THE COACH AS A MANAGER THE IMPORTANCE AND APPLICATION OF THE FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF MANAGEMENT BY COACHES IN MALTESE FOOTBALL CLUBS by JACQUES SCERRI Dissertation submitted in part fulfilment of the requirements for the UEFA PRO Diploma 2015-2017 in the Malta Football Association Technical Centre Tutor: Mr Stephen Grima i To Nadia, my wife, My parents, and my to angels Miguel and Julia for their constant support & words of encouragement ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The preparation of this dissertation study would not have been possible were it not for a number of special persons who provided me with the support and encouragement throughout the duration of this exercise that helped me conclude the project. In particular, I would like to express my sincere thanks to my tutor and mentor Mr Stephen Grima, who always believed in me and who along the past years was the person responsible for all my coaching education and through his unwavering support and guidance helped me become the coach I am today. My gratitude goes to all the Coaches who assisted me to carry out qualitative research by filling in questionnaires and meeting for one to one interviews. I would also like to express my thanks to my course colleagues, some of whom were rivals on the pitch but throughout the past two tough years together, we established a great rapport based on respect and friendship. But most importantly, I would like to thank my parents, my wife and my two kids Miguel and Julia, who gave me all the support I badly needed and who did not mind taking on the weight I was not carrying during the past two years. iii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The objective of this dissertation is to investigate the proliferation, utilisation and application or otherwise of managerial acumen by coaches in Malta and its impact on the performance of these coaches. This study will seek to determine the usefulness of applying managerial principles in the day to day operations of the coach to ensure the smooth running of his coaching roles as well as in the wider spectrum, for the maltese football clubs in general thus ensuring a more holistic view of coaching. In this context coaches act not merely as trainers, but also as managers within football clubs and seek to safeguard the medium to long-term interests of the club. Football is no longer regarded as merely a recreational activity and past-time simply for fun or a kickabout. Football has become a global business and it has evolved and adopted many business characteristics associated with business industries. The continuing growth of the football industry and its importance to numerous sponsors and institutions and the ramifications of results on the club’s revenue stream, has increased the pressure and demands on the modern football coach to achieve results and reach the club’s objectives in adherence with the philosophy of the football club with whom they are engaged. The football coach thus operates in a particulary highly complex, unique and dynamic environment but also not to dissimilar from the complexities associated in any managerial operations in today’s discerning business environment. Maximisation of the utilsation of resources at his disposal can make or break the modern football coach particularly the maximisation of his most valued resource i.e. the players as he has to reach the targets and objectives with and through these players. The good football coach must master the managerial ethos to Plan, Lead, Organize and Control within football clubs. iv CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 THE COACH AS A FOOTBALL MANAGER ................................ 1 1.1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................ 2 1.2 ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY AND PERFORMANCE .............................. 2 1.3 MANAGEMENT THEORY ........................................................................................................ 3 1.4 MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONS .................................................................................................. 4 1.4.1 Planning................................................................................................................................ 4 1.4.2 Organising ............................................................................................................................ 4 1.4.3 Leading ................................................................................................................................. 4 1.4.4 Controlling............................................................................................................................ 4 1.5 DECISION MAKING: THE ESSENCE OF THE MANAGER’S JOB ........................................ 6 1.5.1 The Decision Making Process .............................................................................................. 6 1.5.2 Decisions in the Management Functions .............................................................................. 7 1.5.3 Types of Problems and Decisions ......................................................................................... 8 1.5.4 Decision Making Conditions ................................................................................................ 9 1.5.5 Decision-Making Styles ...................................................................................................... 10 1.6 MANAGEMENT SKILLS & ROLES ........................................................................................ 10 1.6.1 Roles ................................................................................................................................... 10 1.6.2 Skills ................................................................................................................................... 12 1.7 REWARDS AND CHALLENGES OF BEING A MANAGER ................................................. 13 1.7.1 Challenges .......................................................................................................................... 13 1.7.2 Rewards .............................................................................................................................. 13 1.8 FOOTBALL AND MANAGEMENT ........................................................................................ 14 1.9 THE CHALLENGES AND CHARACTERISTICS OF FOOTBALL MANAGEMENT .......... 19 1.9.1 The challenges a football coach/manager faces ................................................................. 19 1.9.2 The characteristics of the football coach’s world as managers.......................................... 21 1.10 THE ROLE OF THE FOOTBALL COACH/MANAGER ....................................................... 25 CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW – THE FUNCTIONAL AREAS IN FOOTBALL MANAGEMENT......... 30 2.1 PLANNING ................................................................................................................................ 31 2.1.1 Importance of Long-Term Planning ................................................................................... 34 2.1.2 Communicating the Vision .................................................................................................. 40 2.1.3 Planning and Recruiting the Team ..................................................................................... 42 2.1.4 Planning and Organising the team behind the team ........................................................... 45 2.1.5 Laying the foundations ....................................................................................................... 51 2.1.6 Preparing for the Game - Training ..................................................................................... 52 2.2 LEADING AND MOTIVATING ............................................................................................... 58 2.3 CONTROL ................................................................................................................................. 71 2.3.1 Peak Performance .............................................................................................................. 75 CHAPTER 3 ANALYSIS OF THE LOCAL SCENE THE FOOTBALL COACH AS A MANAGER............................... 78 3.1 MANAGEMENT ....................................................................................................................... 81 3.2 PLANNING ................................................................................................................................ 82 3.2.1 Comparative Analysis - Planning ....................................................................................... 88 3.3 ORGANISING ........................................................................................................................... 90 3.3.1 Comparative Analysis - Organising.................................................................................... 91 3.4 LEADERSHIP ............................................................................................................................ 93 3.4.1Overall Analysis - Leadership ........................................................................................... 105 3.5 CONTROLLING ...................................................................................................................... 107 3.5.1 Overall Analysis - Controlling .......................................................................................... 113 CHAPTER 4 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ......................... 116 APPENDIX 1 INTERVIEW QUESTIONS ......................................................