By Adam Bate
Wigan Athletic chairman Dave Whelan is sticking by Roberto Martinez despite a run of eight consecutive defeats. We know this because Dave is somewhat proud of his stance. He’s happy to tell all and sundry of his determination to reciprocate the loyalty Martinez showed by turning down Aston Villa in the summer. Both men’s actions have been warmly received by the media. And Wigan are still bottom of the Premier League.
Over in Wolverhampton, the press continue to reserve their indignation for the club’s fickle fan base. Wolves manager Mick McCarthy is always good value for a snappy quote so it was something of an inconvenience when he embarked on a disastrous run which brought two points from eight matches. The club was quick to defend McCarthy in the wake of the fans’ jeers and most agreed the abuse was uncalled for.
Of course, the fiery atmosphere at Molineux pales into insignificance when compared to the gauntlet Steve Kean must run at Blackburn Rovers. Bizarrely, the ‘Kean Out’ campaign only seems to stiffen the resolve of Venky’s, the club’s owners. It appears that they, like their counterparts at Wigan and Wolves, are keen to avoid the common criticism of sacking their manager too soon. But perhaps they could all be guilty of that lesser known phenomenon – changing the manager too late.
The sequence of events following the sacking of a manager is a familiar one. The League Managers’ Association will express their disappointment and solemnly produce some damning statistics highlighting the ever-decreasing shelf-life of the football manager. If our hearts haven’t yet melted, the sacked manager can be sure of a comfortable return to the pundit’s chair – and it’s here that some benevolent colleague will inevitably trot out “the Fergie story”.
Sir Alex Ferguson was on the brink of being fired – or so the story goes – when young Mark Robins popped up with the winner for Manchester United against Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup and thus saved the Scot his job. Twelve Premier league titles, a couple of Champions League wins and a knighthood later, the story is now destined to be repeated ad nauseam – a cautionary tale for trigger-happy chairmen if ever there was one.
But there’s a difficulty with “the Fergie story”. It seems to somehow imply that all managers are destined for greatness if only they are fortunate enough to be given time. The problem is there’s a very good reason why the best managers have so often also been the longest-serving – because they were the best. Bill Shankly and Brian Clough (twice) won promotion in their second full seasons while Arsene Wenger even won the double at the second time of asking.
A manager can justifiably buy himself some time with these early achievements. David Moyes is the third longest-serving Premier League manager and many are now keen to hail Everton’s decision to stick with him after finishing 17th in his second full season in charge. But this patience had been well earned – Moyes had won the LMA Manager of the Year award the previous season. The case for faith in Martinez, Kean and their ilk is far less persuasive.
And this argument for continuing with managers who stutter on – seemingly inexorably towards relegation – also ignores another key point. Many clubs’ fortunes are turned around precisely because a new manager is appointed.
The sacking of Roberto Di Matteo by West Bromwich Albion last season was greeted with howls of derision by the supposedly informed public. When he was replaced by the apparently forlorn figure of Liverpool reject Roy Hodgson, the decision was painted as a backward step. And yet, Hodgson duly guided a struggling West Brom side to 11th in the Premier League – their highest finish in nearly 30 years.
It was a similar story at fellow promoted side Newcastle United. The sacking of Chris Hughton certainly appeared unjust, but it is difficult to argue that the Toon Army would be sitting quite as pretty as they currently are had they not opted to bring in Alan Pardew as manager. The message is clear. Whether it’s Hughton, Di Matteo or even Mark Hughes at Manchester City, we indulge in the charade that a club has made a hideous error – and it’s silence all-round when those clubs go from strength to strength.
Perhaps then, we should perpetuate an alternative wisdom to “the Fergie story”. After all, it was the departure of Bruce Rioch that paved the way for the Wenger era at Highbury and beyond. This was a managerial change that brought two league and cup doubles and shaped the entire ethos of that football club for a generation. So let us instead hail “the Wenger story” – and remember that just about every great managerial appointment is preceded by a great sacking.
Based in the UK, Adam Bate is a freelance journalist and editor of Ghostgoal. He also’s a contributor for Calcio Italia, FourFourTwo, When Saturday Comes, BT Life’s a Pitch and In Bed With Maradona.
Mick McCarthy is a complete tool
Gollo what a concise, well thought out response that was.
Adam – you raise a very good point, although I seem to recall the reaction to Hodgson being appointed as mostly that it was a coup for Albion. I’d suggest that in some cases managers are too readily sacked after a short bad spell, i.e. Di Matteo. But that’s a by-product of the trigger-happy instant success game that football has evolved into.
Tim, RDM getting sacked was totally justified. Albion were going down under him and finished mid table.
I think when looking at managers it is important to remember that no matter who gets hired or fired there are still 3 clubs that go down. There is also a cost (sometimes huge) to sack a boss and not every club wants to pay it. I think the 3rd factor is expectation where do you expect to finish. For me Wigan expect to go down, that is why there are sticking with Martinez because he has exceeded their expectations previously. Wolves I think are trying to establish themselves as a regular premier league side. I think that they should make a change. Blackburn have money and definitely want to remain a premier league side. I think that the sole reason they are hanging on to Kean is so they won’t have to look at their decision to turf Big Sam as a failure (which it was). It will be much harder for the Venkys next year when Big Sam is back in the Premier League and Blackburn are hanging with Pompey in the Championship.
Interesting read Adam.
I think in Wolves’ case (and arguably Wigan’s too) that the managers have a say in more than simply team affairs. If you look at the number of players these managers have brought into the team, the way the club plays it’s football and even the whole club structure in terms of finances and ethos, the decision to change the manage would cause a sever change, which may not only cost money but also time which struggling clubs do not have.
Fans become deluded as to what is best for their club when the team goes on a losing streak, and thing that immediately a manager who has won them promotion or made shrewd signings in the past suddenly becomes unfit for the post. One of the best example of this is West Ham United, who sacked Harry Redknapp, and have never been the same established top division outfit ever since.
The slight grey area is Steve Kean. He was a manager thrown in at the deep end by a board who don;’t really know the way things work in English football, never mind at the elite level, and whilst his players currently continue to play for him, the fact is that barring a bit of luck and fortune, Blackburn are relegation fodder in what is an exceptionally competitive league. If Kean goes, there are no guarantees, but both McCarthy and Martinez have been there before, and are as experienced as anyone to be in a relegation fight.
Also, I agree with Pompey Canuck, Big Sam will probably pass Blackburn with a smile as he guides West Ham back up. Blackburn should never have let him go!,