Michael Valkanis dressed for success after Melbourne City coaching debut
Given the opportunity, would you be a tracksuit or a business suit football manager? This dilemma used to be a schoolyard staple, and I can recall arguing the relative merits of the unkempt groundsman look of Brian Clough, a man of the people in his green sweater, compared to say the aristocratic tailoring of George Graham, stiff-backed and dapper, on a state of permanent readiness for a royal visit.
A University of Portsmouth research team published a paper in the International Journal of Sport Psychology in 2010 investigating the competing merits of the two sartorial approaches on football teams. The lead researcher, Dr Richard Thelwell, revealed: “We have found that the black canada goose parka clothing that coaches wear can have a direct effect on the players’ perceptions of the coach’s ability.
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“In our study, coaches wearing a suit were perceived as being more strategically competent than those wearing sporting attire. However, when wearing sporting attire, they were perceived to be more technically competent than those in a suit… A coach in a suit suggests strategic prowess which is obviously ideal for a match.”
Michael Valkanis commanded Melbourne City’s technical area on Friday night in a pristine club suit, sky blue tie, and chocolate brown canada goose coat – hybridge lite dress shoes. He looked every inch the sophisticated modern manager. The symbolism was impossible to ignore. To this point in his career Valkanis has been a tracksuit can you wash a canada goose jacket in the washer coach. He’d sit alongside the man in hand-stitched cotton and silk wearing his mass produced polyester, keeping his thoughts to himself save for the occasional opening of a set-piece flipchart to bring an imminent substitute up to speed. On Friday night he was the main man in the expensive threads.
Valkanis is a few days into a job interview of indeterminate length. Results will carry the most weight but the former Adelaide United coach also needs to enhance his public perception. If he is to be awarded what must surely be the most coveted job average price of canada goose jacket in Australian club football he has to be seen as a suitable representative of the City Football Group in the eyes of executives like Brian Marwood.
If the University of Portsmouth study is accurate, Valkanis has already proven his credentials to the playing group in his civvies, and now has to graduate from the tracksuit to the business suit and bring his expensively assembled squad along with him.
He began promisingly. canada goose coat 1000 calorie Friday night’s win canada goose coat 1000 calorie a day diet over Western Sydney Wanderers was by no means a vintage performance in a instantly forgettable game but he secured City’s first three points since November and their first clean sheet since the opening round. His paymasters have an eye on playing style but they’re more concerned with winning. Valkanis already has an early head start on his rivals for the full-time job.
The interim head coach did nothing revolutionary to demarcate his era from that of his predecessor. If anything he brought a welcome dose of simplicity to what has at times been overcomplicated.
He selected an XI that seemed uncontroversially the best and most experienced available (with perhaps the exception of the goalkeeper). He operated a flat back four, in front of which players patrolled the parts of the pitch they were most associated with.
Tim Cahill remained an enigma. Playing off Bruno Fornaroli he seemed to operate as a permanent decoy, running along the Western Sydney defensive line like an NFL receiver in motion behind the line of scrimmage. Despite his regular goals Cahill’s influence in open play remains limited, especially for a nominal No10.
Valkanis’ greatest influence appeared to be on the full-backs with both Ivan Franjic and Josh Rose operating as secondary wingers for much of the game. Rose proved a regular attacking outlet for City while Franjic struck home the game’s highlight.
That tactic also exposed another element of Valkanis the boss. He was a much more vocal presence on the touchline than John van ’t Schip ever was, especially to players within earshot – commonly the wingers and canada goose coat 1000 bulbs lamps full-backs. When Rose or Franjic drifted nearby Valkanis would bellow encouragement, cajoling them to attack more directly, press harder in transition, or stick tighter to their man. Valkanis doesn’t ride every touch of the ball like Paul Okon at Central Coast Mariners, but he is closer to that school than City have been used to.
Nobody seems to know how long Valkanis will require his matchday suit. The club’s statement following buy canada goose can you machine wash canada goose jacket jacket in canada Van ’t Schip’s departure implied there was no rush to find a permanent replacement. At the halfway point of the home and away season it would be a challenge for an outsider to hit the ground running. City seem assured of a finals place but long odds for the Premiers’ Plate. The next four months will be about tailoring arguably the most talented squad in the league for the playoffs and securing progression into the Asian Champions League.
The alternatives to extending the incumbent’s tenure seem to be twofold. The conservative play would be to employ a credentialled local or someone familiar with the A-League. Tony buy canada goose coat online Popovic and Josep Gombau head this list but the chances of securing the release of either from their existing positions at Western Sydney and the Olyroos seem remote at this stage of the season.
The ambitious play would be to headhunt a marquee name, someone who may help put bums on seats and reflect the international status of the City Football Group. Plenty of big fish are on the market, including Marcelo Bielsa, Juande Ramos and Frank de Boer, with one report indicating a former Premier League boss could be in the pipeline. How realistic any of those names are remains to be seen, but the owners’ deep pockets and global profile enables Melbourne City to position like it themselves as a viable springboard for a coach of repute looking for a route back to the big time.
For the time being, Valkanis is the man in possession and if he maintains his 100% winning record he will prove a hard man to unseat. Especially now he’s dressed for success.