Does an attacking player make a better manager?

[SNSUN]

Just a little something for a debate: So the complete ineptitude of Pellegrino's continued reign (and a quiet night at work) was making me wonder whether a manager's playing position in their playing days made a difference to their managerial selves. This is the list of Saints managers since Ted Bates, bunched up into their playing day positions. (According to the gospel of Wikipedia)

 

Goalkeeper:

 

Adkins

 

Defender:

 

Chris Nicholl

Ian Branfoot

Dave Merrington

Dave Jones

George Burley

Gorman + Dodd

Pearson

Poortvliet

Wotte

Pochettino

Koeman (but let's be honest, he was more attacking than some strikers!)

 

Midfield:

 

Ball

Souness

Hoddle

Gray

Strachan

Wigley

Redknapp

Bassett and Wise

Pardew

Wilkins

Puel (though a defensive midfielder)

 

Striker:

 

None

 

Hardly played football/went straight into coaching:

 

McMenemy

 

I think it's pretty interesting that we've never had a striker as a manager. We've had some goalscoring midfielders, Hoddle, Souness, Strachan, Ball and a goalscoring defender in Koeman, but that's about it. Do strikers just not make good managers? Ferguson was a striker and Klopp was a striker to name but two successful managers. What do you make of this? Or does playing position not come into how good a manager is?

[Cascadia Saint]

Interesting to see it laid out like that. I’d take peak Adkins and Nicholl over almost anyone else there...

[Saint Without a Halo]

Interesting to see it laid out like that. I’d take peak Adkins and Nicholl over almost anyone else there...

 

Pochattino for me by far the best manager we ever had got the most out of every player young and old

The evidence is none performed as well at other clubs

[Faz]

It’s not just us, but apart from a few notable exceptions (Clough and Dalgleish spring to mind) very few strikers seem to go in to management. Probably because they’re generally flash, fancy dan types who don’t have that ruthless streak.

[Lighthouse]

It’s not just us, but apart from a few notable exceptions (Clough and Dalgleish spring to mind) very few strikers seem to go in to management. Probably because they’re generally flash, fancy dan types who don’t have that ruthless streak.

 

It seems a higher number go into media jobs when they retire. Lineker, Owen, Henry, Shearer, Le Tiss, Merson, Nicholas, Dowie, Cottee, McInally, Mellor...

[CB Fry]

It seems a higher number go into media jobs when they retire. Lineker, Owen, Henry, Shearer, Le Tiss, Merson, Nicholas, Dowie, Cottee, McInally, Mellor...

 

Dowie was a manager, did well at Oldham and Palace before a disastrous spell at Charlton. Luckily his time at Charlton was followed by true football management royalty.

 

Also, Paul Merson managed Walsall. True story.

 

And Shearer angled and angled for managerial jobs, then relegated Newcastle then kept quiet ever since.

[SuperSAINT]

Van Basten, Klinsmann, Cruyff, Gullit, Zola, Vialli, Pahars, Shevchenko, Montella, Zidane, Dalgleish, Toshack, Luis Enrique, Mark Hughes

 

That's off the top of my head.

 

Mancini & Keegan come to mind after reading your list.

[StrangelyBrown]

Brian Clough and Alex Ferguson spring to mind

 

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[Lighthouse]

Dowie was a manager, did well at Oldham and Palace before a disastrous spell at Charlton. Luckily his time at Charlton was followed by true football management royalty.

 

Also, Paul Merson managed Walsall. True story.

 

And Shearer angled and angled for managerial jobs, then relegated Newcastle then kept quiet ever since.

 

Van Basten, Klinsmann, Cruyff, Gullit, Zola, Vialli, Pahars, Shevchenko, Montella, Zidane, Dalgleish, Toshack, Luis Enrique, Mark Hughes

 

That's off the top of my head.

 

All true I suppose. TBH I haven't put all that much thought into it.

[doddisalegend]

Does an attacking player make a better manager?

 

Yes Shane Long's goal return could make any manager look **** and Harry Kane could probably make MoPe look good....oh that's not what you meant

Edited 3 February, 2018 by doddisalegend