Incoming USWNT head coach Emma Hayes is a rare example of a Sir Alex Ferguson-style manager

Midway through a conversation with her male counterpart at Chelsea, Emma Hayes had to awkwardly explain to Mauricio Pochettino that someone more important was calling her.

It was Sir Alex Ferguson, who had heard of her decision to leave Chelsea and become the new US women’s national team coach. Pochettino understood his place in the hierarchy and Hayes picked it up.

“He calls me every now and then, so I wasn’t surprised,” explained Hayes, whose first matches in charge of the USWNT will come in friendlies against South Korea on June 1 and 4. “Everything he says to me, I always take it with so much pride. He’s a legend of the game and someone whose opinion I value, and he loves America. We talked a little bit about that, a little bit about the legacy , a little bit about leaving at the top. So there were words of wisdom from him. I’m sure this won’t be the last call I get from him this season.”

Hayes’ administrative influences are widespread. Given the lack of investment in sports science focused on women’s football, she often had to look to other sports for inspiration to understand how to develop and improve women’s football. But perhaps her biggest influence is Ferguson. This in itself should not be a huge surprise as Ferguson is the most successful manager in the history of English football, having dominated from the period when Hayes’ teenage hopes of a playing career were ruined by injury in the early 1990s. , to the point where she became Chelsea manager in 2012.

But the curious thing is that as a disciple of Ferguson—and, in fact, a very successful disciple—Hayes is virtually unique. Ferguson’s former players who have entered management have been only moderately successful. The next generation of young British managers tend to cite foreign coaches as role models. It’s hard to look at English men’s football and see many direct Ferguson influences.

In women’s football, however, Hayes has continued his legacy, and when she became the first woman to receive the Football Writers’ Association honor earlier this year, Ferguson was happy to appear on screen to pay a glowing tribute.

The last half decade of English women’s football can easily be compared to Premier League football of the mid-1990s: a European Championship on home soil, major improvements in television coverage, the move to modern stadiums and that golden period when suddenly the best players from around the world arrive the world. Amid these developments, Hayes has essentially been Ferguson’s figure, adapting better than others, staying one step ahead and enjoying unparalleled success.

Football management essentially consists of two very different components. There is, to put it bluntly, the football and the management. There are those who understand the game at a deep level but struggle to assert their authority and build a winning culture. On the other hand, there are also popular characters who get players on board, but have difficulty with the technical side of the game.

To enjoy careers as successful as those of Ferguson and Hayes you have to tick both boxes, but they are probably similar in that they are naturally excellent managers of individuals, who know when to use the carrot and when they have to use the stick, but they often have been. asked questions about the football side of things.

For example, Ferguson was often considered tactically naive when United initially struggled to progress in Europe, and his habit of making strange selection decisions led to some supporters dubbing him ‘Tinkerbell’ due to his constant fiddling, which was thought to do more harm then Good. But gradually Ferguson became more comfortable tactically; in big matches he increasingly tried to stop opponents instead of playing an open match, with great success.

Similarly, Hayes has generally received critical acclaim for her ability to manage individuals and cultivate a winning mentality, but has sometimes been regarded as a bit of a back-to-basics, old-fashioned manager, and has been criticized for her tendency to leave key players outside to be taken into consideration. little explanation. But that has always been a bit unfair, and sometimes her tactical approach has worked well.

Take the way her sides alternated smoothly between a back three and a back four at times – most notably the 2021 FA Cup final, when it felt like her defenders were all playing in ‘false’ positions, prompting her opposition number Jonas Eidevall to stand to hold out at certain times red and blue cards to his players, which referred to Chelsea’s form. (Incidentally, it’s arguable that her shares have risen as much from her stints as an ITV co-commentator as her managerial success. In an era when co-commentators are so rarely ex-managers, as was once the standard, her ability to grasp tactical concepts is and explaining coaching decisions has been a refreshing change.)

A more accurate observation is that neither Ferguson nor Hayes have been particularly concerned with a football philosophy, or with playing entertaining football for the sake of it. They are simply focused on winning, on doing what is necessary from game to game.

An extraordinary rewriting of Ferguson’s legacy has taken place; His United were rarely known for their attractive football compared to their title rivals, and the entertainment came from the dramatic manner of their victories, which were often barely believable, rather than from the finesse of their play. Part of United’s problem in replacing him was the idea that a grand stylistic tradition needed to be copied. But Ferguson changed his approach so often that he must have contradicted his own philosophy, if it ever existed, on a very regular basis.

While a specific playing style is easy to spot in other WSL clubs – Arsenal have always been more technical, Manchester City unashamedly want to play like their men’s side, Tottenham are focused on playing from the back – Chelsea is more flexible. They are often more dangerous on the break than in patient possession; City and Arsenal have the highest number of passes in the league, while Chelsea make the most long passes.

Hayes’ approach is less of a philosophy and more based on getting the best out of her side’s in-form forwards and using functional players to stop opponents. At various times over the past five seasons it has felt as if her Chelsea style was based on Fran Kirby’s runs, then Bethany England’s goals, briefly Pernille Harder’s deception, then Sam Kerr’s behind-the-back runs, then the wing play from Guro Reiten, and more recently it is often the flair of Lauren James.

It’s harder to pinpoint what Hayes’ classic XI would be or a standard playing style.

Hayes’ setup has often focused on getting the best out of her attackers, such as Kirby (Charlotte Wilson/offside/offside via Getty Images)

Also in big matches, Hayes has been able to count on reliable, versatile, hard-working players with several years of experience at the club. In major title fights involving Ferguson’s Manchester United, it was striking how often his key player was Darren Fletcher, or John O’Shea, or Phil Neville. Not the most glamorous players, but always effective.

Likewise, it would have been difficult at times to say (until recently perhaps) that Jess Carter, Niamh Charles or Erin Cuthbert were undroppable, or had a clearly defined role in the squad. They were ‘do-a-job’ players. But Hayes has improved them individually, year after year, and knows how to use them from game to game.

Both Ferguson and Hayes understood the need for clubs to dramatically expand their backroom staff, and not base themselves solely around the manager. Ferguson relied heavily on his assistants and did little coaching herself, while Hayes consults regularly with her coaching staff. Her emphasis on ‘the team behind the team’ is evident, to the extent that her audiobook, Kill The Unicorn, is based on the need to move away from the concept that one person has all the answers.

The slight contradiction, however, is that because Ferguson and Hayes were the ones who built these wider teams from positions as old-school manager rather than first-team coach, replacing them becomes difficult.

In terms of legacy, both have encountered one frustrating final boss: Barcelona. Ferguson won two European Cups and was desperate to add a third, but was thwarted by Pep Guardiola’s side in both the 2009 and 2011 finals. Hayes has never won the European Cup and reached the final in 2021, when her side were defeated by Barca, who also eliminated her side in the past two seasons. Barcelona is the ultimate example of a club with an obvious philosophy, which has been transferred from the men’s to the women’s side.

Hayes was left fuming after the second leg of Chelsea’s semi-final defeat this season, calling the sending off of Kadeisha Buchanan the “worst decision in the history of the Women’s Champions League”, which was probably unwise. This week it was announced that UEFA would not charge her for these comments. Rather, it was reminiscent of Ferguson’s last Champions League game as manager, when United lost at home to Real Madrid after Nani was controversially sacked. Ferguson failed to fulfill his media obligations after the match, with his assistant Mike Phelan explaining he was “too distraught”. UEFA fined him £8,500. In that sense, Hayes probably made the right decision to attend the press conference.

Snatching victory from the jaws of defeat was the main theme of Ferguson’s time at Manchester United. But it is arguable that his side have never won a title in circumstances as unusual as Hayes’ Chelsea this weekend.

After a 4-3 defeat at Liverpool earlier this month, Hayes had effectively given up the title – or at least that is what she told the media. But the following weekend, Stina Blackstenius’ two late goals for Arsenal beat Manchester City and let Chelsea back in, leading to the remarkable spectacle that saw Chelsea demolish Bristol City 8–0 to give themselves a goal difference advantage over City after they competition had started. day with a deficit of seven goals. Hayes sent a paper message onto the field to remind her players of this task.

So this weekend is a goal difference shootout. City travel to Aston Villa knowing that they will likely not only have to win, but also have to make up a two-goal deficit to Chelsea, who travel to FA Cup winners Manchester United.

If Hayes wins another league title it will be a fitting place to retire as English football is the closest thing English football has ever come to a new Ferguson.

(Top photos: Ian Kington/AFP via Getty Images; Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)