- May 20, 2005
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And better coaches too. Otherwise anyone could coach a team. Just get the best players you can and sorted...
A better coach can organise the defense better, can teach a player to defend better, can pick up the best defenders to face a particular opponent, can spot quicker how the opposition are hurting his team and act accordingly. Even not touching the defense he can improve it by making the rest of the team work harder and better on defensive tasks.
On another note when Ramos went 3-5-2 I think he wanted his three best passers in midfield playing close to each other. Berbatov found more space to operate a few meters behind and Malbranques's perfomance improved tenfold. The proble was at the back where the CBs didn't know at times who was supposed to mark who allowing West Ham shots without having to work for them.
But let's give it a bit of time. After all Ramos has only been around for 1 month with no preseason to fully work the different systems he is trying to implement.
And that to me is the key. I don't think just anyone can be a coach, but I think the difference in ability of coaches is often exaggerated and can more reallistically be accounted for by their ability to buy the right players or have the right players bought for them. I think more than anything the England job proves that. Too many good coaches suddenly become seen as incompetent as a result of English fans and media refusal to the limitations of our players. There are very few examples of a coach coming in (certainly in Engalnd) and dramatically improving things without making some very astute purchases or the previous coach going on to prove he was fairly incompetent.
At the end of the day all coaches take the same FIFA coaching badges and the set up at set pieces etc will vary little, particuarly in England. Sam Allardyce is a coach known for his ability to organise teams at set pieces, but at Newcastle it seems no matter what he tries it won't work. I suspect this will change within the next 12 months as he gets in the right players. Spurs have always been a team that concedes goals, so we brought in a coach known for his defensive work called George Graham. The result was no better than the likes of Gerry Francis (despite a 6 match without conceding). Rafa Benitez's Valencia team was always the best deffesively in Spain, even when they finished 5th! Yet, with a new group of players he can't get them to be as tight aat the back. So yes, I agree coaching has a role to play, but ultimately it pails in significance to a coaches ability to pick, buy or be bought the right players.
I don't think it is Ramos that needs to be given time. He has proven himself to be a competent coach. I think that is all you can ask for. The people who should be under scrutiny are those that provide him with the players. If he fails to take us to the CL next season, I don't think he should be the guy in the firing line (nor did I Jol), unless we have a total disaster of a season.