Sacked: The Victorious and the Cursed

In the last decade, the managerial merry go round has become much more prominent. The need for instant success is so great for clubs now, with many owners and boards of football clubs refusing to accept a dip in form, and legacy is all but out of the window.

There’s often criticism of owners for their sacking of managers, but often a change of guard is exactly what the club needs. Arsenal Wenger is the obvious argument for defending the need for a legacy, but in reality, his has been tainted for a number of years, with no league title in the last 13 seasons, and a constant feeling of disappointment in the fans with the dysfunction of the club.

Chelsea change their manager very regularly, and over the last decade they have been one of the most successful clubs in the league, winning several trophies. So, it definitely works quite frequently.

Carlo Ancelotti is one of nine managers to be in charge of Chelsea on a permanent basis under Roman Abramovic

The major contributing factor for the lack of support in managers is the economical side of it. Although axing a manager may mean a hefty compensation fee to pay off their contract, achieving their goal or avoiding disaster can reimburse a club with the finances that come with domestic stability.

So far in this seasons Premier League, eight clubs have sacked their manager, and all have seen at least signs of revival. At present, there are just three points separating 12th and 19th, making it one of the tightest fights for survival ever, and West Brom are only four points adrift at the foot of the table, showing there are no whipping boys this season. Only ‘The Baggies’ have not seen much of an improvement in statistics, apart from Stoke who only sacked Mark Hughes four games ago.

When a change of direction in the coaching staff comes, it means that it can freshen up a squad, and brings motivation to players. The players will often react when their manager goes and a new one comes in, partly to prove that they are not the problem and also to show their talent to the new person in charge, because a good first impression is often required at such a high level.

In Paul Lambert’s first game in charge of Stoke, they made more sprints than in any other game this season. When Craig Shakespeare left Leicester, they went back to their roots off breaking up play in their own final third and exploiting space at speed to tear Everton apart. Then when Sam Allardyce took over at Everton they conceded two in seven games after conceding 15 in their previous five.

Attitudes change when someone new takes charge, and often it’s a good thing. Suddenly their tails go up and they have a reason to prove themselves. They see it as a clean slate. Before going AWOL, Riyad Mahrez had been back to his best and surely he will get his move elsewhere in the summer. Sometimes players just need reassurance, or a confidence boost, but almost always they just feel the need to prove their worth.

For every new manager at a football club, there has to be someone getting the boot. For a manager in their first job, getting the sack can mean that there chances of getting another job are a lot shorter, or it makes them change their mind about coaching. Tim Sherwood made his name for developing and bringing through young players at Spurs, but since his sacking from Aston Villa in 2015, he’s not gone back into management. Gary Neville was seen as someone who could be a potential England manager, but is adamant he doesn’t want to return to management after a horrendous, short period at Valencia.

Gary Neville had an awful spell as manager of Valencia

The brutality of sacking managers in the modern game has become so obvious, and people wonder why there is such a lack of talented British coaches. People have spoken about Eddie Howe going into a big job for the last couple of years, but if he does and has an unsuccessful first season, what are the chances of him getting sacked and never getting the chance again. The top clubs in England and in Europe go through a cycle of swapping managers every few years, but you hardly ever see a smaller name given the chance. The top six clubs in the Premier League all have foreign managers, with the rest of the league being filled with other foreigners and some average British managers. The England job used to be a huge role, but the last three managers have been Roy Hodgson, Sam Allardyce, who both got chosen for doing well at a mediocre Premier League team, and Gareth Southgate, who did well as the Under-21 manager for England. The chances of a British manager going to a big club just seems so far away.

Managers are not the only people who are victims of them getting sacked however. Young players who are on the fringes of the first team are so often pushed aside, as new managers know they don’t have the time to build a team and bring through youngsters. It’s hard to think of a handful of players who have broken through for a bottom half team in the Premier League in the last few years. West Ham have shipped Reece Oxford out on loan again, as well as Reece Burke. They have kept Declan Rice at the club, but with a number of clubs in the league, not even one gets an opportunity.

Declan Rice has earned his place in the West Ham squad this season despite Reece Oxford and Reece Burke going out on loan

Owners have so much money now that they have the ability to go and spend £15million on a player to go into the first team rather than giving a youth player a chance. The majority of clubs feel that instant success is so much more valuable than long-term success as that may mean they have to go down to come back up again. Ryan Sessegnon is a great example of a someone who plays for a club outside of the Premier League, and could easily make the jump, but is progressing his career by getting more minutes at Fulham and trying to achieve something as a key member of a team chasing promotion. He’s been heavily linked to Tottenham and other top teams, but knows he’ll be limited for minutes, so knuckles down in a lower division.

Marcus Rashford is all but confirmed to be in the England Squad for the World Cup, but he’s often just on the bench for Manchester United because he faces so much competition. He is only 20 still, but so is Tammy Abraham, who is likely to start a lot of games for Swansea in the remainder of the season, so if he takes his opportunities, can he be in that England squad? But then who misses out? I’m not saying Rashford should leave United because he’s good enough to play for them and will make an impact, but even when he plays it’s often as a winger, and is that his best position or not?

Tammy Abraham joined Swansea for more first team football at the start of the season

The bad thing about the bottom clubs in the league is that they simply don’t have the opportunity to play these young players. If the team bottom of the league plays a 19-year-old centre back and he makes a mistake, and they lose the game, then why would they stay in the side when they may now be in the Championship the following season?

Last season, two clubs in the Premier League didn’t play a single academy player (Swansea and Burnley), both of which finished in the bottom half of the table, as they looked to secure safety, and Bournemouth’s academy players only made up 0.1% of total minutes played by their players. It happened at Manchester City as well though, with Kelechi Iheanacho being the only player they used in the league who came through the academy.

It’s hard to justify if it’s good for the game or not to see managers sacked so regularly, but it seemingly works for Premier League clubs. Is it killing the game, or is it making the Premier League more competitive? Or is it doing both at the same time? The game has become so brutal, and at times the morals of clubs have been in question, but the desire for success and economical satisfaction is so powerful. It looks impossible to see the tenure of managers increase again, but what’s certain is that the next sacking is only ever just around the corner.