“When you give young people a chance, you not only create a longer life span for the team, you also create loyalty. They will always remember that you were the manager who gave them their first opportunity.”
ตัวอย่างที่ชัดเจนคือ Class of ’92 เช่น เบ็คแฮม, กิ๊กส์, สโคลส์, เนวิลล์ ที่เติบโตจากอคาเดมีมาเป็นกำลังหลักของทีม และช่วยสร้างตำนานที่ยังคงถูกเล่าขานถึงวันนี้ หลักการนี้ไม่ใช่เรื่องฟุตบอลอย่างเดียว แต่องค์กรธุรกิจก็ต้องลงทุนกับ “คนรุ่นใหม่” เพื่อสร้างทั้งความสามารถและความผูกพันในระยะยาว
“The hardest thing is to let go of a player who has been a great guy -- but all the evidence is on the field. If you see the change, the deterioration, you have to ask yourself what things are going to be like two years ahead.”
“I constantly told my squad that working hard all your life is a talent. But I expected even more from the star players. I expected them to work even harder.”
“There are occasions when you have to ask yourself whether certain players are affecting the dressing-room atmosphere, the performance of the team, and your control of the players and the staff. If they are, you have to cut the cord.”
“I am a gambler—a risk taker—and you can see that in how we played in the late stages of matches. ... If we were still down—say, 1–2—with 15 minutes to go, I was ready to take more risks. I was perfectly happy to lose 1–3 if it meant we’d given ourselves a good chance to draw or to win.”
“I came to see observation as a critical part of my management skills. The ability to see things is key -- or, more specifically, the ability to see things you don't expect to see.”