Piece from Paris: It’s ok to be angry, Renee

Last season, when Arsenal had thrown away a 2-0 lead in Munich to lose 3-2 to Bayern Munich in the Champions League, it took Renee Slegers over an hour to appear for the post-match press conference. This is not unusual after a bad result and was pretty much anticipated. In moments like these, coaches will often give themselves some time to collect their thoughts and maybe even calm down a little before speaking to the press.

You can read the transcript of that press conference here. I recall thinking it was the only time I had been disappointed by one of Slegers’ post-match press conference. There is context I should set here. Firstly, I experience games emotionally as a fan and go through all the same emotions supporters do after a disappointing result. But I also understand much of what coaches and players say in the face of disappointment.

As fans, we go into a state of despair and anger in those moments. But coaches and players cannot do that in the same way, their whole job is to control their emotions and to not get too down in the bad times, which means they will always be at cross purposes with supporters after disappointments because they have to stay constructive. They cannot respond in the same way that fans do. (And fans are perfectly entitled to a bit of head loss).

And being in the room and asking the questions does make a difference, it humanises the person and people in front of you. That cannot deter you from your task and your questions, of course. But you experience the response in a different way when it’s in person and often in response to something you have specifically asked. So I often pitch my response somewhere between fan and coach, which I think is useful in this role (and probably earns me the ire of both parties on occasion!)

However, I was disappointed in Munich by how measured Renee was. I am certain that, because the fan in me is more pronounced in an acute moment, my thinking was more emotional than rational. But I really wanted her to show a bit of anger and regret. I am sure there were good reasons for her not to do that in terms of how she manages situations internally. But even with time I feel there would have been value in demonstrating some pithiness and bearing teeth.

Last night in Paris, we got the word that Renee would not conduct post match duties because she was too angry. So Aaron D’Antino stepped in. Slegers definitely cuts a calm figure pretty much all the time and it seems to me that she felt that veneer would break if she were to answer questions on the game. Again, I don’t know what she said or what she showed internally to her players but I think demonstrating some vulnerability and anger would have had some real value externally.

Slegers’ approach focuses highly on creating a strong and impenetrable internal culture. She has no online presence whatsoever and focuses on making London Colney something of a sanctum. Coaches should prioritise the internal over the external but it is foolhardy to totally dismiss the external facing part of being a manager. Jonas Eidevall resigned, by his own admission, because he felt his relationship with supporters was unfixable and created a bad air around the club.

Maybe Renee being so angry that she could not face the media has an internal value. It is out of character. Because let’s face it, Arsenal are teetering close to crisis and it feels like the messaging needs a temporary switch up, that the environment around the team requires a short, sharp, shock. Initially I hung around a little after Aaron D’Antino’s press conference because I strongly wondered whether Renee had resigned.

I quickly found that not to be the case. Incidentally, I had a chat with Jodie Taylor after the game, before the decision for Renee to not fulfil post-match duties had been decided. These meetings are more likely at European games. UEFA run the stadiums at Champions League games and run a sharp operation, so mixed zones and the like are very clear and parallel to player dressing rooms.

I was also the only English journalist in attendance (Sylvain Jamet also travelled from London, but he is French!) so staff are more likely to stop and chat too since there are fewer people and, I guess, as an acknowledgment of your effort. Taylor said the feeling internally was that there was strong support for Renee and the players feel they are close to hauling themselves out of this bad patch.

Ultimately, the decision to have D’Antino conduct the press conference inevitably led to speculation over her future and has added to an ‘end of days’ sort of feeling externally. That may not be reflected internally, but it will be interpreted externally as a sign of a manager on the brink. Maybe an uncharacteristically abrupt press conference would have added to that feeling.

On Sunday after the Chelsea game, she spoke about ‘keeping the complication and pressure away from the players,’ and perhaps she has done that to such an extent that she has made the complication and pressure close to unbearable for herself. Maybe it was time for some home truths and for angry Renee to make an appearance. Sometimes I think you do have to express a little righteousness in life and it’s all the more powerful when you don’t do it often. I think we should have heard from angry, vulnerable Renee.

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