At the end of a fascinating English Premier League campaign a review of the High Performance credentials of the top 4 contenders shows that Manchester City are worthy winners. There is also evidence to suggest that Liverpool ‘bottled’ it given they were in control of their own destiny with 4 games to go. I have rated each of the 4 clubs on a scale of 1 (poor) to 10 (perfect) against each of the 5 HPO characteristics and then compared the overall ratings to the final league table. Unlike my previous HPO analysis of Ferguson and Mourinho and Ireland’s win in the 6 Nations, there is no bias to my ratings. As a lifelong Manchester United fan I had an unusually objective view of the title run-in. I do welcome any challenges to my assessment! HPO Characteristic
With over 100 goals each both Man City and Liverpool had a clear goal scoring strategy. The key strategic differentiator was the focus on defence. While Man City’s defence was the 2nd strongest behind Chelsea, Liverpool’s attitude was ‘no matter how may goals you score, we’ll score more.’ Against Chelsea this rigid strategy came unstuck when faced with the masters of the ‘park the bus’ approach. It’s hard to discern any pattern to Arsenal’s play. Pellegrini was calmness personified. He demonstrated a lot of the leadership characteristics that Jim Collins described in Good to Great (Harper Collins, 2001). He says that ‘Great leaders build enduring greatness through a paradoxical blend of personal humility and professional will.’ City did blot their ethical copybook by breaking the UEFA Financial Fair Play rules although they argue that they ‘narrowly complied.’ Brendan Rodgers conducted himself with dignity throughout the campaign and he did an astonishing job given the relatively shallow resources at his disposal. Mourinho’s ethics are questionable especially in his mocking congratulations of officials after Chelsea’s 1-2 defeat to Sunderland. Wenger’s leadership status is significantly tarnished but a win against Hull in the FA Cup may save him. The dropping of Hart who came back stronger, winning the last 5 matches on the spin and the fact that 4 players (Aguero, Toure, Dzeko and Negredo) scored more than 20 goals each demonstrates a strong Man City performance management ethic. Against Chelsea when in control of their own destiny with an opportunity to achieve a first elusive premier league title in favourable conditions, Liverpool bottled it at the crucial moment under the weight of pressure and expectation. They compounded this by letting a 3 goal lead slip against Crystal Palace. What Mourinho achieved without a goal scoring striker was amazing and he got the most out of his limited resources. Curiously this is the first time that the EPL has been won by a team that lost more than 5 matches. Despite the ‘galacticos’ tag Pellegrini nurtured a highly engaged team ethos. The development of Dzeko who scored crucial goals when Aguero was injured was remarkable. Liverpool’s players gave everything for the cause as demonstrated by Gerrard’s reinvention as a deep lying midfielder. Mourinho’s man management skills are legendary and he reignited the career of John Terry. Crucial losses in concentration against Crystal Palace and Sunderland scuppered what would have been an astonishing achievement. There’s no doubt that Liverpool were the neutral’s favourites for the title given the brand of football they played. A thrill a minute, Suarez’s unbelievable goals and even the defensive errors kept the customers on the edge of their seats. Man City, despite their 102 goals didn’t quite live up to this standard. Chelsea’s defensive but pragmatic football was not pretty on the eye. Arsenal’s usual mid-season collapse and spectacular defeats against Man City and Liverpool were thrilling in their own way.
Man City are indeed worthy champions and deserved to win the league!
Richard McCarthy
Richard is the head of Consultancy Services in OMT Global. He specialises in working with Senior and Middle Management, focusing on critical Organisational Development Initiatives.
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