Life begins at 40? Not if you’re an English football manager…

March 12, 2008 by Rob Scanlon

Paul Simpson’s appointment as Shrewsbury Town’s new manager got me thinking about young English managers this afternoon. No disrespect to Shrewsbury, but despite the broad grin on the face of Simpson as he held up a replica shirt at his unveiling, I would imagine he would rather be managing at a higher level. Simpson guided Carlisle to successive promotions despite numerous off the field problems and was building a burgeoning reputation. The Carlisle-born man was only recently named manager of the year, achieving a better points average over the season than Sir Alex Ferguson.

He then made a jump to a bigger club in the form of Preston, where after an initial honeymoon period in which his side topped the Championship, they finished one place off the play-offs. The club were forced to sell David Nugent and didn’t spend much in rebuilding the squad. Only 3 early season wins meant he was sacked in November.

So, after one poor start to a season, a 41 year old English manager is sacked and forced to rebuild his career at the bottom tier of the league ladder. There are a number of young English managers battling it out in League 2- Paul Ince, Mark Robins, and Dave Penney for example. Penny is another manager who worked wonders at a lower league club (Doncaster) and yet finds himself, at the age of 43, back in League 2.

The managers doing good jobs in the Championship are also rarely given a chance in the higher echelons of the game. Gary Johnson, with an incredible record, has never seriously been touted whenever a Premier League job has arisen, likewise Aidy Boothroyd. Alan Pardew, after leading West Ham to an F.A Cup final, is back in the Championship after failing to prevent the inevitable at Charlton. One league down and Paul Trollope, doing an excellent job at Bristol Rovers, is hardly a feature of any managerial gossip columns. In the past, Ronnie Moore, who steered Rotherham to unprecedented success over a number of years, was never given a shot at furthering himself and is currently at Tranmere and in his fifties.

From the Premiership, there are currently nine English managers from the twenty clubs. A healthy number on paper but when you consider which of these are young and up and coming, plus a prospective England manager, the odds shorten. Two are over 60 years old, one has managed England before and there would probably be a revolt if Gary Megson arrived at Soho Square. Of the rest, Alan Curbishley was a very faint outsider the last time and only Steve Coppell is a realistic contender should the National side come calling again. Gareth Southgate is a refreshing change to the rule-a young English manager given a chance. But for how long, if results remain inconsistent?

When one of the ‘big 4’ changes manager, they tend to opt for managers of international repute. When England scramble for a new manager they tend to do the same. It would be nice to see a young English manager, who has served their time at a lower level and forged a good reputation as a bright, successful and inventive boss, given a big chance.

What do you think? Can a Gary Johnson or a Paul Trollope ever be given a shot at the big time, whether it be a top four side or the national team? Let me know, leave a comment!

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