Kenny Dalglish's return to the fray at Liverpool has brought the role of the great managers into the spotlight. Chris Rattue notes the lessons to be learned from men who glowered from the sidelines.
1 Alex Ferguson: great managers are born, not made
There are endless lessons to learn about what makes a legendary manager from the career of the peerless Manchester United boss. A tough working-class upbringing was a good place to start for someone who would go on to deal with
extraordinary pressures at a famous club over an incredibly long period.
Ferguson's playing career - he was a very good striker but never called up for Scotland - is a classic case of the nearly man determined to prove his worth. He also did the hard yards as a manager with unfashionable clubs. But there are many who have travelled similar paths and not come close to his record.
Ferguson wrote the book on what it takes to stay at the top - a strong personality, endless determination, obsessiveness, competitiveness, a knack for soccer strategies and ability to change with the times.
2 Brian Clough: you'd better know who you're picking on
Clough's legacy has been re-written, unflatteringly, through an excellent book, The Damned United, and spin-off film on his 44 days in charge of Leeds United. Clough - a brilliant goalscorer in his club career who was largely ignored by England - tried to bully soccer's most famous bullies at Leeds and came off second best.
The Leeds episode threatened to overshadow the man's achievements. Clough showed that force of personality counts - managers such as Alex Ferguson and Jose Mourinho also prove that. Clough made his players feel bulletproof, even if not all of them were that keen on him. His tactics were infamous - he once punched Roy Keane at half time. Clough performed miracles at provincial Nottingham Forest and Derby County. Forest's consecutive European Cup triumphs will never be repeated in the era of super clubs and wages.
Clough's sharp tongue cost the people's favourite a shot at managing the England team. He even alienated his indispensable right-hand man, the equally hard-drinking Peter Taylor. Then again, Clough wouldn't have been Clough if he'd learned to bite his tongue.
3 Jack Charlton: get out before the truth does
A great defender, and 1966 World Cup winner, Charlton's intimidating bluster worked a treat with the Republic of Ireland, qualifying them for the World Cup in 1990 and 1994 plus a European championship. Charlton talked a great game, and the Irish fell for his charms. He took them to unprecedented heights in a stirring era that will always be fondly remembered.
Ride the good times and know when to cut your losses - that was the Charlton credo. He rubbed his particular magic on a couple of English clubs and took a little soccer nation to unprecedented heights but would also pack in jobs with unusual haste. Faced with something even scarier than himself - unhappy Newcastle fans - he quit the Geordie club after just one season.
4 Glenn Hoddle: don't take the unique business too far ...
... especially with the British press lurking. Hoddle was one of a kind as a Spurs and England midfielder in the 1970s and 80s. The Hod took the maverick bizzo too far as a manager, though, bringing a faith healer into the England set-up and saying people pay for the sins of previous lives.
Forget about the next life - Hoddle paid straight away and got the boot from England after suggesting disabled people were getting their just deserts for past crimes. He also had a reputation for outclassing his own troops by showing off his skills at training. In a nutshell,Hoddle came across as a nutter although his record as manager of clubs and country was better than that.
5 Bob Paisley: be your own man
Liverpool's Paisley is the most famous one-club man in English soccer, as a player and manager extraordinaire. He followed the legendary Bill Shankly, who started the Liverpool dynasty, and improved upon Shankly's record by cramming three European Cups and six first division trophies into the Anfield cabinet between 1974 and 1983.
As a prelude to this groundbreaking success, Paisley had to shake himself free of the Shankly aura. Shankly would attend training sessions and still be referred to as "Boss". Paisley risked the wrath of the faithful by giving his old boss enough of the cold shoulder to establish his own command. The rest, as they say, is history, one packed with 14 major titles and laced with a genuine and dry wit sadly absent from money-hungry soccer today.
6 Alf Ramsey: get yourself a home World Cup ...
... in other words, timing is everything. The difference between England's performance in 1966 and their other World Cup efforts is so vast you can only conclude home advantage was the key.
The snooty and prickly Ramsey, a defender for Spurs and England, rose from being a tactically astute manager who performed a minor miracle in securing the first division title with Ipswich, to creating England's only world champions.
Ramsey's tactics and selections drove England to victory against West Germany at Wembley. You wouldn't have fancied Ramsey's chances on foreign soil no matter how good this side was.
7 Roy Keane: fantastic players don't often cut it as managers
The great and very good have succeeded as managers, from genius players like Johan Cruyff and Franz Beckenbauer to stout professionals such as Arsenal's George Graham. But many more never match their own achievements. The theory suggests the best struggle with the inadequacies of those less able.
Presumably Keane couldn't work out why his charges weren't crazed maniacs. Manchester United midfielder Keane was among the finest few in the history of the Premier League, an enduringly fierce competitor beyond compare.
As a manager, he started well at Sunderland, left in a huff, and has been dumped by championship stragglers Ipswich, departing with a typical defiance that hints at his self-defeating intransigence. Bryan Robson, Paul Ince et al will sympathise.
8 Kenny Dalglish: going back risks trampling on your reputation
Has swapped the good life as a Liverpool club ambassador in order to direct a salvage operation on the sinking ship that is Liverpool.
A Liverpool legend as a player, Dalglish had success as their manager 20-plus years ago before retiring for health reasons, then won a historic league title with Blackburn Rovers. Okay, so he was later sacked by Newcastle, but who hasn't been sacked by Newcastle?
Examples of second-time-round managers don't easily spring to mind. Dalglish will know of one close by, though - the initially successful Howard Kendall hopped on the downward slide by returning twice to Everton. The soccer world is very different to the one Dalglish ruled. Good on King Kenny for having another crack, but this will end in tears.
9 Kevin Keegan: every manager reaches their level of incompetence
Another Liverpool legend, and fringe world superstar, Keegan was a managerial nearly-man whose highlight was a magical little run with Newcastle. His career contained more resignations than Watergate and his stint in charge of England was a disaster.
Keegan was more enthusiastic than astute, and ill-prepared for the demands of managing England.
Once a Peter Pan figure with hair as bouncy as his personality, the Keegan of today is grey on top which isn't surprising for a former manager of Newcastle and England.
10 Alan Shearer: clubs blinded by the light
The superstar goalscorer, who had no managerial experience, was hired in a caretaker role by Newcastle in the hope he would save them from relegation in 2009.
In an eight-game finale Shearer sent Newcastle plummeting into the championship division like a freight train going over a cliff. Shearer hasn't been sighted in a manager's chair since. Desperate clubs are not so bright, though.