Nick Wright previews this weekend's clash between York City Knights and Hull FC
Alex Reid looks at whether the once ever-present appearance of English clubs in the later stages of the Champions League is set to become a thing of the past
Craig Dobson looks at QPR's decision to sack Neil Warnock and replace him with Mark Hughes
James Tompkinson reviews an excellent pre-season victory for the York City Knights against Yorkshire rivals Leeds Rhinos
Does it matter? If it does, should it? The two examples above seem to suggest it might not make a difference, and there are plenty more which make things even less clear. Spaniard Vincent del Bosque led his team to the ultimate prize in world football, perhaps even world sport, while Steve McClaren led England off the edge of the proverbial cliff, to name just two.
There was an advert for the World Cup, a Carlsberg one, which featured the most revered English sporting icons still alive, I’m sure you know it. I got goose bumps every time I saw it, and if you have any partiality to football, even this country, you would have too, especially when all goes silent and we hear... “For Bobby…” The beginning of the advert sees Stuart Pearce giving the team talk not Fabio Capello, and I can’t imagine anyone but an Englishman ever giving such a talk, to rile up your men as if stepping out to war, to enforce how proud they should be to wear that shirt when millions of people to give anything to don it! I bet Martin Johnson does it, and I bet he’s bloody good at it, but how does the English Andy Robinson get the Scottish rugby team riled to step out at Twickenham?
It varies from sport to sport. Not to take anything away from Andy Flower and his achievement in the Ashes, he was superb, but in Cricket there is a much greater emphasis on the captain, especially when out in the field. Andrew Strauss did an incredible job, and his role is far more prominent than that of a football or rugby captain, with Strauss having to deal with field placements, batting orders and arranging his bowling attack. So in cricket the captain deals more with the team morale, taking the emphasis off the manager and their nationality. In football and rugby however, there is a much greater emphasis on the manager to deal with all aspects of the team, not just training, but team wellbeing and morale, which is where the problem of nationality comes in.
Ultimately, whilst a manager’s nationality has no bearing on his expertise, indeed for some smaller sporting nations it may be preferable to bring in a foreign manager who has extensive experience and expertise from abroad, it is preferable to be a fellow countryman of the people you’re leading.
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