n Ford's Focus with Daniel Ford

Over half of Championship teams have changed their manager this season as at the time of writing. Some have already made multiple managerial changes this season. So why are clubs pulling the trigger so easily? Does this Alan Sugar like way of dealing with managers actually work?

I think we have to start by looking at motivation. The reasons why clubs are sacking their managers varies but I think that there are some consistent themes. This season is similar to normal in that teams at the bottom tend to be more likely to sack their managers, as I write this all of the bottom six have switched bosses so far this season. Although expected this is still a larger amount than compared to previous years when typically, at least one or two of the teams down the bottom stick with their managers. As with so many things in football when trying to explain why this has occurred it comes back to money. Teams in the championship are struggling financially more than ever before and therefore owners are taking more risks in their managerial appointments tending to go for cheaper managers who often tend to be rookies. Of the managers who have taken charge of the current bottom six, six of the twelve were rookies and two others were managing in the championship for the first time. These risky rookie appointments tend to not work out and owners are losing patience quickly. The other reason for this is that league one has never been tougher, spending restrictions are minimal in league one compared to the Championship and this means that powerhouses such as Ipswich, Sheffield Wednesday, Derby and Bolton have assembled very strong squads, so now getting relegated from the championship could mean a prolonged spell in the third tier.

Interestingly, the top end of the league has also seen a number of managerial changes as three out of the current top six have switched coaches so far this season. These three clubs, Middlesbrough, West Brom and Watford all had extremely high expectations at the start of the season and therefore took swift action when the teams did not look like they would meet these expectations. Therefore, another reason for the sackings is clubs where anything other than promotion will not do.

What is fascinating is that there are some clubs with long term managers and some of these (Millwall and Coventry especially) have improved year on year under their respective bosses. It does seem that putting long term faith in a manager provides stability that can be built on season by season, the problem is that in this current footballing world, owners want immediate success. So, expect the managerial merry go round to continue…

Block Paving Matthews

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