With the new Premier League season on its way very soon all the teams are starting to take shape, new faces are coming in and old deadwood is on its way out. But one thing that’s interesting to think about at the start of a season is who will be the first manager told to clear his desk.
Over the past few years we have seen a lot of managers leave a club within 6 months because of poor results and the fans won’t stand for it, understandably. But how long does it take a manager to mould a side properly? Should the fans get off his back just because a few results go the wrong way? Maybe, but then again, a chairman has to think about the financial implications of a poor string of results. Unhappy fans means poor attendances and if the results keep going the wrong way it could ultimately result in relegation which in this day and age can almost send a club out of business.
I myself have protested against a manager at the front door of the stadium after a shocking result. I have booed players off the park and all the rest, but in hindsight I think maybe it was a bit rash because unless it’s exceptional circumstances then a manager should have the full first season at the very least to prove himself. Looking back I know I shouldn’t have booed certain players, but I stand by the manager I protested against and I would do the same again if that man walked back into the stadium.
Chelsea are a prime example of managers not getting to prove themselves. The point critics keep making about Chelsea is that they are ‘obsessed’ with the Champions League, and there might be some truth in that and every manager who hasn’t won it for Abramovich has seen his Chelsea tenure end the same way. Should they have been sacked though? Avram Grant came within one missed penalty of winning it which I think makes it unfair on him, he done everything else right, how could he have helped John Terry in that moment?
Celtic manager Neil Lennon was given eight games at the end of the 09/10 season to prove himself after Tony Mowbray was sacked and he won all eight but by that time it was too late to win the league. Some fans were still not happy at the appointment because Ross County defeated Celtic in the Scottish Cup semi final under his eight game trial period. I also know that there were some fans that did not want the Celtic board to give him a new contract this summer after Rangers won the league again, but it was only on the last day that Rangers did win it, so for Neil Lennon to come into such a high pressured job for his first managerial job and take Walter Smith’s side to the last day was in fact a pretty good job all things considered.
Rangers’ ex-manager Paul Le Guen was sacked in January 2007 after six months in charge making him the first ever Rangers manager to not last at least a full season. Although his record in Europe with Rangers was very good it was the results in the league and cups which eventually got him sacked, his record in the opening ten games of the season were the worst since 78-79 when John Greig was in charge. The last things Le Guen done as boss was strip Barry Ferguson of the captaincy and drop him for a game the next day. Three days later he left Ibrox.
There is no definitive answer to how long a manager should be given to prove he’s good enough to have the job, some fans will want to give him all the time in the world, some fans will want his head on a plate after a couple part and parcel defeats. I’m going to make a prediction ahead of the new Premier League season and say that Alan Pardew will be the first to leave this season. For me, too many key players have left such as Carroll and Nolan and Ben Arfa seemingly injury prone. They don’t seem to have signed adequate replacements in my opinion either and for that reason I think Newcastle will struggle this season and Alan Pardew will be first to head down to the job centre.
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