Do ex players make good managers?

[ditch and burn]

With the news that Alan Shearer is set to take over the hotseat at St James Park, the topic of former playing heroes taking the step into managerment has once again come to the fore.

In the past, two of our most successful managers (Arthur Rowe and Bill Nicholson) were old Spurs boys, whilst in more recent times, the likes of Ardiles and Hoddle have failed to replicate their playing form in the dug out.

Couple of questions for:
1) Is it a good idea to appoint an ex player as manager?
2) If we were to appoint an ex-Tottenham player now as manager, who would you like it to be and why?

[EVIL CLOWN SPURS]

I think ex players can make good managers yeah, i think steve bruce is one of the best managers in the prem, wigan are 7th with hardly any money.

If i was to have a ex spurs player as manager it would be Klinnsman, i reckon he would do good.

i think the most important part of being a manager is your man mangement skills, you gotta be able to know how to talk to people.

[Pitseleh]

i dont think it matters to be honest. do you mean players that used to play for the club, or ex players generally? either way, it depends on the individual, theres no garentee an ex player will be a good/bad manager. and as far as them being an ex-player of the club goes, i dont think that affects their ability to manage the side...maybe, just maybe, they might have a slightly better understanding of what the fans expect in terms of good football and stuff, but the only way i can see a managers playing career coming to his aid in management, is maybe being a slightly favourable appointment.

[ditch and burn]

Yes, sorry gents... I should have been clearer... I mean do players who have played for the club make good managers?

[ditch and burn]

I think ex players can make good managers yeah, i think steve bruce is one of the best managers in the prem, wigan are 7th with hardly any money.

If i was to have a ex spurs player as manager it would be Klinnsman, i reckon he would do good.

i think the most important part of being a manager is your man mangement skills, you gotta be able to know how to talk to people.

Yes, I would say Klinsmann as well. With regards the man management skills- would this be a large factor in the reason why Redknapp has done so well and why Ramos did not?

[bigmartin]

was it just me or did paul ince always seem like he was crying during interviews? GUV'NOR INDEED. i think generally it does depend on the player they have to be pretty switched on for example. klinsmann is a good example of this; and evil clown is right steve bruce has worked wonders. its good in a way that it doesnt make you automatically sucessfull as in a way it adds another challenge for players who want to stay in the game. (most managers used to be players when you look at it though i guess, though legends at a club can bring back morale which is so direly needed.) will be interesting to see if shearer can make any differance in what seems to be the last throw of the dice for newcastle.

[EVIL CLOWN SPURS]

Yes, I would say Klinsmann as well. With regards the man management skills- would this be a large factor in the reason why Redknapp has done so well and why Ramos did not?

yeah i think the reason Redknapp has done well is because he is a very good man manger, Ramos was terrible, i think the lanugage was a BIG problem.

I mean i could never understand what he was saying!! so i'm sure the players found it hard aswell. not being able to speak english surely can't help.

[Pitseleh]

hmm i still think alot of what happened regarding ramos' downturn in performances was down to poor transfer dealings. any idiot could have told you our attacking form was immense, but it was defensively we needed strengthening. cue; bentley, modric, pavyluchenko, dos santos.

[kevfball63]

I didn,t realise that this thread was here , because there was no hint of Newcastle or Shearer in the title so i've ended up making another thread by mistake .

Anyways back to the point , I think Martin O Neil is one manager that springs to mind Martin Jol was a better manager than i thought he would be . I think this was due to him cutting his teeth at a lower standard helped in that department . But i think that if they jump in with the big boys without starting at a low level then how can you be a good at man management skills .

There is one manager emerging at the moment and it is this manager that i think will take over from Sir Alex Furgusen , and the reason i think he will do well is because he has spent years managing lower level clubs . Now IMO this is what it takes to make a good manager because once you've managed at that level when you go up the ladder so to speak , there will be no surprises because players temperaments are harder to deal with at lower level football .

[basskadet]

Well, virtually every manager was a player at some point.

I think you need to be very careful when appointing ex-players from your club as your manager tho. Their past glories can get in the way of common sense & it can be dangerous, especially when something starts to go wrong.

if everything goes well, then they can generate something extra, something a bit special, around a club. However, if it goes the other way they can make rash decisions. There is a lot resting on their shoulders. A proper manager should be a cool head, be able to remove themselves from a situation & make quick but sensible decisions.

I fear Alan Shearer's appointment comes under the not so thought out category. Every manager in recent years has shown that starting out at the very top, rather than learning in the lower leagues, is very, very difficult.

This really appears to be an appointment made with the heart & not the head. I understand why they've made it. They want to inspire the sort of 'magic' they fear missing from St. James' Park but what's going to happen when they start losing a few games (as is bound to happen at some point), without any real experience & the added emotion of it being 'his' club, Shearer could quickly find himself in the brown stuff.

[DanSpurs80]

Sir Alex Ferguson is a prime example as to why ex players make good managers.

He was a prolific goal scorer when he played in Scotland, playing for Queens Park, St Johnstone, Dunfermline Athletic, Rangers, Falkirk and Ayr united. Scoring 170 goals in 317 appearances, thats an average of 0.4 goals per game, a pretty good strike rate.
During his time at Dunfirmline he score 66 goals in 89 games, this form was noticed by Rangers who signed him for a national record £65,000, he returned the faith shown in him by scoring 25 goals in 41 appearances until he was sold to Falkirk in 1969.

I think that proves ex players make good managers.

[basskadet]

The question isn't whether any ex-player should make a good manager. As I already said, virtually every manager played at some stage of their career.

What Ditch meant was should an ex-player/legend return to his ex-club to manage it? obviously in reference to Shearer.

[DanSpurs80]

Sorry must have misread the question guys.

Its a bit of a gamble when a player takes up a managerial post especially when they are held in such high regard by their former club such as Shearer is, it is his first job in management also. His knowledge of the game is excellent and i am sure this will have a positive effect on the dressing room but tactically it reamains to be seen wether or not he has the credentials to be a top flight manager. TBH i dont think he has enough time to make a significant impact this season at the Toon but if he can keep them up then i think he has done pretty well under immense pressure.

I dont really think you can answer that question (a very good thread by the way) with any real confidence. Some make good managers and some dont but i dont think ex-players are guaranteed to be good managers, like every job it takes time and experience to prove yourself.

Great question.

[Pitseleh]

i dont think there is any real pressure for shearer now. had he takent the job after keegans departure that would have been different, but as it stands he is pretty much safe from criticism. if they go down the finger will be leveled at ashley for their ridiculous management situation, if they stay up hes a hero.