Whenever I hear the word passion in football, I wonder what it means exactly?
It’s a funny word.
It’s the thing every supporter wants to see from their players and their managers, yet how is it even measured?
I mention this because Ronald Koeman has been accused of lacking passion and there is a suggestion that that could be behind Everton’s mini meltdown in the past couple of weeks.
I have friends who are “passionate” Blues and they worry he may be a bit too calm. But just because he is not ranting and raving on the touchline, just because he does not seem to get excited, does that mean he isn’t so bothered about winning?
Of course, it doesn’t.
And I’d go further. Most supporters want to see this bouncing around on the touchline because they think it will inspire the players or motivate them.
But, in all my days out there at the sharp end – and I would echo this now I am qualified as a pro-licence coach – never once would I say you needed those sort of antics to get you going, get you to perform better and, if you did, then you are in the wrong game.
It is about the work on the training ground during the week and your quality, attitude and confidence out on the pitch.
And managers should be at their most passionate in their work during the week and in the days leading up to the game.
If it is not in Koeman’s make up on match day, then it would be a nonsense trying to put on a show just because the fans want to see something.
Instead, I would go the opposite way and say he needs to be cooler, even more analytical, because he has problems with his team.
The club spent big and spent early and everyone was delighted, but did they spend correctly?
They signed three No.10s and still have Ross Barkley on the books. There is no denying these players can hurt teams with a moment of class, but are they incisive?
There was plenty of time to get in the striker to replace Lukaku the club so desperately needs, so what happened?
Koeman has to put his hands up there, but what about the director of football, isn’t that his job to deliver what is required?
Yet it is the manager who gets all the stick.
In fairness, I understand they really thought they had got their man, with the smart money on Olivier Giroud, but something went wrong and they now look painfully short up front.
They lack experience up front because Sandro and Dominic Calvert-Lewin are still raw.
So, Koeman has to either grit it out, sort out his defence and try to win a few tight games with the odd goal, or he’s got to gamble and throw in more kids, such as Ademola Lookman, who did well last season and put Tom Davies back in.
My Everton friends worry most about the lack of threat and they are right because it was always going to be virtually impossible to replace the threat that Lukaku brings. He is powerful, quick and teams are afraid of him.
You could say the same of Barkley too – he was inconsistent last season, but opponents feared him.
It may be that a visit to Old Trafford galvanises them, with so many ex-United players in the team, but, if not, I still think there is no need to panic.
After this weekend, they have SIX home games in the next month – and a visit to Brighton.
That could give Koeman some breathing space to show his passion where it matters – on the training ground where he can make a real difference.