Post by MRMILLWALL on Feb 25, 2008 15:11:00 GMT -1
Former Liverpool boss Gerard Houllier says English footballers are pushed into top management jobs too quickly.
He believes Bryan Robson, Stuart Pearce and Gareth Southgate all took on senior positions far too soon.
"In France, you cannot become a manager when you step out of your career as a player," Houllier told Inside Sport.
"Would a manager of a big company put somebody without experience into a key position in his company? No, he would not, but they do in football."
The 60-year-old Frenchman said being a player and being a manager were two very different roles.
"As a player, you think of yourself and your career," he said. "The manager has the vision of the club (to deal with) and has got to think of a strategy."
I have never felt that England had this culture of developing coaches, but it is such a big country of football
Gerard Houllier
Houllier said any prospective managers of a big club should gain the necessary skills before assuming such a responsibility.
"You need to develop them and prepare them," he said.
"I have never felt that England had this culture of developing coaches, but it is such a big country of football.
"Whether it is Bryan, Stuart or Gareth, I'm sure that they would have liked to go up the different steps and to have two or three years as an assistant manager."
Houllier began his managerial career in his mid-20s as player-boss of French side Le Touquet.
He later moved to Arras as youth coach and then became head coach at Noeux-les-Mines before accepting his first major managerial position with Lens, guiding them to promotion and a place in the Uefa Cup.
606: DEBATE
How do you get the best coaches out of ex-players?
He went on to enjoy success at Paris St-Germain and was in charge of the French national team when it failed to qualify for the 1994 World Cup finals in the United States.
He bounced back by steering Liverpool to six trophies - League Cup (2), FA Cup, Uefa Cup, Uefa Super Cup and Charity Shield - during his five-year reign at Anfield.
He left the Reds in 2004, winning two league championships with Lyon before becoming technical director at the French football federation's prized academy at Clairefontaine.
I'm not a Houllier fan but I'm in full agreement with him here. We do tend to throw young managers in at big clubs instead of them going off and learning there trade.
He believes Bryan Robson, Stuart Pearce and Gareth Southgate all took on senior positions far too soon.
"In France, you cannot become a manager when you step out of your career as a player," Houllier told Inside Sport.
"Would a manager of a big company put somebody without experience into a key position in his company? No, he would not, but they do in football."
The 60-year-old Frenchman said being a player and being a manager were two very different roles.
"As a player, you think of yourself and your career," he said. "The manager has the vision of the club (to deal with) and has got to think of a strategy."
I have never felt that England had this culture of developing coaches, but it is such a big country of football
Gerard Houllier
Houllier said any prospective managers of a big club should gain the necessary skills before assuming such a responsibility.
"You need to develop them and prepare them," he said.
"I have never felt that England had this culture of developing coaches, but it is such a big country of football.
"Whether it is Bryan, Stuart or Gareth, I'm sure that they would have liked to go up the different steps and to have two or three years as an assistant manager."
Houllier began his managerial career in his mid-20s as player-boss of French side Le Touquet.
He later moved to Arras as youth coach and then became head coach at Noeux-les-Mines before accepting his first major managerial position with Lens, guiding them to promotion and a place in the Uefa Cup.
606: DEBATE
How do you get the best coaches out of ex-players?
He went on to enjoy success at Paris St-Germain and was in charge of the French national team when it failed to qualify for the 1994 World Cup finals in the United States.
He bounced back by steering Liverpool to six trophies - League Cup (2), FA Cup, Uefa Cup, Uefa Super Cup and Charity Shield - during his five-year reign at Anfield.
He left the Reds in 2004, winning two league championships with Lyon before becoming technical director at the French football federation's prized academy at Clairefontaine.
I'm not a Houllier fan but I'm in full agreement with him here. We do tend to throw young managers in at big clubs instead of them going off and learning there trade.
