WENGER: BEING A MANAGER IS LIKE A LIFE SENTENCE

• zocoss

  5 Oct 08, 11:51

  

   

  THE debate over who is the better manager – Arsene Wenger or Sir Alex Ferguson – will rage between Arsenal and Manchester United supporters for years to come.  

  Ferguson’s record speaks for itself and Wenger’s ability to spot and nurture young talent is unparalleled. But Arsenal’s clash with Roy Keane’s Sunderland yesterday highlighted one area in which Wenger is lagging well behind his rival.

  
  

  Four of Ferguson’s fledglings – Keane, Mark Hughes at Manchester City, Steve Bruce at Wigan and Paul Ince at Blackburn – are currently in charge of Premier League clubs. Wenger, though, is yet to see any of his old boys make a successful step into English management.

  
  

  The anomaly is all the more surprising given Wenger is one of football’s great philosophers and demands players become disciples of his methods. But Wenger has a simple explanation for the puzzle – his former players have not been prepared to give up their lives. David Platt and Paul Merson tried their luck as managers and failed, while Tony Adams found the going too tough at Wycombe and is now learning the ropes as Harry Redknapp’s assistant at Portsmouth. Only time will tell whether Steve Bould, Nigel Winterburn or Dennis Bergkamp will be willing to make enough sacrifices to successfully step up from coaching and follow Wenger’s example.

  
  

  “I have some players who have become coaches and managers and I feel, at least I have not put them off from doing the job,” said Wenger. “There is always big satisfaction when your players become coaches and managers because from generation to generation you want your philosophy to survive. A manager is a strong guide inside the club for the players. “David Platt went for it, Paul Merson went for it but they stopped again. Tony Adams, Nigel Winterburn, Lee Dixon and Martin Keown – I expect them all to do it. Steve Bould is a very good coach at the moment, but being a manager is not always about quality. It’s more a sign of craziness.

  
  

  “It’s a choice of life. For me, it’s a job for a single man. You have to be single and single-minded as well, and ready to sacrifice a lot of your life. “Not everybody wants to do that after having played, like Steve Bould. He played from the age of 18 and he has children. But in our job you must be ready to take your luggage from one day to the next and go to Greece, Japan, or wherever. It is not a family life.

  Determination was never going to be a problem for Keane and Wenger believes the Irishman has channelled his aggressive streak perfectly since moving into the dugout. He said: “The intensity of the motivation, the desire to do well, was something you could see in Keane as a player that would make him a good manager. 

  
  

  “Time has healed some of his aggression. He was so intense as a player that sometimes the tackles were flying high between Patrick Vieira and him. Most of the time it was Keane because Vieira was not the provocative player. Sometimes players like Roy Keane play like that and never manage. Committed players don’t always become managers, but it is remarkable what Roy has already done at Sunderland. “It doesn’t surprise me at all, though. He certainly has the qualities to become a great manager.”

  Wenger did also point out Ferguson cannot match one of his records with ex-players. But whether the Scot would want his United stars to follow David Seaman on to ‘Dancing on Ice’ is a whole new debate.