Analysis

England's Golden Generation: Why have so many of the country's best players struggled in management?

England's so-called 'Golden Generation' failed to win any trophies and they have all had struggles as managers; only Steven Gerrard has claimed silverware from his time as Rangers boss, winning the Scottish Premiership in 2021 - but he is now under pressure in Saudi Arabia

Ben Grounds

Thursday 28 November 2024 14:09, UK

For England's 'Golden Generation', the pathway into elite-level management has often been a humbling experience.

Steven Gerrard's position as manager of Saudi Pro League club Al Ettifaq is understood to not be under serious threat, but one reason being floated for his stay of execution is due to him featuring prominently in a new Netflix series released later this month.

It would be highly embarrassing if the man once touted as the potential successor to Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool was to be dismissed before the programme airs.

The former Aston Villa boss has not experienced the sort of career injection to match the cash on offer at the Dammam-based club.

Gerrard has overseen just three wins in 11 Saudi Pro League fixtures this season and Al Ettifaq sit 12th in the table, just five points above the drop zone.

Liverpool's darling was perhaps the poster boy of the Sven-Goran Eriksson England era with his ability to snatch victories from the jaws of defeat, and yet the man capped 114 times for his country is the latest name to fail to replicate his glorious feats on the pitch in the dugout.

Wayne Rooney is working hard to make a success of his time as Plymouth manager, with the club currently 20th in the Championship - two points above the relegation zone.

When he was sacked as Birmingham boss after less than three months in charge, England's former leading goalscorer said it would "take some time to get over" his dismissal at St Andrew's.

The former Manchester United striker oversaw just two wins in 15 games following his controversial appointment in October. Birmingham seemingly targeted a stellar name to increase commercial opportunities despite starting the season well under John Eustace.

"They thought they were appointing a young manager who had always been popular and highly thought of by every group he's ever worked with," Sky Sports senior reporter Rob Dorsett said at the time of Rooney's exit.

"Tom Brady is an investor in Birmingham City and it was seen as a dream team. Brady the NFL superstar and Rooney the soccer superstar together at Birmingham, but it [was] pretty much an unmitigated disaster."

Both before and after his tenure, Rooney was likened to Gianfranco Zola, who was appointed by new owners in 2016 in place of the less recognisable Gary Rowett and oversaw a decline in results. Rightly or wrongly, many Birmingham supporters attribute those fateful 83 days with last season's eventual relegation.

Yet Rooney was back in the dugout, determined to show he had learned from mistakes and to prove himself barely five months after his sacking. His goal to one day manage Manchester United or Everton still burns, but will be stored right at the back of his mind.

Naturally, all top players who choose to take the route into management arrive with big ambitions to rise to the very top level - but cutting their teeth lower down the footballing pyramid and working with players inferior to themselves during their pomp is assumed to be one of the biggest hurdles.

Each managerial departure should be viewed on a case-by-case basis, with so much dependent on communication skills and how one handles the pressure. Marco van Basten and Thierry Henry will tell you that winning trophies as a player doesn't necessarily mean you will succeed in management.

While Gareth Southgate rose to national team head coach following relegation and his sacking as Middlesbrough boss earlier on in his career, there is a growing number of top-level managers who played the game at a lower level.

Eddie Howe and Gary O'Neil are England's leading lights in the Premier League, neither of whom can fall back on a cabinet of trophies to support their status. But as witnessed through both impressing as special guests on Monday Night Football, collecting results is football's only currency.

Players are responding more now to those whose coaching expertise can overcome an aura. They are cute to the cult of celebrity. Football is a young person's game and many who are now in their 20s will only have vague recollections of England's Golden Generation, among stories told by their parents.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Cole Palmer recently said when quizzed on the Zola comparisons: "I know he's an icon on FIFA so he must have been good. I didn't really watch him play but everyone says he was a great player."

Then there is the 'market value' of these gifted individuals upon obtaining their coaching badges, which is inflated.

Frank Lampard - who has been appointed the new manager of Coventry City - admitted he simply couldn't turn down the opportunity to manage at Chelsea, and then again at Everton, given the size of those respective clubs.

Merson: Why Coventry have moved for Lampard

Paul Merson told Sky Sports: "If you're getting rid of Mark Robins, you've got to bring in a name. You've got to bring in someone we're going to be talking about. Some owners of clubs just want to be mentioned.

"If Coventry go and get Frank Lampard or Robbie Keane, we are talking about Coventry in three weeks' time. We talk about Plymouth because of Wayne Rooney. Now it will be the same with Coventry.

"They will go big-name. They will go with someone who we’re going to be talking about, surely, otherwise I just don't see why they would have got rid of Mark Robins."

Lampard - like Rooney - had shown his credentials during his spell at Derby , but part of that success was due to his strong ties to Chelsea and his use of the loan market. Both at Stamford Bridge - twice - and at Goodison Park, the magnitude of the task proved too much once the stakes were raised.

Rooney's failure to build on Eustace's solid platform at Birmingham makes one question if it was the circumstance and unwanted scrutiny surrounding him replacing a popular manager that contributed to his quick demise. Eustace had lifted Blues away from relegation trouble during a 15-month spell.

Were his players unhappy with the decision? Or were there enough signs that Rooney would not succeed for the board to cut their losses ahead of the January transfer window last season?

At the age of 39, he has already now held four jobs. There is the constant battle to stay relevant while remaining patient for the right job, in the knowledge that it may not come around at the perfect time. Gerrard and Lampard, aged 44 and 46 respectively, are experiencing the same challenges.

Gerrard lasted a year at Villa, whose remarkable transformation under Unai Emery has highlighted the gulf in class - and what can be achieved when the right manager is put with roughly the same squad.

Gerrard claimed just 44 points in his 38 league games in charge. Across the same period, Emery took 77 and look where they are now.

Lampard's record as Chelsea caretaker at the end of the 2022/23 season saw him win just one game. For the likes of Lampard, Gerrard and Rooney, there is the fear of expiry and becoming forgotten.

A Champions League medal each as a player at club level, they never replicated that success wearing the Three Lions. These early experiences will have taught them a lot about what they don't want in management.

The hope is that having been through a revolving door of failures, the very qualities which helped them become the country's Golden Generation will enable them to turn their fortunes around.

Such persistence was shown initially by Sol Campbell before his admittance last year that he would not be applying for jobs in football management anymore. Campbell perhaps deserved more opportunities than short spells with Macclesfield and Southend.

David James had two short spells with Indian Super League side Kerala Blasters, where he finished his playing career.

John Terry and Ashley Cole have so far taken on assistant roles without being No 1s, while Gary Neville's stint as Valencia manager was shortlived. He, like Rio Ferdinand and Paul Scholes, have turned to punditry after the latter had spells as Oldham manager and caretaker at Salford.

Before them was former England captain Tony Adams, who lasted just 106 days at Portsmouth after Harry Redknapp left for Tottenham in October 2008. Having already worked at Wycombe, former Arsenal defender Adams took only 10 points from 16 league games in charge and his win percentage of 18.2 across all competitions remains the lowest of any manager in the club's history.

His next offer came in Azerbaijan before he lost all seven games as manager of Granada as they were relegated in 2017. Adams has been closer to a ballroom dancefloor than managing again.

Many clubs now think twice about how such high-profile appointments will be received by fanbases who are wise to PR campaigns compromising progress.

During his 18 months out of the game, Newcastle boss Howe utilised the time to reinvigorate himself, looking at his coaching philosophy, his training methods and how he went about recruiting players. Learning through adversity has proven to be the making of him.

Graham Potter appears to have taken the same path to bide his time and eventually come back a better manager for his brief Chelsea reign.

Lampard is now ready give it another shot, succeeding Mark Robins after a hugely successful seven-year spell at Coventry, propelling the Sky Blues from League Two strugglers to the cusp of the Premier League after taking over as boss in 2017.

He knows there will be those judging him from the off, in the same way Rooney ultimately couldn't build on the foundations put in place by Rowett at Birmingham.

The Golden Generation fell short on the pitch with England and have struggled further off it. You wonder how many more knocks on the managerial merry-go-round they will take before they are lost to the game.

"The whole Golden Generation thing is quite frustrating for us players," Lampard said in November 2009. "We didn't make it up. It is difficult. People talk about the Golden Generation because we have a good crop of players. They are very talented individuals but we have not made the most of it.

"The Golden Generation should only be said once you have won something... once we have finished playing and, hopefully, have won something."

It should be reiterated, England aren't the only nation to produce world-class players to have witnessed footballing legends not make the transition into management. There is no divine right nor correlation between playing ability and managerial acumen.

But Lampard knows the moniker will follow him around during his early weeks in the West Midlands, whether he likes it or not.

It is up to him and others to remove themselves from the shadow of the Golden Generation by carving successful management careers from the opportunities afforded to them.

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