Maresca and Amorim faced the music – those who wield real power should do the same | Will Unwin

The manager is no longer the most important person at a football club – perhaps it is time for those above them to front up to the media

“Since I joined the club, the last 48 hours have been the worst because many people didn’t support us” and “I came here to be the manager, not to be the coach” will ultimately be the managerial epitaphs of Enzo Maresca and Ruben Amorim. Maresca instigated a chain of events at Chelsea that resulted in his departure, while open sourness between dugout and hierarchy at Manchester United rapidly descended in a civil war which ended with Amorim’s abrupt sacking on Monday.

It is the nature of being a head coach – sorry Ruben … manager – that they are required to face journalists potentially four times a week in press conferences. Additionally, they need something to say to rights-holder broadcasters, who conduct separate interviews. Not many embrace the challenge; for some it is an entirely irritating aspect of the role, a distraction from the training pitch, especially when results are not going well. Continue reading...