Football management is a constantly highly pressured, strenuous and all too often temporary position. For those inflicted with such a responsibility, time is a luxury—football managers these days need more time than they are currently getting to prove themselves. Much more.
It wasn’t so long ago that it seemed a certainty Alan Pardew would only be fulfilling two out of the eight years on his extensive contract. Now, Newcastle find themselves 7th in the Premier League after gaining “momentum” to charge up the table, according to Pardew himself. For Pardew, it’s undeniable that the fact he was simply given time to amend his form helped form an improved run of results.
The correlation between time given to a manager and eventual success was most most clearly shown by Sir Alex Ferguson: 26 years, 38 trophies and an unrivalled managerial record in his time at Manchester United. The longest serving manager in the Premier League now is Arsene Wenger by some way, having marked his 18th year at Arsenal recently this year. Consistency, loyalty and trust have all been paramount in Arsene’s reign, yet even now there are those fans who feel he simply isn’t doing enough at the club. So which should it be, time or results—under sometimes only a few months?
The inalienable truth of the matter is that managers lose an element of control when the whistle blows for the start of a game. Yes, they implement the tactics, yes they pick the teams, but no, they cannot be held responsible for unforeseeable anomalies such as individual errors. The blame ultimately ends up on the manager’s doorstep; it seems as though blame needs to be a more carefully considered source of criticism rather than just stigmatising one individual; the bigger picture cannot be lost sight of.
It’s a sad reality that after eleven games it’s a surprise (and relief) that no Premier League manager has lost his job. Pardew might have escaped the firing line of disgruntled owners, but those lower down the food chain did not. Mark Robins from Huddersfield Town lost his job after a solitary game, Leeds United sacked Darko Milanic after a mere 32 days in charge and even last year’s Premier League manager of the year, Tony Pulis, left two days prior to the season even starting. All of this goes to show that culturally it is engrained in English football to sack and not back managers.
It’s not rational; more often than not you are left scratching your head at managerial dismals. David Moyes at Manchester United was understandable, others not so much. It is particularly hurtful to see a manager who has had his team promoted be favourite in some quarters to go next in Harry Redknapp. Even Manuel Pellegrini, who won the League Cup and Premier League last season, has heard talk of losing his job, albeit just talk, as it would appear at this stage. It’s ludicrous that a Premier League title can’t even buy managers more time anymore.
Players don’t have nearly the same scrutiny during the season. They might be linked with other clubs if they play well, but if they play badly they’re pushed to the side, ignored, and marked as surplus to requirements. They can quite happily still get paid without the stress of media speculation, yet they’re still part of the team, still part of the effort to improve and get results. It’s ironic, because ultimately if they had desire, no how matter how hard the manager tries, he can never have quite the same power as the player to make the difference physically on the pitch itself.
Managers must find it hard to be rational under such extreme pressure. Louis Van Gaal, the man who is attempt number two to “replace” the irreplaceable Sir Alex Ferguson has tried to be rational. The amount Manchester United spent on players wasn’t entirely at fault though; a desire to be successful and avoid finger pointing for not spending enough money influences such decisions. These days, the managers who have the strongest backbone, are to an extent stubborn and most importantly don’t read the papers are the ones most likely to succeed. As for Van Gaal, he still has every chance of this, providing the time is given to adjust not only to the new club, but the cultural aspect that managers simply do not have time on their side.
A ten year long study at Sheffiled Hallam University concluded that the opposite is true. The research conducted analysed 60 managers who were replaced from 36 teams in the Premier League from 2003-2013. In particular those trying to avoid relegation, benefit from changing manager most. A marginal change of fortune of 1.17 points as opposed to 1.03 when the other managers had left was recorded overall. This is a temporary effect. When a new manager comes in belief changes, but can’t always be sustained if you know that the manager is just as likely to leave as his predecessor. It is worth noting some managerial changes work, of course—the frequency of removals needs to be lessened considerably, however. If not, football will struggle to find the managers who still exist with an abundance of talent but are now all too easily disposed of.
To bring up the great man himself again, Sir Alex Ferguson could have been sacked from United early on his reign; the decision to stick with him earned players respect eventually.
It’s impossible to do this if you sack a manager when the going gets tough, instead such time should be used to prove what he and the team is made of. Take Sir Alex Ferguson, Alan Pardew, even Arsene Wenger achieving consistency in fourth place, something many can only dream of. Of course there are boundaries, but if you never explore beyond a certain limit you will have the same results over and over again. Change only comes when you begin to alleviate what is embedded in the nature of a club’s decision making. This change can be good, the one risk you have to take is time.
For now, the Premier League sack race goes on, a race that need not exist. Imagine if managers actually signed a contract and that was it, they had to see it out. Certainly, eight year contracts would not be given, but it would also mean that managers would be offered shorter contracts until proving themselves. Often managers these days know that the club has to pay them if they don’t see a contract out, what sort of punishment is that? David Moyes received millions to be sacked my Manchester United and now finds himself happily at another job at Real Sociedad. Structurally, clubs could consider too the best way to get the most from their managers.
As we enter week twelve of the Premier League season, we wait for the inevitability of a managerial sacking. It doesn’t matter who goes first, what matters is that it becomes more infrequent. Sometimes managers deserve to lose their job, but many nowadays are struggling to prove themselves under such a harsh and unrewarding system. It’s time for change. Newcastle have lead the way with Pardew this season and hopefully other clubs will follow. Managers need time, when they get it we will be able to fully judge their talents and suitability to roles. Unfortunately, we still wait for this period to come into fruition.
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