1. Kenny Dalglish - Liverpool
Ahhh, the saviour of the Kop – a One-Man Club-Rejuvenation Machine staunchly rebuilding reputations after the risible Gillett-Hicks Anfield tenure and therefore a prime contender for this award. With the resounding vocal support of the Kop, and a global Liverpool fanbase fully tucked-in behind him, every time he spoke to the press he did so with the kind of marked assuredness and confidence that calms even the rockiest of boats. The Dalglish Factor eventually brought a team in disarray to 10 wins out of 18 in the Premier League including victories over Chlesea, and more resounding scorelines against Champions League-bound Utd and City. If only they'd hired him at the beginning of the season...
2. Harry Redknapp - Tottenham
They might have failed to retain their Champions League place at the behest of Moneybags City, but, to borrow his vernacluar , they "din't 'arf give it a good go" and should rightly be remembered, Barcelona aside, as the highlight of this European campaign. Value for money all season without a geniune scoring frontman, Harry galvanised his team against holders Inter almost shaming them in their backyard, before resoundingly beating the European Cup holders at home, embarrassing AC Milan and eventually succumbing to that little-known Spanish outfit, Real Madrid. Looking at Harry's Euro fixtures then browsing Sir Alex's makes for interesting reading. Ultimately the season may look a disappointment but without HR and some brilliantly astute signings (Hi, RVdV) it wouldn't have gotten started.
3. Mick McCarthy - Wolves
He may have the most monotone voice in the entire footballing world and have made every game he worked on at last summer's World Cup seem like an aural trial rather than a footballing festival, but there's no denying Mr McCarthy gets his team playing his way and gets good results off the back of it. Winning two of their last three games, Wolves also beat Chelsea, Man Utd and Manchester City at home, also going to a hostile Anfield and greedily taking all three points from an impotent Liverpool. Cracking displays of team unity and a 17th place finish held two golden fingers aloft at those who dismissed McCarthy's men as "cannon-fodder" and "Championship-material" at the start of the season.
4. Neil Warnock - QPR
Regardless of sprawling finances, getting any team out of the Championship is a monumental task. Becoming champions in the manner of Warnock's QPR was something else entirely. Turning workshy showman Adel Taarabt into a team-galvanising west london ringmaster was a thing of joy to behold and under the scruntinisation of what would appear to be an intense overlooking board, Warnock yet again comes over as a football mind to be reckoned with. Deserves to be at the helm in the Premier League.
5. Roberto Mancini - Man City
Vilified for most of the season for playing defensive catennaccio fotball and boring the knackers off of Manchester's fans in blue, Mancini eventually did what previous managers have failed to do, get Manchester City into the Champions League. Yaya Toure's signing at first seemed over-zealous yet proved entirely astute and David Silva's spatial relationship with Carlos Tevez became so tuned they may aswell have been wearing headsets. Oh, and did we mention that little Cup run they went on too. A definite success and a true contender who wraps up our nominations.
Maxim has partnered with Football Manager (FM2011 Handheld now available on iPad HERE)
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FOOTBALL MANAGER HANDHELD 2011 NOW AVAILABLE ON IPAD
Sports Interactive and SEGA are pleased to announce an iPad® specific update of Football Manager Handheld™ 2011 is now available on the App Store. This iPad specific update of the hugely popular iPhone® and iPod® touch app takes into account the extra power and screensize of the iPad and iPad 2 for an even smoother gaming experience.
The new user interface for the game fully utilises the higher resolution of the iPad family, providing the best experience yet for a version of Football Manager Handheld. Featuring intuitive menus, more information on the screen and being easier to navigate than ever before, the iPad version of Football Manager Handheld is also the fastest version of the game to date.
Customers already owning the iPod touch/iPhone version of the game will get the iPad update completely free, as the release means Football Manager Handheld is now a universal app. Those who don’t own the game already and decide to buy will get all versions of the game for the same price that the existing iPod Touch/iPhone specific version retailed for - £6.99 / €9.99. All data on the iPad version is up to date as of the end of the January transfer window meaning managers will be playing the game with all the players at their current clubs (as long as they moved before the end of January). Managers also have the option to start the game at the beginning of the season with the correct data at the time.
With over 20,000 players in the game and more gameplay depth and ease of use than ever, Sports Interactive and SEGA are confident that iPad owners will embrace Football Manager Handheld as enthusiastically as the iPod and iPhone owners before them.
Also included is a “car/stadium finder”, which provides direction from where the user parked their car, or got off the train or bus, to football grounds in England, Scotland, France, Italy, Germany & Spain and back again.
Key features in Football Manager Handheld 2011:
• 11 countries leagues with 34 playable divisions and with the ability to have 4 countries leagues available at any one time, meaning the manager can accept job offers in other countries.
• An easy to use tactics system, as well as positional tactical roles.
• Player training, including the ability to retrain players in different positions.
• Social networking integration via Twitter.
• In-game tutorial.
• A realistic transfer system.
• Full financial modelling.
• 2d match engine.
• Listen to your own music whilst playing the game.
For further information please go to www.sigames.com or www.footballmanager.com
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