Could Koeman be the right man for Swansea?
Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
Amid reports and rumors that Dutch footballing legend Ronald Koeman is expressing interest in taking up the post at Swansea before next season (http://www.football-oranje.com/swansea-confirm-koemans-approach/), WAH will look at the managerial record of the Zaandam born great and weigh in on if he can turn Swansea around next campaign.
To begin, Koeman was one fantastic footballer – a classic Dutch midfielder who was creative, was very technically gifted and possessed what can only be described as a 155mm Howitzer for a shot. His playing career took him from Groningen to Ajax Amsterdam then to PSV Eindhoven and then on to the grand stage with Barcelona until he closed his career out with a stint at Feyenoord Rotterdam. All-told, Koeman made 535 league club appearances in his career while finding the net 193 times – incredibly impressive numbers for a player who often featured as either a holding midfielder or at center back. All-told he would appear in 685 matches and score 239 goals at club level in all competitions. In 78 appearances for the Oranje he netted an additional 14 goals, taking his overall career numbers to 763 appearances and 253 goals.
Immediately after his club days ended at Feyenoord, he took up the assistant manager post for the Dutch national team for a year and then did a two-year stint at Barcelona in the same capacity. In 2000 he received his first manager posting at Vitesse Arnhem, a year later he would take up residence with Ajax Amsterdam and spend four years with the Dutch giants. Further short appointments with Benfica, PSV Eindhoven, Valencia and AZ Alkmaar would help fill out his resume. A two year absence from managing came to an end in 2011 where he answered the call at Feyenoord Rotterdam where he remains currently. Up to the current point in his managerial career, Koeman has registered an overall winning percentage of 55.49% – the high marks being with Ajax and PSV (62.2% and 61.9% respectively), while the low point was his stint with Valencia that was only good for 32.3%. With the exception of his rough go of it on the Iberian Peninsula, clubs managed by Koeman were both able to score goals and be sound at the back simultaneously – a trait not all that easily done, especially in the modern game, unless you are working with large budgets to bring in the best players possible. Koeman’s managerial numbers mirror not only his achievements as a player, but his upbringing of a classical Dutch footballer. As such, there is no questioning Koeman’s experience and pedigree as both a player and as a manager, but would such a high-profile be seen as the answer for Swansea City if they do seek to not stick with current player-manager Garry Monk?
Previous high-profile manager and Danish legend Michael Laudrup eventually was shown the door by Swansea by not only drawing a lot of attention to the club due to the nature of his name and being attached to the club, any negative attention on him would magnify on the club – this is something that Swansea will be ware of yet again. However unlike Laudrup, Koeman does not seek the attention that the Dane seemed to almost welcome whether it was positive or negative. However the biggest difference between Laudrup and the Swansea hierarchy came down to transfer policy. Laudrup had issues with previous employers on that front before coming to Swansea and while in Wales he constantly wanted more funds to make bigger signings that Swansea was not prepared to take on – many questions surfaced after the capturing of Wilfried Bony, which was viewed as a very expensive gamble. Despite Laudrup’s successes with recruiting low-cost unknown talent, he wanted to further his ambitions by bringing in more expensive players of a higher-profile, actions not supported by the board and it would lead to his ultimate downfall. Continuing, can Garry Monk, regardless of how highly-regarded he is at the club, expect to recruit players who are talented enough to try to help Swansea progress in the Premier League? Would the board handle all transfer negotiations?
Koeman, like Laudrup, has a strong knowledge the Dutch player market, as well as the Spanish market – two key factors that could help Koeman wrestle the full-time managerial role at the club away from Monk. If there are any leagues in Europe where you can find a host of talented players on the cheap, its Holland and Spain. Koeman will still have strong ties there even if he left for England, and the possibility of bringing in players from Feyenoord could be an attractive proposition that the board would have to consider. While Swansea do not want to be a club that draw too much attention to themselves whether its in the news or by way of high-profile signings, if they are to make headway domestically, a manager of higher pedigree surely must be needed. But there is however a major flaw to bringing in Koeman should they do so – the Dutchman has rarely spent a significant time at a club. Only twice in his managerial career has he spent more than a single season with a club and that was with Ajax and current employer Feyenoord. Swansea will no doubt be looking for stability in their next manager and in that regard, Koeman must be seen as a bit of a risk. If he can commit to a long-term project with the Swans than perhaps they can overlook his lack of long-term tenure when he is at the helm.
Ultimately, a football must be run like another work place driven organization – constant communication between tiers, shared aims and viewpoints and over-all goals that both board and manager feel can be met. If Koeman is truly interested, he will have to realize that Swansea do not have the yearly expectations that Ajax and Feyenoord have but on the flip side, Swansea must realize that they will not remain in the BPL for an extended period of time if they do not maintain a manager that can give them the pedigree needed to remain competitive at the highest level. Monk, while a favorite, may be a little too accepting of the way things are to rock the boat sufficiently to shake things up in a positive manner. If a considerably favorable deal for both sides can be struck should Swansea further investigate interest from Koeman’s end, at the end of the day, it would be seen as a positive step forward for the south Wales club in their bid to become a solid top-half side in the Premier League.
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