A Manager to be Proud of, Is it Ferguson, Wenger, Grant, Benitez, Keegan, or Curbishley?
My thoughts for what they are worth… By Lancslondoner
When looking for a manager what do you look for? One of the things is someone that can run a team for a long time, who
has experience of building a management infrastructure around their vision for a club and make it work. There are no managers around who can prove themselves able to do that because everyone gets sacked one year into the job. Curbs has proved that he can do that. It was at a smaller club, but he kept Charlton in the top division and few small clubs can keep that up for more than a few seasons at a time. That is what good management is about. He has experience in working in a stable environment and how to manage for the long term.
I cannot believe how many WHU fans cannot see how lucky we are to have a manager like that. He’s shown the skill to sign some truly fantastic players, to take players with damaged confidence and turn them around, to stand up to egos and to keep us in the top half with a team which has sometimes consisted of all the available fit squad members. Curbs is a bloody good manager. What he did with Charlton was take a small low budget team and keep them playing above their weight. With the new West Ham and the resources he has I believe he has the ability to turn the East End into a fortress and with a fit strike force up front we’ll be something special.
In his first full campaign for us he’s turned a defence which has historically been pretty leaky into something to intimidate and frustrate most attacks which has saved our injury hit season. That’s not negative management, that’s superb management. We all dream of what a fit Bellamy and Ashton can be like together, and have seen how good Parker can be.
I get really bored with all this talk of taking us to the next level. What the hell is the next level anyway? The teams that are well established at the top are simply well managed clubs. They have managers who have been in place for many years. They have good structures. Chelsea have bought their success, and anyone looking at how much that success has cost would have to agree that it is not the way to run a club. Chelsea FC is a freak and no club with sane owners or fans would want to go that way.
The big money that now runs our game is a blessing and a curse for those who have it (which includes us). It can be withdrawn more easily than it has been given. A billionaire with a football club in his/her portfolio won’t be romantic about giving it up if other interests go pear shaped. If we lose our Icelandic backers what do we want our club to be? Solid and well run and able to keep going or like Newcastle have become? Real success is built steadily and I believe that we will be at the top long after Chelsea have been abandoned by their playboy owner and left to drift off into the wilderness, but only if we seize the chance now to outwit the opposition and manage the club really well amid a league of headless chickens.
On another issue altogether I also think it’s great that he dominated the out of season recruitment with British players. If that’s not far sighted when you look at what has happened to the national squads I don’t know what is.
OK..Rant over. I’m off for some dinner.
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A Comment from a post on this site Here 1/3/2008
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March 3rd, 2008 at 9:17 PM
Curbs is a Hammer,
He has done supremely well,He has valiantly overcome a multivarious set of difficult circumstances.
When he has a settled squad,and is able to supplement the qualities we already have with the skills and styles that the appropriate signings would bring,…………………………………………………….. then pride in him will be unavoidable.
March 3rd, 2008 at 10:21 PM
Im looking forward to many of the fans who want curbs out,to start eating humble pie when you see what happens next season.This is a season to steady the ship,and with all the injuries curbs has had I think he’s done ok.Some moan about no entertaining footy on display,and yes so far it has not been fantastic,but that will all change.Lets stop bitching at the guy and start to get behind our manager and the team
March 4th, 2008 at 1:49 AM
Thank you Lancslondoner for a wonderfully refreshing and positive thinking article. After all the anti-curbs drivel I have suffered on the numerous west ham sites this was just what the doctor ordered. He has done remarkably well in his first year and my guess is that Dave will be right and in the next year there will be an abundance of humble pie eaten! He is a proven premier league manager with much fewer resources than will be available to him now, he is a man of great dignity(which is more than I can say for some other names mentioned), and he is just the man for west ham!
March 4th, 2008 at 7:40 AM
You are absolutely spot on Curbs always said this season was stability consolidation banish the bad memories of last season and given the enormous difficulties he has had with injuries he has more than delivered Curbs is one class act and its time those few unbelievers at Upton Park gave him due credit. Its not for nothing that Ferguson rates Curbs so highly. Imagine if we had had Faubert, Parker, Dyer, Zamora fit for most of the season how we would have progressed. Curbs is a Hammer through and through and long may he continuie to be our manager
March 4th, 2008 at 6:20 PM
A very well written post but not one I agree with. I can only think of Upson as being a damaged improved player since Curbs signed him and Matty himself doesn’t give any credit for that to Curbishley at all. I don’t know who else should shoulder the blame for players being out injured as it seems pretty strange that the vast majority of them are Curbishley signings.
It fair to say we have a pretty solid defence but as can be seen this has been at the expense of goals scored and the attractive football we have grown used to and generally respected for.
Yes he did do well at Charlton on a small budget. Trouble is, he’s turned us into a version of Charlton and he’s had money to spend.
March 4th, 2008 at 8:19 PM
Dont agree he has turned us into something like charlton,hes had to string a team together amidst loads of injuries.Imagine what our team would be like if we had a full fit squad,and considering we dont at the moment I think Curbs has done well