Pulp Vincent

The Burnley manager Vincent Kompany has announced ones thoughts over ones system that he advocates reducing the number of games players can play in during a season, to reduce overload and injuries players battered to a pulp? Fiction? Fair game, but there is a problem solver in place for managers to utilise their squad ratios of twenty four players plus. So to fall on the hypocrisy sword has to be the case on the averaged out ratio of sixty games a season in ear shot of mainly the elite.

In the surrealness of the Premiership universe they are comforted and cosseted, the danderlers to never moan about their excessive wages but perhaps to enter into the reality universe to grab hold of those twelve hour shifts on rotation night and day would offer reason to moan about the drudgery of the daily work ethic in the main. Managers complaints to fall on deaf ears, the overload as the add-on of the pre-season cash busting tours, any complaints?

The Rooney Law

Burnley’s Vincent Kompany is one of the few coloured managers to operate within English football and that’s no Pulp Fiction. So, do qualified black managers suffer the racism thought process from club owners on applying for manager’s positions, is that the case? The stats say yes, with a ratio of 4.4 percent of black managers in English football to cast out at the current figure of eight black managers with the European landscape further enveloping the confirmation with the paltry figure of 98.

The termed ‘Rooney Law’ entered into English football during the 20126-17 season, making it compulsory for clubs to interview one black, Asian or minority ethnic, if applications have been received. The origins of the Ronney law were introduced in the USA’s National Football League, the NFL, in 2003 with the concept named after Dan Rooney the owner of Pittsburgh Steelers and the head honcho of the league’s diversity committee with the Steelers universally known for their long history for giving opportunities to African Americans. Within three years of the concept, the number of black head coaches increased from six percent to twenty two percent within three years. Twelve years on the trend in law was diluted with the window dressing ignored. The race card reared its ugly head as the NFL chose to ignore the stats and revert back to type. The first black manager in English football dates back to 1960 with the Rochdale manager Tony Collins, who two years later led the club to the League Cup Final. With the Dale losing 4 to 1 v Norwich City over a two legged affair. The first black manager in the Premiership was Ruud Guillet appointed at Chelsea in 1996, leading the club to victory in the 1997 FA Cup Final v Middlesborough two to nil. Will racism in football ever be eradicated? There is too much of society’s ills being banded about to answer that question.

Millions and Trophies Galore

The high octane expenditure of managers shows no abating, and to lay the stats and figures bare leads to a startling print out, the scanner, ranked at number 1 is Pep Guardiola with 37 trophies won to go alongside a net spend of 47.3 million pounds per trophy averaged out leading to managerial career spend of 1.75 billion pounds. In at number 2 is Carl Ancelotti with a 26 trophy haul at the rate of 55.7 million pounds per trophy and a total net spend of 1.45 billion pounds. No surprise with the number three entry and Jose Mourinho on level terms with Ancelotti on 26 trophies won, and 61.2 million pounds per trophy, with a total outlay of 1.6 billion pounds. To name the next three managers off the rank.

Number 4, Jurgen Klopp, 12 trophies, 81 million pounds per trophy with a total 971 million pounds net spend. In at number 5 is Massimiliano Allegri, with 13 trophies at a net spend of 92.3 million pounds to total at a 1.2 billion spend. Mauricio Pochettino on a paltry 3 trophies has bust gutted at the alarmingly sky rocket rate of 329.7 million pounds spent per trophy with a near on net spend of 1 billion pounds standing at 989 million pounds.

Time to judge the top brass of the elite managers, to compare with two managers from former glories who newly scripted the history books, at Northampton Town and Swansea City AFC on shoe string budgets at the lower end of the pyramid system. So does Northampton’s Dave Bowen and Swansea’s John Toshack rank with the elite for their outstanding achievements? The Northampton story book came with Bowen leading the Cobblers to three promotions in five seasons to aspire to England’s top flight in 1965. Bowen, who during ones playing career was a wing half for Arsenal and became another history buster captioning Wales to their first World Cup Finals in 1958, and later went on to manage the Welsh National side in 1984, becoming one of the longest serving managers in international football at nine years. At Swansea FC the Liverpool icon John Toshack led the Swans to three promotions in four seasons, to the top flight with the great Bill Shankly describing Toshack as the ’manager of the century’, whose credentials stacked up to manage Wales and the two Real’s in club football, the Madrid and Sociedad, to enter Bowen and Toshack into the elitest group of managers of worthy status.