The wily Northern Irishman seems to be the one manager sought after by clubs in a crisis. Last year West Ham almost signed him as coach midway through their campaign, only for negotiations to be ended when they became public knowledge whilst Avram Grant was still in his post.
However, appointing O’Neill has become another way of saying “we’re thinking short term.” No doubt a great manager, but he has proven over the years that he simply does not have what it takes to take a team to the very top. At Aston Villa, he turned the club from a sleeping giant into a good Premier League force qualifying for Europe and even challenging for the Champions League.
What was his next step? A wave of signings such as Stewart Downing, Nigel Reo-Coker, James Milner, Ashley Young, Luke Young. In other words, English, very direct and overpriced. Not bad players certainly, but very much like O’Neill himself – honest, hard working, talented, but no where near good enough for the very top. These type of players were never going to make anyone into a force. And so it proved as Villa stagnated, and O’Neill demanded yet more money to add these type of players to his ranks.
But with Villa driven into a financial black hole of sorts, their finances a mess, and still a mess, from the excesses of his rein, O’Neill showed his limitations.
Then there is his style of play. Direct, fast, though technically proficient, it is limited by the stifling of creativity. O’Neill’s teams tend to have players with the technique to pass and shoot accurately, the pace to cause opponents problems and an uncomfortable direct style, but they do not have the composure, intelligence and creativity to pass the ball and dominate possession. And that is the currency of the modern game. Top teams today understand that you have to be able to control the game, pass the ball and terrain possession to succeed; the best teams in England all realise this. Newcastle have crashed the top 10 and they get it; Alan Pardew knew this at West Ham and he still understands it now.
O’Neill has never understood this, and there is no sign he will suddenly get it now. O’Neill’s style is effective, no doubt, but only up to a particular point. He is the manager you want to get out of a relegation scrap, or to take you on a memorable cup run which ends in tears in the final against technically superior opponents. But he has not, and probably will not, be the man to take a team to the very top.
