muirinhomuirinhoRoyalwaster
I wish I'm wrong but I also don't rate Gareth Southgate .. 2018 was a bit lucky as we got a very easy draw. As soon as we met someone good, we lost. Seriously, do you think if GS became Chelsea or ManCity manager, do you think they'd win the Prem or CL?
I've no dog in this fight, but just wanted to comment on that last line.
Managing a club is entirely different to managing a country. When you manage a club you're trying to get the players you want and are suited to the style of play you want. You're looking at how players develop long-term, and bringing through players from the academy, or going shopping for players if you don't like what's available. There's a lot more long-term strategic planning going on (you'd hope).
Managing a country, on the other hand, is about analysing the resources you've got, and coming up with the best game-plans and formations, with those players. You've got to meld players who are used to entirely different formations and styles of play to a coherent whole - generally speaking within a very short timescale. There isn't any long-term strategic planning as part of your role - it's all about the next set of games.
Being good at one does not mean being good at the other.
Oddly enough, I'd think that managers who've spent their careers in smaller clubs, where there isn't an unlimited pool of excellent players, and you're trying to make silk purses of a random collection of loanees and free transfers - those skills are probably a lot more transferable to managing a country then managers of clubs like Man City.
Edit: Another comment on this. Sometimes the reason small countries (e.g., Wales) punch above their weight is actually because there is a limited pool of players who therefore play a lot of internationals together. They bond with each other, they know what to expect from each other. There are a couple of star players, and there are the rest. Big countries on the other hand are choosing from a bigger pool, and therefore (a) there is more turnover, less consistency and (b) probably more ego-clashes.
The Netherlands and France have shown a number of times that a collection of very talented players does not always make a team. This is why it's the team-building skills of international managers that are crucial.
Oops, meant to edit my existing post rather than reply to it. I'm now talking to myself....
Thanks - good points ... not thought about it like that, but you have a good point. I do think though that international tournaments also involve a lot more luck than winning a league - a bit like other tournaments. It can often just come down to a 'bit of' luck or bad luck to get through to next round or develop confidence in the team.