The season began with Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Scott Parker on the touchline, representing the new wave of English managers. Boasting the latest technology, casual knitwear and white-soled trainers, they were the last bulwark against the superstar managers of Europe and their lock on the English game’s biggest jobs. However, Gary O’Neil and Eddie Howe are now flying the flag for the new breed, while Gerrard, Lampard, Parker and Graham Potter are back on the sofa. Parker has been sacked twice and Lampard is sailing very close to joining him.
In their absence, the English face of management has taken on a more jowly, weather-beaten hue with Roy Hodgson back at Crystal Palace and Sam Allardyce asked to rescue Leeds. Hodgson, 75, explained his return to Palace in March by saying he had never felt old enough to retire. He has since led a team that had not won in three months to four wins and a draw from six games. Allardyce, 68, experienced relegation in his last job at Watford, which suggests the need to wash away a bad taste might be a motivation.
Neil Warnock, 74, has had more farewell gigs than Elton John but the jobs keep coming. With one loss from their last eight games, Huddersfield are on the brink of safety and Warnock admits that a spot of firefighting appeals more than a long stay. He won’t be doing anything until the end of next February but he wouldn’t write off coming back.
Why do yesterday’s men think they still have it? Because the evidence suggests they do. Roy Hodgson, Sam Allardyce and Neil Warnock have all enjoyed successful returns to management this season, proving that age is just a number.