Wednesday, 26 February 2014

David Moyes and the Peter Principle

In the simplest terms, the Peter Principle is a management theory which suggests that organisations risk filling management roles with people who are incompetent if they promote those who are performing well at their current role, rather than those who have proven abilities at the intended role.

The theory is that individuals in a hierarchy who do a good job are promoted to the next level. If they are competent, they are promoted again to the next higher level. If they are not competent, they are not promoted and they remain at that level. Thus, people stop getting promotions and remain one level above the last level at which they were competent. Therefore, individuals are promoted to a position of incompetence.

I can already hear the Moyes Brigade disregarding this piece, saying “This is football, your business and management theories have no place here.” Fair enough, this is football, but if you’ll allow me to explain, you will see that my “theory” makes perfect sense. I will, however, do you one favour… I will not apply my management theory to Manchester United, but to a fictional company. Whether or not there are similarities is for you to decide.

Before I get started, let me clarify one thing. The “Moyes Brigade” which I speak of are those fans that are still saying, “Moyes isn’t the problem”, “It’s the players”, “Give him time”, “Fergie said we must stand by him”, “It’s not Moyes, it’s the Glazers”, “Scotland should be independent”, “Global warming is to blame”, “You younger generation know nothing”, etc.

The story concerns a man named Will. Will is the Managing Director of a midsize company, and has been for the past 10 years or so. He hasn’t done badly in that time. Will kept the company very stable, but there has been little growth to speak of. They had a few minor successes, and they had a few big deals which they came close to, but they never really worked out.

Will has a special affiliation with the CEO of a huge multinational firm, Uncle Chapman, as he calls him. Uncle Chapman is very fond of Will and his “hard working” nature. Under Uncle Chapman, this huge multinational firm has enjoyed enormous success and has become one of the most recognisable brands in the world.

Then one day Uncle Chapman announces that he will be stepping down as CEO, but not to worry, he has handpicked his successor, Will. At his going away party, Uncle Chapman thanks everybody for their support over the years and tells them they are in good hands, and to stand by their new CEO, Will.

Will takes over as CEO, and after a few months, the doubts that existed at the start of his reign have not been dispelled, in fact, they have increased. Will brought a few of his Executives with him, and got rid of the ones that worked under Uncle Chapman. The company doesn't seem to have any sort of direction or plan under Will, and their performance levels decrease dramatically. Some of the Senior Managers have already started jumping ship. The share price has dropped dramatically. The workers don’t seem to want to work for Will, and he can’t seem to motivate them either.

Now the question is, what do the Board do about this? Do they “stand by their new CEO”, despite him being unable to lay down any sort of clear path, define a direction or even a plan? Or do they admit that he might not be the man to take the company forward and get in a new CEO, after going through the necessary due diligence (something which was lacking in the appointment of Will). Should they get somebody who has a record of leading large multinational firms, somebody who is able to lay out a clear plan of how to get the organisation back on track and keep it there? Or should they stick with Will, a man who was able to take a midsize company and … keep it stable. Personally, I don’t think that keeping a midsize company stable qualifies you for the job as a CEO of a large multinational corporation.

So back to the Peter Principle: In the story above, is it safe to say that Will (a.k.a David Moyes) was promoted to a position of incompetence? Is Will the right man to lead the company forward? Should more thought have gone into who the new CEO should be after Uncle Chapman steps down? In my opinion: yes, no, yes.


Tuesday, 3 September 2013

The transfer window that (almost) wasn’t…

It’s the day after the transfer window has shut, and I've had some time to cool down. After already being quite upset at United’s lack of signings throughout the window, I was left fuming yesterday as Arsenal managed to pick up Mesut Özil. But after spending a bit of time aligning my expectations at the end of last season to the current reality, I've come to the conclusion that maybe it isn't all doom and gloom…

Expectation 1 - We need to sign an attacking midfielder. Somebody who can contribute 10-15 goals a season from midfield, in addition to double figure assists. There were times last season where we seemed to lack that creativity needed in midfield to create clear scoring opportunities, somebody who could deliver that killer final ball. Somebody like Fabregas or Thiago Alcântara would have been great in this role, but alas…
I’m praying that Kagawa gets an extended run in the team, sooner rather than later. His control and vision may be just what is needed to open up opposition defences.

Expectation 2 - Wayne Rooney will leave during the off-season. My perception that United desperately needed an attacking midfielder was heavily influenced by the idea that Wazza would leave. But with Rooney staying, could he provide the creativity that we sometimes seem to lack? Of course this is assuming he can get back in the form (and shape) that made him United’s most important player not too long ago. Fortunately, his performances against Swansea and Chelsea were encouraging, and had he not been injured, the result against Liverpool could have been different.

Expectation 3 – We will sign Marouane Fellaini. We did. We paid more for him than we should have, considering he had a buy-out clause in his contract till 31 July, but that’s what happens when you leave things till the last damn minute. He gives us some great physical presence in the midfield (if only by the sheer weight of his afro), and also some much needed cover. I can only imagine how differently last season could have turned out had Carrick picked up an injury.

So all in all, I think the transfer window could have ended a lot worse. Critically, we have experienced players in our squad, who know what is needed to win the League. I’m sure Moyes will lean heavily on these players during the season (as already shown by Giggs starting all three our opening games, not that I agree with this).

Having said all that, there is something that I have not been able to get over yet. How many United bids were rejected!?! It’s like we are the unpopular kid in school, the fat ginger one with braces and bad hygiene whose advances on the cute girls keep being turned down. I don’t think we will ever really know what went wrong with some of the proposed transfers, but as far as I am concerned, the next bit of business United should do is getting rid of Ed Woodward.

With Fergie retiring, United really needed to show that the club still meant business, and that we could still attract some of the best talent in the world. What we did not need was to run around Europe on the last day of the transfer window, throwing money at just about every half decent player, and fail in every single pursuit. We needed to make a big name signing and not leave our business till the last day of the window. We needed to act swiftly and with surety, with a swagger that says “We’re Manchester United, We do what we want”.

David Moyes has a mammoth task on his hands in taking over from the greatest manager of all time. He needs all the support he can get, especially from the Club Executives.


Tuesday, 15 May 2012

The 2011/2012 Season: My View

Crazy how time flies!  At the time of my last post (whoops), United had just won the Community Shield after a thrilling comeback against City.  We started the season like a house on fire, scoring 16 goals in our first three games, and who can ever forget that 8-2 demolition of Arsenal!!

Unfortunately, that’s pretty much as good as it got.  The rest of the season, in my opinion anyway, was sub-par.  Agreed, there were some great performances and some comfortable wins, but in the most part, something was missing.  I get the feeling that even if we had won the league, we wouldn’t have quite deserved it.  A 20th title wouldn’t have reflected on how good we were, but rather on how inconsistent our competitors were.  There have been seasons in the past where we have played a lot better than we did this season and not won the league.

I wonder by how many points City would have won the league had it not been for Paul Scholes coming out of retirement.  The man is a legend, pure class, and I had the pleasure of watching him play, and score, against QPR at Old Trafford in April.  He scores goals galore, he scores goals…”.  I’m glad he came back, really I am, but it also worries me.  It worries me because I think it shows how much we need him, or a player like him.  He controls the game so well, and without him, I honestly don’t think we can compete at the highest level.  Should United be this reliant on one player? No. 

I think many people see Tom Cleverley as a replacement for Scholes, but at the moment, Cleverley is a talented youngster with a lot of promise, nothing more.  His partnership in central midfield with Anderson at the start of the season looked very good.  Unfortunately, both players were unlucky with injuries this season, and who knows how different things could have been for them, and United, had they managed to stay fit.  Staying in central midfield, it was great to see Carrick starting to look like the player he was before the 2009 Champions League Final, and I hope he carries that into next season.

My main concerns with United this season was our lack of creativity, and how lacklustre we looked in some of our performances (Blackburn and Wigan come to mind).  Apart from Valencia, who deserves a lot of credit for a great season, I don’t think our attacking players had a year to remember.  Some might argue with me and say that Rooney scored a lot of goals, and he did, but there were times in the season when his passing was very poor and his movement was almost non-existent.

Young and Nani looked good at times, but both were largely inconsistent.  I’m especially disappointed with Nani, particularly after he was so good last season, when he was voted United’s player of the season.  The judges are still out as far as Young is concerned.  Yes he is good when he cuts in from the left, but what else can he do?  On a completely unrelated note, since Scholes is staying another season, I think Young should give him the No.18 jersey back.

Welbeck impressed me at times with his movement and work rate, but there is a lot of room for improvement in terms of his finishing, although he did score some really good goals.  I think that if he gets more time on the pitch, we should have a quality striker in 2 years’ time.  I really like Chicharito, the man is a lethal finisher, but he also disappointed me this season.  I’m hoping it’s just a case of “Second Season Syndrome”, and that he will be back to his best next year.

I terms of defence, I’m really looking forward to the return of Vidic! I think our defence lacked some “bite” without him.  Rio looks to be getting on a bit, Evra got caught out of position too often, and the Da Silva’s (Rafael in particular) have gone another season without solidifying their places in the team.

In Smalling and Jones I think we have two defenders who will represent United for many years to come.  I can’t believe I’m saying this, but Evans didn’t do too badly either!  I’m still not convinced, and I still get a bit nervous every time I see his name on the team sheet.  I just can’t shake the feeling that he has that one mistake per game in him.

De Gea has, deservedly, made the No.1 jersey his own.  I, like many United fans, was very worried about our goalkeeper situation during the first half of the season, but I think he has made the step up.  He still needs to improve under the high ball, but man does he pull off some amazing saves!!!  If it wasn’t for him, I think we would have conceded about 7 against Athletic Bilbao, at home!!!

So all that being said, I think the 2011/2012 season was a big disappointment.  No trophies to speak of (and no, the Community Shield doesn’t count).  A league title thrown away by losing to Wigan and drawing to Everton, after being two goals up, TWICE.  Knocked out of the League Cup by Crystal Palace, and knocked out of the FA Cup by Liverpool (F*cking Scousers, at least we knocked City out).  Finishing behind that massive club Basel and not making it through the group stages of the Champions League. Losing to City twice, including that painful 6-1 loss at Old Trafford. 

It’s been a pretty dreary season, no doubt about it…

Monday, 8 August 2011

Cleverley vs Henderson vs Wilshere

The 2011/12 season is finally upon us, and promises to be as exciting as ever.  If the Community Shield is anything to go by, youngsters will be playing a big role in United’s season, and why not?  Sir Alex, along with Arsene Wenger, is one of THE best managers in the world at getting the best out of young players.

One of the big positives to come out of Sunday’s game at Wembley was the performance of Tom Cleverley.  I thought it a good idea to compare Cleverley to two other highly regarded young midifleders, namely Jack Wilshere, whom is widely regarded as the best young midfielder in the league, and Liverpool new boy Jordan Henderson.

The following are statistics from the 2010/11 season, courtesy of The Telegraph (www.telegraph.co.uk):


Cleverley
Henderson
Wilshere
Appearances
25
37
35
Goals
3
3
1
Assists
2
4
3
Pass %
80.2
80.5
86.1
Tackles per game
1.4
1.4
1.5
Tackle %
74.5
72.7
70.4
Fouls conceded
14
27
35
Fouls against
22
14
48
Chances per game
0.96
2.1
1.6
Age
21
21
19
Height
1.75m
1.82m
1.72m
Weight
69kg
67kg
68kg


Henderson played in both central and wide positions for Sunderland last season, and was also a regular free kick and corner taker, so his 80.5% pass accuracy is very respectable. Henderson was responsible for creating 82 goal scoring opportunities for his team mates in 2010/11, 39 more than any other Sunderland player, and the fourth best total in the Premier League. He is the tallest of the three players, and in the physicality of the Premier League, this could be seen as an advantage.  One has to wonder, however, how much game time he is going to get at Liverpool, considering he is competing against the likes of Gerrard, Adam & Downing, to name a few.

Wilshere’s technique and vision are amazing, and with his dribbling and passing ability he can open up the toughest of defences.  His performance against Barcelona in last season’s Champions League was incredible, and he outshone two of the world’s best in Xavi and Iniesta.  He is, however, small, and therefore not an effective ball winner.  Of the three players, he has the highest pass completion ratio, an impressive 86.1%.  This might, however, have something to do with Arsenal’s passing game.

When looking at Cleverley’s stats, I think it is important to keep in mind that he was playing for Wigan last season, a team much weaker than the likes of Sunderland and Arsenal.  I’m pretty sure that being involved in a relegation battle last season would have done him a world of good in terms of maturity, and his England call-up will give his confidence a boost.  If his performance against City is anything to go by, then it seems Sir Alex may just have found part of the solution to replacing the legend which is Paul Scholes.  Cleverley is quick-footed, and definitely has an eye for a pass.  So what do the stats tell us?  Of the three, he has the best successful tackle ratio.  He won the second most fouls, in the least number of games, and had a very respectable successful pass ratio of 80.2%.  He has the lowest number of chances created per game, but once again, that could have something to do with the fact that he was playing for Wigan.

So all in all, the three youngsters are, statistically, very comparable.  Each has different strengths and weaknesses, but one thing they have in common is a bright future.  I for one am very excited to see how their season’s progress.