Young, unproven managers in vogue?

Karan Ahgun

— 5 min read
Young, unproven managers in vogue?
Photo by Alberto Frías / Unsplash

With the news of Chelsea FC hiring Enzo Maresca as head coach/manager from Leicester City this week, I want to discuss whether this is just one of those football fads or if this could be a trend which could last for a long period.

Firstly, let's take a look at some of the more experienced managers with stacked CVs who are currently available for employment this summer. The likes of José Mourinho, Thomas Tuchel and Antonio Conte are all without jobs going into next season but so far haven't been firmly linked with any of the big jobs in football. With the exception of Thomas Tuchel being linked to the Manchester United job, if Erik Ten Hag is sacked, these big names do not seem to be as fashionable as they used to be and their stock seems to be stagnating. Could their stars be waning for good ? Or will they be making a massive comeback should their younger counterparts fail to impress?

Vincent Kompany

Vincent Kompany has managed to secure himself the Bayern Munich job going into the next season. To be honest, I don't know how he's done it but fair play to him. He's played a blinder! To give some context, his Championship season with Burnley was remarkable as they managed to rack up 101 points over 46 games and only lost 3 games all season. The football they played in the Championship was also easy on the eye and there was definitely a sense of excitement going into the 2023/24 season. Their Premier League campaign was a stark contrast and they were unfortunately relegated. In my opinion, Kompany was naïve in not adapting their playing style much which left them open to conceding in many games over the season, hence why they conceded 78 goals and lost 24 games. Maybe it's the Pep tax that has had an influence on Kompany getting the Bayern job or maybe the Bayern hierarchy have decided to take a gamble on him following their exhaustive manager search. Who knows? All I can say is I wish him good luck and let's see how this pans out.

Enzo Maresca

There are very strong reports that Chelsea FC will be appointing Enzo Maresca as their new manager/head coach in the coming days. Maresca led Leicester City to the Championship title in the 2023/24 season, although there were points in the season where it looked like his team were having a bit of a wobble. Prior to being Leicester City's manager, he had a spell as Parma manager and also led Manchester City's PL2 team to the title. I think what's important here is to take into consideration the influence Pep Guardiola may have had on Maresca's own managerial career. Comparisons to Mikel Arteta and Vincent Kompany can be made and the madmen running Chelsea FC could have been influenced by this trend. The Italian's play style has been described as having a "similar tactical blueprint" to Guardiola, which could excite Chelsea fans but judging by some reaction online, it seems that a chunk of the fanbase will have to be convinced of Maresca's credentials. Enzo Maresca is brave for taking the Chelsea job and maybe he can be their man after trying the likes of Tuchel, Potter and Pochettino.

Get to know your new manager Chelsea fans!

Kieran McKenna

Kieran McKenna has long been regarded as a prodigy in English football circles. His coaching prowess was first recognised at Tottenham Hotspur, where he guided their U18 team to the FA Youth Cup semi-final. From there, he moved to Manchester United, winning the Premier League Northern Division title with their U18s, and this ultimately earned him a position on José Mourinho's coaching staff in 2018. McKenna left United in 2021 to pursue his own managerial career, landing at Ipswich Town and this is where we see him really flourish. In his first two full seasons as a manager, he's achieved back-to-back promotions, bringing Ipswich Town from League One to the Premier League. There has been interest in him from Brighton, Chelsea and Manchester United in recent weeks, highlighting the rise in his stocks, but the Northern Irishman has seemingly opted to stay at Ipswich Town for this upcoming season. In my opinion, it is only a matter of time before McKenna gets a big job but in the meantime, he will be able to showcase his credentials in the 2024/25 Premier League season.

These are 3 of the more prominent young coaches in football and I believe that they are capable of reaching the summit. The only worry I have is with Enzo Maresca being at Chelsea. Currently, Chelsea seem like they don't know what they're doing (from the outside) and the manager job may be a poisoned chalice at the moment. On the other hand, Maresca has a lot of young players in his new squad, who will be more malleable tactically. Like Arteta at Arsenal, this could prove beneficial as these young players are more likely to carry out the work the manager wants and there are less egos involved.

Let's see what happens in terms of this manager trend. In my opinion, if the success rate of these young, unproven managers is low, I think that clubs will start looking to more experience to provide more stability.

Talk soon,

Karan

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