiersey

Full Member
Joined
Feb 15, 2012
Messages
7,385
Location
United Kingdom.
Supports
Chelsea
I think above all else United need someone who will play proactive football and view transitions high up the pitch to be the aim instead of predominantly counter attacking football. In footballs current cycle, reactive managers are dead with their style of football. Simeone is currently trying to change his style of football to a more attacking style as I think he’s realised it’s the way to success currently (football changes fast though).
Whoever comes in will need to move away from trying to just use Rashford to run off the last defender.
 

pcaming

United are an embarrassment.
Joined
Jun 9, 2013
Messages
2,931
Location
Trinidad & Tobago
At this stage, I'd take losing, but going all-out attack rather than losing and being completely toothless. So whoever can meet those lofty standards has my vote.
 

G_and_T

New Member
Newbie
Joined
May 17, 2019
Messages
43
I don't think any manager will get different results. We just don't have the squad to make top 6.
 

Bastian

Full Member
Joined
Jul 16, 2015
Messages
18,444
Supports
Mejbri
Of course he needs to be top class, but no less important he can't be someone who is OK with how the club has been run. He needs to demand a professional, logical, sane setup here.
 

lon ball2

Full Member
Joined
May 2, 2019
Messages
147
the manager should be in-keeping with the recruitment philosophy within the squad - young & up and coming, hungry. someone who has elevated a smaller club to a higher level and shows tactical adaptation or has a strong coaching identity.

the two standout candidates for me are

1) Nagalsmann
2) Pochettino

LVG and Jose whilst proven were on the decline - similar to signing a world class player who's legs have gone. we got them both 5 years too late
 

Judge Red

Don't Call Me Douglas
Joined
Feb 11, 2006
Messages
5,993
It’s difficult to see how any manager can have any kind of positive impact here anymore, it really is.

Klopp and Guardiola aren’t good enough to fix this mess. Nobody is. The people above the manager are utter clowns.
 

momo83

Massive Snowflake
Joined
Dec 5, 2013
Messages
1,463
Does it matter what the clear style of play is?

You could argue that Mourinho and certainly LVG had clear styles of play, they just weren't particularly attractive.
LVG should have been kept. And two/three years later Poch come in..
 

Sir Scott McToMinay

New Member
Joined
Feb 25, 2018
Messages
2,737
Location
Acapulco, Somalia
the manager should be in-keeping with the recruitment philosophy within the squad - young & up and coming, hungry. someone who has elevated a smaller club to a higher level and shows tactical adaptation or has a strong coaching identity.

the two standout candidates for me are

1) Nagalsmann
2) Pochettino


LVG and Jose whilst proven were on the decline - similar to signing a world class player who's legs have gone. we got them both 5 years too late
Yes, pretty much.
Nagelsmann is the slightly riskier appointment but has the higher ceiling, the supporters would get behind him imo, not sure he’s even an option.
We should have went for him when Ole was the caretaker, cannot see him being available for a couple of years now.
 

momo83

Massive Snowflake
Joined
Dec 5, 2013
Messages
1,463
At this point

A- excellent man management skills
B- great tactician (plan A, B, C)
C-Great scouting ability
D-a big name (to attract players)
C- less important these days. But what is important is great judge of character so when the scouts/recruitment team
bring a list of 2-5 players the manager can then gauge which personality is best for his team.
 

el3mel

Full Member
Joined
Oct 23, 2016
Messages
43,735
Location
Egypt
Experience in building squads, developing players without much funds, with clear style of play and proper coaching.
 

Fosu-Mens

Full Member
Joined
Apr 11, 2016
Messages
4,101
Location
Fred | 2019/20 Performances
Coaching ability: A manager that can coach the players into improving elements of their games that they should improve.
Tactical preference: Possessionbased.
Work well with a DoF and not think that british players are the only ones that can improve this squad.
 

momo83

Massive Snowflake
Joined
Dec 5, 2013
Messages
1,463
the manager should be in-keeping with the recruitment philosophy within the squad - young & up and coming, hungry. someone who has elevated a smaller club to a higher level and shows tactical adaptation or has a strong coaching identity.

the two standout candidates for me are

1) Nagalsmann
2) Pochettino

LVG and Jose whilst proven were on the decline - similar to signing a world class player who's legs have gone. we got them both 5 years too late
Certainly one to watch for the future, but at 32 way too young especially with the way our club is run . At his current club he has a much older guy overseeing the Red Bull academy of affiliate teams.

It’s hard to explain but RB are run very similarly to Man City. In this case it’s a rich company that owns or has interest in a few clubs and make Leipzig the centre piece. Also funnily enough the way Red Bull circumnavigate the rules is also similar to City. Example they are forbidden to name a German after a Sponsor so instead of Red Bull Leipzig, they called it “RasemBallsport Leipzig”.
 
Last edited:

matt23

Full Member
Joined
Oct 5, 2013
Messages
1,071
Preferably a track record of improving young players and generally attack minded.
 

Buster15

Go on Didier
Joined
Aug 28, 2018
Messages
13,299
Location
Bristol
Supports
Bristol Rovers
It’s difficult to see how any manager can have any kind of positive impact here anymore, it really is.

Klopp and Guardiola aren’t good enough to fix this mess. Nobody is. The people above the manager are utter clowns.
No. Sorry but I don't agree that Pep or Klopp are not good enough to fix this mess. It might take them a couple of seasons at least but both are more than capable of sorting us out.
Both have the ability to:
Observe. Deduce. Analyse. Correct.
To fix a problem you first have to understand the cause(s). Thus far that has not been done, because of unclear thinking and unclear logic.
 

devilish

Juventus fan who used to support United
Joined
Sep 5, 2002
Messages
61,525
C- less important these days. But what is important is great judge of character so when the scouts/recruitment team
bring a list of 2-5 players the manager can then gauge which personality is best for his team.
It depends if we are sticking to the present system or we are finally hiring a top dof
 

Massive Spanner

Give Mason Mount a chance!
Joined
Jul 2, 2014
Messages
27,891
Location
Tool shed
It’s difficult to see how any manager can have any kind of positive impact here anymore, it really is.

Klopp and Guardiola aren’t good enough to fix this mess. Nobody is. The people above the manager are utter clowns.
Liverpool were a complete shambles before Klopp took over.

Fixing our problems starts with getting the right manager in and going from there.
 

Fosu-Mens

Full Member
Joined
Apr 11, 2016
Messages
4,101
Location
Fred | 2019/20 Performances
Liverpool were a complete shambles before Klopp took over.

Fixing our problems starts with getting the right manager in and going from there.
Fixing our problems must start with the root cause. Given that we can't force the Glazers to sell, at least we can make enough noice so that the club makes changes to the governance of the club i.e. replacing Woodward or appointing a DoF/Sporting Director.
 

caid

Full Member
Joined
Feb 10, 2014
Messages
8,270
Location
Dublin
An attacking manager who makes use of fast transitions to get up the pitch quickly. The opposition box should be getting bombarded, not slowly moved around looking for a perfect opportunity.
 

LVGSdive

New Member
Newbie
Joined
Aug 20, 2019
Messages
534
LVG should have been kept. And two/three years later Poch come in..
I can agree with this. LVG was great for building the club/team. Jose is great for immediate success. I think clubs should always think long term.
 

That_Bloke

Full Member
Joined
May 28, 2019
Messages
2,705
Location
Cologne
Supports
Leicester City
You don't necessarily need someone who wins with style but first and foremost a builder, a solid manager with a proven record of unearthing and improving young players, if you want to go that way (which isn't bad at all). He doesn't have to lead you to the top 4 or whatever, just do the groundwork:

- set realistic objectives according to the state of the squad.
- implement the playing style you're searching for. This is crucial and should be seen from the get go, even if the results don't automatically follow. You'll lose the players (and the fans) otherwise.
- buy players fitting said style of play, preferably young and/or malleable, not players with too big of an ego who can prove to be a handful to manage.
- gradually ship out the ones who don't fit in.
- find the right leader(s) in the squad or bring one in.
- find the right balance between senior players and youngsters.

Then you hire a better manager with higher ambitions and better know-how at the top, who can build upon and take you further. Done the right way, it takes about 3 seasons. If you find someone who can do both (Klopp, Pochettino, Pep...) all the better but they're rather rare. A DoF would be nice too. Oh and the board must be... well on board.


Where do I apply for the job?
 
Last edited:

RedCurry

Full Member
Joined
Apr 25, 2016
Messages
4,686
Someone who
- obsesses with keeping and winning possession of the ball aggressively
- absolutely hates a misplaced pass or a bad touch
- leaves all the criticism on the field of play and is supportive after the game
- also hates it when a player plays it safe when the right thing to do would be a more difficult pass
- reads a game and change it in our favor by making tactical changes
- can define specific role for each player on the pitch at all times
- does not let players do whatever they want on the field
 

Reynoldo

Full Member
Joined
Dec 7, 2006
Messages
4,923
Location
Dublin
Someone fairly young who hasn’t peaked, with a proactive and clear style of play, a good record of improving players and the ability to compete with bigger clubs.
Seconded, I think one of the big factors in dragging us out of this malaise is getting a young, hungry (and talented) manager with a clear style of play. This kind of personality could pull us out of this funk sooner than we think.
 

Skills

Snitch
Joined
Jan 17, 2012
Messages
42,010
You should first of all ask him what he can achieve with the players already at the club? How does he plan to use them and how they fit into his vision of football?
 

momo83

Massive Snowflake
Joined
Dec 5, 2013
Messages
1,463
I can agree with this. LVG was great for building the club/team. Jose is great for immediate success. I think clubs should always think long term.
The one time when patience was needed by fans, media, and board. Even then results weren’t terrible I remember upto December we were a win away from being 1st, then if we beat or drew with West Ham in penultimate game we’d have qualified for CL.. in the end we missed out on goal difference. All this done by playing academy players like McNair, Blacket, and another one whose name I’ve forgotten and obviously getting more then the best out of them because today none of them are doing anything of note.
 

groovyalbert

it's a mute point
Joined
Feb 14, 2013
Messages
9,608
Location
London
For all we know, we may have had the right manager at some point.

Unless we have a DoF given free reign of looking after the football side or - preferably - the Glazers and their minions feck off, it doesn't really matter who the manager is. The outcome is inevitable.
 

Mark Pawelek

New Member
Joined
Apr 9, 2014
Messages
2,598
Location
Kent, near London
A manager that has a clear style of play, is succeeding at top level right now and has a good record of improving players.
Clear style of play is not enough. You need to adjust your play to cope with tactics which will inevitably be used to defeat it. Fluency in tactics too. Also: if you don't have a DoF system in place, the new manager must have a vision for building the squad. Not forgetting - good man-management skills - required by all managers at all levels.
 
Last edited:

Mark Pawelek

New Member
Joined
Apr 9, 2014
Messages
2,598
Location
Kent, near London
Does it matter what the clear style of play is?

You could argue that Mourinho and certainly LVG had clear styles of play, they just weren't particularly attractive.
Not attractive, nor effective. It was clear when Mourinho was sacked he wasn't going to win the league that year. Yet his fans sold him to us on the basis he always wins the league in his second year.
 

meamth

New Member
Joined
Jun 3, 2017
Messages
5,946
Location
Malaysia
The number one criteria?

Scottish,
Winner,
Capable of delivering hairdryer,
Journalists scared of him,
Knows every staff including the janitor.
 

amolbhatia50k

Sneaky bum time - Vaccination status: dozed off
Joined
Nov 8, 2002
Messages
95,336
Location
india
Does it matter what the clear style of play is?

You could argue that Mourinho and certainly LVG had clear styles of play, they just weren't particularly attractive.
I think it is. We need to move alongwith the times. And United should undoubtedly play attractive football. Right now we need someone to do a more attacking version of Pochettino did at Spurs - give us a style of play and identity every player fits into, and develop individuals into what they can become.

Spending XXXX amounts will matter what feck all of the manager can't coach the team and individuals properly.