Experience: One Qualification Coaching Courses Don't Provide

Howard Wilkinson, chairman of the LMA, constantly condemns managers with no or few coaching badges.

But why? Most of the managers who have few badges have had better, more successful, and happier careers than Wilkinson ever had, and he possesses "more badges than John Wayne" (courtesy of Boro Legend Bernie Slaven).

Fair enough, the case is there that managers who do have these coaching badges are more successful. But surely, experience is a more important factor for the club's success rather than the coaching badges. For example; Alex Ferguson has been at Man Utd for over 20 years and I'm sure that when he won his first trophy, it was down to past experiences which he learnt from not coaching badges.

Managers in the EPL which do not possess the necessary coaching badges include Gareth Southgate, Avram Grant, and Roy Keane. However, the critically acclaimed  Arsene Wenger recently praised Gareth Southgate and rated him as a bright up and coming manager. There was no mention of coaching badges or qualifications because surely, experience is more important factor in managerial success than training courses.

Steve McClaren also provides an excellent talking point. He learnt from experience with  Alex Ferguson and used this to win Middlesbrough their first ever major trophy. However, he left Middlesbrough several years later with limited managerial experience and failed miserably in an attempt to take England to Euro 2008.

Steve possessed all the coaching badges neccessary, but had limited experience. So before people begin to question a managers credentials because of their lack of coaching badges, be sure to check their experience first.

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