There was an interesting camera shot during Saturday evening's game. Jurgen Klopp was his usual animated self, shouting instructions and waving his arms on the touchline. Next to him, a stark contrast to this, was Mauricio Pochettino - the Argentine had a hand over his mouth and a pensive look on his face, quietly observing proceedings.
Wearing your heart on your sleeve is a dangerous, dangerous game in top level management. Take Klopp's overexcited celebrations when 2-0 up at Southampton the previous weekend. Sure, running along the touchline, pumping your fists in ecstasy looks great when you win. But that's precisely the issue. As Koeman so fittingly mocked with his own touchline antics after Mané's winner, it's how you look when you've lost that creates a problem. This isn't just to dig out Klopp - he is undoubtedly a fantastic tactical manager - but this over-exuberance of emotion must stop. Football is a passionate sport, but I am a firm believer that managers should remain dignified in their celebrations and leave the touchline sprinting and knee-slides to the players.
A manager's personality can be make or break for their success, and that doesn't just mean celebrations. Take Harry Redknapp, for example. The cheeky, wheeling-and-dealing cockney was portrayed as everyone's favourite Uncle in the media. Or, so the press would have you believe. While Redknapp was a fantastic motivator, his personality would often cause problems - telling an interviewer to 'fuck off', for instance - and it could well be this precise lack of subtlety that held him back from positions like the England job. It is a reflection of the importance of conduct in interviews. After all, the manager represents the entire club as a whole.
Tim Sherwood, then, would be the Uncle who escaped prison and lived in your basement. His frank, tell-it-how-it-is nature often came across abrasive rather than refreshing. It is one thing to tell your players in private that you are unhappy with their performances - it is another to publicly write-off your side's chances of a top four finish as Sherwood did at Tottenham. Tact goes a long way in the public eye, and it is not something that Tim appears to possess. While the press portray Sherwood as a 'proper football man' ( @JohnnyTheNic, 2015), that doesn't mean he is a likeable character or a successful manager. Rather the opposite, in both cases.
Jose Mourinho is undoubtedly the biggest victim of his own personality. With that level of success despite a relatively short amount of time in management - at least, in comparison to the all-time greats, one would expect Mourinho to possess a certain amount of arrogance. Unfortunately for Jose, this manifested into the feeling that he has a divine right to win every game. Take a look at any post match interview in which the Portuguese suffered a less than favourable result. Excuse making and borderline temper tantrums added an extra level of pressure as Jose began to crack under the spotlight. By being unable to suffer defeat graciously, Mourinho was the subject of massive scrutiny after every loss, and ultimately his tenure was brought to an untimely close. Interestingly, if reports are to be believed, Chelsea players would rather lose than win for Mourinho. A fitting testament to the man's character, no doubt.
The borderline defamatory comments are nearly over, but I cannot leave the criticism without first visiting Louis Van Gaal and his recent Murphy's Law quote. That's right, Van Gaal recently blamed the phenomena that anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. In a museum of flakey excuses, this would no doubt be the central exhibit, drawing crowds from all around the country. He essentially said his team lost because they could. It almost defies insult, but I'd like to criticise Van Gaal's incessant whining on multiple occasions. While it's not quite Nigel Pearson 'ostrich' levels of absurd conduct, it has to rank pretty highly.
The long and short of it is that personality - and particularly a reserved nature - can go a long way. Part of the most successful managers is never seen. Ferguson's infamous yet rarely public hairdryer treatment. Wenger's subtle answers with regards to potential transfer information. Guardiola's cool, calm and collected stance on both the touchline and sat in post-match interviews. In other words, precisely how Mauricio Pochettino conducts himself as Spurs manager. That's not to say he's the world's greatest manager (yet!) or even the league's most successful. But the way he handles himself is a credit to Tottenham Hotspur and an example to managers across the game.
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