Will Still is no longer just that of Football Manager

Will Still is almost certainly an individual that most won’t have heard of until mid-way through last season. The now well-known red-haired touchline protege has been at the forefront of a youthful revival in football management, leading Riems to an eleventh-place finish in Ligue 1 - famously without a UEFA Pro licence for the majority of the season. The meme will not be repeated here. Still has been a figure in football management for far longer than many initially knew.

Born in Braine-l'Alleud, Belgium, to English and Belgian parents, Still openly stated his early obsession with football came through playing himself, his father’s support of West Ham, and his experiences playing Football Manager - his parents refused him the chance of owning a PlayStation, leading the then nine-year-old William Still to fall in love with FM. Yet, as Sill is quick to point out in multiple interviews, and rightly so, his career in football hasn’t stemmed from Football Manager to being an actual football manager. His application and dedication to honing his craft in relatively unexplored corners of European football have enabled Still to become arguably Europe’s most exciting young manager. 

A 24-years old manager

Having played to a respectable yet non-exceptional standard himself, Still opted to pursue a career in football management in his early twenties, undertaking a football studies course at Myerscough College. Alongside this, Still would undertake video analyst work and also worked as Assistant Manager for the Preston North End U14 side. At this point, Still’s prowess was in video analysis, a skill that earned him the recognition of Yannick Ferrera, then manager of Sint-Truiden who took Still under his wing. The pair remained part of the same side when Ferrera was offered the chance to manage Standard Liege in 2015. Despite winning the Belgian Cup, Ferrera and his assistants, Still included, were sacked a year later. Unperturbed by this sacking, Still had, for a brief time, sat as one amongst many at the top table of domestic Belgian football, a hugely respectable level for anyone working in football, let alone someone in their early twenties. However, if Still was to pursue his dream, he would need to step out of the shadow of video analysis and into the world of football management - an opportunity he was duly offered at Lierse, a second-division Belgian side. 

Having initially started under a combined role of video analyst and assistant manager to Frederik Vanderbiest in April 2017. Come June, and Still was back at Standard Liege for what can only be described as a revolving door experience. The club immediately failed to meet various contractual arrangements, causing the then 24-year-old Still to return to Lierse almost immediately. Yet, his return was far from what he had expected. Vanderbiest had been sacked in early October, paving the way for an unsuspecting Will Still to be offered the caretaker Manager position despite self-admittedly “bricking it, I had no idea what I was getting into. We won multiple games on the trot and we went from bottom to the top of the league. I went from someone unknown to someone people knew. It was just crazy, being a head coach at 24, it sounds ridiculous but it did happen.”

Still has never been just a meme

Despite his success on the field, the club failed to stave off financial difficulties declaring bankruptcy at the close of the 2017/18 season. Still subsequently moved to Beerschot as Assistant Manager to Stijn Vreven, and later Hernán Losada who managed to steer Beerschot to the top division in Belgium. The managerial motif of Still’s career thus far then began to play a role. In what was now becoming regular fashion, Losada left the club and Still was appointed manager from mid-January 2021 until the close of the season. A strong showing a ninth place finish however was not enough for Still to keep his job as the club opted to hire Peter Maes as manager - the club feeling the need for greater experience on the touchline - a move they are likely to have regretted since. 

A move to Ligue 1 swiftly followed. Once again, the Will Still motif of subsuming an Assistant Managerial position, this time under Óscar Garcia. However, Still was not initially offered a managerial position at Reims, instead returning once again to Standard Liege on the grounds that his UEFA Pro License was registered there and the regular trips between France and Belgium were eating into his time - fair enough. Following Garcia’s sacking at the end of the 2021/22 season, Still was offered the Caretaker Manager position back at Reims where he started with a five-game unbeaten run, leading the club to hire him permanently. Thus ensues a litany of memes around weekly fines the club had to pay for Still not having a UEFA Pro License - something he has now obtained - as well as regular comments and discussions around his age. Being the youngest manager in Europe’s Top 5 Leagues is always going to be a talking point. 

But how do Will Still's teams play?

Still has shown a penchant for developing young talent, Florian Balogun need only attest to this, whilst also demonstrating a tactical ingenuity and intelligence that has allowed Riems to finish comfortably mid-table - an impressive feat. Still’s 4-2-3-1 set-up is predicated on a direct approach, comfortably building out of the back in a 4-1-2-3 single-pivot system that allows the others in midfield to push up and attack the half-spaces, then returning to a 4-2-3-1 when attacking. Plenty of focus is given to how, when attacking, the full-backs can stretch the defense, allowing players to push up into a common 2-3-5 formation, creating overloads via regular switches of the ball, and opening up opposition defenses. Sill’s use of full-backs in the attacking line, rather than inverting them, the ‘8’ in the side has greater freedom. 

When defending, Still’s side adopts an aggressive counter-press whilst also moving into a mid-block 4-4-2 structure, aiming to block passes into the pivots, and the cover shadow helps protect central areas forcing the opposition in wide areas, relying on pressing triggers to engage rather than maintaining a high-energy press. This allows Riems to force opposition players away from key spaces on the pitch and enter the box. Next season will be key for Still. An undoubtedly skilled manager, capable of communicating in multiple languages, he is yet to play a full season with full media attention. There will be greater expectations of him, he is now a contender to enter the esteemed top table of young managers (Arteta, Ten Hag, Nagelsmann, Amorim, Tedesco, Kompany, etc.) likely to rotate around the top clubs for the next two decades. Time will tell as to how he blossoms.