by Ray Burke

Created on: November 16, 2008   Last Updated: December 31, 2008

Who's to blame for poor team performances: Players or Manager?

After watching the recent football comings and goings among English Premiership managers, especially with the team I support, Tottenham Hotspur, and with other sports teams, I have now decided that it is the manager who has the ultimate responsibility when teams break down and start losing. There are many reasons for this.

First, take my team Tottenham Hotspur. We've had so many managerial changes in recent years it boggles the mind, but the dramatic difference between Juande Ramos and Harry Redknapp is there for all to see. Ramos was definitely not a bad manager; he is one of the best in Europe, which is why Spurs stole' him from Sevilla in the first place. He inherited a strong team and won the Carling Cup in his first few months. However, the Cup hangover lasted too long as he lost quite a few games after that, which continued into the current season. Many will blame the Board, the Director of Football and the selling of key players, but Spurs had done well under that regime for two years under Martin Jol, Ramos' predecessor. Ramos' managerial style didn't suit the system and he had a steep learning curve to master in English football. He steadily lost the support of the players and fans, and he too was summarily axed along with his assistants and the Director of Football.

Then in came Harry Redknapp, the well known wheeler-dealer East London boy, who has all but worked miracles and put a spring back in the step of Spurs, all with the same players. So what has happened? Yes, the Director of Football has gone, giving Redknapp control over transfers and players, but it is the confidence he has instilled within the team. He knows the English game intimately, knows that players need the love and respect to perform, and he can communicate that effectively. I believe that is where Ramos failed, and not just with the players.

Ramos had to learn English while managing, so there were bound to be a few misinterpretations. But he was also known as a disciplinarian, which the players complained about. There had to be some give and take between players and manager, which Ramos didn't seem to take to. This is illustrated in another one of my favourite teams, the NFL's New York Giants.

When Tom Coughlin came to the New York Giants, he was also known to be a disciplinarian, a martinet', as one media pundit put it, and the Giants were on a losing streak. But the players recognised there was room for change and had

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