Sir Clive Woodward : Across the Lines

The last fortnight has seen the quiet resignation of Sir Clive Woodward from Southampton and his dazzling unveilment as new Director of Elite Performance for the British Athletics Association. It is a move that should have been regarded as a great loss to English football. But it won’t.

Love him or hate him, Sir Clive’s record speaks for itself. He is the only man in history to have won the Rugby World Cup with a squad from the northern hemisphere. His team was often critised for its conservative kicking game which came as a stark contrast to the fast flowing running game played by their opponents in Sydney’s Telstra Stadium – Australia. It was a style however that played to the teams strengths and reaped the rewards in dramatic style, Johnny Wilkinson memorably converting a last ditch drop goal.

Despite this unprecedented success, Woodward will be remembered within Rugby for heading a disastrous British and Irish Lions Tour to New Zealand in 2005 which was lost 3-0. His management, selections, coaching and media handling were all critised by players and commentators alike.

Sir Clive’s eventual move into League Football with Southampton came on the back of a poor run of form for England Rugby and the deterioration of the relationship between club and country, largely due to Woodwards mismanagement of the extremely sensitive politics that dictate such arrangement.

When he finally moved to Saint Mary’s as the club’s performance director, he did so with the promise that he and his assistant, Simon Clifford would take charge of the reserve team. This was not the case however and after only two months into the job, Clifford resigned. As head of sports science Clifford had suggested that the players should undertake more training than the schedule currently in place allowed. As a result he was ridiculed by players and management alike, doing little to ease an already rocky relationship between Woodward and club manager Harry Redknapp.

Woodward’s stay at Southampton outlasted that of Redknapp’s and with the arrival of George Burley it looked possible that the World Cup winner’s potential would finally be utilised. Again poor handling by Woodward of the politics within the club left him marginalised until he felt compelled to resign.

With that went all hope that the magic used to propel England Rugby Football to new heights would be used to the same effect in football. The two sports have never sat easy together, one usually directing scorn at the other. Indeed it is perhaps Redknapp’s inability to look beyond the shape of the ball involved which did not allow him to take on board Woodward’s wealth of experience and knowledge. Combine this with a lack of professionalism and desire shown from players who are paid far in excess of their worth and it is not surprising that he failed in football.

So what could this former rugby winger turned coach have offered football players anyway? Well, football wise very little given his lack of experience and assuming that technically Southampton’s staff are already proficient. It is his ability to focus attention to detail in preparing players both physically and psychologically where Woodward excels. As a motivational speaker he is second to none and it is in this regard that Southampton fans could have seen a good team playing exceptionally well. Yet as with any coach the results are only as good as the attitude of those he or she coaches. In an environment were players are content to train only as hard as necessary and take home their wages at the days end, the chances of success are minimal.

Success with England rugby was largely due to the drive and determination by the players to win the coveted trophy. They took on board what their coach had to say and worked hard to succeed in the training they were given. It must also be considered that these players were seasoned internationals and thus needed little guidance on how to perform their roles within the team. Yet a team still needed to be moulded and the strengths and weaknesses accounted for – Sven take note. With many coaches in football now coming from a playing background new footballers are only given guidance from a player who was involved on the pitch five, ten or even fifteen years previously. In an ever evolving game the fresh injection of ideas, methods and routines from another sport could only have served to benefit.

I will not however lay the blame solely at the players door, as Woodwards uncompromising and often arrogant behaviour yet again landed him in hot water at Southampton. His move to the BAA appears on first glance to be a leap from the frying pan into the fire should he continue to be unable to handle the politics that come with the job. Great Britain’s medal chances in both Beijing 2008 and London 2012 may well depend on Woodward’s efforts being concentrated effectively upon achieving the best performance from the sport participants, not on the dirty business of office politics.

England fans may look back at the summer with a feeling of “what might have been”, in particular when considering Defoe’s exclusion to the benefit of Theo Walcott. However England’s World Cup must be regarded as a failure not because the trophy was not brought home from Germany, but because Sven did not get the best from the players at his disposal. A situation I’m sure that would never have been allowed to develop had Sir Clive Woodward had any involvement.