Ernest Osogbue.
The recent dismissal of Enzo Maresca and Ruben Amorim from Chelsea football club and Manchester United football club respectively, may not have come as a surprise to many, but the manner in which the sackings manifested without an immediate cause, calls for a deeper reflection, with a view to teaching a lesson in dedication, humility and loyalty.
Maresca was appointed in June 2024 to lead Chelsea, succeeding Mauricio Pochetino. Ruben Amorim on the other hand, was appointed in November of the same year, succeeding Erik Ten Hag. Their efforts at both clubs have been a mixed bag of expectations, success, and failure. On paper, Maresca has been the more successful of the two, delivering the UEFA conference league title, and the Club World Cup trophy last year. Amorim who had a more successful profile before his appointment from Portuguese giants FC Porto, has had a more torrid time at Manchester United, having delivered no trophies, and finishing a lowly 15th in his first season in charge.
There is no doubt that being the chief coach or manager at either of these clubs is a pressure cooker job, a job that comes with a lot of expectations from supporters around the world, and as well, the management. One must therefore be prepared to receive knocks, criticisms, and condemnation if things do not go to plan. Following the success of iconic managers Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United and Jose Mourinho at Chelsea, every succeeding manager at these two clubs, would necessarily be judged against their success. That is the reason why both clubs have gone through a succession of managers and coaches since their exit without much success.
In the case of Arsenal, who also had an iconic and successful manager in Arsene Wenger, the club quickly settled for a former player, a rookie manager at the time, in Mikel Arteta. Since being appointed at Arsenal in 2019, the club has been making steady progress. Despite not having delivered much in terms of trophies, Arteta has been able to steady the Arsenal ship, and has created an aura about the club, akin to the aura created by Arsene Wenger. It is on that basis that the club has been making gentle progress, and growing, with expectations that in the not too distant future, winning trophies will become a regular occurrence.
Arteta had never managed a football club before his appointment. Maresca and Amorim on the other hand, were already successful managers before their appointments to Chelsea and United. Over the cause of their management at Chelsea and at United, they usually found time to mention Mikel Arteta and Arsenal during press conferences, whether this was out of envy or admiration is a matter of interpretation. What we deduced however, is that Maresca and Amorim, were at least impressed that without having won a major trophy outside a solitary FA cup and a league cup trophy, Arteta has been given so much elbow room to maneuver at Arsenal, thereby allowing him opportunity to mold a solid team. This was what Amorim and Maresca desired.
While many reasons could be adduced for their dismissal, a discerning observer would observe that the desire to be treated by Chelsea and United the way Arsenal treats Arteta, was at the bottom of the rift between them and their clubs. For Maresca, there was a feeling that having delivered a European trophy and the club World cup, he deserved more respect from the Chelsea management, and therefore deserved more say in the management of players, and a bit more power in the transfer policy of the club. For Amorim, having not delivered much success like Maresca, but based on his pedigree from Porto, where he was a success, he expected to be allowed more elbow room, and not to have management, and former players turned pundits, criticizing his tactics and breathing down his neck.
With these two coaches having the above mentality, it pushed them into making unsavory comments at press conferences, which created the impression of disharmony behind the scenes of both both clubs. Unfortunately, they were dealing with two of the most successful football clubs in world football, and no coach or manager could show himself as bigger than such clubs. As a result their positions became untenable and they had to give way. Maresca and Amorim demonstrated a lack of respect for club hierarchy, exposing rifts which should be left behind the scenes, talked down on management, and showed a lack of loyalty. For reference, Arteta has never openly criticized the Arsenal management, and as a result, he has won the confidence of the higher ups and gained their trust. Exactly what Maresca and Amorim should have done. Rather than remain patient and silent, while working hard, Maresca preferred to be discussing with other clubs, like City and Juventus about becoming their manager. A clear case of disloyalty. Amorim on his part, became arrogant by opening his mouth and claiming the title of manager which he was yet to earn. It became clear that neither Chelsea nor United could accept the irresponsible behavior of the two young coaches.
From all indications, errors were made on both sides, and if those errors are not properly managed, the same issues may likely reoccur in the future. For instance, Chelsea have quickly appointed Liam Rosenior in place of Maresca, and talks are on for United to appoint a new manager. One thing they need to learn from Arsenal, is the ability to scout a former player who embodies the DNA of the club. Arsenal was lucky to find such a person in Arteta, after the initial error with Unai Emery. Chelsea and United should do the same.
No manager will succeed at Chelsea without having a certain tactical resemblance to Jose Mourinho, who remains the most successful manager at the club in recent times. Same goes for United, until they can find a manager who embodies the values of Sir Alex Ferguson, they will continue to stumble. People may wonder why Arteta has been at Arsenal for many seasons despite not winning many titles. What they do not see is that Arteta is first and foremost a dyed in the wool Arsenal fan. He was brought up under the tutelage of Arsene Wenger, and in turn imbibed the spirit of the club. He loves Arsenal, he believes in Arsenal, and is prepared to suffer and make the necessary sacrifices for the club to succeed. He remained humble on being appointed and gradually grew into his role, before being promoted. Irrespective of trophies, when management sees that kind of loyalty, dedication, and humility, they are bound to reward it. That is why Arteta will ultimately succeed at Arsenal. These are the attributes Maresca and Amorim should have imbibed, but instead, they showed showed that they were simply coaches who needed a good job. They did not see their appointments as a project where they could invest themselves, and persevere before being rewarded. So, when they didn’t get what they wanted they became erratic.
On the part of the management of Chelsea and United, they have also failed in not understanding that only a manager brought up under Mourinho and Sir Alex could give them stability. For them to do well therefore, players tutored by Mourinho and Sir Alex, and who have transited to management must be given a chance. They are the ones who embody the DNA of the clubs and are more prepared to make the necessary sacrifices for the team to succeed. Any appointments outside this parameter will most likely end in failure. The quickfire dismissal of Frank Lampard, was a misjudgement by Chelsea. Same goes for United, where Solksjaer was not allowed to bed in. When former players are appointed, they must be given time to grow, and must not be expected to start winning titles overnight. Unfortunately, however, most of the former United players under Sir Alex, prefer to be pundits, specializing in criticizing current players, rather than transiting to coaching, in order to rescue their old club.
As it stands, we must wait and watch, to see who United will appoint as Amorim’s successor, the belief is that if the appointment is not done within the parameters presented above, just as Chelsea has done in appointing Rosenior, we may just be on another cycle of failure and complaints.
