>>>>it puzzles me when its the over paid players that kick the ball.
That is one of the silliest things I have ever read on Answerbank.
So you dont think a "manager" (in any organization) is responsible for the performance of their staff.
A football manager will assess the opposition, look at their strengths and weakneses, and discuss that with his players to ensure they know what they are likely to face in the match.
The manager will work on tactics, set pieces (free kicks etc), attacking moves, defence moves, coping with opposition corners and free kicks etc.
The manager will work on player fitness, player skills, different team formations and so on.
The manager will pick the players, work out the team best formation, motivate the players, decide when to pick or drop a player, when to buy or sell a player, and when to make a substitution during the match.
All of these thing (and more) go into making a football manager.
A great football manager (like Ferguson and others) will get the "best" out their players year after year and win matches and trophies.
A bad manager will upset his players and demotivate the team, causing them to play poorly, or with a lack of enthusiasm, and hence lose matches.
I have seen average players play way above themselves for a good manager, and great players play way below themselves for a bad manager.
If players (or a team) are playing badly it is nearly always down to the manager, who in the end gets the sack if it continues.