Taylor and Barnes prove that being a manager isn’t easy

Being a manager is a very tough job. When we watch players on the pitch we all think we know what they should be doing but in our heart of hearts we know that we ourselves can’t do it. When you look at any professional doing their job, be they a brain surgeon or a plumber, we know that we cannot do what they do.

Better

When it comes to being a football manager absolutely every single football fan thinks they could do that job and do it a bloody sight better than the man in charge currently does! We are all wrong, but we all believe we could pick a better team, come up with better tactics, be better at motivation, buy better players and get better results.

The fact is, of course, that management is very difficult and skilled business. There are very few who become top rate managers and even fewer who at one time or another don’t face the dreaded vote of confidence followed by the inevitable sacking.

High profile

In last few days in England two high profile managers trying to earn a living managing in the lower leagues have come to the end of the road in their current jobs. Both of them are former England footballers and one of them even managed the England team, albeit for just one game. Whilst neither manager has had a good or anywhere near good start to the season and there will be few of the fans of the two clubs shedding any tears about their departure, they are both men with a vast knowledge of the game and great experience. If they can’t get it right, who can?

John Barnes had been at Tranmere just since the start of the season when he took charge of the team with his old Liverpool team-mate Jason McAteer as his assistant. With just two wins from eleven games and the side sitting third from bottom of League One, nobody can claim that their reign has been successful.

History

Barnes had previously had an unsuccessful spell as manager of Celtic and then had a long period out of the game before becoming manager of Jamaica which he gave up to take the Tranmere job. He may not have a great history as a manager but his experience as a player was second to very few. With seventy-nine England caps and several club medals to his name, he was one of the greats and is a member of the English Football Hall of Fame.

Peter Taylor had been at Wycombe Wanderers since May 2008. In his first season in charge at the club, last time out, Taylor led Wycombe to promotion from League Two. However, his team have won one game less than Tranmere with only one win in their eleven games and they sit one place behind them, second from the bottom of the table.

Success

Some people will feel that having got the side promotion last season Taylor deserved a longer spell to try to turn things around. Having said that, Taylor has not enjoyed success in all of his posts and whilst he did well at Gillingham, Brighton and Hull, he is less fondly remembered by the fans of Leicester, Crystal Palace and Stevenage.

Taylor did a fine job as manager of England’s under twenty-one side and will probably be best remembered for handing the national team captaincy to David Beckham in his one and only game as caretaker manger of the full England team.

Harder

So there we have two experienced football men who find themselves unemployed after just eleven games of the new season. They have undoubtedly made mistakes but there is no doubt that being a manager is a lot harder tham it looks.