World Soccer – August 2019

trade in the lower leagues, with Walsall

and Brentford, earning a reputation for

attacking football on a limited budget.

Brighton’s Potter has attained a similar

stature, albeit via the unlikely environs of

Ostersund, who rose from Sweden’s

fourth tier to play in the Europa League

under his guidance. At Swansea last

season he steadied a listing ship,

blooding youngsters while almost

knocking Manchester City out of the

FA Cup. Brighton are hoping Potter’s

attacking philosophy will mark a

positive progression from the safety-

first approach of Chris Hughton, who

was sacked at the end of last season

after the club sailed dangerously close

to relegation.

Only Bruce represents the old-style

British manager. The likes of Sam

Allardyce, Tony Pulis, Alan Pardew, Mark

Hughes and David Moyes – all currently

“resting” after their last Premier League

employment – are no longer seen to

have viable currency as “firefighters”.

Things may change during the season,

but they appear to be a declining force.

The most successful mid-term

appointment last season was Ralph

Hasenhuttl, the Austrian who replaced

Hughes at Southampton and quickly

steered them away from danger with

a high-energy pressing game.

Interestingly, there are now more

foreign managers further down the

leagues. The Championship kicks off

with nine foreign coaches, including

Slaven Bilic at West Bromwich Albion,

Phillip Cocu at Derby County and Marcelo

Bielsa at Leeds United.

Frenchman Sabri Lamouchi was the

latest to arrive, replacing Martin O’Neill

at Nottingham Forest.

Englishmen

back in favour

T

he new season kicks off with

English managers in charge

of eight Premier League

clubs, the most at the start

of a campaign since 2004. From last

season, Roy Hodgson, Eddie Howe and

Sean Dyche are joined by new Chelsea

boss Frank Lampard, Dean Smith and

Chris Wilder from promoted Aston Villa

and Sheffield United respectively, Graham

Potter, recruited by Brighton & Hove

Albion from Swansea City, and Steve

Bruce, lured away from Sheffield

Wednesday to fill the gap left by Rafa

Benitez’s exit at Newcastle United.

With Northern Irishman Brendan

Rodgers back in England at Leicester

City, the total of British managers rises to

nine, almost half of the Premier League.

Most of the new breed of English

managers reflect the changing nature of

domestic football. Happy to be described

as coaches rather than managers, the

class of 2019 are a far cry from the

traditional all-powerful English “gaffer”.

Lampard, the first Englishman to be

in charge of a top-four side since Harry

Redknapp took Tottenham Hotspur into

the Champions League in 2010, enjoyed

moderate success in one Championship

season with Derby County and owes his

appointment more to Chelsea’s global

transfer ban than any coaching ability

he may have demonstrated in his first

managerial job. However, the 41-year-

old looks to be the right man at the

right time for Chelsea, ready to blood

youngsters from the club’s extensive

network of talented youth players.

In many ways Wilder is a throwback to

simpler times. Sheffield-born, he played

for United, the club he supported as

a boy, before embarking on a playing

career around the lower divisions. He

then worked his way through the leagues

as a manager, winning promotions with

Oxford United and Northampton Town

before a move back to Sheffield United,

who he has taken from League One to

the Premier League.

Like Wilder, Villa’s Smith learned his

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Old school...Steve
Bruce (centre)
Blues boss...
Frank Lampard
Sam Allardyce, Tony Pulis, Alan
Pardew, Mark Hughes and David
Moyes – all currently “resting”
after their last Premier League
employment – are no longer seen to
have viable currency as “firefighters”