If one thing is a given in football, it is that panic sweeps a football club when results take a downturn. The manifestation of this panic is, more often than not, the removal of the manager.
Hence, Alan Pardew has been removed. But the general consensus of opinion that his replacement, Alan Curbishley, is the outstanding candidate for the job, seems somewhat bemusing. Somehow, Curbishley has managed to cultivate a management profile which is at odds with his actual achievements.
When Curbishley took over at Charlton, the club was on its knees. Through a process of steady building, he took the club into the premiership and kept them there; an achievement which has been rightly lauded. But then what? Charlton as a football club have stagnated since. It is perhaps not a coincidence that his departure from Charlton was followed very closely by a complete upheaval of not just the clubs management/coaching structure, but also of its playing staff.
Curbishley showed little indication that he had the necessary abilities to push the club on further. A club often held up for being “well-managed”, the resources appear to have been provided to compete well with their peers, which was reflected in the size of fees which Curbishley spent on occasions. It is easy to forget the large fees that were expended on players who ultimately didn’t deliver as hoped; Jason Euell, Jonathan Johansson, Dennis Rommedahl, Francis Jeffers, for example. In contrast, the only real assets which Charlton have left to their name are Darren Bent and Luke Young. Given the amount that the club has spent through the years on talent, it’s a very poor return. Perhaps even more crucially, Charlton fans have lamented the fact that the team have sorely missed Scott Parker, yet in two and a half years Curbishley seemed no closer to solving the problem of finding a replacement, despite sizeable finances to do so.
So, perhaps Curbishleys transfer market skill is in identifying talent in the lower leagues and developing them? Hardly. His ability to take a chance on a lower league signing has appeared to be almost non-existant. Darren Bent is a notable exception, but a regular 20 goal-a-season, England Under-21 International playing in the Championship is hardly a daring gamble. Particularly at a 2.5m fee. Contrast this with Steve Coppell discovering the likes of Doyle, Kitson and Sidwell for a fraction of that fee and its hard to see that Curbishley has a “midas touch” in this respect.
One of the sure signs of a good manager, and indeed a good player, is if he is able to reproduce good results when in a different environment. Scores of managers fail when they move to a different club, but those with real ability are able to prove it again. And again. It’s a little unfair to criticise Curbishley purely because he held loyalty to one club, but all the same, the facts stand that most of the premiership rivals he will be re-acquainting himself with over the coming weeks have proved themselves at more than one club. Which in turn breeds confidence that they could prove themselves at another club, if required.
Which brings us to West Ham. Curbishley has a demonstrably poor record when spending large fees on players. Which is presumably not exactly what a club that has recently come into a lot of money wants to hear. Curbishley has a demonstrably poor record when it comes to developing young players, both those from the lower leagues and those from the youth system (the aforementioned Parker being the only notable youth product). Which is presumably also not exactly what a club that has a fine long-standing history of youth development wants to hear. Curbishley has a demonstrably poor record when charged with taking a club on to “the next level”. Which is presumably not exactly what a club with newly declared ambitions to compete for Champions League football wants to hear. Curbishley has no experience of any other footballing environment outside of Charlton. Which is presumably not exactly what West Ham are wanting to hear either…..
How on earth has this happened? The more his record is dissected, the more it seems that the biggest factors in his appointment are; 1.) He is English and West Ham fans covet that, 2.) He is a former West Ham player, which the fans will like even more and 3.)….. He was available.
With all of this in mind, it perhaps remains that, rather than anything that was achieved at Charlton Athletic, Curbishleys greatest footballing achievement was to raise his stock to such a level as to actually be considered a viable prospect for the England Managers job. Yet England were never going to appoint a manager whos greatest achievement was midtable mediocrity, had a dubious record in the transfer market and whos major claim on the job was the colour of his passport, were they? Oh hang on……..
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