We see Premier League managers on the sidelines every weekend, clad in their suave scarves, hard to zip-up raincoats, and signature baseball caps. Yet what do we actually know of what they do?
They pick the team, make up to three substitutions, mercilessly harangue the fourth official and provide grateful cameramen with a wide array of choice reaction shots. But is the Premier League like the NFL in which coaches are Bill Belichick style control freaks hellbent on controlling every move. Or is it more like jazz in which the players spend 90 minutes improvising, free of managerial will?
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That’s the question posed by Roger Bennett of the Men In Blazers, as he recently spent an entire day with Everton manager Roberto Martinez (above video).
We’re all absolutely sure we know what a manager does day in and day out as he prepares his team for 90 minutes of battle on the weekends — particularly when the team is down and results aren’t going their way — but it turns out, we have no idea.
Bennett provides a behind-the-scenes look at Martinez’s daily work life and the Spaniard’s footballing philosophy, and sheds light on just how much pressure these million-dollar managers are really under.