Charismatic Managers beware: Sentiment is Dead in the financial driven world of the Premier League

In a week in which one of the most universally loved managers was relieved of his duties, penning a bitter final chapter of the Leicester fairytale, you may wonder why anyone would link charisma to job security. A glance at their opponents from Monday night suggests their may be grounds for discussion.

A resurgent Leicester City victory over Liverpool on Monday night drew both applause and disgust in equal measure as the champions produced a performance reminiscent of Claudio’s warriors just one year previous. That it took his sacking to reinvigorate a flailing Leicester side says as much about the players mentality as that of the coaches methods.

Leicester returned to last years mentality of playing to their own strengths, hitting the electric pace of Jamie Vardy with early direct passes allowing the team to support and retreat with a solid structure in place. This was a Leicester that we have seldom seen this season, new expensive high profile signings having been shoehorned into a side which has been a shadow of it’s former self illustrating be poor adaptability and a lack of hunger.

As well as Leicester City played, some blame must be attributed to an abject performance by a Liverpool side so impressive in their dismantling of an in form Tottenham, just a week previous.

Liverpool’s form is a curious subject as at their best they look irresistible yet these games are becoming increasingly few and far between. At the beginning of last season they appointed Jurgen Klopp, a manager who’s reputation as a master tactician, a hungry successful new age manager excited Liverpool and football fans alike.

Klopp oozes charisma, no better illustrated than by the affection that his players both past and present afford him both on and off the the field. But football is a results business.

Last season Leicester manager Claudio Ranieri produced the impossible taking lowly Leicester to the Premier League Crown but this season they find themselves cemented in a relegation battle. This downturn in form has ultimately cost the ‘tinkerman’ his job.

Ranieri was the media darling, charming and humble in his success, dignified and honest in his failures; charisma and loveable catch phrases were not enough to save him once results were not to expectation.

Klopp shares similar status among the media, humorous and animated in his interviews and passionate and exciting while the game is ongoing. His facial expressions alone give journalists worldwide instant content, while his high intensity attacking football leaves them purring as they write.

If we were to bypass Klopp the man, the personality, the figurehead and judge him purely on results would we still hold him in such a high regard?

Klopp was appointed Liverpool manager after Brendan Rodgers failed to produce  a repeat of a Luis Suarez driven title challenge when robbed of the mercurial striker by Barcelona. Klopp took over a team including most of those that came so close to glory,in addition to some potential future stars that had been bought expensively using the Suarez funds.

While Klopp can rightly be commended on the fact that in his first season he took Liverpool to two finals, the record books will read that he failed to bring home a trophy.

In his first season Klopp finished 8th in the League,  which is their joint worst finish in 23 years of the Premier League. Sure, you could argue that he hadn’t bought his own players at that point, you could argue that at the back end of the season he focussed on the Europa league but the fact is that this was a season in which Chelsea were out of the picture and Leicester won the league; Liverpool fans had reason to be disappointed.

In the current season Klopp has enjoyed many advantages over what he endured last campaign. There are no midweek European distractions due to last season’s poor league position, which in fact mirrors the circumstances of Liverpool’s most recent title challenge.

Having one game a week is a huge advantage over those fighting on both domestic and European fronts. Chelsea, for example, are making great use of this with a seemingly unassailable lead atop the league as a result.

This summer the Liverpool boss has bought in major signings that he personally identified, including big money moves for Mane and Wijnaldum together with the capture of highly rated centre back Joel Matip on a free.

Liverpool are competitive this year, putting in some outstanding performances; yet they could still find themselves sixth after the next round of fixtures and are out of all cup competitions. Would sixth place be success enough from one of the highest rated coaches in world football,enjoying a large budget and wage structure? At what point does Klopp’s charisma and like ability fail to stop the media from questioning the level of success he is bringing to Liverpool?

Klopp is a breath of fresh air to the Premier League, a manager in the form of a fan with a scientific football philosophy which is unplayable at its best. There is every chance that Liverpool could end the season well and Klopp may go on to be a club legend.

What Ranieri’s shocking sacking chillingly reminds us of, is that modern football is big business. With the financial rewards so great, there is little room for sentiment in the modern game and you can only live on past glories for so long.

While content with the current season so far one would have to think that if this became another season of treading water, another of football management’s great personalities could be left looking perilously over his shoulder.

The Premier League Title race: an intriguing tactical contest

After what will be remembered by most as a freak season in Premier League history, not least following Leicester City’s dramatic and poor turn of form; the traditional big hitters have made a rampant return to the summit this season.

This season finds the top six in incredulous form creating  a clear division between themselves and the rest of the Premier League. All six have had spells of utter brilliance in which fans and pundits alike were waxing lyrical and proclaiming them as the champions elect; on the flip side each has had a spell in which their opponents have been able to frustrate them, forcing them to lose ground to their illustrious rivals.

Earliest to encounter such a slump were last seasons perennial underachievers Chelsea. Under new manager Antonio Conte many expected Chelsea to adopt his trusted 3 5 2 system that served him so well on the way to being crowned triple Serie A champions at Juventus.

Conte chose to slowly integrate his system however, beginning the season with a similar 4 2 3 1 used in previous campaigns. After starting strongly Chelsea proceeded to drop points at Swansea but before suffering humbling defeats to close rivals Liverpool and Arsenal. This acted as the catalyst for Conte to revert to his trusted formation, displaying tactical flexibility and variety. Since then Chelsea have lost just once and sit handsomely atop the league, with a 10 point lead deeming the race as good as over.

Football evolves continuously and different systems go through cycles of effectiveness. In past seasons the Premier League has been won by teams adopting a successful 4 2 3 1 system in which a central striker is supported by three narrow interchangeable creative attacking midfielders. Manchester City and Chelsea most notably enjoying success with outstanding individuals such as David Silva and Eden Hazard supplementing world class strikers in Diego Costa and Kun Aguero.

Last season Leicester City defied the odds and adopted a 4 4 2 style in which they defended solidly as two banks of four before breaking at pace on the counter attack, relying on the effective Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy to secure victory..

Opposition teams have begun to develop a plan which has eradicated the effectiveness of the said system, sitting back and encouraging the more talented teams playing 4 2 3 1 to play in front of their defensive line. This leads to the attacking team becoming frustrated and in some cases being caught on the break.

The system implemented by Conte creates space stretching teams with width from rampaging wing backs, while still allowing creative midfielders to flourish behind a central striker. It is a system in which the deployment of three central defenders offer outlets to maintain possession while also enabling a strength in numbers solidity.

Tottenham, Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United make up the chasing pack and are currently separated by just two points. All of these five teams began the season with a version of the 4 2 3 1 system to which was earlier referred.

Manchester City started the season fantastically winning 6 straight games before themselves going on a slump in fortunes at the back end of the year. Since then, manager Pep Guardiola has implemented an adapted system in which his players switch freely between a 4 1 4 1 and a 4 3 3. The front 5 players in this side are all exceptional attacking footballers which makes knowing how to defend against this team incredibly difficult.

In conjunction with a high press Manchester City have created their own antidote to teams sitting back against them and together with Tottenham and Chelsea have shown themselves to have great adaptability to a different sutuations they may face

Tottenham currently sit third and before Saturday had enjoyed a spell in which they won 7 of their last 10 games. After starting the season in promising fashion they endured a spell in which they dropped points drawing to inferior opponents due to low profligacy and teams sitting back frustrating them in games they had dominated.

With a squad suited to the style so successfully employed by Chelsea, boasting superb wing backs, strong central midfielders and centre backs very comfortable with the ball at their feet; Tottenham went on a fantastic run scoring freely while also taking the scalp of leaders Chelsea.

While they lost to a resurgent Liverpool side this week it should be noted that injuries had forced them to revert to a 4 2 3 1 suggesting that they could return to form should their notable absentees, and adapted system, return soon.

Manchester United, having adopted  various adaptations of systems with Ibrahimovic at its peak, have hit form and are unbeaten since a 4-0 dismantling by Chelsea in late October. Mourinho has always been credited with the ability to adapt his system to his opposition but also to the players at his disposal; with the current form being enjoyed by Manchester United there appears no reason they will not enjoy a strong run in.

Arsenal and Liverpool complete the top six and are renowned as two teams that in full flow are incredibly easy on the eye. Both outstanding teams in their own right, these teams while still heavily in the race have both suffered indifferent recent form against lesser teams. Both enjoyed important wins this weekend but it is their pursuit of perfection and managerial stubbornness which links the two.

Jurgen Klopp manages Liverpool in charismatic fashion and is very loyal to his high intensity pressing style in which his teams start like a house on fire and look to strike early and leave their opponents no time to settle, blowing them away in the process. While when all of the cogs of this system are functioning well they are a joy to behold. Recent weeks have shown that when part of the team is not at its best, examples being Liverpool in the absence of Mane as an attacking force, or liverpools leaky defence; Liverpool struggle to grind out results. They are either utterly brilliant or find themselves failing to secure a victory. Liverpool were exceptional against a strong Tottenham team this weekend and while this will give Klopp confidence it must be said that it is not this type of game that Liverpool’s shortcomings have cost them.

An almost refusal to change his game plan in pursuit of the points when his philosophy has not resulted in a lead displays a lack of adaptability , and is perhaps the main reason Liverpool will come up short in a race to be champions.

This is a critique which has regularly been aimed at Arsene Wenger and Arsenal in the 12 years since they last won a premier league title. Wenger has always produced teams that portray fantastic technical football that is almost unplayable to any opposition on their day. Has as been the case for a number of seasons, Arsenal when not at their best refuse to revert to any other style of play other than to ‘out football’ the opposition. In games in which they have come up against a team of equal or superior ability they have refused to adapt and find new ways in which to become more effective, especially away from home. There was a spell in recent seasons in which much attention was placed on the fact that arsenal played a more solid counter attacking style away to the better teams which generally resulted in an upturn in fortunes. This hasn’t continued however and Arsenal while clearly one of the best teams in the division have struggled to maintain a serious title challenge.

With the premier league now boasting 6 sides capable of competing at the forefront of the league for honours, small margins will separate them in the pursuit of success. Chelsea stole a march on their competition by adapting their approach early in the season and as a result becoming well oiled in their new system; commencing on a historic run which in all probability has won them the title.

Chelsea’s title rivals Tottenham, Manchester City and Manchester United have all used their own failings as a means to encourage their own system adaptations,  resulting in a confidence that they have the tools required to combat all opponents.

Liverpool and Arsenal are just as strong at the rivals they are competing with.  The clear refusal to change their manager’s philosophy in order to win as many points as possible suggests that with the game evolving and levels of tactical awareness increasing amongst all premier league teams, Klopp and Wenger’s pursuit of football perfection, while supplying incredible highs and barnstorming runs, will ultimately always come up short over the length of a league season.