Graeme Souness - the biggest mistake Liverpool, Newcastle, Blackburn and Southampton ever made
by Claire Bee
The key to being a great manager is consistency. Unfortunately for Souey, he's consistently bad. His dire record in the Premier League must surely rank him as the worst we've seen.
Many names are worthy of consideration for the title of the worst Premier League manager of all time.
Chris Hutchins has had two attempts and failed to see November out both times. Sunderland hardly covered themselves in glory during the Mick McCarthy campaigns, and Christian Gross seemed out of his depth and destined for the sack almost from the moment Tottenham appointed him.
No doubt there are other names worthy of adding to this list but in the end, and after much consideration, my vote goes to a man who has managed four different teams in the Premier League and left a trail of destruction in his wake each time. If you really hate your club, then there's only one man for the job - Graeme Souness.
'At Southampton, Souness managed to top his record of making poor signings by bringing the worst player to have ever played top-flight football to the club - Ali Dia'
His managerial career started off brightly enough, enjoying enough success at Rangers that, when a permanent replacement for Kenny Dalglish was needed, Liverpool offered him a chance to move to the Premier League.
It takes a special kind of incompetence to join a club where finishing second is viewed as a disappointment and to then turn that club into also-rans. During his four seasons he managed to win a solitary FA Cup - helped largely by a favourable draw - and managed to sign a succession of low-quality players.
The boot room which had served admirably since the days of Shankly was disbanded and with it went the years of dominance Liverpool had enjoyed. Two sixth-place finishes in the league were unacceptable for a team that hadn't finished outside the top two for over a decade and, when they were knocked out of the FA Cup by Bristol City, he resigned.
Following a spell working in Turkey, Souness returned to the Premier League at Southampton, where he lasted just one year. During this time he managed to top his record of making poor signings by bringing the worst player to have ever played top-flight Football to the club - Ali Dia.
In mitigation he would point to being conned, but simple checks should have highlighted that he was not the Senegalese international, former Paris St Germain player and cousin of George Weah that he claimed to be.
Quite what the lower league teams that had rejected him after trials thought when they saw him make his debut (and only) appearance for Southampton history doesn't recall. His performance was so bad that, despite being brought on as a substitute, he was himself subbed after playing for around 50 minutes.
A poor spell at Benfica followed, before Souey took the reins at Blackburn and guided them back into the Premier League. His time here started brightly enough - they won the League Cup in 2002. However, Souness being Souness it couldn't last and promising youngsters were sold and replaced by signings of his usual quality. His tenure ended amid talk of arguments with players and poor results.
It was therefore surprising that he left having been offered the manager's job at Newcastle. He immediately set about falling out with players there, and spending a considerable transfer budget poorly. Whilst sitting 15th in the league the Newcastle fans cast the final verdict on his managerial career as chants of "Souness out" echoed around St James' Park. The board quickly granted their wishes.
Some managers perform poorly at a single club but Souness has managed to do so consistently despite being given the opportunities most managers can only dream about. He can't hide behind excuses such as not being given the money to compete.
It is for this reason that I nominate him as the worst Premier League manager - so far, of course. Who knows who might challenge him for this dubious honour in the future!
http://www.sportingo.com/football/a8122_graeme-souness-biggest-mistake-liverpool-newcastle-blackburn-southampton-ever-made
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