What Kind of A Football Manager Does England Need?

A lot of people in the media, in pubs and internet forums across the country have been asking this week: "who should be the next England manager?".

I'm not an expert on the potential candidates for the job, but I am interested in leadership and performance and have my own thoughts - not so much on who should get the job but what should they be like?

But first let's get one issue out of the way, and that is the state of the game in England. As a Scot, as far as I'm concerned it's a red herring. I'm sorry, but take a few of the stars out of the England team and you'll still have 10 players who would walk into the Scotland team - with goalkeeper being the likely exception. So while I agree that English football as a whole, from grass roots to Soho Square, needs some close scrutiny, the fact is that the head coach of the National team is employed to get the most out of the current crop of players.

My view is that the climate that surrounds the England team is pretty horrrendous. There is an incredible weight of expecation and a media that seem to be intent on building people up to knock them down. It is ahrd to say as an outsider what the influence of the FA hierarchy is on the team, but bear one thing in mind: Some very good managers have come and gone, and failed to get the most out of a group of talented players. Something isn't right. Look at Eriksson. He arrived with an excellent record. Did well - but not so well when it really mattered - and was hounded out of the job. Now he's doing a great job again with Manchester City.

Anyway, I digress. But the pressure is great. Despite what people say they players do care. So the first characteristic for me is a manager with unshakeable self-confidence. The kind of confidence required to take all of the pressure of the job, and not just cope with it but love it. The confidence to act as a buffer - to take everything that comes with the job and shield the players from it.

I say shield the players from it, because the job is not to develop the players. It is to get them together for long enough to prepare for each international game and not to make them better plauers. It is the job of the clubs to make their players fitter, more techically and tactically competent, and mentally tougher.

In that respect, Jose Mourinho may be the man for the job, but for the next reason maybe not.

The next characteristic I would look for is humility. The England manager cannot come with a big ego. There just won't be enough room for him in the dressing room! But more seriously, all he can afford to care about is his team. He is going to get stick. He is going to be examined in the press. He can't afford to care about how he looks, whether he is loved. If he cares about his players, they'll play for him. I get the feeling poor Jose wants to be loved.

More importantly, I think, is the need for a bit of a maverick. Not too much though. Venables couldn't keep the job first time around because he was involved in legal battles. Hoddle because he used a faith healer. England, in my opionion, needs someone that is prepared to be different - prepared to question, challenge, be different (and let his players do the same). I don't mean that they should be eccentric, merely prepared to be their own man.

The new manager also needs to create a climate in which the players can enjoy playing football. That's partly going to come from the first three characteristics. Having the confidence to give them space and protection from the pressure, from caring about his players, and from giving his players a bit of freedom. But he also needs to inject a bit of fun in things. The language that McLaren used in talking to the media was all about "winning football games". What about the joy of the game? England needs someone that can handle the pressure enough to let his players experience the joy of playing the game.

Who is that man? Well. Lots of people have talked about the success of Klinsmann and Van Basten - but England doesn't have an equivalent. Not even Shearer. Niether do they have in their ranks someone that can bring vast club and International experience and success to the role - like Capello can.

Ultimately, I don't think there is an ideal choice out there that is English. But I also think that a top-class coach like Capello might find it difficult to manage a group of players that lack (apparently) the tactical nous that he will have been used to working with.

So, if I were to venture an opinion, I'd say that a good short-term appointment would be Harry Redknapp. Mainly because he's a maverick, and made his name as a wheeler-dealer, but has matured into a very successful manager. I don't think he takes any nonsense (from above in particular), yet he clearly has good relationships with his players and is highly respected in the English game.

But we know that he won't get the job, don't we? In fact, why not take an easier route. Let's find a way to reverse the ageing process and give the job to Bobby Robson.