Bennett beckons, but is it wise for Souths to get back with an ex?

2 weeks ago 5

To paraphrase Jose Mourinho, sometimes you conscionable know. A five-minute speech was each it took to beryllium definite helium and Roman Abramovich were “ready to wed again” successful 2013. He asked Chelsea’s erstwhile long-time Russian oligarch owner: “Do you privation maine back?” (a loaded question adjacent earlier adding Jose’s bespoke marque of anti-humility). Abramovich asked Mourinho if helium was also, well, keen. And that was that.

The fire, combustible arsenic it had been erstwhile the Portuguese manager departed nether acrimonious circumstances five-and-a-half years earlier, inactive burned bright. Mourinho had led the Blues to back-to-back English Premier League titles successful 2004-05 and 2005-06 – the club’s archetypal top-flight titles successful 50 years – and returned connected a declaration of emotion and an assertion that “they request stability, stableness I anticipation I tin springiness them”.

Given what we cognize present (see Manchester United, Tottenham etc), it is benignant of chaotic to see that Mourinho’s 2nd coming astatine Chelsea was 1 of the much statistically palmy seen successful sport. In cold, hard data, helium won the Premier League and League Cup successful his 2nd play back. Except past helium started a bin occurrence months into their rubric defence, overseeing a squad who tallied 11 points from their opening 12 league games and leaving “by communal consent” 4 months into a caller four-year contract.

There are a mates of mitigating factors here, including Abramovich’s fondness for (many) high-drama break-ups and Mourinho’s beardown links with the unenviable third-season syndrome. But this celebrated double-divorce is inactive worthy different look fixed South Sydney’s public pursuit of Wayne Bennett little than a time after sacking Jason Demetriou. The 2 men are incomparable, but the situations are not. And past offers mixed results regarding coaches who instrumentality to their erstwhile clubs.

Jose Mourinho during his archetypal stint with Chelsea.

The improvement crossed galore sports appears to beryllium thus: manager achieves good-to-excellent results astatine a nine and wins implicit players, fans and administration. Coach leaves nine and works elsewhere. Club, astatine a aboriginal date, evokes blessed memories of manager and predicts he/she volition marque everything close again due to the fact that he/she did truthful past time.

The evident flaw with this benignant of nostalgia is that the idiosyncratic seldom meets the expectations of the blessed memories. Memories, by their precise nature, are distorted implicit time. Often softened and discoloured into nice, inoffensive shades. For the manager successful question, the rosy retrospection leaves them with small country to determination oregon other beryllium deemed a second-time failure.

Variables to the supra are countless and wide-ranging. Clubs and leagues germinate truthful rapidly successful tactics and absorption benignant that immoderate erstwhile favourites get near down the times. Playing rosters, owners and administrations change. Some coaches suit a stiff situation and others relish improving connected established success. Some are young, immoderate are old, immoderate tally a choky vessel and others promote freedom. Whatever the situation, statistic seem to pass against getting backmost with an ex.

Data compiled by the Premier League past twelvemonth showed astir returning managers struggled to repetition the levels of show achieved during their archetypal spell astatine a club. At that constituent lone Harry Redknapp astatine Portsmouth and David Moyes astatine West Ham United had amended points-per-match returns from their 2nd tenure compared to their first. Among the little palmy were Mourinho and Guus Hiddink astatine Chelsea, Roy Hodgson astatine Crystal Palace, Kevin Keegan astatine Newcastle.

Liverpool’s favourite son, Kenny Dalglish, became player-manager astatine Anfield successful 1985 and oversaw a play of dominance including 3 Division One titles and 2 FA Cups. When helium returned 2 decades aboriginal to rescue the Reds pursuing Hodgson’s days, helium won the League Cup but finished the league successful eighth and near 18 months aboriginal with the nine inactive successful crisis.

Other numbers person been crunched online crossed European leagues, rugby and American sports specified arsenic the NFL and NBA. The wide inclination is similar. Sometimes the results are close, specified arsenic successful the AFL wherever David Parkin won 2 flags with Carlton betwixt 1981 and 1985 and 1 betwixt 1991 and 2000. Or Des Hasler, who took Manly to 2 premierships successful 2008 and 2011 and betwixt 2019 and 2022 managed semi-final and preliminary-final appearances but did not spell each the way.

Eddie Jones did not radiance for the Wallabies the 2nd clip around.

Sometimes they are ongoing. Ross Lyon, who took St Kilda to the 2009 and 2010 AFL expansive finals during his archetypal stint with the club, started his 2nd tenure with a sixth-place decorativeness successful 2023 but this twelvemonth has them languishing successful 14th. Warren Gatland has not shone successful his instrumentality to Wales, whom helium coached to 3 Six Nations Championships and 2 runners-up finishes, lone to travel second-last successful 2023 and past grounds their 2nd wooden-spoon decorativeness successful 21 years.

And sometimes they are a nett negative. Eddie Jones, successful his calamity of a 2nd stint arsenic Wallabies coach, appeared truthful obsessed with asking his squad to “remember this feeling, boys” each clip they mislaid that helium either needed a caller enactment oregon really, truly conscionable wanted Rugby Australia to instrumentality 1 cardinal learning from its determination to rehire him successful the archetypal place.

Sometimes, however, it conscionable works. Jupp Heynckes has had 4 spells with Bayern Munich, winning the German treble successful during his 3rd successful 2012-13 and different Bundesliga successful his 4th successful 2017-18. Carlo Ancelotti won the 2013-14 UEFA Champions League with Real Madrid and different upon instrumentality successful 2021-22 – and could yet assertion another this year.

Jason Demetriou (left) learned consecutive from the Wayne Bennett handbook arsenic his adjunct astatine South Sydney.

In league, Ivan Cleary was sacked by Penrith successful 2015 aft narrowly avoiding the woody spoon. In 2019, his archetypal play backmost with the Panthers, his 2nd tenure appeared to beryllium heading successful a akin absorption erstwhile the nine missed retired connected finals for the archetypal clip since helium was past astatine the helm. One expansive last and 3 consecutive premierships later, it is hard to reason a lawsuit for immoderate alternative. Penrith’s hegemonic presumption is astir indistinguishable from Cleary. In sport-speak, helium is simply a portion of the club’s DNA.

In the modern NRL era, the closest happening Souths person to DNA is Michael Maguire, who did what nary manager had successful the 43 years earlier their 2014 premiership and the astir decennary since. The caller NSW Blues coach is simply a left-field campaigner to instrumentality with a full batch of variables, including the information helium himself was sacked by Souths successful 2017 (and again by Wests Tigers successful 2022). As it happens, the closest happening the Rabbitohs person to a rubric since Maguire’s days is the 2021 expansive last – nether Bennett.

Nostalgia, successful Bennett’s respect, could good play a affirmative portion if his narration with the players is good. The caller upheaval successful Redfern volition person further affected the dressing room, and Bennett was peculiarly influential with the out-of-sorts Latrell Mitchell.

The large irony, should Bennett hold to return, is that Demetriou completed his grooming consecutive from the Wayne Bennett handbook. He passed the coursework exam and past started his solo placement. Then, erstwhile the nine encountered challenges, nary 1 wanted the registrar to run erstwhile they had already had a bully acquisition with the caput surgeon and helium mightiness yet beryllium disposable again adjacent year. Bennett, grizzly and enduring, mightiness yet participate with his dependable manus and hole the full messiness successful the abbreviated term. But to what end? The disarray Bennett mostly leaves successful his wake is much well-documented than immoderate of the above.

And what volition hap when, successful respective years’ time, erstwhile Demetriou has reflected and rehabilitated, gained acquisition and perchance adjacent go desirable erstwhile more? All it would instrumentality is 1 nine to instrumentality a punt and he’d beryllium backmost successful the dating pool. From there, it’s lone 1 bully play earlier helium is successful demand. The newspapers would constitute the redemption stories; they would statement the trials and tribulations of 2024 arsenic his pivotal moment, his epiphany propelling him to aboriginal accomplishments. The prodigal lad mightiness beryllium summoned backmost to South Sydney having seen the light. We won’t cognize immoderate of that until Souths determine whether to rekindle their latest aged romance.

NRL is Live and Free connected Channel 9 & 9Now