Allardyce, Warnock and Hodgson are all back.. my phone must have been on silent – I’d love another crack in management
I’VE never been the greatest with technology and last week I was sure my mobile phone was stuck on silent.
Roy Hodgson had got the call from Crystal Palace, Huddersfield rang Neil Warnock and then Leeds gave Sam Allardyce a bell.
It seemed I was the only old dog who missed out! But there’s plenty of life left in this one yet.
So if anyone was to get on the blower, I’d love one more crack at it.
And I’m not saying that just because three of my old mates are back in management.
It’s because I just love football. So if anyone did decide they wanted me, I’d give up all the other things I do — and life has never been more hectic, believe me.
I earn a lot more now than if I was, say, a Championship manager. But it wouldn’t be about the money, it would be the challenge and because I enjoy it so much.
I love being involved at any level, being around players. If I was too old or not sharp enough, I’m not stupid, no one would need to tell me. But I also know how fit I feel.
Don’t get me wrong, I have never been busier and things are great but football is still my life — and I would love to go in at a club as a sounding board or with a few words of advice.
I’m not sitting there waiting for the phone to ring. But if I did get a call . . . you know me, I’ve never been able to say no!
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So when Sam went to Leeds, on the back of Roy and Neil coming back, it did set me thinking. And, yes, if any offer came in, I’d give it serious consideration at the very least.
People have asked how anyone in their seventies — or late sixties in Sam’s case — can cope with being out on the training ground every day.
Well, they won’t have to. Being a manager isn’t about coming up with new moves or great tactical master plans — no one is so much cleverer than anyone else and that goes throughout all the divisions.
It’s about the personality of the manager, explaining to players what you want. It’s not rocket science.
Sir Alex Ferguson was a great manager, the best, but not a football coach. He knew how to get the best out of his players, how to get into their heads, to put fire into them.
He wasn’t working on David Beckham’s crossing or Gary Neville getting tighter to an opponent.
I once asked Stuart Pearce what Brian Clough was like to work for and he just said: “Brilliant — and quite often we wouldn’t see him until the Friday!”
At West Ham we had Ron Greenwood, the best in the country, but we weren’t working on tactics or patterns of play. He wasn’t teaching Bobby Moore how to defend.
Instead, it was about putting good players together and getting the best out of them.
As a manager you can get into their heads and build confidence.
I went to Birmingham six years ago when they’d won two games in 24 and gone from just outside the top three to the bottom three.
I took Steve Cotterill and Paul Groves with me. They did the training and then I’d have my ten penn’orth. We won our last two and stayed up.
It wasn’t about going in and telling the players how c**p they were. It was the exact opposite, because they needed building up.
Roy clearly did that at Palace, Neil turned Huddersfield around and although it’s tougher for Sam as the season’s nearly over, he knows what’s needed at Leeds.
It’s about instilling belief and confidence, not running around on the training pitch every day.
Being old enough for a bus pass doesn’t mean you’re past it — although it does mean you can get to work for nothing!