AuthorJeffEyesRimmer After running a poll on our Twitter feed it seems that the majority of Derby County fans, 61%, (thanks to everyone that voted) thought that Steve McClaren deserved more time at the helm than the measly 4 months that he had in charge. I questioned back in October whether McClaren was a good appointment and there were ups and downs but he did take Derby from 4th bottom to 10th in the League, not a bad effort at all. Other team’s managers in the Championship, like my very own Cardiff, have been in similar positions this season and have rightly been praised for steady progression up the table. We shouldn't be surprised when managers get dismissed, especially when under performing, but the frequency at which these sackings occur and the length of time given to them to turn things around often seems ludicrous.
Quite often it seems only a few losses on the bounce means there is speculation of a sacking. The average tenure of a Premier League manager is just over a year, the short termism is amazing really, where instant success is demanded and long term stability is shunned. The Championship has an even lower average tenure, with the riches of the EPL meaning teams forego long term goals. While Ranieri being sacked 9 months after winning the EPL was the talk of the town recently spare a thought for Gary Caldwell. Caldwell won the League 1 title with Wigan last season and was sacked 6months after that. At the time of his sacking, Wigan was admittedly in danger, but he had lost only 1 of his last 6 games. Things were looking up. His replacement, Warren Joyce has just been sacked 4 months after taking over from Caldwell having been unable to make a difference. Is this really what football has become? While managers have always been the person to take the blame for poor situations, it’s becoming more frequent that managers are the fall guys. Some accountability must lie with the players, boards and yes fans as well. A total of 41 managers have been sacked this season, the record is 53 in a season. With 2x months of the season left there is a possibility that we may break that record. Of those, 5 teams, Derby, Wigan, Rotherham, Swansea, and Newport have had 3 managers this season. Leyton Orient are on their 4th manager. It’s hard to see how a team can gain consistently or momentum when new ideas are thrown at the players every few months. Should teams be allowed to change managers at the drop of a hat? Should a form of transfer window be put in place for managers like we have with players? That might solve the forever manager merry-go-round that happens every season. There also seems to be a major disconnect between the length of time managers are given to have success and contracts given to players. Managers on average last 1 year, while the players they sign usually get 3-4 year contracts. Do short term contracts need to be used for players to help address this? Contracts seem to be broken at the drop a hat nowadays anyway, with players refusing to play, trying to push through moves and going AWOL, so what does it matter if the contract is a standard 1 year or 3 years? We as fans have also been culpable; more and more we are demanding instant success and jumping on a managers back after a few poor results. How often do we see the sign ‘Insert Managers Name Out!’ held up? I read on another more reputable site that Mark Hughes at Stoke had taken them as far as they could go and they needed a new man to move them forward. But I question what moving forward is? Why the attempt to push a manager aside when really it’s a glass ceiling. The top 6 clubs are probably the strongest they have ever been in the EPL, you wonder if the same should be said about Everton, West Brom and Southampton. Although Arsene Wenger does appear to have had his day at Arsenal, I don’t think I would complain about consistently being in the top 4 every season for the past 20 years, being solvent, no threat of relegation, lovely new stadium and consistently being in the Champions League every season. Most fans dream of that, why then such the vitriol? It was good to see Derby fans thinking that the manager deserved more time. It’s difficult to know whether to stick or twist though. There are plenty of examples of were sacking has provided immediate effect, Shakespeare at Leicester has been a good, Paul Trollope being sacked at Cardiff with Neil Warnock being brought in, Paul Clement at Swansea is another. Then there are the examples were possible sticking hasn’t worked; Bristol City comes to mind currently. Then there are the teams like Burnley, who stuck with Sean Dyche even when they were relegated and came back up. The decision to be loyal to the man that got them up the first time have been proven to be the right one, with Burnley now comfortably in mid table in the EPL. It could be worse though, you could be Paulo Bento the former Olympiakos manager, who had guided his team to top of the Greek Superleague before a 3 game losing streak meant he was sacked this month. |
AuthorsJust Some Fans Writing About Football. Archives
June 2018
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