The focus is often on the lack of opportunities for British coaches but look at it another way and it is remarkable that 16 of the clubs in the sixth-richest league in European football – two thirds of them – are currently being coached by men from the British Isles. This is the famous Championship, offering raucous crowds, potential riches and a route to the Premier League. That is what has drawn the other eight - coaches from Belgium, Italy, France, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland and two from Portugal - with more waiting.
Each of these men are first-time managers in English football and while not all of them will find success here, the odds are in favour of at least one of them being able to call themselves a Premier League manager once the Championship season is concluded. Burnley – Fabio Celestini (Switzerland) Middlesbrough – Kim Hellberg (Sweden) Norwich – Philippe Clement (Belgium) QPR – Julien Stephan (France) Southampton – Tonda Eckert (Germany) Swansea – Vitor Matos (Portugal) Watford – Alessio Dionisi (Italy) Wolves – Cesar Peixoto (Portugal) Top coaches are alive to the possibilities in England's second tier. It was a privilege to attend two games with Portuguese coach Vitor Campelos recently to gain a greater appreciation not just of the game here but its appeal to those working elsewhere.
Campelos has offers at home and abroad, the chance to continue his top-flight coaching career on the continent is there. But the lure of the British game took him on a fact-finding mission both north and south of the border. It proved an illuminating trip.
Watching games with genuine experts is always insightful. Campelos, who has coached three different teams in Portugal's top division and won the title in Slovenia earlier this year, was impressed by Wolves' shape at Bristol City but wanted to see more rotations. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player He enjoyed Scott Twine's stunning free-kick at Ashton Gate and shared tales of how he would empower his own players by sending them off in groups to devise set-piece routines for the weekend.
"They are so much more engaged when it is their own idea." At Pride Park, Campelos noted how Bolton were able to pull Derby around the pitch. "Look at the space every time for Ruben Rodrigues in the half spaces." His compatriot opened the scoring soon after. But the Championship is not always so predictable.
Derby produced an unlikely second-half comeback and won the game 3-1 with only 30 per cent of the possession. "Football is amazing," concluded Campelos. The crowd of 27,536 watching a team winless in 10 games was a reminder of English football's depth.
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