Starting Anew
"...it was never an easy decision. It's been almost 20 years now, in this life, this lifestyle, and it's like a religion to me. But now, at 36, I feel like my time has come. It's time for the next generation to come in. Who wants to see an old man running around in the Football League? *journalists chuckle* We, or at least me personally, I want to see the youngsters playing. I want to see the next Beckham, the next Scholes, the next Owen and the best way is to bring them up young, let them develop, and put the English back in the English Premier League."
"And so with my retirement, I have come to the decision to enter the management game. I've always looked up to my managers, Martin O'Neill being a huge idol for me. He really shaped me as a player, and I just want to give some of that back. I want to give a young player the opportunity to grow and become the next English superstar. I want to lead a team, instill them with the knowledge that made me not only the player, but the person I am today. I feel like it's a sense of duty I guess; football gave me so much, I may as well repay it."
(The room jostles to pose a question)
"Emile, Emile! Has the lack of interest from Football League clubs influenced your decision to hang up the boots?"
"Haha, no, not at all. I'd love to play in the lower leagues of England, help develop the grassroots side of the game which is vitally important, but not as a player. That day is long gone, Australia taught me that, Aston Villa taught me that, and now I feel like it's time to turn to management and make a bigger impact. And to be honest, I've had one too many Snickers over the pre-season so I doubt anyone would sign me anyway." (journalists laugh)
"BBC Sport here, have you obtained the necessary qualifications or is this something you will be looking at doing in the coming months?"
"Well ever since I was at the Jets I had contacted UEFA about the possibility of getting the, erm, B license? Yeah the Continental B License, and I got that just before I left the Jets. I'm currently working on obtaining the A License and I'm almost there, very nearly haha, so once that's done I'll start looking for jobs. The last one is the Pro License I believe, and I'll start to look at beginning that once I'm settled in employment. Getting all of the licenses is definitely a big goal for me, I want to prove I'm up there with the best."
"Where do you plan on managing? I hear Spain's nice this time of year?"
"Haha cheers Jim, but in all honesty I couldn't think of managing anywhere else but here in England. I've watched the transformation of the Premiership and been saddened by the increasing lack of English talent. Newcastle don't have one Englishman in the first team and that makes me very sad. People are complaining that England didn't do well at the World Cup? Maybe we need to start investing in our league and start to develop star players again. I want to bring back the glory days, you know, Bobby Charlton and Gordon Banks. When England was an Englishman's domain, and I plan on doing that by staying in England for the long haul."
"Sky Sports 24 here, Emile, can you give us an insight into your potential style of play?"
"I think it's a tad premature maybe to comment on how I'll manage, but I've always loved selflessness and workrate. A team that puts themselves on the line to help their teammates. Have you seen Germany play? Granted, I'm not a big fan of Germany itself, what true Englishman is (room laughs) and they are pretty robotic (spattering of applause) the way they play is just amazing to me. The efficiency and the teamwork is just phenomenal. That's the kind of team I want. Maybe a little more emotion, haha, but that's the kind of football I'd love to play.
Well I think we might wrap it up here...."
"Wait, one last quick question Emile. Do you think your reputation will hamper your chances as a manager?"
"Well that's what I'm here to do. To rebuild the reputation."
English, 
Antiguan
Leicester- League Cup champions 1997, 2000
Liverpool- FA Cup 2001, League Cup 2001, 2003, Europa League 2001
