Now, just who is in charge?

Who is the boss at a football club? Of course everybody knows that at Tekkers football academy in Bahrain, it’s my good lady, Deena! But seriously, managing a football club at the highest level has its attractions – the salary, the glory of winning games and trophies amongst them 

It also has its downsides – every fan thinking that they know better than you, every decision scrutinised in the media, your job totally dependent on results rather than performance, as well as having to manage a group of young millionaires! 

Spare a thought therefore for Maurizio Sarri, manager of Chelsea FC, who was involved in a bizarre high-profile incident with his goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga that continues to be hotly-debated by football fans across the globe.

Under pressure because of inconsistent results and the subject of an international two-year transfer ban, Chelsea played against Manchester City in the League Cup Final – a team who are chasing an unprecedented quadruple and who Chelsea lost to 6-0 the last time they played.

Sarri’s team played well and held City to a 0-0 draw in regular time during which goalkeeper Kepa needed treatment for a couple of injuries near the end. It has since been suggested he was playing for time. 

On the subs bench, Sarri had Willy Caballero, an ex-City keeper who once saved three penalties in a final shoot-out to secure victory for his team.

It appeared to be a simple decision for the manager … bring his injured player off and replace him with the perfect shot-stopper.

But this is when the situation took a turn for the worse and undid all the good work that Chelsea and Sarri had achieved all afternoon.

Kepa refused to come off.

Despite being told by his manager, the referee and his captain to do so, he wouldn’t budge.

Was it a misunderstanding because he felt he was fit enough to continue?

Does it matter?

His number was up, he didn’t walk and the manager backed down.

No substitution was made, and the penalty shoot-out was lost. 

In my opinion, it was a failure by everybody involved

– the manager should not have backed down

– the captain on the pitch should have enforced his manager’s wishes

– the officials should have enforced the substitution decision made

– and, of course, the player should have gone off when told to

Since then, Kepa has apologised to the manager, the fans and his teammates. He has also been fined a week’s wages, a paltry penalty considering the salary of the world’s most expensive goalkeeper.

Manager Sarri, on the other hand, has continually been criticised for lacking authority and having players undermine his decisions.

From a coach’s point of view, I feel that he made a huge mistake and one that might ultimately cost him his job even though the side has bounced back and secured another victory in the chase for a Champions League spot by narrowly beating neighbours Fulham.

Whatever the right or wrong of the situation, the manager/coach’s decision must be final, and he must have the respect of his players to carry out his instructions.

What should he do now? Dropping Kepa, the 24-year-old Spaniard, from the team that faced Spurs three days later was the right thing to do from a public perspective, and the 2-0 win would have been a great relief to all at Chelsea.

It was a small price to pay as he was back between the posts against Fulham on Sunday night.

Presumably, manager and player have also had a serious discussion about who the boss is and to ensure that there is never a repeat of that action.

The question of whether the incident was a misunderstanding or a deliberate act will unlikely be properly answered but it has raised the question over who is really is in charge – the manager who gets the sack for failure or the multi-millionaire players who are responsible for the failure on the pitch?

How often do we hear that the coach has ‘lost the dressing room’ with Jose Mourinho at Manchester United being a prime example.

It is clear that nowadays a manager has to be a lot more than a tactical genius. Man management skills are required like never before in football as this will be the ultimate of whether the coach in the hotseat succeeds or fails in the modern game.