Good players don't make good managers is nonsense - I'm backing Wayne Rooney

15 October 2023 , 01:00

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Wayne Rooney is the new Birmingham City boss (Image: Nathan Stirk/Getty Images)

I see Wayne Rooney has got another chance in management, and good luck to him.

I don’t think I’ve ever mixed socially with him, even though we have a slightly similar story from the same city, but I’ve heard some good things about his coaching ability, so I’m wishing him every success.

It looks like a good opportunity for him. He didn’t have the best of times at Derby, where there were financial restrictions and his team eventually got relegated, and by all accounts, it didn’t go too well at DC United in the States either.

I’ve already heard all that tired mantra of ‘good players don’t make good managers’. It’s lazy, cliched nonsense. I’d turn it around and say, just because you were a bad player it doesn’t mean you’re going to be a good manager!

It doesn’t matter whether you were a great player, a nobody or a bang-average journeyman. What matters is your understanding of the game, your grasp of the technical and tactical aspect, your ability to manage way beyond simply picking a team to go out on the pitch.

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I played against Wayne quite a few times, and I’d say his qualities as a player will help him in management. I saw someone who understood the game, and could adapt on the pitch when things go wrong.

That’s what you need as a manager. Of course, you have your ethos, your plans, your way of playing, and it’s still true as a manager that you have to put a lot of time into your strengths, even if these days analysis of the opposition is important too.

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