Terry Butcher: Leicester, Beware of the Spurs

Terry Butcher is a former England international who won 77 caps for the Three Lions.

A tall and dominating centre half, he was a valued member of the famous 1990 England team that reached the World Cup semi final only to be eliminated in penalties by Germany. He played in Sir Bobby Robson’s revolutionary Ipswich side which challenged for EPL honours for a decade in the 1970s. Butcher’s Ipswich managed four Top 3 finishes and an FA Cup win in his time there, a remarkable feat for a small town and small budget club. They famously won the UEFA Cup in 1981. He won 3 league titles with Rangers in Scotland before launching his managerial career at Coventry City.

Fearless in his defence, Butcher is iconically best remembered for gushing blood from a head wound while heavily bandaged in a match in Sweden. His continuous heading of the ball proved too much for the bandage and by full time, his white England shirt was covered in his blood.

Today, he is a regular columnist for the Sunday Mirror in England – and now also for Prost Amerika.

Here he writes about his time coaching in Thailand and looks at the current state of the EPL.

BEWARE OF THE SPURS!

by Terry Butcher

It’s great to be back – I have been away coaching in Thailand recently – and the experience has certainly broadened my knowledge and appreciation of how football is perceived globally.

The Thai youngsters have a real thirst for football information and education, and want to learn everything about how to improve in order to eventually break into the Premier League. Their skill level is extraordinarily high and they already appear technically superior to their English academy counterparts.

At 12 and 13 years of age they have the foundation and basis to progress a long way but, as we all know in the western world, football at the highest level is also about physical and mental strength, pace and being streetwise. Their politeness and respect on the pitch is similar to that of the Japanese teenagers but these qualities would have to be left in the dressing room if senior football were to be attained.

From what I witnessed in Bangkok, it’s only a matter of time before a player from Thailand breaks through the Premier League barrier, which, in turn, would create a clear pathway for an untapped generation of Thai talent.

In my absence from UK shores, nothing has really changed – Leicester City continue to march towards the title; Arsenal continue to stumble, along with Manchester City; and Tottenham seem to be suffering from vertigo on the verge of the summit.

All three challengers to Leicester’s crown have at least one other front to battle on, namely in Europe, although the Gunners still have ambitions of winning the FA Cup for the third successive year. In their last two Premier League triumphs in 2011/12 and 2013/14, Manchester City won all their last six and five matches respectively, but only Leicester look the more likely side to emulate those statistics than their closest rivals.

Claudio Ranieri’s men have only the final three games against Manchester United, Everton and Chelsea to really worry about, but by then, these opponents will already know that Champions League football is well beyond their reach. So, with every pundit, so-called expert and tipster having to eat humble pie (myself included) because of Leicester City’s honesty and freshness, it could and should be the Foxes’ title…but beware of Spurs, Claudio, as they too have a naivety and an innocence that has upset all the odds this season as well.

At the other end of the table, it is a battle between three clubs for the two relegation places alongside the already doomed Aston Villa.

Some of the clubs in the bottom half of the table have in place a system of player selection and recruitment, with the Head Coach being solely responsible for results. Liverpool, allegedly, previously implemented this format with Brendan Rodgers, although Jurgen Klopp did work under a different structure at Dortmund.

In my opinion, the time of the Head Coach has been and gone – none of the top Managers want players selected for them – it is the egos of the owners/chief executives/directors that constantly put their respective clubs into a ridiculous situation involving the playing squad.

Some of the best minds and brains in the business world go into meltdown when it comes to football common sense and foresight. Football is a unique realm where money doesn’t always rule but where value for that money is king…Leicester City being the prize example.

It used to be the norm that Managers managed and Directors directed from afar, but with the modern influx of billionaire owners and foreign money into our game, there could soon be a time when the Chairman becomes the Manager, Chief Scout, Coach and Physio. Watch this space. The old-fashioned way is still the best, where Managers picked their signings according to the way they wanted to play, and the only thing the Directors decided was the menu and wine selection in the Boardroom.

Football is still the same as it always was…the only thing that changes are its surroundings.