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Tuesday 11 November 2014 11:40, UK
Sky Sports pundit Peter Beagrie lavishes praise on the most underrated managers in the Football League...
Usually in my column I answer six reader questions but my mind went into overdrive after Mark Davids sent in this gem: “Who do you think is the most underrated manager in the Football League?”
So read on for my views on the most unheralded bosses in League Two, League One and the Championship…
There’s nothing like an easy question, Mark, and this is nothing like an easy question!
I am struggling to quantify or even recognise the criteria which would justify a manager receiving the accolade of underrated, but never one to give up or dodge an issue, I will give you a few suggestions.
The flame of desire still burns bright and The Hatters have got a manager of repute whose vast experience has served them well.
Bear in the mind, though, that with all the coverage the Football League teams receive from Sky, any relative successes are mentioned and rewarded and the managers in question have their merits extolled and praised enthusiastically.
In League Two, though, I have gone for the old timer, John Still.
When John took over at Luton, I remember answering questions from worried fans who wondered whether he had lost his passion and drive as he headed towards his mid-sixties, but the flame of desire still burns bright and The Hatters have got a manager of repute whose vast experience and pragmatism has served them well.
After gaining promotion from the Conference, Luton now sit second in a very competitive League Two, a victory for the board who appointed John while they were still in non-League.
Micky Mellon deserves a mention, too.
Micky was harshly treated when sacked by Fleetwood when they were seventh in League Two but has overseen a mini-revolution at Shrewsbury, bringing in 17 players over the summer and moulding them into a very good team as well as frightening the life out of billionaire boys’ club Chelsea in the Capital One Cup.
Another manager who was harshly sacked was Simon Grayson.
With 18 games to go in the 2012/13 season, Leeds were handily placed just outside the play-off places, but without a couple of additions, particularly at the back, the Elland Road club would have failed to make the top six whoever was in charge.
Simon asked for funds from a board coming under increasing criticism and everyone in football knows that when the board comes under pressure the manager’s days are numbered, especially when another manager with Championship promotions on his CV like Neil Warnock becomes available.
It all ended in tears for United but Grayson went on to produce another League One promotion with Huddersfield, adding to those he collected at Blackpool and Leeds.
Simon now finds himself re-invigorated and re-energised at Preston, with the North West club ensconced in second place in League One and hot on the heels of Bristol City.
So what price for a fourth promotion from the third tier for the likeable Yorkshireman? It would take a brave man to bet against it.
As far as the Championship is concerned, this was the hardest, as underrated is usually a term for someone who has slipped under the radar with not much of a profile, but if we are talking understated, then there is a trio that springs to mind.
Mick McCarthy (Ipswich) and Kenny Jackett (Wolves) are the epitome of a common-sense approach, getting their teams organised with a good shape and tremendous work ethic. They are uncomplicated and do the basics right, much like Huddersfield's Chris Powell.
Powell overachieved at Charlton, getting the Addicks back into the Championship after signing 19 new players over his first summer in charge and then leading the Londoners to a ninth-place finish in 2012/13 after a brilliant end to the term.
Chris did that on a shoestring and with a squad that lacked a bit of star quality, but Huddersfield are the ones now benefitting from his managerial skillset.
The most impressive managerial performance at the moment, though, is from Eddie Howe, whose Bournemouth team are developing as fast as him.
If Eddie did a book, it should be titled ‘The Return of the Man Who Should Never Have Gone Away’ as he is Bournemouth through and through.
Howe is quietly authoritative in interviews before and after games – even though he often has to be cajoled into them as they don’t come naturally to him – while he has also bought well and developed the players already at his disposal.
Eddie plays an open and expansive possession-based game which at times – the 8-0 rout of Birmingham being a prime example – has a devastating end product.
The pride of Bournemouth was taking Frank Sinatra’s lyrics as he was ‘king of the hill, top of the heap’ in the Sky Bet Championship prior to the weekend's results.
That is very long way from the 17-point deduction and fight for the club’s very existence Eddie encountered in his first managerial stint on the South Coast, so well done that man.
Who do you think are the most underrated or understated managers in the Football League? Have you say by filling in the feedback form below (skysports.com only).
