A tale of two managers or how to play off the media

Terror Tim

So, the "poor" treatment of millionaire footballers, in the shape of Tottenham manager Tim Sherwood demonstrating his frustration on the touch line, is inappropriate according to some in the media? I beg to differ.

A handful of these millionaire footballers apparently have to be treated with caution, even when they are conning the world by not being able to make a 10-yard pass to a team-mate.

Who doesn’t want to play for Spurs if that is the case?

Sherwood’s reactions were one borne of frustration and disbelief; frustration in that his team were consistently carved up whenever Arsenal advanced with the ball (early in the first half), and disbelief at the sheer inadequacy of play at hand.

One would be a fool to argue against the fact that Sherwood’s sides have always come out far stronger in the second half than the first, and that surely comes down to the manager putting his foot down the throats of a few meandering players.

The Tottenham squad are at the crossroads this season.

Expensive signings were made and the previous manager attempted (and failed) to sew together a cohesive team with those signings, was subsequently sacked, and now Sherwood is in charge. His philosophy for using youth team products is admirable, though much of what he can do is patchwork.

There is no glue that holds this team together, as a mere few seasons ago Spurs could boast of Luka Modric, Rafael Van Der Vaart and Gareth Bale as among the three midfielders in attack.

Today? Well, Nabil Bentaleb, Nacer Chadli and Andros Townsend carry that mantle. Yet, still being in with a shout for Champions League qualification next season is a moral victory. But how much value such victories hold in football is up to the directors themselves.

Referee Mourinho

The decision has been made by the football authorities... Jose Mourinho will pick the referees for future Chelsea games.

Here is a man who has tried (and succeeded) to ruin the careers of decent referees and pretty much gotten away with it.

In March 2005, accusations of bias spewed from Jose’s mouth as he insisted Anders Frisk and then Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard had a meeting at half-time in a UEFA Champions League tie between Chelsea and Barcelona (breaking FIFA rules), though no proof came out of it (a true politician in the making possibly).

Nevertheless, Mourinho’s loyal brigade of supporters (namely Chelsea hooligans) came out of the woodwork, bombarding Frisk with death threats causing the Swedish referee to retire prematurely shortly after.

Mourinho arrived on the big stage of football as an intelligent, tactically astute young man clearly on the verge of making a football transformation.

He has more recently reduced himself to an aging individual whose favourite pastime is whinging and being hypocritical.

But Shebby, you ask, aren’t most managers hypocrites when it comes to decisions made on the field?

From Arsene Wenger’s “I did not see the incident” to the countless “I’ll need to look at the replay, as I did not have a clear view of the incident” excuses being spewed out daily, managers innately feel the need to defend the actions of their players.

After all, the manager is essentially all that stands between a poor performance and a royal shellacking in the press.

Mourinho has mastered the art of drawing media attention away from his players, and unto himself – forever endearing him to his players (thus his famous man-management skills).

He can, and will always, point to the number of trophies he has won (and he has won a few).

However, the legacy he has left behind at his previous clubs is non-existent.

Inter Milan fell into disrepair as Mourinho conveniently decided against any form of long-term development in favour of a win-now mentality.

His Italian exploits decidedly paid off in the short-term - Inter turning from Champions League winners to no European football in less than five years.

Then, after Mourinho took over Real Madrid, the Spanish giants garnered a new reputation for kicking any Barcelona player that moves, with the Portuguese doing his part off-field too, infamously poking then backroom staff Tito Villanova in the eye.

I feel a tinge of disappointment, however, as it seems more and more that Mourinho is comfortable with coaching just enough to ensure victory, and would rather spend far more time playing the media game.

Case in point, Didier Drogba. The love-in between the two when Chelsea met Galatasaray for their Champions League clashes verged on erotic; waxing lyrical about management skills (Drogba to Mourinho) and striker's instinct (Mourinho to Drogba).

It would certainly seem like all that emotion had psyched poor Drogba out – he was non-existent over three hours of play. Alas, life goes on and Mourinho will gladly talk up the next former player he has coached if it ensures their complete anonymity over the course of a game.

Chelsea secure progress against the Turkish side which, despite knocking out a shellshocked Juventus side in the group stages, always looked like walkovers for any team lucky enough to face them.

Will the Blues enjoy such comfort in the Champions League quarterfinals? Well, even if they don't, they can always blame UEFA and the way the draw is made.

If that doesn’t stand, I’m sure Mourinho will still find a way to blame someone. – March 20, 2014.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.