It Shouldn t Happen to a Manager

After 40 years in football management, there s not a lot I haven t seen. There ve been big highs, but a fair share of lows too. When I have to make difficult decisions, I make a point of avoiding newspapers, phone-ins, Twitter all of it. But there s always a load of armchair-pundits waiting to start on me. Being a manager has never been easy, but between the fans and the media it often feels impossible to get it right.In It Shouldn t Happen to a Manager, I talk about how different the job is now from what it was like when I used to play. For one, managers used to drive up and down motorways all day to scout for players now there s so much analysis and global scouting. It s a different thing, completely. In this book, I share everything I ve learnt from a lifetime of both wins and losses, and wisdom from greats like Cloughie and Ferguson. I ll tell you about what actually happens in the dressing room, including when Clough smashed the door off its hinges; the bust-ups at full-time, like when I kicked a tray of sandwiches on Don Hutchinson s head; and the times when I had to swap an arm round a player s shoulder for a boot up the arse. It s my guide to being a manager, the Harry way.