Are you looking for a job in football management? Either out of work or looking to move into a new and challenging role? Then the Premier League has something for you.
Liverpool, Chelsea, West Brom and Aston Villa are all recruiting this summer. Please feel free to peruse the below job adverts to see if there is anything suitable for you.
Liverpool
-Once proud club seeks ambitious manager to return them to their former glory.
-Successful applicant must have a proven track record of improving and motivating a talented yet under-performing team.
-Previous experience at the right end of the Premier League preferred but not essential.
With King Kenny out of the picture, Liverpool’s next manager will have the opportunity to work without the shadow of the Liverpool legend hanging over them. Still a big club everywhere but on the pitch, the Liverpool job will still appeal to a high calibre of candidate.
The squad has been invested in heavily over the last couple of seasons and whole sale changes may not be needed to have them challenging for Europe once again. Brendan Rodgers now looks all but certain to take the reins at Anfield, leaving just as intriguing a vacancy at Swansea City.
With a fantastic first season under their belt and the permanent signing of influential midfielder Gylfi Sigurðsson completed (almost), anyone who has missed out on the Liverpool hot seat would be well served to look at the top club in Wales as a possible alternative.
Chelsea
-Huge club looking for proven winner to bring success with him.
-Applicant must be able to handle a high pressure target-driven environment.
-Experience of purchasing whilst using a large budget preferred.
By winning the Champions League Roberto Di Matteo has left some big shoes to fill. Even though the diminutive Italian isn’t completely out of the running himself, owner Roman Abramovich would seem to favour a big marquee signing for his next manager.
Former Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola seems to be going back on his idea to take a year off from football and could now be Roman’s number one target. But even though there will be money available to rebuild the squad in the new manager’s image, the thought of joining a club who have gotten rid of a manager weeks after European success is bound to make anybody think twice.
West Brom
-Midlands club with patient fans looking for right candidate to help maintain Premier League status.
-Must be willing to work with a modest budget.
-Excellent chance for progression.
Roy Hodgson’s move into the England role has left a very attractive vacancy at West Brom. Their days of yo-yoing between the Prem and the Championship seem to be behind them and their 10th place finish last season would suggest that they are now an established Premier League club.
They are still more likely to be looking down the table than up it but it seems that the West Brom job would be an excellent opportunity for a young manager to take his first steps in the top flight. This summer the new manager’s brief may tell him to work with the players he has rather than spend big, but West Brom’s stability would certainly make them an attractive prospect.
Aston Villa
-Second City football club seeks a manager to appease their disgruntled fan base.
-Will be first point of contact for the club’s fans and their vocal protests.
-Ex Birmingham City managers need not apply.
The reign of Alex McLeish last season seemed doomed before it had even began. The appointment of the man who had just been relegated with fierce rivals Birmingham City was met with universal dislike by the Villa faithful and the uninspiring season that followed did little to appease things.
Villa are a big, well supported club, but they are one which has gotten in the habit of selling its best players. Fans have gotten used to the likes of James Milner and Ashley Young leaving. And as a result the club have gone from chasing Europe to fighting relegation in just a couple of years. The Villa fans are indeed unhappy and a ‘feel good’ appointment may be needed to lift the spirits at Villa Park.
The Premier League is a fantastic place for a manager to work. The pressures that come with any role in the English top flight are high but the rewards for success are equally as enormous. Each of the above four clubs pose very different but equally difficult challenges.
With the likes of Norwich’s Paul Lambert, Swansea’s Brendan Rodgers and Wigan’s Roberto Martinez all linked with these moves it’s possible that the managerial merry-go-round in the Prem this summer will not stop with the four vacancies mentioned here.
The one thing that Liverpool, Chelsea, West Brom and Villa all have in common is the need for stability. You only have to look at the likes of Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsène Wenger and David Moyes to see the benefits of having a long term manager. One vision, one ideology at the club year after year. These four clubs aren’t just looking for the next appointment, they’re looking for the RIGHT appointment.
The men in charge of these four clubs have huge decisions to make. Decisions that could shape the fortunes of their clubs for years to come. They’d better get them right then.