Problems Of The Game: Treatment of Football Managers

As much as I love the beautiful game and I don't know where I would be without it, there are a number of problems and issues with it that I plan to discuss in the next few weeks. The first problem I would like to talk about is the treatment of football managers in the modern game. As usual I'm going to start with the facts to prove my point before discussing how we can resolve these problems in the game. Since the start of the 2011/2012 season out of the 92 Football League clubs, 31 clubs have changed their manager in the season. 23 of these clubs have sacked their boss with 4 resigning from their posts and 4 leaving for another job. This issue has become even more evident in the last month as 8 managers have been sacked from their jobs.

There are a number of things to consider to the reasons that managers are given such little time before being sacked if results are not going their way. Ultimately it lies with the owners of these clubs who envitably make the decision to get rid of the manager however there are a number of things that also contribute to a managers downfall. Two major aspects can also be the players and the fans, the minute a owner recognises that the manager has lost the faith of the dressing room, he has a big problem and often acts fast to avoid any further consequences. Fans can also contribute to a manager's departure as the manager is all too easy to blame for the fans at times. An example where a board has stuck by their manager despite fans not approving is at Blackburn Rovers where Steve Kean has not been the fans favourite for most of the season but despite the criticism Kean continues to do an amazing job with a group of average Premier League players with a good work ethic.

Connor was a panic appointment at Wolves.

A number of questions need to be asked when analysing the treatment of managers. The first one is the process of the appointment of a manager. I believe that when a club appoints a manager they must make sure that they are definitely the best possible candiate. Too often you see a panic and rushed decision which doesn't work out and then puts the club in a worse position than before. An example of this is the appointment of Terry Connor at Wolverhampton Wanderers, Wolves sacked experienced manager Mick McCarthy for his assistant at the time rookie Terry Connor. With all due respect to Connor, an inexperienced manager is not exactly ideal for someone who is not used to managing a top flight team especially in a relegation battle. It's no surprise to see Wolves bottom of the league, 4 points from safety with only 8 games remaining. This is a classic example of a hurried appointment that may leave the club regretting their decisions. On the lower league scale, the appointment of Carl Fletcher at Plymouth Argyle may be seen as a panic appointment by some. Argyle sacked Peter Reid who had shown the club tremendous loyalty in a difficult time but in the harsh world of football, it is a results business and he was relieved of his duties. Fletcher gives a great impression in the media as a real honest guy but has struggled throughout the season as he remains one point above the bottom two with Argyle's league status hanging in the balance. While this may have been a financial decision by the club, many of the Home Park faithful have questioned whether Fletcher was the best man for the job.

AVB is probably the biggest casualty of the season.

Another major issue in the treatment of managers is the time a manager is given to make his impact. Managers seem to be given less and less time to make their mark on the club and this is a problem in the game. It is not encouraging for young coaches looking on to know that if they would be appointed in a big job that they would have to make an immediate impact and get results immediately. The most high profile sacking in English football this year would have to be the departure of Andre Villas Boas at Chelsea. Villas Boas was brought in over the summer at Chelsea, one of the biggest clubs in English and World football. AVB came with a big reputation from Porto where he won 3 trophies in one season at the Portuguese giants. Although inexperienced at managing a big club Russian billionaire and Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich was willing to take the risk on the 34 year old who had a very similar style to the "special one" Jose Mourinho who was a fan favourite in his time at Chelsea. Unfortunately, AVB only lasted 40 games in all competitions and just over 8 months. AVB tried to make a lot of changes very quickly in Chelsea's style of play and lost the faith of his senior players in the dressing room. The real issue that needs to be addressed here is should the Porto born young buck been given more time as a young manager learning his trade. The treatment of young managers is something that needs to be addressed and managers in general as a lot are not given time to make the team their own.

Another aspect that has to be addressed is the timing of when clubs decide to change the manager. When you are into a season, there is never an ideal time to change your manager however I do believe there is a fine line of not giving the manager enough time and sacking someone too late. This season 3 clubs changed their managers in August, 2 in October, 5 in November, 2 in December, 6 in January, 5 in February and in our most recent month March 8 managers have been sacked. For me, if things are really not working out and there is no way to resolve the situation, the best time is the November/December time as it will give the new appointment time to bring his own players in the January transfer window. The recent 8 sackings in March make little to no sense to me as the new appointment has no time to bring his own players in or change things. 3 of the clubs who have sacked their manager are in the relegation battle with my beloved Dagenham & Redbridge in League Two. Hereford, Macclesfield and Burton have all sacked their managers in the last few weeks. Again no shocks to see Hereford and Macclesfield occupying the bottom two positions while Burton are on a shocking slide into the relegation battle after looking comfortable midtable just months ago.

I've spoke enough about the problems in the treatment and change of managers, now I'm going to show you some hardcore evidence of why sticking with your manager and giving him time can have its rewards. The two longest serving managers in the Premier League are Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger who both manage two of the most successful clubs in England Manchester United and Arsenal respectively. The 3rd longest serving manager is David Moyes of Everton who has never suffered any serious relegation battles and has always made Everton a very competitive side on a limited budget in the top flight. The next four longest serving managers all manage sides who are heavily overachieving considering the budgets and the size of their clubs in our very own John Still of Dagenham & Redbridge, Tony Pulis of Stoke City, Paul Tisdale of Exeter and Terry Brown of AFC Wimbledon. It is a well known fact that those who stick with their managers get more success in the long term yet many owners don't seem to have recognised this. All the teams I have mentioned in this paragraph are a credit to themselves and are the best run clubs in England in my opinion. Another club who deserves recognition for sticking with their manager are Wigan Athletic who have stuck with Roberto Martinez for 2 years, 284 days although constantly being in a relegation battle, Wigan against all the odds have stayed in the Premier League for the past 7 years and are still in touching distance this season. For me, the main message from this article from me is a message to owners and fans: stick with your manager and reap the rewards.

Thank you for reading this article and if you  have any queries either follow me on Twitter @EssexDaggerBC or e-mail at billycove94@hotmail.co.uk.