What Makes a Good Premier League Manager?

As fans we often see Premier League managers taking the brunt of a club and its supporter's criticism when their club has failed to perform. When people consider Premier League odds they tend to think about the team as a whole and that includes how the manager has helped them perform.

Great Tactics

Performing well as a premier league manager requires expertise in a wide range of disciplines, possibly starting with their ability to tactically steer their club to success. Formulating the perfect blend of the correct lineup, the most effective style of play and the pace at which the team rolls out their game all need to be orchestrated perfectly in a winning strategy that is ever-changing throughout the football season. A top manager will fluidly deal with these differences, home and away games, the needs of selecting a team with a view to the opposing team and their strengths and weaknesses takes much understanding of both individual teams in the league and also the venue's effects on performance. Each future match is a project full of tactical and practical decisions for the manager well before any boots run out onto the pitch.

Knowing How To Get The Best From The Team

Getting your team to perform to their best is no easy task, players are individuals with their own strengths and weaknesses. Knowing each individual player well enough to spot these traits is one thing, being able to communicate seamlessly with players to get the best out of them and keep them feeling supported individually as well as part of the team overall is a time-consuming business and one that can easily be the difference between success and failure. Even the best, most seasoned players make mistakes or fail to grasp a manager's expectations for them during a game. When this happens the manager needs to take control of the situation and get across to the player quickly what they are expecting from them. Thinking on their feet while communicating their needs to players who often are larger than life characters with equally large pay packets can sometimes be a challenge only the best managers in the premiership can master. For example, Bacary Sagna recently talked about Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta saying “Football is football and I know everything can fall away in no time. I’m sure Mikel will be on their backs, telling them that they have quality but the results only come from putting in maximum effort and concentration into every game.”

A Seamless Decision Maker

It is not just Premiership managers who need exceptional decision-making skills, the ability to cope with multiple decisions that each have an individual and combined effect is something top-flight managers in many industries face. Timing will always be a key factor in a premiership manager's decisions, often work is required to ensure his needs are listened to. This is especially true when buying or selling players as often this is a decision which clubs have much to say over and the power to command decisions they feel are in the club's best financial interest.