SOME MANAGERS ARE just better suited to coaching smaller teams. Whether they perform better when the expectations are lowered or they are just better at getting through to underdogs, some coaches could never translate their success to big teams.
Here are five managers who were afflicted with stage fright when it came to performing on the biggest stage.
David Moyes
Nobody embodies this theory more than David Moyes. It was always going to be an impossible job to follow Alex Ferguson but Moyes did even worse than any doomsday hypothetical scenario.
It was feared that the lack of trophies on his CV would mean the United players may not respect his footballing credentials and that appeared to be the case, with big name players opting not to join the club while his own squad turned in a series of abject performances.
His failure at United doesn’t take away from the solid consistency of his spell at Everton but it does make it unlikely that a big club will trust him again. It wouldn’t be at all surprising to seem him back with a mid-table Premier League club soon though.
Roy Hodgson
Hodgson has worked minor miracles at small clubs such as Fulham and West Brom but has struggled for success when getting major opportunities. His two seasons at Inter Milan saw him finish seventh and third while he oversaw a disastrous six-month spell at Liverpool that saw the club flirt with the relegation zone for a period.
He is now entering his third major championship with England despite his side making little impact at the previous two. While England have regularly romped through qualifying they have been found wanting in big games, especially at the 2014 World Cup where they exited the group stages having failed to win a game despite having a talented young squad.
This Vine sums up his time with big teams.
https://vine.co/v/MTrtQLuuhY0
Leonardo
Leonardo has had a strange managerial career. He has coached for two seasons – one with each of the Milan clubs. His record is actually not bad – third with AC and second with Inter while adding the Coppa Italia – but it is telling that he was unable to last longer than a single campaign with either team.
He did better as the sporting director at PSG, who won the French League while he was there in 2013.
Carlos Queiroz
The Portuguese coach’s reputation grew after a succesful period as Alex Ferguson’s number two but he could never transfer his tactical nous to being a manger of a top side. His lone season in charge of Real Madrid ended with a side featuring Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo, Ronaldo and David Beckham in lying in La Liga after a Champions League quarter-final exit to Monaco.
He also took a Portugal team to the 2010 World Cup while Cristiano Ronaldo was in his prime but they exited in the second round after failing to score in three of their four games.
