Southampton FC Need Ryan Giggs ! Wednesday, 21st Jun 2017 09:19 Saints need to bring Ryan Giggs to St Mary's, but before you shoot the messenger read the story as to why it would be a good idea to bring the ex Manchester United player and coach to the South Coast. Ryan Giggs has supposedly spoken to Saints through his advisors and put his name into the hat for the job at St Mary's, this should not be surprising as he did the same at Swansea City and is one of a new breed of ex Premier League players who seem to think that a career in the top flight should automatically guarantee them a managerial job in the top flight of English football. Tim Sherwood and Tony Adams would be two names that would spring to mind in the past years who have had an arrogance that they can step straight into a top job without any real grounding at being a manager at any level. In fairness to Giggs his career looked mapped out four years ago when he was appointed to David Moyes staff when the Scotsman left Everton for Old Trafford, indeed he even had a short spell at the end of that season after Moyes departure with his final game in charge ironically being the 1-1 draw at St Mary's on the last day of the season, a game that was also the final game for Saints for Mauricio Pochettino and half of the team on display that day. When Louis Van Gaal arrived at United, Giggs was appointed his assistant and it was an open secret that he was being groomed to take over the helm one day when he had learned his trade and was perhaps not so close to most of the squad, many of whom he had played with. Jose Mourinho's arrival spelled the end of Gigg's career at Old Trafford, Mourinho wanted to clear the decks, he wanted his own team in and did not want the likes of Giggs sitting on his shoulder even if he was a United legend. Now although Giggs would be way down my list of potential managers to take over at St Mary's this summer, only time and space preventing me from naming those in front of him, I do think that he could have a role at Saints. When we brought Ronald Koeman to the club three years ago we also brought in Sammy Lee as an assistant, we did so because Koeman had no experience of the Premier League and neither did his backroom staff, Lee seemed to be a good ally for Koeman and worked with him and not against him and undoubtably he knew his stuff when it came to how teams and players played etc. When Claude Puel arrived last summer in came Eric Black, unlike Lee, Black seemed to be part of the problem not the solution and it seemed the main reason he got the job was that he spoke French rather than his standing in the game. So with it looking like Saints bringing in another foreign manager, there will be a vacancy for someone to work along side him and counsel him about just what the Premier League is like and be able to give him tactical knowledge on our opponents not to mention being a vital conduit between manager and dressing room. Ryan Giggs could be that very man, he has all the credentials, he has done that role at Manchester United and he could do it again at Saints. The only real thing standing in the way is Gigg's own ego, he will feel that he has done his time as an assistant, that he is ready for the big time, but the reality is that he has only had two real seasons as a dedicated coach and that is not enough. With few Premier League clubs seemingly interested in offering Giggs their reins he is at a crossroads in his career, he can either take a job in the Championship where there are plenty of clubs who will welcome his contacts, but there are also plenty of ex Premier League stars who have tried and failed at managing at this level and once you have failed it is a long way back. His other option would be an assistant's role at a club like Saints where he can keep his reputation intact and build on it, indeed if he did just this at Saints he could be getting his career path back on track, if he had a couple of good year assisting whoever is appointed in the next week or so then he would be in a pole position to take over when that man departs. Saints have a strategy and it has been well documented that Les Reed is looking for a manager who buys into a long term plan and who is not going to be able to sweep the decks clean and change the ethos of the club, that being the case then we also need to look at who would make a good assistant and start succession planning going forward. From a playing point of view Saints fans loved to hate Ryan Giggs, but he is no longer a player and he might just be another piece in the Southampton jigsaw, just not the piece he wants to be at the moment and that will probably mean that his arrival at St Mary's is not very imminent in any capacity. Photo: Action Images Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.
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