Managers/Head Coaches

Rimbaud82

Rimbaud82

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Who are some of the best, or most interesting, managers in sports history?

Can be from any sport, either some of the best ever, or some of the most interesting (because of their tactics or whatever). Head coach, manager, same thing...

To start with, probably the best soccer manager of all time (or up there anyway), Sir Alex Ferguson:
14eca34fa33e82c084b54eaaccdd407e.jpg

He seems the sort of manager who just completely reshapes the club culture wherever he is at in his own image. Not that he wasn't tactically astute as well, but a lot of it just seems to be his charisma and ability to motivate players. Obviously won everything there is to win with Manchester United, but only in the past year or so did I learn about his success at Aberdeen before that...broke up the old firm (Rangers and Celtic) by winning the Scottish Premier League three times, as well as four Scottish Cups. And most impressive of all won the European Cup Winner's Cup and the European Super Cup. All in the space of 7 years.

I don't know as much about North American sports coaches, but it seems like Sir Alex is in the same mould as someone like Vince Lombardi

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But I don't know I huge amount about him. But I'd be curious to hear about coaches in ice hockey, basketball, nfl etc. Particularly from a tactical perspective (like innovations, or exciting/interesting/unusual strategies) since I don't know a lot about those sports.
 
Watching this Clough documentary now, don't think I have seen this one.
 
No one else got anyone interesting to contribute? Particularly from a tactical pov, just something I find interesting in sports... Been playing Football Manager for the first time in like 4 years as well so been reading lots of articles, that's what piqued my interest again.

Speaking of which, Roger Schmidt is definitely one of my favourite managers:
Roger-Schmidt1.jpg

Obviously not one of the best, but his tactics and overall philosophy are really interesting. Uses a really high intensity style of football where teams will press as soon as the ball is lost to try and win it back before an opposition attack can develop. That sort of Gegenpressing is obviously nothing new, but the tempo at which Schmidt tries to get his teams playing at is pretty unique. Usually teams like Dortmund who use this sort of pressing will try and keep possession once they get the ball (Pep Guardiola's Barcelona being the ultimate example), but Schmidt's teams (Leverkusen anyway, not as sure about his time at Salzburg) will through men forward as fast as possible and look to shoot on sight almost. They take waaaaay more shots than anyone else.

Well...that's how they did play anyway, since Schmidt has since been fired unfortunately. Was hoping he'd take a premier league job but apparently he's off to China to earn the big bucks (hopefully for a season or two). Which interestingly enough brings me to another of my all-time favourite managers in a completely different sport, which I will put in another post to save this one being too long....
 
Jim McGuinness (who @Shamrocker will know very well I am sure!). Perhaps you big soccer fans will also find this interesting. edit: just noticed that @10000 Days Days is from Dún na nGall.
JimMcGuinness30June17_large.jpg

Jim McGuinness isn't a soccer manager, though most recently he was a performance consultant at Celtic (brought in by Neil Lennon where he was actually somewhat important in the backroom staff, under Rogers not so much I have read) and very interestingly (from an Irish perspective anyway) is that he has actually moved to China to be one of Schmidt's assistants (also to earn the big bucks, but also to further his soccer career by gaining experience under Schmidt). McGuinness has said this about Schmidt and working with him
They were one of the few football teams that play very direct and intense football predicated on intensity. It is about asking questions of the opposition and trying to overwhelm them and never allowing them to settle. And I was drawn to that. We stayed in touch through email.
Click to expand...
Even if it is only the Chinese Super League, it is interesting that Schmidt wanted to work with McGuinness. Which brings me to why he is one of my favourite managers.

McGuinness was the manager of Donegal's senior football team (Gaelic Football) from about 2011 to 2014. A relatively short time, but in that time he completely overhauled Donegal football turning them from perennial losers (hadn't won anything since 1992 and were just a very poor team all round) into Ulster Championship winners in 2011 and in 2012, All-Ireland winners (obviously the ultimate prize in gaelic football).

McGuinness had the perfect combination of that 'x-factor' which some of the best managers have no matter what the sport. He was able to motivate players to perform beyond their capabilities and completely turn around the entire team culture in a very short space of time. And keep in mind that in the GAA (gaelic football and hurling) you play for the county where you were born, there's no such thing as being able to sign more suitable players. You need to work with what you have got, or else just hope that the next generation that comes through is better by putting focus on youth development. But Jim was able to turn a losing culture into a winning one in only a year or two.

And tactically he was ahead of the game as well. The first season he managed Donegal he mostly focused on getting his teams fitness levels way up, and creating a defensive tactic designed to stop the better teams from scoring. It won them the Ulster title but they were beaten in All-Ireland semi-final by Dublin, the team was also severely criticised for playing boring football. However, that was mostly 'growing pains' as in 2012 the system introduced by McGuinness evolved to include a much greater emphasis on attacking while still remaining defensive solid. In principle the Donegal system is very similar to the soccer tactics used by the likes of Schmidt, essentially the team presses extremely hard and en masse, but once they win the ball back they break forward at pace before the opposition can set up. Essentially it breaks teams down because they can't match the intensity -

 
Last edited:
Rimbaud82 said:
Jim McGuinness (who @Shamrocker will know very well I am sure!). Perhaps you big soccer fans will also find this interesting.
JimMcGuinness30June17_large.jpg

Jim McGuinness isn't a soccer manager, though most recently he was a performance consultant at Celtic (brought in by Neil Lennon where he was actually somewhat important in the backroom staff, under Rogers not so much I have read) and very interestingly (from an Irish perspective anyway) is that he has actually moved to China to be one of Schmidt's assistants (also to earn the big bucks, but also to further his soccer career by gaining experience under Schmidt). McGuinness has said this about Schmidt and working with him

Even if it is only the Chinese Super League, it is interesting that Schmidt wanted to work with McGuinness. Which brings me to why he is one of my favourite managers.

McGuinness was the manager of Donegal's senior football team (Gaelic Football) from about 2011 to 2014. A relatively short time, but in that time he completely overhauled Donegal football turning them from perennial losers (hadn't won anything since 1992 and were just a very poor team all round) into Ulster Championship winners in 2011 and in 2012, All-Ireland winners (obviously the ultimate prize in gaelic football).

McGuinness had the perfect combination of that 'x-factor' which some of the best managers have no matter what the sport. He was able to motivate players to perform beyond their capabilities and completely turn around the entire team culture in a very short space of time. And keep in mind that in the GAA (gaelic football and hurling) you play for the county where you were born, there's no such thing as being able to sign more suitable players. You need to work with what you have got, or else just hope that the next generation that comes through is better by putting focus on youth development. But Jim was able to turn a losing culture into a winning one in only a year or two.

And tactically he was ahead of the game as well. The first season he managed Donegal he mostly focused on getting his teams fitness levels way up, and creating a defensive tactic designed to stop the better teams from scoring. It won them the Ulster title but they were beaten in All-Ireland semi-final by Dublin, the team was also severely criticised for playing boring football. However, that was mostly 'growing pains' as in 2012 the system introduced by McGuinness evolved to include a much greater emphasis on attacking while still remaining defensive solid. In principle the Donegal system is very similar to the soccer tactics used by the likes of Schmidt, essentially the team presses extremely hard and en masse, but once they win the ball back they break forward at pace before the opposition can set up. Essentially it breaks teams down because they can't match the intensity -

Click to expand...

I've always been a huge supporter of McGuinness!While his success at Donegal obviously far overshadowed anything he has been able to do at Celtic FC he had some input in their consecutive Championship run.When an athlete and or coach has excelled at not one but numerous sport disciplines then it's hard not to support or at least respect such talent.I'm sure he will do quite well in China as well eh m8? Cheers @Rimbaud82 ..Brilliant av pal!...
 
Shamrocker said:
I've always been a huge supporter of McGuinness!While his success at Donegal obviously far overshadowed anything he has been able to do at Celtic FC he had some input in their consecutive Championship run.When an athlete and or coach has excelled at not one but numerous sport disciplines then it's hard not to support or at least respect such talent.I'm sure he will do quite well in China as well eh m8? Cheers @Rimbaud82 ..Brilliant av pal!...
Click to expand...

Hope he does well because I think it would be good for gaelic football to get some more exposure.

The av is Jason Taumalolo, my favourite non-Ulster player in either code!
 
 
@Zer that 'thesefootballtimes' site is really great, many thanks for the link. Really sophisticated/intellectual soccer coverage, good stuff.
 
reggie-mckenzie.jpg



Mack, Carr, and Jackson in the same draft...........MIC isn't just dropped, it is fucking exploded.
 
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