Jobs For The Boys: Really Fulham?
We all know the saying. It means giving work or opportunities to friends and family members instead of choosing people based on their actual skill or experience. Well, we’re seeing another glaring example of it yet again.
I admired and respected Alvaro Arbeloa as a player, but coaching Real Madrid’s youth team and handling their first team for a couple of months should not win you a 3-year coaching contract at Fulham in the almighty Premier League, absolutely not. He did very well at the youth level with Castilla, respect for that, but I’m just not having it. You have reputable youth coaches in England, reputable Premier League assistant coaches like Jason Tindall at Newcastle, who probably couldn’t get a chance at Cheltenham if set off on his own right now. But Arbeloa gets a Premier League job right from the off?
We all remember the flak that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer received for not having a very impressive CV before coaching at United. At least he had been coaching first team football for six years and actually won a couple of titles before getting the job; even then people said he didn’t deserve it because he got relegated with Cardiff. If Arbeloa had spent years as an assistant when Madrid went on that insane Champions League run under Zidane, then fine, because now you’re in Arteta under Pep territory. But this is not that scenario and I don’t like it all.
I don’t like that he can just walk into a Premier League job because he was a successful player and worked briefly for Madrid at the senior level. I also don’t like the amount of risk Fulham is taking after losing a coach that kept them pretty stable around the middle of the table for years. They have no idea how this man will handle a full Premier League season, let alone a season in England after living in Spain for so long. Suppose he flounders and then they find themselves in a relegation scrap after years of safety and stability. Then they’ll be calling Sean Dyche for help and the merry-go-round continues.
Personally, I’m ready to see the merry-go-round stop to kick a bunch of the familiar faces off and to let some new faces on. I’m tired of seeing former players who have little-to-no experience coaching a first team getting first team jobs in first tier leagues. I’m tired of promising mid-table coaches not getting a shot at the bigger clubs. I’m tired of seeing currently failing managers repeatedly get jobs at the top clubs or in the top leagues simply because they did something impressive 15-20 years ago. Exhibit A: I’m sorry Jose, you were absolutely the main man back in the day, one of my favorite coaches. But when Fenerbahce kicks you out, no one should be talking about bringing you back to a club like United without a return to glory elsewhere. There really are some very promising coaches out there and I think it’s past time they be given more of a chance.
