An Open Letter to Up and Coming English Managers

To all the Paul Inces, Tony Adamses, and Roy Keanes of the world,

Some of you guys have had a rough few months.  Once none of you could do wrong as managers.  Fans loved you, and many a pundit had hailed you as the second coming of Alf Ramsey and Patton all rolled into one media savy package.  Chairmen of clubs saw you as saviors in the uncompromising world of club football.  Then the losses began to mount, the locker room revolted, and the money men began to fear the loss of revenue with relegation.  Tough world trying to manage in the fishbowl that is the EPL, hell World Cup managers managers are getting the ax, and even back to back titles couldn’t save Mourhino.  Tough nut to crack and Christ there has to be a better way to make a few quid.  

I know all of you will find jobs, probably in the Championship or maybe even a lower division.  Even the great Brian Clough had to go to a lower division.  Or one of you can carry on the great English tradition of going overseas and teaching the world the nuances of the game.  In the history of every great football nation is an Englishman.  Argentina, Italy, Germany, et al. all were introduced to the game by Englishmen and taught how to improve their respective talents.  And one nation that could use a Paul Ince or a Roy Keane is the US.  Did any of you see US vs Mexico?  There’s talent on these shores, and I’m not knocking American born managers in the MLS, but none of them have the pedigree and history of being winners in some of the toughest leagues in the world.  None of them have played in the EPL, nor Serie A.  For a league that is desperate for world credibility, MLS doesn’t need a star player signing, but a star manager signing.  The league needs managers who know how a Manchester United develops players, how an Inter Milan trains, and how big clubs in Europe go about being big clubs.  Now you may think why would I go manage in what is basically the sticks of the footballing world?  Well you’ll have owners who could care less if you don’t win immediately, journalists who won’t question every single decisions you make, players who have egos the size of Toyota Prius, and one of the world’s largest talent pools in terms of just pure athletes.  In essence I’m saying be a huge fish in a small pond for a few years.  Sign a 3 or 4 year contract build a strong base for a team in the states, find out what works and what doesn’t, then move on.  Everyone of you wants to manage in the big leagues, but getting there may mean managing at a lower level.  And in terms of lower leagues I think MLS is the best of the bunch.  So think on this, the States man, only one man has ever come close to selling this game here and his name was Pele.  Could a Roy Keane finish what Pele started?  I think so, and you could rehabilitate your resume.  And don’t think by just managing here you’ll be forgotten by Europe.  The list of European clubs with joint venture programs with MLS teams are growing each year, so if you create a splash here it will get noticed.  So sleep on it, talk to the missus, discuss, mull it over and remember the words of one of this country’s greatest personalities “…if I can make it here, I can make it anywhere…”.