. Premier League: Are 'traditional' managers making way for head coaches?

Simon Stone, BBC Sports, 24 July 2018

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/44917915

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Is the Premier League manager as we know it becoming a thing of the past?

When Unai Emery was appointed as Arsenal boss in May, he was given the title of head coach.

For the previous 22 years, Arsene Wenger had very much been known as manager at the north London side. And when Maurizio Sarri replaced Antonio Conte at Chelsea earlier this month, he retained his fellow Italian's title of head coach.

Sarri and Emery will be two of six head coaches in charge of English top flight clubs this season, with 14 led by managers.

But while the names of the roles might be different, there is a perception that all bosses - whether a manager or head coach - are moving away from the omnipotent gaffer who oversees every facet of a club...

Former Manchester United and England defender Gary Neville played his entire club career for Sir Alex Ferguson, who won 38 trophies during 26 years as manager of the Old Trafford side.

But when Neville put Graham Alexander in charge of team affairs at his own club, Salford City of the National League, he did so with the modern boss in mind.

"The average length of time a coach spends at a club at the highest level now is 13 months," says Neville, who was head coach for four months at Spanish side Valencia between December 2015 and March 2016.

"But clubs need to think in three or four-year blocks, not 13 months. If you are going to change managers every 13 months, you have to make sure there is some stability."

What's the difference?

When Mauricio Pochettino extended his contract at Tottenham in 2016, his job title changed from head coach to manager. "We are agreed that it would be good, for myself, for the club, for all," the Argentine explained at the time.

"It's true that 'manager' is a word that means different things than head coach. Maybe I was always manager from the first day I arrived here - and maybe it describes my job better."

The head coach tag implies others within a club structure are taking charge of recruitment and transfers.

Part of Conte's disenchantment at Chelsea was because of what he perceived as the limited role he was given in the club's transfer dealings.

Wenger resisted interference at Arsenal but Emery will not have anything like the same autonomy, with former Barcelona director of football Raul Sanllehi - given the title of head of football relations - now taking greater responsibility at Emirates Stadium.

Even at some clubs where they still call the man in charge of the team "manager", as West Ham and Everton do with Manuel Pellegrini and Marco Silva respectively, there is still a chain of command when it comes to transfers.

At the Hammers, owner David Sullivan is heavily involved in negotiations. At Goodison Park, director of football Marcel Brands, who replaced Steve Walsh at the end of last season, is a key figure in all the Toffees' transfer business.

'There is a change in football now'

As an ex-player, manager, club owner and pundit, Neville has set about getting as much information as possible on the way modern football business is conducted.

The 43-year-old former right-back spent six years looking at the different models clubs employ.He overwhelmingly came down on the side of a coach leading the team, which is why he went down that route with Alexander at Salford, who will play in England's fifth tier this season.

Alexander's official title at Salford is manager, but Neville does not see the role in the traditional format.

"If someone is involved on the coaching side every single minute of every day, thinking about the team they are going to pick, the next training session and the player situations they would have to deal with in any normal week, how can they be thinking about the next signing or who is coming in for next season? They are not," said Neville.

"In the coach-led model, they absolutely have a place around the table in terms of recruitment. They have to be comfortable that new signings fit the criteria, values and principles they are trying to implement."

2.General Manager

https://icehockey.fandom.com/wiki/General_Manager

In the National Hockey League, the general manager is a team executive responsible for acquiring the rights to player personnel, negotiating their contracts, and reassigning or dismissing players no longer desired on the team. The general manager may also have responsibility for hiring the head coach of the team.

For many years in professional sports, coaches often served as general managers for their teams as well, deciding which players would be kept on the team and which ones dismissed, and even negotiating the terms of their contracts in cooperation with the ownership of the team. In fact, many sports teams in the early years of professional sports were coached by the owner of the team, so in some cases the same individual served as owner, general manager and head coach.

As the amount of money involved in professional sports increased, many prominent players began to hire sports agents to negotiate contracts on their behalf. The intensified contract negotiations that resulted, as well as the overall increased need for professional business management, drove many sports teams to separate the positions of coach and general manager. Some coaches, however, still insist on being allowed to fill both positions as a condition of employment.

In some sports leagues salary caps have been adopted to maintain a competitive balance and in these leagues it is one of the functions of the general manager to ensure all player contracts are in accordance with these caps, as well as consistent with the desires of the ownership and its ability to pay.

General managers are usually responsible for the selection of players in player drafts and work with the coaching staff and scouts to build a strong team. In sports with developmental or minor leagues, the general manager is usually the team executive with the overall responsibility for "sending down" and "calling up" players to and from these leagues, although the head coach may also have significant input into these decisions.

Some of the most successful sports general managers have been former players and coaches, while others have backgrounds in ownership and business management.

Summary:

Professional sports teams have a defined organisational hierarchy.For example, professional hockey teams have both a coach and a general manager. Professional football (soccer) teams have experimented recently with a variety of posts with differing responsibilities across teams.In hockey, the general manager is usually responsible for the general operations of the organisation, and maintains the responsibility for selecting personnel on the team.The coach is responsible for the training of the hockey team and making decisions on game day.Some of the top coaches now insist on being both the coach and the general manager, if not in name, in terms of their decision making and responsibilities.

Over two decades ago, Pat Quinn added the responsibilities of general manager for the Toronto Maple Leafs.At the time of the announcement, Quinn became the only individual to hold the dual role in the National Hockey League.This dual role has not since been adopted as standard practice in the league.

In the United Kingdom, professional football (soccer) teams generally have had a team manager who is responsible for selecting new talent, training the team, making decisions on game day, and signing player contracts.The team manager is responsible for the team both on and off the field.In North America, professional soccer teams have both a coach and a general manager.The general manager is usually responsible for the business operations of the organisation, and maintains the responsibility for selecting players.The coach is responsible for training players and decisions during the game. In North America, many soccer coaches have been unhappy with their relationship with the general manager and believe that they should have more responsibilities in choosing players.Some top coaches are now insisting on being both the coach and the general manager.In the United Kingdom, there has been a recent shift to separate the role of team manager with the appointment of a director to take care of business affairs, while the team manager focuses on the coaching aspects of the game.This approach is similar to that used in Europe and in North America.In designing their management structure, similarities and differences exist across sports, leagues, and teams.Sports are businesses and their management critical.

Required:

Reflect on the articles and summary in terms of the various concepts and issues discussed in this course.What are the advantages and disadvantages of separating the duties of the coach and general manager, for example, with respect to selecting team members of professional sports teams.

Adopt the role of a management consultant:

You have been engaged to prepare a report and to provide recommendations to the ownership group of a professional sports franchise (the particular sport is your choice).The team ownership group has sought your expertise to assist with its response to concerns expressed by team management about the roles and responsibilities assigned to various members of team personnel.

Write your report applying the applicable and relevant concepts discussed in this course.Do make an effort to prepare a report for management that is informative, actionable with respect to your recommendations, and presented in good form.