Wow, I think it'll be pretty cool to see him as No.2, hope we get him or Quieroz. The manager seems to be going after a lot of staff that have passion. (Smith, Heinze, ??cantona??) Maybe he's looking to get that hunger going again.
Seems quite foolish to me - on par with hiring Smith in March... What coaching experience has he shown outside of beach soccer? The tribulations of expert players trying to be coaches (and failures) have been so well documented over the years, it isn't even worth going in to. Ask Magic Johnson or Micahel Jordan what it's like to be on the "other side"... If the man wants to coach, great; give him the technical skills coaching position of your youth quad for a few seasons. If he handles that well, promote him to Manager. Then Asst. Mgr of the Reserves. Then Manager of the Reserves. Then let him go be head coach of a first division side. If after all of that, he still wants to be manager - I'd welcome him with open arms and a brand new scepter for his throne. It might take him five or more years but this is the best club in the world; we got here by having the best at each position in the club. Taking someone who has ZERO professional coaching experience and putting him 2nd in command is the most foolish thing SAF could do, IMO.
What part of "Cantona, 38, is more likely to help groom stars of the future as part of the youth set-up. It is believed talks between Ferguson and his one-time talisman have already started." did you guys miss?
The Sun seems to run this same story every year. There are probably as many examples of star players being very successful in coaching/management as those that have flopped.
It would be vey beneficial to have him teaching our youngsters... what are the odds 10 years from now the entire 1st team (all from the youth system, of course) can pass the ball around to each other when keeping possession without it ever hitting the ground... via that trademark Eric Cantona click of the heel!
I think he's just being brought in to teach the lads how to deal with hecklers during the upcoming fixture at Selhurst Park.
Eric is king, but I am not sure about this at all. 'Do you think I should be playing it more on the ground or knocking the ball over the top boss?' 'Well, you zee the sardines, when the fish follow the trawler ...' Eric was fantastic at leading by example - doing extra training, practising until the cows came home. But do you honestly think he can communicate his ideas as well as he demonstrates them? I think he would be ideal as a youth team coach. But not as a number two to SAF.