The remarkable story of Will Still and Reims has become a case study in how quicky people grow bored of hearing about remarkable stories. But we’ll come to that.
First, it would be entirely remiss not to detail precisely how Still – a Belgian-born Englishman – came to generate so many headlines, of such a quantity that it’s prompted social media to resort to widespread sarcasm.
Hang tight Twitter, we’re going in.
Back in October, his appointment by the once mighty, but now sadly lowly Reims caused mere ripples in the media, the few column inches given over to his seemingly doomed assignment focusing only on the peculiarities of the match-up.
Having taken an unconventional route to coaching a Ligue 1 side, starting out as a video analyst via the backwaters of the Belgian lower divisions, then Reims and Standard Liege, all as an assistant, Still was only 30 when the two-time European Cup finalists offered him the main gig. This made him the youngest coach across the continent’s major leagues.
Furthermore, failing to logistically balance his coaching commitments with studying for, and attaining, a UEFA A licence meant Reims were obliged to pay £22,000 in fines every time he took charge of a game. Because standing in their technical area was a man not officially licensed to coach them.
Lastly, there was Still’s upbringing to consider. Born and raised in Belgium, from English parents, Still moved to Lancashire as a teen and it is rare to have someone with such strong English connections coaching abroad. For whatever reasons why, it just is.
All of which was enough to elicit a little bit of coverage. A quirky news story.
Only then the results kicked in. More accurately, straight away Reims’ fortunes were utterly transformed.
In his first game at the helm, a real baptism of fire at home to a Lionel Messi-led PSG, the rookie manager orchestrated a goalless stalemate, and if that brought surprise it was nothing compared to what was to come. This week, a side that was previously fending off the clutches of relegation made it 18 games unbeaten under Still and only one other manager has ever enjoyed such a successful start to a managerial tenure, that being Tito Vilanova at Barcelona.
So naturally enough, everyone is talking about Will Still at present, a recent unknown who has made a sudden and phenomenal impact in the world of football, but the repetition of the key points of his rise – namely his age, and his lack of qualifications – has clearly irked a corner of Twitter. Now, whenever his story is brought up it evokes a slew of responses, all mocking the tropes. Social media is funny like that.
This doesn’t however detract one iota from how staggering Will Still’s story is, one that hasn’t gone unnoticed this side of the channel either in boardrooms across the country.
With the 30-year-old candidly admitting that it’s his dream to manage in the English top-flight there are several clubs prominent in the Premier League relegation odds presently taking note. Indeed, with Still being a lifelong West Ham supporter, and David Moyes seriously backed in the next Premier League manager to be sacked odds, it is easy to add two and two together, hypothetically at this stage at least.
Sorry Twitter, but there might be plenty of mileage yet in the remarkable Will Still story. It may even be just beginning.
*Credit for all of the photos in this article belongs to AP Photo*
FIRST PUBLISHED: 20th March 2023
