Some quick thoughts to take the edge off your case of the Tuesdays or just brighten your week if you didn’t have the luxury of having yesterday off to consider the merit of presidents past, present and future (pictured today is blog favorite John Tyler, who some historians believe wore the 10 kit before becoming the tenth president):
A few weeks ago after the first friendly of 2012, U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann said he wanted to see more Americans in the UEFA Champions League. It would be awesome to get more Americans in Champions League and not just from a development standpoint. This one’s a pretty simple equation. We all love watching Americans play at the highest level. We all love watching UCL matches in the middle of the day. Americans+UCL=Amazing results. Plus it will continue to boost interest in the sport among the general sporting public.
Look at the Dempsey vs. Donovan (+Howard) hype that surrounded the FA Cup Fourth Round match between Fulham and Everton a few weeks ago. It didn’t hurt that it was basically the country’s three best players, but pit two Americans against each other and you’ve got a minute-long highlight on SportsCenter and coverage on all the major sites. Beautiful.
The Champions League Round of 16 matches not competing against each other is fantastic. As I mentioned, the UEFA Champions League makes for pretty solid viewing, but in the past it’s been tough to actually…view…all the matches since they’re played at the same time. Unfortunately, it still will be, but last week and this week we’ve had the pleasure of having matches in Russia. Moscow and Saint Petersburg are both four full hours ahead of London and company, so the matches are played back to back.
This gives fans a chance to catch both of our favorite Portuguese managers in action today, rather than just the one we’d have to choose between otherwise. I get that UEFA probably isn’t too concerned about TV viewership in the United States, so it’s unlikely this will be a permanent thing. But I might be pulling for more Eastern European sides just on the basis that the home legs of their ties will make my viewing experience that much more enjoyable.
Speaking of Mr. Villas Boas, it’s all well and good that he’s confident he’ll have his job next season, but even his denials can’t obscure how important this match and its return leg are for Chelsea. Get past Napoli and they’ll be the most successful English team in the Champions League this year and will have done it by accomplishing something Manchester City couldn’t, no less. Bounce from the competition and they’re no better than anyone else. The league form has been uninspiring and the team hasn’t looked good. The season will end without any hardware, and even making the top four will be a challenge.
With that said, is there any wonder Chelsea have struggled with so much inconsistency on the bench? One year hardly seems like enough time to give a manager to win world class football trophies. AVB showed he could do it at Porto, and while it’s been a rough year by Chelsea standards, they’re not exactly in danger of relegation.
It’s an interesting debate whether or not we’ll ever see another manager of a ‘big club’ get a long tenure like that of Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United. Ferguson has been at the club since 1986. Arsene Wenger has the second-longest standing at any English club with his 15 years, but that streak could be in jeopardy this season as Arsenal struggles. More than half of La Liga clubs have different managers than they did at this point last year.
While not every owner is as antsy as Abramovich, the world has changed. Fans complain instantly. Money plays a larger part than it ever has in sport. And, of course, the blame isn’t completely with the owners. Some star managers seem to be determined to work in every FIFA-recognized country at some point in their careers and happily hop from club to club.
The closest parallel is probably college football. You have guys who were beloved and had really long runs with their schools. But even the most recognizable, Joe Paterno and Bobby Bowden, had their fair share of critics at the end of their career (obviously JoePa’s exit was a different case, but it’s well documented the university was at least considering forcing him out several years before his career was hit by the Jerry Sandusky scandal).
In college football too, you have fans demanding a coach leave after one or two unsuccessful season at the start of their tenure. Sometimes it’s the right call to give a coach the axe early, but in many cases, and I think in that of AVB at Chelsea, it’s best to give the coach some time to congeal everything. It will be an intriguing plot line to this set of matches.
Thanks for reading Tuesday Thoughts. Post your own in the comments section, if you’d like. Will we ever see a manager stay at one club for two decades? Should UEFA start to cater to Americans’ every whim? Who is your favorite dead president? We’ll feature the best responses in next week’s Tuesday Thoughts…maybe.