What makes a manager?

[JSArsenal]

To put it another way, what is the most important quality for a manager to have?

Perhaps I'm being fooled by shiny graphics and there might be hidden monkeys behind the scenes who create the talking points and feed the pundits information. However when I hear a G. Neville talk about football. He sounds like he understands tactics, then why did he fail so badly at Valencia?

Jose was always full of insight as well, so why did it fall apart at United and why are Spurs floundering? Is man management more important?

Wenger's players loved him but that wasn't enough either.

Perhaps the players ate the deciding factor and whether the manager can get them to listen to him and his ideas or even if a manager knows about football and tactics. His tactics may be the wrong ones.

 

[Blackwidow]

Actually - that depends on the team and dressing room.

 

[Deery]

Passion for the job and all the minor details would help, players would soon buy into that.

Didn’t Ferguson have great man management and took pleasure in all the running of the club and players.

 

[Spaghetti]

Brian Clough won the European Cup with Nottingham Forest with no tactics. He just gave players positions and motivation.

I don’t think that would be enough nowadays, but it’s an indicator that there is no one “way” to being a manager.

 

[giorno]

Leadership and credibility

 

[Blackwidow]

There is some factors in a manager's job - relationship to the dressing room and its leading players, relationship to the management of the club and the media, relationship to the other staff of the club, understanding of the club culture, preparation of the team in training for season and matches, development of players, tactics, experience and "prior success" - that was no ranking in importance as all in different amounts play into the success of coach and team. Different clubs and teams need this abilities in different forms.

 

[Ali Dia]

Shrewd Investment/recruitment, man management, coaching staff in that order.

 

[TheRedHearted]

Fo

To put it another way, what is the most important quality for a manager to have?

Perhaps I'm being fooled by shiny graphics and there might be hidden monkeys behind the scenes who create the talking points and feed the pundits information. However when I hear a G. Neville talk about football. He sounds like he understands tactics, then why did he fail so badly at Valencia?

Jose was always full of insight as well, so why did it fall apart at United and why are Spurs floundering? Is man management more important?

Wenger's players loved him but that wasn't enough either.

Perhaps the players ate the deciding factor and whether the manager can get them to listen to him and his ideas or even if a manager knows about football and tactics. His tactics may be the wrong ones.

Communication
Ability to see what’s right for the team, and that’s not always sticking with a player cause you like them
Tactics
Squeezing the most out of a player, making the most out of players chemistry with one another
Optimism but also holding players accountable
Respect for the game
Passion for the game

 

[RashyForPM]

1)Good tactics, adapted game by game unless you find the perfect blend, like Fergie and Pep, and Mourinho a decade ago.

2) In game management

3) Man management and motivation

4) Passion

5) Knowing everyone at the club and fostering good team spirit not just around the players, but the whole institution by treating everybody well. Essentially, being the boss while being everybody’s mate, but with more boundaries than his actual mates. This was one of Fergie’s biggest traits.

 

[OleBoiii]

There is no one size fits all.

The two most successful managers in the last 30 years, Pep and Fergie, are very different. In many ways polar opposites. What they both have in common is top class players who believe in them. Pep's players are drilled endlessly to perfectly fit his game plan and if you dare to deviate from it you will be benched and possibly sold. Fergie kept things more simple but he was also the king of adaptation. No one can match him in this respect. Also, his players were willing to run through a brick wall for him, which made tactics less important.

Whatever your style is, you need players who believe in you or your plan. This done by finding the right players or turning the ones you have into warriors. Or both. The players are ultimately the most important part, though.

 

[WeePat]

Vocabulary.

 

[Buster15]

Actually - that depends on the team and dressing room.

No it doesn't. A successful manager attributes are pretty much universal.
He has to be a true leader.
A leader that all of his staff respect and want to follow.
A leader with clear vision, who communicates openly, honestly and with clarity.
A leader who is always pushing the boundaries of what is possible.
And a leader who is relentless about continuous improvement.

 

[Hoof the ball]

Why did Gary Neville fail at Valencia?

He took over the club in mid-season and didn't have even the a basic understanding of how to speak nor understand Spanish in a team entirely filled with Spaniards.

Who the feck wouldn't fail under those circumstances, let alone someone with zero managerial experience?

 

[Bastian]

Leadership and intelligence. The latter is rare.

 

[Skills]

Personality/Communication is easily number one.

Remember you're trying to get a squad of 25 people to understand and execute exactly what you want. You're not programming 25 CNC machines - so you need to be able to get them buy into your message and be on your wavelength.

 

[Sky1981]

A 2500 elo rating player would mesmerize amateurs while being laughed about by a real grandmaster.

Gary and co sounds intelligent because they actually might have some idea and articulate it well. But nobody ever called their bluff.

If Gary is put in the same room with pep or klopp or even saf he'd be made to look amateurish.

It's like a fresh Princeton business grad full of ideas talking about how you need to change a to z while never actually managing anything.

 

[el3mel]

It's impossible to find a manager that excels at everything. Some managers are better tactically than others and some are better in man management than others.

It's a group of qualities that managers excel at some and lack others. Tactics, man management, squad management, facing the press, leadership and charisma..etc. The combination of how he fares in all these defines someone as a manager.

 

[tomaldinho1]

Do managers even exist anymore?

Seems like you have Head Coaches now. I can’t think of any manager that doesn’t have a load of senior guys supporting them outside of the training ground. Tactical knowledge and player/dressing room management are the two key parts.

 

[Sky1981]

It's impossible to find a manager that excels at everything. Some managers are better tactically than others and some are better in man management than others.

It's a group of qualities that managers excel at some and lack others. Tactics, man management, squad management, facing the press, leadership and charisma..etc. The combination of how he fares in all these defines someone as a manager.

You dont need many skills. Just a few main one and the abilities to hire the right person.

Many ceo doesnt have the correct skillset but have the vision and the nouse to hire the right henchman and listening to the right advice.