Spread the love

 

Journalist Jim Levack, who has worked with various Brentford managers over the last 20 plus years, reflects on the past few seasons working with Uwe Rosler

Through the years I’ve been extremely fortunate to have worked with some wonderful Brentford managers.

Wonderful, not necessarily because of the degrees of success they achieved, but for a very special other reason.

Steve Coppell and Ray Lewington, in my opinion, epitomised all that a football manager – or in fact a manager of any group of men – should be.

Lewington, possibly, was more of a coach but the influence he had on the players around him was inspirational.

Coppell, quiet and thoughtful, managed in a different way and earned the respect of his staff.

But the special ingredient that made them great managers, and more importantly good men, was the deep-rooted principles that ran through them.

Fast forward to Uwe Rosler and another hugely principled man, whose humility and intelligence have just earned him his first Manager of the Month award.

Above all Uwe has that great abiity to read people, to admit his mistakes (and act on them) and to say so publicly.

The much publicised ‘clear the air’ after the Stevenage game saw him change his philosophy whilst retaining his control.

When things went wrong at Griffin Park, he stood in front of his players and took responsibility – it wasn’t just for show.

He was tactile. He’d shake your hand, slap you on the back and josh with you, but underneath there was always that steely winner’s streak in his eyes.

He let himself down too, was human after all, when he . condemned all Bees fans for the chants of a few – ask him in private and he’d probably admit he got that wrong too.

I had a disagreement on twitter with the esteemed (he’ll like that ;-)) BBC reporter Billy Reeves this week, where he said ‘Good luck to Uwe, he owes us nowt’.

I disagreed, reminding him it was Brentford who took the gamble on him and gave him the platform to build his career.

I stand by that, and feel – as I’m sure Uwe always will – that he will always owe Brentford a huge debt of gratitude for giving him that chance. He certainly doesn’t owe us nowt.

I was also pleased that Uwe didn’t jump ship instantly after Whelan rather foolishly revealed that Uwe was “mad keen” to join Wigan before talks had even happened… and said he wanted it done and dusted by the weekend.

Uwe’s professionalism and principles kicked in though and he clearly told Wigan he wouldn’t leave Brentford in the lurch just days before today’s important Cup game.

Rather than cutting and running, he trained the team as usual until, inevitably Whelan’s millions won the day.

Were I Uwe I’d have deliberated and done the same, and I bet there will have been some soul searching in the Rosler household following the Stadium announcement over what was the right move, are Wigan bigger than Brentford long term etc?

But at the end of the day Uwe is a family man.

My two lads are 20 and 18 and I can recall splitting football matches and dashing in the car to watch two different halves. Uwe will have felt that emotional pull every working day.

This move, if it happens, gives him the opportunity to watch his boys grow up and there are no more important things in life than that.

My comments to Billy were maybe born out of frustration that Brentford is a project half completed, and I know Uwe will share that feeling.

But he has set us on the right road, got us playing the right brand of football and, with the likes of Brian Burgess and the hugely impressive Lionel Road team, changed the whole ethos of our club while crucially still keeping it ‘family first’.

Ironic though isn’t it that with a weaker Chairman prepared to listen to a small minority, one of the country’s best younger managers could have been “sacked in the morning”.

Good luck Uwe and thanks for being a good man first, and manager second.

Jim Levack
@Jlmblee1