I'm just wondering what it is about FdB that makes the difference for you, and what you base that on?
When we had our Pochettino debate you said that in terms of experience there wasn't much between him and Sherwood. With Pochettino having 2.5 years of La Liga experience and 1.5 of PL experience he has the same amount of managerial experience as Pochettino, only all of that is in one league significantly smaller than La Liga and the PL.
Similarly when talking about Pochettino the rise of Southampton under him was just them meeting expectations based on resources available to them. Obviously 4 league titles in a row is very impressive, but it's still Ajax in the dutch league. It's not some miracle.
So I'm just wondering what it is that sets FdB apart for you. Is it a couple of years managing youth sides and being an assistant at an international level? Seems a bit far fetched to me. Is it the big name and club connections that makes the difference? Are we really making managerial decisions based on playing experience?
I'm not saying that Pochettino is a better options than FdB, for me the two seem pretty close in terms of potential and risk. I'm just wondering what it is about FdB that sets him apart for you?
My central point about Sherwood v. Poch all along was that when you take all factors into consideration, netting in/out the positives and negatives, weighing risk v. reward, there wasn't much between them.
I'd use exactly the same criteria with FdB v. Sherwood v. Poch, and for me FdB wins. Exactly the same criteria: net all risk/reward, net all +/-. And at the end FdB beats the other two.
- X-Factor: It's Frank de Boer. Say the name to any football fan anywhere and they know who he is. Not the same with Poch or Sherwood. Nowhere close. This counts for
something, perhaps most of all in the transfer market. "Who's your manager?....oh Frank de Boer!?" like that.
- A related point to above: You'll remember a big part of my argument - in fact, probably my central argument - was along the lines that we can't appoint
someone who we don't 100% believe in. Poch would have been #4 or #5 behind the Galactico coaches we really wanted. Well, on my list every time of those Galacticos was FdB (with LvG and CA). So FdB isn't a #4 pick. He's more like =#1 pick. We can go balls-to-the-wall supporting him and investing in him. We can commit to a bumper 5 year "project" contract. We won't care if LvG or FSW becomes available because we'd already have our #1 man. (Personally, I might just have picked FdB ahead of LvG based on age + looniness factor all along.) I think this
psychology here is really, really important.
- If you remember in that debate you and I disagreed about whether a
playing career mattered. I said it did, and that Sherwood's 500 games in England counted for at least
something. I acknowledged that Poch's 500 games in Argie and Spain counted for something too, just less so because it wasn't England. With FdB, not only do we have the same 500 games, they are for Ajax and Barca, along with 112 caps for Holland. That's exceptional and not something you find every day.
- I mentioned
managers FdB worked under as a player: Cruyff, van Gaal, Beenhakker, Rinus Michaels, dingdong Advocaat. Plus the fact he came through the Ajax system with their stellar coaches/teachers. Again, it doesn't clinch an argument, but it counts to me.
- Experience: Poch had 2.5 years in Spain and got sacked at the end, +1.5 in PL. TS has .5 years in PL. FdB has 4 in Holland and won the title each time. All in all, I'm comfortable calling FdB the winner there. I agree 100% with you it's not a miracle. 100%. But it's 4 Eredeivise in a row. It's not nothing.
- Other coaching: FdB also has 3 years coaching Ajax youth, and 2 years assistant coach with Holland. This at least equals Sherwood's 5 years at that level at Spurs, and beats Poch who came to his first job cold. Also, at the end of that, Ajax looked at him and gave him the top job, meaning they must have liked what they saw in his junior coaching days.
- Youth: I said we don't know Poch's youth policy because the core of his team was there when he arrived. With FdB we know that promoting youth is in his DNA because that's how Ajax has worked for 50 years. FdB probably spends as much time looking at who's in his youth team as 1st team because he knows his 1st team are all going to be poached every year.
- Transfers: As far as I can see, Ajax don't really sign money players, promoting youth instead, so it's hard to say. Poch made a bad call on Osvaldo, and Sherwood we know pushed for the Eriksen signing. But really, there's not much to say about this. FdB is probably very comfortable with a DoF.
- Style: I actually believe all 3 of Poch, TS and FdB play attacking football so much of a muchness.
..............
I don't think I've been inconsistent. My argument all along has been if we can't get a Galactico, we shouldn't settle for 2nd choices and instead just stick with Sherwood. Well, on my list of Galacticos all along were 3 names: LvG, CA and FdB. Given we might get one of those, my argument about Sherwood is void.
Fwiw, I would love Sherwood to stay on and get mentored in the Dutch style if de Boer comes in, but I suspect he'll move on. de Boer would bring a bevy of coaches with him and where Sherwood would fit in is hard to see.
Finally, imagine FdB falls through now. How would you feel about giving "his" 5 year contract to Poch? How would that feel in your belly? To me, it would be a huge anti-climax and worry. It would feel like 2nd best. I'd still rather let Sherwood finish his final year and have another stab at another Galactico next summer.
) and their style and system of play was a joy to behold, obviously something that was embedded an an even earlier age. If that is a taster of what is come then I'm on board the FdB bandwagon.
