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Future Top Football Managers Plan Studies Around World Cup

Warwick Business School has taken particular precautions to ensure that its latest intake of students have a study programme that frees them up to watch the World Cup football tournament - there wasn't really much choice as the new intake includes Paul Ince, Les Ferdinand, Alec Ferguson's son Darren Ferguson and 17 other significant footballing names embarking on an intensive year long course designed to provide football managers and potential managers with business and personal management skills.

The new intake of Warwick Business School's renowned Certificate in Applied Management course, start this week - past course graduates have included Mark Hughes and Stuart Pearce joined in the Premiership by rising star Aidy Boothroyd of Watford.

Aidy said of the course: "The idea is to take good practice from business and other sports, things like dealing with the media, project management, organising finances, which make you more prepared. The course is the best one I've ever been on."

Leeds Manager Kevin Blackwell is also on record as saying The Certificate in Applied Management should be compulsory for any aspiring manager and he couldn't have done his job without it.

The programme is designed to provide managers and potential managers with the business and personal management skills they will need for the increasingly fraught business of football management. As Stuart Pearce puts it "I appreciate that the most important thing is to get good results, but to me the bottom line is the more education you can give yourself, and the more preparation you can do, the less chance of failing. That's my philosophy."

Warwick Business School was commissioned by the Professional Footballers' Association, the League Managers' Association, and the Football Association to provide a qualification to sit alongside the Football Association's mandatory UEFA Pro Licence. It is designed to develop the management skills of footballers who are in or who want to take on football management roles.

The full list of the new intake is as follows:

Colin Calderwood
Billy Davies
Les Ferdinand
Paul Ince
Steve Hodge
Paul Davis
Darren Ferguson
Paul Hart
Barry Hunter
Chris Beech
Alan Irvine
Joe Joyce
Stuart McCall
David Oldfield
Andy Preece
Chris Ramsay
Lee Richardson
Peter Shirtliff
Steve Thompson
Jason With

Programme Director Dr Sue Bridgewater of Warwick Business School said "Since we began working with the LMA, PFA and FA in March 2002, the world of the football manager seems to have become even tougher. Finances are tighter than ever and that puts additional pressures on managers. If anything the media spotlight has intensified and the fans still expect success, right now, whatever pressures the club may be under.

"There is no one style of successful football manager. We are not trying to build a 'designer football manager', nor could we if we tried. It is crucial in today's environment, though, that football managers can motivate players on the pitch and have a toolkit of management skills to help them with all aspects of the job."

PFA Chief Executive Gordon Taylor said "The role of the modern football club manager has changed considerably - the high profile nature of the industry now requires that players considering a career in football management need high quality management training."

The League Managers' Association Chief Executive, John Barnwell, believes that players appointed to run clubs need time to develop a good understanding of the pressures involved in management. He said "It is extremely difficult to make this move without formal training and not one which I would recommend. All future managers should have advanced coaching licences and go through this management course to prepare them for a very difficult profession."


Photo and interview opportunity: There will be an opportunity to interview, film and photograph the new course intake at 10am on Monday 5th June on the lawn immediately outside the main Warwick Business School Building on the University of Warwick campus at the junction of Scarman Road and Gibbet Hill Road, Coventry.


For further information please contact:


Dr Sue Bridgewater Warwick Business School
024 76524341
S.H.Bridgewater@warwick.ac.uk

Peter Dunn, Press and Media Relations Manager
University of Warwick Tel: 024 76 523708
or 07767 655860 p.j.dunn@warwick.ac.uk

Vin Hammersley, Director of Communications
Warwick Business School Tel: 024 76524124
v.t.hammersley@warwick.ac.uk
mobile 07985 956624

PR39 2nd June 2006