November 7th 2024.
David Buchanan, a former defender for Northampton Town, recently shared his thoughts on the unsuccessful tenure of Jimmy Floyd-Hasselbaink at the Sixfields club. Buchanan, who himself had a successful playing career, revealed that Hasselbaink seemed to be out of his depth as a manager and "didn't have a clue."
Hasselbaink, a legendary former striker for Chelsea, had retired from playing in 2008 and began his coaching journey with Woking. He then worked with Chelsea's Under-16s and the Nike Academy, hoping to gain the necessary experience to enter the world of management. However, his first stint as a manager with Royal Antwerp in Belgium lasted only one season, followed by short-lived spells with Burton Albion and Queens Park Rangers.
Despite these struggles, Northampton Town gave Hasselbaink another chance in the 2017/18 season, but he faced similar difficulties and was eventually sacked after just six months in charge. He then spent some time out of the coaching world before returning to Burton for a second stint, which also proved to be unsuccessful.
Surprisingly, in 2024, Hasselbaink was selected to be a part of Gareth Southgate's England coaching set-up and was instrumental in helping the team reach the final of Euro 2024. This came as a shock to Buchanan, who expressed his disbelief on the I Had Trials Once podcast.
Buchanan stated, "Jimmy Floyd, for the stature of man that he was, just didn't have a clue. He manages England and he's an England coach, I just don't know how. What a player, but it doesn't make you a good manager." He went on to share his personal experiences with Hasselbaink, mentioning his ego and the lack of respect he showed towards players.
Despite being a top goalscorer and the captain of the club, Buchanan and his teammates were not treated with the respect they deserved. He recalled an incident where Hasselbaink handed out the team sheet and assigned players to positions without consulting them. "I was like, you're the manager, mate. These are people, Marc Richards is the top goalscorer of all time in the Football League, he's the skipper of this club, have a bit of respect back," Buchanan added.
He also revealed that Hasselbaink's training methods were unconventional, with the team being made to run a 10k before a game and only focusing on set pieces and running around during training.
Despite his failures as a manager, Hasselbaink was given the opportunity to join the England coaching team, which Buchanan finds hard to comprehend. He ended the discussion by stating, "This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply."
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