In Praise of Alan Curbishey: A Charlton Fan Speaks Out

16 years ago, a young Alan Curbishley signed on as joint manager of a small southeast London football club—and proceeded to change football forever.

That was 1991. At the end of the 2005-06 campaign, Curbishley stood down as Charlton manager after 14 seasons of hard work, perseverance, and more hard work.

What did Curbishley leave?

A legacy.

Charlton Athletic had no money, no ground, and no squad when Alan Curbishley started his managerial career.

He left after creating a team that punched above its weight time and again—from beating Arsenal at Highbury to knocking Champions-elect Chelsea out of the Carling Cup in 2005.

The franchise itself is not recognisable from 1991. A 27,171-seat stadium exists where a wasteland was before. How did Curbishley change Charlton, and football?

Simply through his skills as a manager.

For starters, he was able buy quality players and produce young talent through Charlton's youth system. If you look at the players Curbishley bought who went on to better things, you'll find the likes of Danny Mills, Lee Bowyer, Scott Parker, and most recently Darren Bent.

All players worthy of mention—and all players who've picked up caps for England at one point or another.

After 14 years of service, Curbishley was applauded out the front door at Charlton, taking his leave by mutual agreement. Few managers in modern football live to see their home supporters singing their praises—and even crying for their loss.

Sir Alex Ferguson may leave to a standing ovation, and Arsene Wenger may do the same—but few other head men will garner the praise and support Curbishley received when he left Charlton.

Curbishley took the reins at West Ham the next very next season, and almost immediately transformed the ailing club into a competitive team—despite the media furor over Carlos Tevez and Sheffield United's misery.

Throughout his career, Curbishley has known how to get the best out of his players—and how to get rid of the bad eggs.

Andy Todd was immediately transfer-listed when he attacked goalkeeper Dean Kiely. Paulo Di Canio's dive against West Brom was rewarded with Di Canio's being dropped from the squad for three weeks.

Curbishley always commands the utmost respect from his players, and has never been afraid to speak to the press. He has always been a gentleman, be it in defeat or in victory.

Twice now has Curbishley made something out of nothing for the clubs under his control. Some say it's too early to tell if his reign at West Ham has been successful, but 10th in the current EPL table is nothing to sneeze at—and notable victories over Arsenal and Manchester United have earned Curb the media's respect.

Given all that, it should have been no surprise when Sir Trevor Brooking threw his support behind Curbishley to be the next England manager.

Critics point to a lack of trophies in the cabinet, and the fact that Curbishley had never managed a fashionable team—but Curbishley's resumé should speak for itself.

And his status as one of the last true English managers makes him the perfect candidate for the job.

Passionate, decisive, and tactically-minded—that's Curbishley in a nutshell. There's a reason he was at the Valley for so long: The club knew they'd be nothing without his guidance. 

West Ham knew that too—that's why when Curbishley became available, they looked to him first.

Laugh if you like—and if a quick fix is what you want, by all means go after Jose Mourinho. After all, his good mate John Terry backs him—isn't that enough?

Terry says he would "happily work for his old boss." That alone should disqualify Mourinho from consideration.

Curbs would have the guts to drop the lout Terry, and assemble instead the best team he could muster. The starting 11 don't have to be superstars to make up the best team—as Curbishley proved with both Charlton and West Ham.

Give him the chance to prove it with England, and we'll see a trophy in Curbishley's cabinet at last.