Matt Clark
24 Dec 2005, 10:43 AM
... come on! Nothing on the Saints' Christmas Panto (http://sport.independent.co.uk/football/coca_cola/article334978.ece)?
Rupert Lowe, the Southampton chairman, unveiled his ninth manager in as many years yesterday and declared it was "a great day" for the club. Lowe's confidence was enhanced by the simultaneous promotion of the club's performance director to director of football.
...
However, there was an early indication that the journey would not necessarily be a smooth one when Woodward said he still had ambitions to be a manager, but was putting them on hold for "two to three years". Burley, having expressed the wish that he would be at the club "for a very long time", then admitted his contract was for two and a half years.
What a set-up - Woodward as Director of Football with George Burley, who's yet to manage a club where he hasn't falled out with the board, as "Head Coach".
It's either insane, or genius. The initial temptation is to laugh and give it six months maximum before Lowe is looking for the next mug to help him live out his man-crush on Woodward. But think about it some and it might even work. Burley is a very good coach and largely wasted in the administrative capacity that British managers are still expected to fulfill. Woodward, for his part, is a proven quality when it comes to improving players' performance on an individual basis.
What will be interesting is how they handle transfers. In theory, Woodward controls those, but it's surely hard to envisage that he will be buying Burley's players for him - or, conversely, that Burley would have to get Woodward's agreement before bringing in a player he wants.
Southampton are going to be one of the stories of 2006, methinks.
Rupert Lowe, the Southampton chairman, unveiled his ninth manager in as many years yesterday and declared it was "a great day" for the club. Lowe's confidence was enhanced by the simultaneous promotion of the club's performance director to director of football.
...
However, there was an early indication that the journey would not necessarily be a smooth one when Woodward said he still had ambitions to be a manager, but was putting them on hold for "two to three years". Burley, having expressed the wish that he would be at the club "for a very long time", then admitted his contract was for two and a half years.
What a set-up - Woodward as Director of Football with George Burley, who's yet to manage a club where he hasn't falled out with the board, as "Head Coach".
It's either insane, or genius. The initial temptation is to laugh and give it six months maximum before Lowe is looking for the next mug to help him live out his man-crush on Woodward. But think about it some and it might even work. Burley is a very good coach and largely wasted in the administrative capacity that British managers are still expected to fulfill. Woodward, for his part, is a proven quality when it comes to improving players' performance on an individual basis.
What will be interesting is how they handle transfers. In theory, Woodward controls those, but it's surely hard to envisage that he will be buying Burley's players for him - or, conversely, that Burley would have to get Woodward's agreement before bringing in a player he wants.
Southampton are going to be one of the stories of 2006, methinks.