CHENNAI: The technical area holds a special place in football. That is where the ‘boss’ asserts himself — prowling the confined space like a tiger, shouting instructions, debating referee decisions or even whistling and gesturing to get his message across, a la Jose Mourinho or Pep Guardiola. But when Kerala Blasters FC is in action, any first-time follower could fail to identity their coach. For the eternally calm Steve Coppell prefers to plot his team’s path to victory from a corner of the dug-out. Instead, the lively figure of Walter Downes takes charge on the sidelines...a case of the commander enforcing the king’s vision.
The two Englishmen go back a long way, 26 years to be exact. Downes assisted Coppell for the first time at Crystal Palace in the 1990-91 season, helping the London club to a third place finish in the top division league (Premier League came into existence only in 1992). Their most famous partnership happened at Reading FC, in 2005-06, when they earned promotion to the Premier League after winning the Championship (second tier league in the English system) with a season-record 106 points. That was also the period Coppell won the ‘Manager of the Year’ honour for two consecutive seasons.
“We are two completely different characters,” explains Downes. “Sometimes, when the manager speaks, players take a bit more notice because I am non-stop with instructions. They can hear some, they can’t hear others, and if I hear something from behind me, if
Steve sees something more analytically, then perhaps I can get that message across. But we both think the same way, and it’s just the way the two of us are.”
More than during the match, it is in organising training sessions that the duo has to work in sync, with Wally — as Downes is known in the team — looking after defensive play. Before each session, Coppell would tell Wally strengths and weaknesses he has been observing of the opposing team. And Wally would explain his plans to Coppell.
“Steve studies videos more than I do. He would tell me ‘the opposition are strong here, they do this,
and what can the defence do to counter that?’ And I have to work out a couple of sessions where we can replicate that with our players,” the assistant elucidates.
Admitting that Coppell had done more with the Blasters than he has when the two worked together, Wally says, “We do a lot of classroom work and educational video work with the defenders because much of defending is functional work...disciplines and levels and organisation, which you can do via video and short spells on the training pitch. Forward play is much more fluid. You just have to put those players into positions where they can express themselves and score goals whereas I can be more regimental with the back players. Consequently, you can do more with the defenders than the attackers. I can tell our defenders where to be in relation to the other defenders, and also the ball.”
It’s primarily Wally’s job to ensure that the players keep their wits about them under pressure, and not concede free kicks and penalties and earn the wrath of the referee. “We drill into them the discipline of working the feet and working the distances and angles, and defending properly, never going to ground, not getting into a song and dance with the referees. It’s difficult enough to win any football match with 11 players. So to let your team down by bad defending, bad tackling or dissenting with the referee, for me, is unacceptable to me. Any slide tackle, if I see you on the floor, you better be 100% right when you are going to ground because if you are not, it’s going to be a free kick and, in my opinion, you haven’t worked hard enough,” Downes says.