UK Edition
Can the old school of managers still cut it in the Premier League?
There were two Premier League records set at Selhurst Park. Not only did Arsene Wenger draw level with Sir Alex Ferguson in the all-time list of games but he and his old friend Roy Hodgson also set a rather different benchmark for longevity.
At a combined age of 138, never has there been two such elderly men in a Premier League dugout. It was a sight to rather challenge the argument that a new breed of modern, more tactically sophisticated coaches are rapidly ushering the old guard off the main stage.
Wenger is often described these days as analogue in a digital age but, in an especially deep-thinking interview to mark him soon surpassing Ferguson’s 810 Premier League games, he identified other far more convincing changes.
Above all, it was what he regards as the switch from a vertical society, where the experts and leaders were once unquestioningly followed, and the horizontal world in which we live where men like him are relentlessly challenged. Often that is a good thing and utterly justified but Wenger’s point is that much of the noise lacks any perspective and it has become a skill in itself to insulate your own thinking.
When he was asked about Hodgson and his experience managing England, it was noticeable that Wenger should say that the defeat against Iceland had no impact on his opinion of a coach he has known for more than 30 years. Opinions, it seems, can be especially polarised when it comes to those managers at either end of the age spectrum.
Hodgson and Wenger certainly still make plenty of mistakes but the evidence for their decline is far from convincing. Arsenal’s points tally and win percentage has actually remained remarkably stable throughout Wenger’s entire tenure despite the long wait for a fourth league title.
Indeed, who would guess that any recent factual comparison between Wenger and two men in Jurgen Klopp and Mauricio Pochettino who are certainly supposed to have usurped him could be in the Frenchman’s favour? Yet, even amid all the turbulence, he has won more trophies and collected more points at Arsenal than either of those younger men since they were respectively appointed at Liverpool and Tottenham.
Hodgson’s work at Crystal Palace has been hugely impressive. They were unbeaten in eight games going into tonight's game and, from looking like certainties for relegation, appear galvanised. It is also striking elsewhere to see other older managers still thriving.
Jupp Heynckes did at Bayern Munich something that even Pep Guardiola could not emulate in winning a treble of trophies, including the Champions League. At the age now of 72, he is out of retirement and back in the dugout at the Allianz Arena.
It is also instructive when looking down into the Championship. There are some very talented young managers – and Nuno Espirito Santo is doing a fantastic job for Wolverhampton Wanderers – but up pushing for yet another promotion is the 69-year-old Neil Warnock.
None of this is to question the brilliance of men like Guardiola and Pochettino but simply to say that any narrative that ascribes much relevance to age is flawed. Even the qualities that are supposed to belong to youth – energy, new ideas and a willingness to adapt – are just as easily found in older people. Similarly, even the experiences that form the most obvious advantage of age is of no use to those who cannot self-analyse and learn from their mistakes. Like any job, football management is ultimately about competence and, in Hodgson and Wenger, two of the Premier League’s most capable and proficient coaches are not ready to be pensioned off.
The verdict
Moment which changed the game
Arsene Wenger’s decision to go back to three central defenders. His dalliance with 4-2-3-1 is fine in certain games but Arsenal have been far more solid with 3-4-2-1 and the system gave his team a much better base from which to deal with Crystal Palace’s attacking threat.
Most influential player
Easy to single out Alexis Sanchez for his two goals but this was the night when Jack Wilshere really did look close to the player who so excited the entire country back in 2010-11. He struggled often with Liverpool’s tempo last Friday and was helped here by Palace’s formation but he dictated the game.
Crowd rating 7
Always a good, loud atmosphere at Selhurst Park but the home fans were somewhat quietened by Arsenal’s dominance of possession and lead for so much of the game. Arsenal fans were buoyant for what was a rare away win this season.
Match rating 6
Wilfried Zaha, as well Sanchez and Wilshere, provided the real quality amid what became a predictable pattern of Arsenal probing in Palace’s half and Roy Hodgson’s team defending deeply and hoping to strike on the counter-attack.