Managerial Crises

Filed in archive Premier League on December 21, 2009

After an emotionally charged weekend in football management, many different stories have circulated the news. Whether true or not, they make interesting reading.

Firstly, you will read how Hughes told his players at Man City, who have shown a surprising amount of team-spirit and lack of dissent throughout their first half-season together, to "finish the job" just before their 4-3 win over Sunderland, a moving message which has led Craig Bellamy's workers revolt to the desk of chief executive Gary Cook.

Secondly, another interesting story is the one which reports that Liverpool co-owner Tom Hicks has told ex-Germany coach Jurgen Klinsmann that he "will never manage Liverpool". During such a dire time for the club, and after recent events up the M62 at the blue end of Manchester, this is a surprising and yet good-spirited declaration of loyalty. Klinsmann has been angling for the job at Liverpool ever since the owners approached him two seasons ago during a dispute with Rafa Benitez, and he has done everything to undermine the current manager. Where Liverpool have gone, he has gone, and he was recently seen as a pundit on Sky Sports' coverage of Liverpool's recent defeat to Fiorentina. While Graeme Souness was inclined to agree with his main points thanks to dejection, Klinsmann was visibly buoyed by Rafa's misery.