Swansea and Norwich were two of the biggest surprise packages of the Premiership last season, finishing 11th and 12th respectively after each amassing 47 points in a season that delighted both sets of supporters after their promotion from the Championship the season before.
And behind such success stories were the young British Managerial talents of Brendan Rodgers and Paul Lambert, who have transformed themselves from young apprentices to genuine tacticians who have learnt how to pick up points both home and away in the Premier Division, shocking teams up and down the land with their expansive and expressive styles.
However, as is typical of our beloved game, success is met with sudden elevation and lauded by melodramatic praise, as both managers, in creating such success stories, have been presented with new roles that have placed them into perhaps the biggest poisoned chalices, up alongside the Chelsea job.
Lambert, in taking the reigns at Aston Villa, and Rodgers, in replacing the Messiah-like figure of Kenny Dalglish have undoubtedly taken huge gambles in their careers in moving out of their comfort zones at clubs where they have been so highly acclaimed for taking their teams so far. Both have taken their clubs so far, and left so much unfinished business behind in pursuit of the upper echelons.
And it is hard to believe how both managers were previously struggling at lower-league clubs, with Lambert formerly the Manager of Colchester United, whilst Rodgers was dismissed as Reading boss after a string of poor results. Yet suddenly, after a season of defying the odds, both managers have been placed in charge of two clubs with tremendous histories and weights of expectation.
At Aston Villa, former boss Alex McCleish was always up against it following his tenure at local rivals Birmingham City, a club that were relegated under his management. All the while, at Anfield, Liverpool have struggled with Roy Hodgson and Dalglish failing to replicate the successes of Rafael Benitez, a manager who brought them so much silverware.
So for Lambert and Rodgers, they are each set to be subjected to the enormous task of rebuilding their respective clubs, with expectations and scrutiny perhaps too heavy to handle, a kind of pressure unprecedented in their clubs where success is merely a bonus. Only time will tell.
Tuesday, 5 June 2012
Kagawa to United
It is always an exciting moment for Manchester United fans up and down the land when a new signing is announced, yet today's announcement of the near completion of a move for Japanese playmaker Shinji Kagawa is a signing that comes out of the ordinary but one that could potentially be another Sir Alex masterstroke.
This time last year United completed the signings of Phil Jones and Ashley Young, two promising young English talents, proven at Premiership level and with years ahead of them. We all knew what United would be getting with these signings. However, there has been a dying need for the Reds to go out and find a creative midfielder, with the team crying out for a flair player to unlock defences, whilst also chipping in with a fair share of goals.
Wesley Sneijder, Luka Modric and more recently Eden Hazard have all been linked with such a move, but when Hazard opted for Stamford Bridge and the lure of joining a Champions League winning side, Ferguson had to move quickly to secure an alternative. And on paper, Kagawa's statistics suggest that he could be just what United have been searching for, a player who can provide for the goal hungry Rooney, Hernandez and Welbeck.
Kagawa has lit up the German Bundesliga with both assists and goals, and could easily leave Ferguson yet again as the last man laughing, especially if the astronomical figures quoted for Hazard prove to be another monumental piece of poor business for Chelsea.
Perhaps what this move demonstrates is exactly the stance that Ferguson continues to deploy in the transfer market; searching for hidden talents that can emerge as leading lights without the glamour of inflated fees and wages. And after all, this is a tactic that lead United to finish the season only seconds away from lifting a completely unexpected twentieth title, against a side oozing with multi-million pound signings from the upper echelons of World Football.
Kagawa, at 23, has years ahead of him, and with the Sneijder deal looking increasingly unlikely as every window passes, the Japanese youngster could develop and flourish to be another act of wizardry from the man who very rarely makes mistakes when it comes to signing players.
This time last year United completed the signings of Phil Jones and Ashley Young, two promising young English talents, proven at Premiership level and with years ahead of them. We all knew what United would be getting with these signings. However, there has been a dying need for the Reds to go out and find a creative midfielder, with the team crying out for a flair player to unlock defences, whilst also chipping in with a fair share of goals.
Wesley Sneijder, Luka Modric and more recently Eden Hazard have all been linked with such a move, but when Hazard opted for Stamford Bridge and the lure of joining a Champions League winning side, Ferguson had to move quickly to secure an alternative. And on paper, Kagawa's statistics suggest that he could be just what United have been searching for, a player who can provide for the goal hungry Rooney, Hernandez and Welbeck.
Kagawa has lit up the German Bundesliga with both assists and goals, and could easily leave Ferguson yet again as the last man laughing, especially if the astronomical figures quoted for Hazard prove to be another monumental piece of poor business for Chelsea.
Perhaps what this move demonstrates is exactly the stance that Ferguson continues to deploy in the transfer market; searching for hidden talents that can emerge as leading lights without the glamour of inflated fees and wages. And after all, this is a tactic that lead United to finish the season only seconds away from lifting a completely unexpected twentieth title, against a side oozing with multi-million pound signings from the upper echelons of World Football.
Kagawa, at 23, has years ahead of him, and with the Sneijder deal looking increasingly unlikely as every window passes, the Japanese youngster could develop and flourish to be another act of wizardry from the man who very rarely makes mistakes when it comes to signing players.
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