Guest Post by West Ham Way
Following on from my previous article on importance of developing a coherent footballing philosophy throughout all levels of our club, I thought I’d explore the importance of what I consider to be a vastly underrated quality in football management – namely that of passion.
Passion is infectious. Passion is obvious. Passion is what inspires us and connects us. Passion is the lifeblood of the football fan, and for that matter, the footballer himself – who requires it to reach his full potential. Team spirit can be instilled through the passion of the manager, his captain, and the players themselves, or it can be felt through the energy of the fans themselves – the famous twelfth man. For a club to be all working in the same direction, for common goals, it should be present at every level of the club and in my view it is the primary responsibility of the chairmen and the board to ensure that it is. On that point it is clear that they could be doing more to ensure that it is.
Of course, the inverse is also true. A lack of passion is a cancer that eats away at a club, rapidly creating disharmony and discontent.
Take Manuel Pellegrini for example – he may tick all the right boxes as to what he says to the media, be fully on board with the clubs youth development policy, he may be a great technical coach, a great tactician, or possess any other football management skill, but it is blatantly obvious to me that he lacks passion. Sure, he might have some great players, and for a time they may play well as a team, but, when the rubber meets the road, does he have what it takes to inspire his teams? Current evidence would suggest not. If you lack passion, you are unlikely to succeed for very long, and you will quickly lose the support of fans as a result, making your position untenable.
Contrast his situation with that of Aston Villa manager, Tim Sherwood. Granted he has not been in his post very long, but his transformation of that club has been palpable. Of course, the jury is still out on his other managerial talents – which like passion are pre-requisites for building long-term success, but the whole club has literally been transformed from its utter, utter misery under Paul Lambert – whose dour disposition was the polar opposite of passion. In my view, we are crying out for such a unifying transformation here at West Ham, we can only hope that our chairmen heed our cries.
One thing is for sure, the very best managers all possess the ability to inspire their players. Mourinho inspires his teams by creating a siege mentality and selecting only those who fully buy into his approach. Ferguson was at the same time a father figure and the headmaster. Bobby Robson was just such a great man – his players loved him like a grandfather. Pep Guardiola was the La Masia top student turned club captain who won it all – every sinew in his body radiates the tiki-taka philosophy that has dominated that club for as long as anyone can remember. The common theme here is the passion that radiated from each of these coaches, surely a massively important element of the success they experienced.
Of course, like many relationships in today’s world, passion does not always last for ever. The ability of any manager to feel that passion is limited. This is the natural cycle of a modern manager – once the passion is gone, both sides move on – which, of course, is in their own best interests. But passion remains an essential element that connects the team to the fans; wherever there is none you are sowing the seeds of discontent, creating disharmony, and, like a loveless marriage, you are destined for a miserable coexistence at best.
For too long, the quality of passion has gone under the radar of chairmen in their hiring process – not least the chairmen we have had over the years at West Ham.
Passion may not be the be all and end all of important managerial qualities, but without it the clock is most definitely ticking on the relationship. Eventually the alarm bells will start ringing. Now is the time for the chairmen to wake up and realise that we fans have a urgent need for that passion to flow through our claret and blue veins once again. COYI.