by JohnBull » Wed Jun 09, 2004 5:25 pm
The best managers have always been sharp lads who under-achieved in their careers. Cloughie was a good player but never got the chance to reach his prime, Shanks and Paisley were good players but their footballing brains were better than their skill on the pitch. The double with Dalgleish was because he was Player-Manager(if he hadn't come off the bench in the last 10 games we would never have won it). His win with Blackburn was a fluke which soon showed up the following seasons.
A clever player without the necessary ball skills seems to see the weaknesses and strengths of players better than the "great" players who cannot seem to understand that lesser mortals just can't do it.
I've read as much as I can about Benitez and I'm very hopeful about the next few seasons.
JohnBull