The quick response to the above question is that they don’t! However, if that were all we had to say on the matter then this would be the shortest article we have ever unleashed on our long-suffering readership.
Pep Guardiola
Pep Guardiola has already revealed his secret to keeping everyone in check and on board with his way of thinking. He doesn’t care! As he has said in the past, if they do as they are told he has no problem with them. If they aren’t happy about not being in the team than that isn’t his problem, it’s their’s!
Despite this stand-offish, (and correct), approach to management, Guardiola has few, if any, players who are actively seeking a transfer from the club.
Amongst those who would be expected to feel somewhat aggrieved at not being selected is Bernardo Silva.
Bought in the summer from Monaco for £43 million he has appeared in 19 games, 14 of which have been from the bench. He has scored one goal and has always acquitted himself reasonably well when on the pitch.
In truth, a player who has cost that much money would expect to be an automatic starter at most other top clubs and the fact that he isn’t at present makes us think he may have to move on soon if he is to be considered for Portugal’s World Cup squad.
José Mourinho
If José Mourinho decides that a player is not going to be selected regularly then he has two ways of dealing with it. He either ignores that player, which is usually a sign that he will be leaving soon, or he tells the press what the player needs to do in an attempt at trying to spark a reaction.
He has tried both methods with Luke Shaw and, without knowing all the ins and outs, there still seems to be a problem there. On form, Shaw can be the best left-back in the Premier League, he just appears short on confidence at the moment after suffering a couple of injury-hit years.
He would be welcomed back by most United fans as the knowledgeable ones amongst them recognise that the ageing Ashley Young is no defender. Constantly caught out of position and late in the tackle, he can be a liability but, in fairness, he has been offering something to the team when going forwards just recently.
Jose’s tough love may be working with Shaw and it may not. We will soon see if the player sees any future for himself at Old Trafford because, this being the year before a World Cup, he needs to be playing regularly, or at least on the bench, to be considered for selection.
Antonio Conte
Antonio Conte may very well be leaving Chelsea at the end of the season as rumours abound of a return to Italy. This means that any player who is currently unhappy with his lot may be tempted to wait and see what happens.
This could be considered a bit of a gamble as, barring a complete change of heart by the manager, that player could well end up stuck at Chelsea for another four months if Conte stays.
If he leaves, however, then that same player would also have to wait for a new manager to be appointed and trust that he is going to figure in his plans.
Yet again, with a World Cup looming, top players don’t want to be hanging around the periphery of a big club.
What are you going to do David Luiz?
Arséne Wenger
Stubborn Old Man, whatever spin he chooses to put on it, has a couple of players who wish to leave. They could both be sold for a fee in January, which would make sense, as the alternative is that they both walk away for free in the summer.
The problem here is that both Alexis Sánchez and Mesut Özil are more ambitious than their manager!
Wenger, however, is going through the “denial” stage of his management career. He denies that any player wants to leave the club, he denies that they will be sold in January, he denies that they will leave in the summer and he denies that they are unhappy, (pause for breath), he denies that Arsenal have any problems, he vehemently denies that HE IS the problem and he denies that he will leave before his contract expires, much to the disappointment of the majority of Gooners.
So his way of dealing with unhappy players, as with most other things, is to completely ignore the issue and hope that it goes away.
Jürgen Klopp
Jürgen Klopp will allow Philippe Coutinho to join Barcelona in January providing Barcelona still want him. Klopp has dealt with this particular problem admirably by continually passing the buck to somebody else within the Anfield hierarchy.
Claiming consistently that he doesn’t know what will happen he is quite happy to let others shoulder the burden, (and potential blame), when the Brazilian finally moves to Spain.
This is one of those unusual situations where the player isn’t particularly unhappy and is playing regularly for a top club. He just has an offer to go to a bigger club in a country more suited to his nationality.
So the managers all have their different ways of dealing with “unhappy” players and it is not for us to say who has it right.
There will always be players wishing to leave one club and join another and with player-power as strong as it is at present, no particular management method will prevent that.
WHY SAY ANYTHING? 