Houllier scare makes football academic wonder if all bosses are barmy

Published 23:00 21/04/11

Gerard Houllier only returned to management seven months ago at Aston Villa, but his tumultuous reign has clearly had a huge impact on his fragile health.

The 63-year-old Frenchman breezed into Villa Park in September on a lucrative three-year contract, insisting he could hack the pressures of life back in the Premier League.

But he has presided over controversy after controversy as Villa's expensively-assembled team, packed full of stars, has flirted with relegation.

The news Houllier is in hospital after suffering chest pains adds weight to those who questioned the decision to poach him from the French FA in the wake of Martin O'Neill's sudden departure on the eve of the season.

Houllier was lucky to survive when Liverpool medics rushed him to hospital in 2001 after he was struck by chest pains during a half-time team-talk in a match against Leeds.

Despite making a full recovery and then managing again successfully at Lyon from 2005-2007, returning to the Premier League was always going to be a lot more stressful.

And so it has proved as Houllier fell out with a series of stars at Villa Park, such as John Carew, Richard Dunne, Stephen Warnock, Habib Beye and Stephen Ireland.

He also upset Villa fans on several occasions - paying homage to his old club Liverpool on his return to Anfield with Villa and by fielding a weakened team at Manchester City in the FA Cup.

Houllier then embarrassingly had his authority undermined when Dunne and James Collins were both heavily fined for a drunken row with club staff on a recent bonding trip.

And all this took place against a backdrop of poor results, which have only started to pick up in the last three matches.

Before accepting the Villa job, Houllier spoke to Dr Abbas Rashid, the man who led the team who performed an 11-hour operation on him a decade ago, and was given a clean bill of health.

"When you go into a job you know there will be pressure, that it will be hard work and you won't sleep every night," said Houllier at the time.

"You need to make sure your body is ready. I have checked that. I am much healthier and fitter now than I was before."

Now, the hospitalised Houllier has been offered the full support of the League Manager's Association, who are concerned about his welfare and the increasing pressure on football bosses in general.

Dr Dorian Dugmore, president and founder of the Adidas Wellness International Centre which assesses managers, explained: "It is very stressful - and it is rising every season.

"The cost of survival, or getting in Champions League positions or getting promoted is vital, because it means lots of money.

"There is forever mounting pressure on these guys. I don't think Gerard is any different and he has had events in the past. Gerard is a lovely guy, but whoever it is as a manager the LMA is committed to helping them."

Dugmore and the LMA set-up the 'fit to manage' programme to monitor the health of football chiefs, who only stay on average 18 months at a club.

There is a history of managers physically succumbing to pressure, from Jock Stein in 1985 to the likes of Joe Kinnear, Graeme Souness, Sam Allardyce, Johan Cryuff, Barry Fry and, of course, Houllier himself.

Dugmore added: "Managers have virtually always been former players, who go from looking after themselves to then looking after other people and neglecting themselves.

"The second thing is the pressures of the game - they cause tremendous surges in adrenaline and a lot of the stress hormones, which can carry a cost if you are not fit enough to deal with them.

"They cause rises in blood pressure, cholesterol and heart irregularities.

"When you see a Gerard case, it emphasises the fact managers need to be aware of the risks."

But despite the dangers of football management, Dugmore reckons Houllier will be anxious to return:

"These guys are passionate about the job and you try telling them to stop. They are not going to stop. They are just not.

"It is case of saying: 'If you are not going to stop, how can we look after you so you can maximise your potential working in the game and having good health?'"

Houllier's short-term absence is likely to give assistant Gary McAllister a chance to underline his managerial credentials.

But former Coventry and Leeds boss McAllister is not popular with players and Villa may now find themselves plunged back into relegation danger. They are currently only seven points off the drop zone.

It is another nightmare prospect for Villa and another reason why Dr Sue Bridgewater, who lectures at Warwick University about football management, questions why anyone would want to be a boss.

Bridgewater said: "I look at the tenures, the pressures and how unfairly sometimes managers are in the spotlight and I can't really understand why anyone would want to be a football manager - particularly in the lower leagues with the salaries.

"I think how much would they have to pay me to do that, but people can't stay away from management - it is like a drug."

Houllier: I'll be back with Villa

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