Managerial Discretion Quotes

In the periods of my career when I stopped passing the ball forward or when I stopped looking for the risky pass that might open up a defence, the consequences were the same. The manager stopped picking me. I got back into the team when I went back to doing it the way he wanted.

I worked with many great assistants to Sir Alex Ferguson over the years. Yet sometimes a manager's second-in-command is more suited to that role than any other. You confide in them - you tell them things that you would not tell the manager - and they are that bridge between the boss and the players.

You can't ring up another manager and say, 'Who do you think I should pick this week?' But you take the good and bad from people as you go along.

If other managers are going to say things I can't legislate for that, that's their opinions.

Everyone in the world disagrees with me, including some managers, but I think managing in the American League is much more difficult for that very reason (having the designated hitter). In the National League, my situation is dictated for me. If I'm behind in the game, I've got to pinch hit. I've got to take my pitcher out. In the American League, you have to zero in. You have to know exactly when to take them out of there. In the National League, that's done for you.

At any given moment, there is always a line representing what your boss will believe. If you step over it, you will not get your budget. Go as close to that line as you can.

You will never see United manager Sir Alex Ferguson in the media taking problems he has or the squad has or the club has into the open. Never, ever. But you do see that at Manchester City.

Managerial discretion can take many forms, some very subtle. Individual managers may run slack operations; they may pursue subgoals that are at variance with corporate purposes; they can engage in self-dealing.

I was not getting much time on the pitch and was in need of this time to improve and play my best football. Wenger was not prepared to give it to me. Also my position on the wing was not what I was expecting and I wasn't happy with it.

When I was a player, you only left the club if they wanted to get rid of you. That was your team - if you were at West Ham, you didn't leave until the manager wanted to replace you. You didn't think about playing for Arsenal or Chelsea.

Every manager has his own idea of playing and his own idea of the training, and everyone has a different personality.