Post by QPR Report on May 21, 2010 8:01:14 GMT
From Times Online May 21, 2010
Revealed: the true extent of football’s manager cull- George Caulkin
The brutality of football management was revealed yesterday with the release of record figures that illustrate the increasing demands on a precarious position.
In its annual review of trends within the game, the League Managers Association (LMA) found that its dismissed members had been given an average of 1.4 years in their jobs, an all-time low. Overall, the average tenure of league managers is only two years.
The prognosis is even more stark for first-time managers, with half of those who are sacked never again being entrusted with a managerial role at a league club.
The findings were published only hours before Avram Grant resigned last night as manager of Portsmouth and was expected to walk into the vacant job at West Ham United as replacement for the sacked Gianfranco Zola.
In an open letter to supporters on the club’s website, Grant said: “This was one of the most difficult decisions I’ve had to take in my football career. After a lot of soul-searching, I’m taking a different direction.”
Before Grant’s exit became public, the LMA figures showed that, across all 92 Football League clubs, there have been 51 managerial changes this season, 36 of which were dismissals. That compared with 46 changes and 22 sackings in the previous campaign.
“It is disappointing to see another season with such significantly high numbers of manager dismissals across the four leagues,” Richard Bevan, the LMA chief executive, said. “Thirty-five of the LMA’s members have lost their job in the past season. This statistic is not only worrying for the individuals themselves but also for the staff and fans of their respective clubs.
“Sacking a manager creates instability and uncertainty, and this season’s high number of dismissals reinforces how volatile an industry football is.
“More worrying is that the average tenure of those managers that were dismissed this season has reached an all-time low by comparison with other years. In simple terms, managers are being given less and less time to deliver.”
Yet the LMA statistics show that, while there were five dismissals in the Barclays Premier League this season, an increase of one from the previous year, it is the least volatile of all four divisions.
Partially, that is because of the growing cost of sacking a manager. On average a Premier League manager will remain in his role for 3.46 years, which compares favourably with 1.44 years in the Championship.
“The financial cost of removing the manager in the Premier League and thus changing the culture and philosophy of the club means clubs are having to think a lot harder about that as the financial impact can be disastrous,” Bevan said.
Four clubs — Darlington, Notts County, Peterborough United and Queens Park Rangers — have employed at least three managers this season and only eight have not switched managers over the past five years. Of those, Sir Alex Ferguson has been at Manchester United from 1986, since when 969 of his peers have been sacked.
In terms of stability, the findings are clear; of the 12 clubs that suffered relegation, ten have had at least one managerial change and of the 16 that finished in the top four of their respective divisions, only three had the same.
Bevan was scathing about Lord Triesman, who resigned on Sunday as chairman of the Football Association and England’s 2018 World Cup bid after the publication of his comments alleging corruption by Spain and Russia. “He never once picked up the telephone to me, didn’t once write to the LMA personally or ask for a meeting to lobby for the views and support of the managers on key areas and objectives of the FA,” Bevan said. “It’s very poor judgment.”
www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/article7132494.ece
Revealed: the true extent of football’s manager cull- George Caulkin
The brutality of football management was revealed yesterday with the release of record figures that illustrate the increasing demands on a precarious position.
In its annual review of trends within the game, the League Managers Association (LMA) found that its dismissed members had been given an average of 1.4 years in their jobs, an all-time low. Overall, the average tenure of league managers is only two years.
The prognosis is even more stark for first-time managers, with half of those who are sacked never again being entrusted with a managerial role at a league club.
The findings were published only hours before Avram Grant resigned last night as manager of Portsmouth and was expected to walk into the vacant job at West Ham United as replacement for the sacked Gianfranco Zola.
In an open letter to supporters on the club’s website, Grant said: “This was one of the most difficult decisions I’ve had to take in my football career. After a lot of soul-searching, I’m taking a different direction.”
Before Grant’s exit became public, the LMA figures showed that, across all 92 Football League clubs, there have been 51 managerial changes this season, 36 of which were dismissals. That compared with 46 changes and 22 sackings in the previous campaign.
“It is disappointing to see another season with such significantly high numbers of manager dismissals across the four leagues,” Richard Bevan, the LMA chief executive, said. “Thirty-five of the LMA’s members have lost their job in the past season. This statistic is not only worrying for the individuals themselves but also for the staff and fans of their respective clubs.
“Sacking a manager creates instability and uncertainty, and this season’s high number of dismissals reinforces how volatile an industry football is.
“More worrying is that the average tenure of those managers that were dismissed this season has reached an all-time low by comparison with other years. In simple terms, managers are being given less and less time to deliver.”
Yet the LMA statistics show that, while there were five dismissals in the Barclays Premier League this season, an increase of one from the previous year, it is the least volatile of all four divisions.
Partially, that is because of the growing cost of sacking a manager. On average a Premier League manager will remain in his role for 3.46 years, which compares favourably with 1.44 years in the Championship.
“The financial cost of removing the manager in the Premier League and thus changing the culture and philosophy of the club means clubs are having to think a lot harder about that as the financial impact can be disastrous,” Bevan said.
Four clubs — Darlington, Notts County, Peterborough United and Queens Park Rangers — have employed at least three managers this season and only eight have not switched managers over the past five years. Of those, Sir Alex Ferguson has been at Manchester United from 1986, since when 969 of his peers have been sacked.
In terms of stability, the findings are clear; of the 12 clubs that suffered relegation, ten have had at least one managerial change and of the 16 that finished in the top four of their respective divisions, only three had the same.
Bevan was scathing about Lord Triesman, who resigned on Sunday as chairman of the Football Association and England’s 2018 World Cup bid after the publication of his comments alleging corruption by Spain and Russia. “He never once picked up the telephone to me, didn’t once write to the LMA personally or ask for a meeting to lobby for the views and support of the managers on key areas and objectives of the FA,” Bevan said. “It’s very poor judgment.”
www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/article7132494.ece