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An interview where he points out that in England players are given top managerial roles far too quickly in their careers. I agree 100% with him...it's well and good having a club legend take over, but I think it's important they gain experience in lower levels and by getting their qualifications first. Italy has a similar approach, where managers always spend time in lower leagues, and even in Spain, it's rare for a player to take over immediately. It's just a pity that the English FA did implement a rule preventing managers lacking qualifications from taking charge, but then club chairmen and the manager's union make a mockery of those by citing "special conditions" every time.
Players told to wait for top jobs
Gerard Houllier
Former Liverpool boss Gerard Houllier says English footballers are pushed into top management jobs too quickly.
He believes Bryan Robson, Stuart Pearce and Gareth Southgate all took on senior positions far too soon.
"In France, you cannot become a manager when you step out of your career as a player," Houllier told Inside Sport.
"Would a manager of a big company put somebody without experience into a key position in his company? No, he would not, but they do in football."
The 60-year-old Frenchman said being a player and being a manager were two very different roles.
"As a player, you think of yourself and your career," he said. "The manager has the vision of the club (to deal with) and has got to think of a strategy."
I have never felt that England had this culture of developing coaches, but it is such a big country of football
Houllier said any prospective managers of a big club should gain the necessary skills before assuming such a responsibility.
"You need to develop them and prepare them," he said.
"I have never felt that England had this culture of developing coaches, but it is such a big country of football.
"Whether it is Bryan, Stuart or Gareth, I'm sure that they would have liked to go up the different steps and to have two or three years as an assistant manager."
Houllier began his managerial career in his mid-20s as player-boss of French side Le Touquet.
He later moved to Arras as youth coach and then became head coach at Noeux-les-Mines before accepting his first major managerial position with Lens, guiding them to promotion and a place in the Uefa Cup.
He went on to enjoy success at Paris St-Germain and was in charge of the French national team when it failed to qualify for the 1994 World Cup finals in the United States.
He bounced back by steering Liverpool to six trophies - League Cup (2), FA Cup, Uefa Cup, Uefa Super Cup and Charity Shield - during his five-year reign at Anfield.
He left the Reds in 2004, winning two league championships with Lyon before becoming technical director at the French football federation's prized academy at Clairefontaine.
He's doing better than alot of us expected at the beginning of the season.
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Bunch of English guys rapping that. Sounds priceless.
