What is the plan for recruiting a national team manager?

The dust has settled on an eventful European Championships and we are now mid-recruitment for a few of the ‘failed’ nations. Notably two of Europe’s powerhouse FA’s, England & Belgium, are looking for their next National team coach. It appears from the outset that both are taking very different approaches and we are struggling to see ‘what the plan is’!

Previous selection processes for England have been CV and achievement based; Sven and Fabio = failure. More recently Roy was given the job apparently ‘through a friend of a friend’ = failure. We’ve also seen the FA attempt the structured ‘graduate approach’ and Gareth said ‘no’. The selection panel appear to be approaching a small select shortlist of established managers. Each has a proven record of getting the best from underperforming teams and creating a ‘team spirit’, regardless of proven winning achievement.  Is Big Sam (we are still awaiting the FINAL confirmation, although we all know it has been agreed) what England really needs? We would love to see a copy of the job description!

Belgium on the other hand appears to be opening up the search to a much wider audience, welcoming online applications from those who match key criteria. From the outside this appears to be a much more inclusive approach to recruitment. However the brief perfectly describes outgoing manager Wilmots. So what’s new?

Here at Network Marketing we feel that one of the most important parts of the recruitment process is understanding the brief. Unless you have a large slice of luck you’ll never find what you are looking for without clear direction. Whether headhunting or taking a more holistic contingency approach, the company (or nation) must have a plan for the right leader to succeed. From the outset it was clear what the plan was for the Portuguese and the Welsh. Can anyone clarify to us what the English or indeed Belgium recruitment plan is?