The Next Manchester City Manager: Ronald Koeman?
By Joe Hulbert
A somewhat underwhelming season is about to come to an end in the blue side of Manchester and there has been a great deal of speculation regarding the future of Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini. Pellegrini has failed to deliver a trophy in his second season in charge at City and he has been criticized for his naivety in the UEFA Champions League. With managers like Carlo Ancelotti and Jurgen Klopp sure to be unemployed very soon, many City fans have called for Sheikh Mansour to sack Pellegrini and appoint a big name. However, such names are unlikely as City now have a philosophical style that they look for in candidates for the job.
More from Man City Transfer Rumors
- Real Madrid to sign Julian Alvarez next year?
- Man City submit new bid for Matheus Nunes, after first was rejected
- Manchester City’s busy transfer week rounded-up
- Manchester City reported to make a sensational move for FC Barcelona midfielder
- Fulham and West Ham register interest in Manchester City defender
Pellegrini: A man under pressure. Credit: Manchester City FC Facebook page
Firstly, managers must be grounded and calm. This rules out a man like Klopp, as he is known to be very fiery and intense on the touchline. The former FC Barcelona directors that run City’s day to day operations appointed the likes of Frank Rijkaard and Pep Guardiola at Barca, these are two men who didnt attract negative press to the club. Secondly, possession football is the requirement for the football club. All of the City youth teams play possession football with a high defensive line so that rules out Klopp who prefers a counterattacking style and Ancelotti who prefers a direct style.
The man who the board ideally want is Pep Guardiola, but this seems extremely unlikely to happen over the summer. In a press conference in which BBC Sport were present, Guardiola was quoted as saying
“I’ve already said 200 million times – I’ll be here next season. That’s it”. Guardiola appears to be a loyal man who wouldn’t walk out on Bayern Munich, City should look elsewhere.
One man who fits both of the requirements of the management is Ronald Koeman of Southampton. In a summer where Koeman lost key players such as Rickie Lambert and Adam Lallana, he replaced them with better players such as Graziano Pelle and Dusan Tadic. Koeman has consistently played attractive football at Southampton, they average around 53% possession per game and Koeman has been credited for being adventurous in the big games. Southampton’s style can be seen in the image below thanks to whoscored.com.
Credit to Whoscored.com
He has also displayed the tactical flexibility that appears to have been lost under Manuel Pellegrini. Koeman has used formations ranging from 3-5-2 to 4-3-3 in his bid to push Southampton into the European places. Pellegrini has been heavily criticised for playing the 4-4-2 formation too much and leaving City overwhelmed in the midfield. In recent weeks Pellegrini has adapted, but its been too little too late.
Something else Koeman has managed to do successfully is involve Southampton’s academy players. Jake Hesketh, Sam Gallagher, Harrison Reed and Matt Targett have all made appearances under Koeman who stresses the importance of giving young players time in the first team at the highest level. Pellegrini hasn’t really done this, the only player who has been promoted from the academy under his reign is Jose Angel Pozo, and this was only due to injuries in the squad, if one was to be cynical.
Calling for Pellegrini’s head may seem a little harsh, but he hasn’t achieved what has been expected. He was supposed to come into the club and develop the team into an effective UEFA Champions League side and he has not done that yet. The team has indeed endured tough draws, but the Citizens haven’t even been close to winning a big European game since Pellegrini has taken charge. However, he has done a nice job domestically and has delivered two trophies in two years. The hierarchy will take this into account before they make a drastic decision about Manuel’s future.
Koeman is the sort of manager the owners should be going after, it’s not about getting a big name. Barcelona are on the verge of winning the treble under a man who managed a mid-table team in the La Liga last year. City should go for a manager who fits their ideals, and Koeman would be the ideal sort of appointment if Pellegrini were to leave the club this summer.
Southampton look set to finish this season in the top 7, this is an incredible achievement if you consider what happened over the summer with their manager leaving and the spine of their team all departing to Liverpool. Some experts were even tipping the Saints to be in relegation trouble, yet Koeman has proven the media wrong and he has got on with his job in a professional manner. Koeman has been behind this drastic improvement with smart signings, excellent tactics and creating a team spirit at the club. He is most certainly someone who would benefit the club on and off the pitch.