You wonder if David Moyes or Graham Potter, two managers who made significant moves at the beginning of the year to Everton and West Ham respectively, would have loved Sir Jim Radcliffe as their chairman. Here are two managers who famously lost within 9 months. Moyes at Manchester United where he was realistically never given any respect and Potter this season at West Ham. Did both managers struggle? Yes they did. But there is nothing to say that this could not have been turned around under an ownership like Radcliffe's. In an interview the Manchester United owner surprised many and told us that Ruben Amorim could have 3 years to sort out the club, in short that is what he needs. The average time of a manager in the Premier League over the last 20 years has been 18 months and Amorim at this time is being afforded double that. Granted despite the horror show there have been chinks of light for the Portuguese manager including wins over Chelsea and Sunderland which was vital. When the season resumes this weekend though they will face the champions Liverpool away from home. Radcliffe's take is risky but perhaps it should be applauded. Maybe managers really do need more time to implement ideas and get the team running but the problem with this in a cut throat world of football is time is money and Amorim has taken the club backwards and had almost a year to do so. Despite Radcliffe's words you sense if the rot continues at the club Amorim could be gone by the end of the year, if he is able to turn it around it would have to rank as one of the most remarkable we have seen in the game.
Florian Wirtz is coming under fire at Liverpool for his slow start which shows no goals and no assists. Wirtz cost Liverpool £116m from Bayer Leverkusen which at the time caused most German football fans to laugh. But let's not kid ourselves, Wirtz is a good player and he should come good for the team. However if fans and the media are expecting goals those hopes should be calmed somewhat, he has never scored more than 11 in the league. But more should be expected of him to support the team. The biggest problem for Wirtz, much like the conveyor belt of hyped up foreign managers failing in the league, is how elite the Premier League is now compared to any other. The step up is huge. This doesn't mean that a German team cannot beat an English team in a one off game. But it does mean that players coming to England are going to find it hard week in and week out to get to the levels they were able to show in their own countries or at lesser leagues.
It was heart warming to see Jack Wilshire back in the game as he has been announced as manager of Luton Town. Wilshire was on a great career with his former clubs Arsenal and West Ham but his body was not built for the athleteism of football. Time and again the English hopeful was downed by lengthy often horrific injuries which cut his career short. When this is your trade and calling card in life it can feel so cruel. Make no mistake Wilshire could have been as good and effective as David Beckham. We should remind ourselves that in the current game when players are getting more time out of their careers that Wilshire still had 4-5 years, he is only 33. Football as a whole apart from Watford fans you would suspect will be wishing Wilshire all the very best on his new adventure.
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