Opinion 2 August 24, 2009
After Arsene
Soteris Charalambous
Cast your minds back to September 1996 when Arsene Wenger was first presented to us, and look at him now. The years of service, of excellent football and the highs and low have come at a cost. The smile comes a little less readily than it used to and appears a little tired. It pains me to say it, but I know the clock is ticking on the day Wenger will call time on football management.
It will unequivocally be the man himself who calls time and it will be at Arsenal. The familiar routine that gets trotted out when his contract is due for renewal or renegotiation is just that. Wenger found his football heaven at Arsenal FC and the board found themselves a genius manager who has taken the club way beyond where it was 14 years ago.
It’s practically impossible to predict when Wenger will call it a day, but I don’t believe this will be his last contract. It’s too early for a man with such a passion for football to merely look on from the sidelines, and it is (probably) too late for a career change – but you never know with the man from Alsace. However, if this isn’t his last contract in management the next one almost certainly will be.
A sign to look out for that his era is coming to an end is a significant change in the coaching structure. It will be significant because whoever it is, is most likely being groomed to take over from Wenger. Arsenal will not take the Chelsea route and look for a high profile name to replace the last one they have sacked. In all likelihood Wenger will have earmarked a select number of his former Arsenal superstars. He will have planted the thought in their mind that he believes that they could become a great coach and then allowed the idea to develop by staying in regular contact.
I suspect Wenger’s replacement will initially coach one of the youth teams or reserves, this will give him a full grounding in what resources are coming through while the strengths and weaknesses of the first team are assessed. During the later stages of the apprenticeship – and after the board has been convinced that this is the correct path – the manager-in-waiting will be introduced to the scouting network. Along with his skill as a coach this is Wenger’s true source of power. And once the decision has been finalised, a timeframe will be agreed whereby the current squad are informed as to who their new manager will be. Leaks will then escape to the media towards the end of Wenger’s last season where he will refuse to confirm or deny the ‘rumours’. And then once the season is over (hopefully on a glorious high) the announcement will be formalised. Wenger will then take on an advisory role or be offered a well deserved seat on the board so that the new man in charge will have a sounding board close at hand.
This is the Arsenal way under Wenger. He is too meticulous and forward thinking to allow something that he has invested so much of his life to sail off down some channel under the leadership of someone who wasn’t schooled in Wenger’s ways and that isn’t already familiar with the Club.
The question that remains is who could be the man to re place Wenger. Some of the candidates that have already been put forward by the better weblogs are Dennis Bergkamp and Patrick Vieira. Both are viable as coaches but I’m not convinced of their management potential. Bergkamp’s fear of flying is a major handicap, and Vieira’s awkwardness with the media is a serious negative. Also, one of Vieira’s faults seemed to be a lack of self discipline, and this too would put a question mark against his ability to manage. Gilles Grimandi, who has been integrated into the scouting network, could be a candidate if his role was changed to bring him closer to the playing side of the club, however, this too seems unlikely.
Tony Adams would be a very popular choice and has already put himself forward as a candidate, but his initial forays into management have proved less than convincing and I suspect that his and Wenger’s footballing philosophies are less than compatible.
From the famous back four Steve Bould and Martin Keown are likely to be ahead of Adams in the list of candidates. Keown’s candidature is probably the stronger of the two and a situation where one or the other became a number two is also very plausible. Keown has put himself in front of the cameras in recent times and has come across as very articulate and knowledgable and has also had some time within the coaching set-up. However, the player who looks to the perfect fit is Thierry Henry. As in love with Arsenal as he is with football and with an ideology that would be complimentary to the footballing talents he would inherit at the Emirates, Henry would also command the respect of both the fans and players and feel comfortable with the board. His media savvy and multi-lingual skills are also major pluses and having won it all both internationally and at club level as a player there is no situation that could come up in football that he wouldn’t already have experience in.
Henry probably has two more years of top level football ahead of him. And if Barcelona are wise they’ll make full use of them. But look out for what Henry does after Barcelona because my guess is he’ll end up coming home.