In an age where footballing identity is becoming a more complicated issue than ever before, the Premier League has developed an obsession with prodigal sons gloriously returning to dugouts, hailed as the heroes to turn sinking ships around. At the end of the 2012/13 season, just one full-time manager – Roberto Martinez at Wigan Athletic – had represented his club as a player. Fast forward to the current campaign, and that number has multiplied to seven, over a third of the whole division. Managerial careers kicking off at former clubs is nothing revolutionary. Like any industry, it’s about who you know as much as what you know and logic dictates that most opportunities will...
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