Managerial Merry-Go-Round

It seems that Sir Alex Ferguson hit the nail right on the head when he described the coaching situation in the EPL akin to a merry go round. That is an almost perfect way to describe the current managerial environment in the most popular league in the world. This season, six managers have already been fired or left their respective positions. 6 of 20 or 30 percent of the league’s teams have had to transition to a different coaching system in the middle of the season. It seems ludicrous that there have been so many changes, but to be honest, I can definitely see a few more happening before the end of the season (just take a look at the bottom half of the table).

In the pressure cooker that is the Premiership, the revolving coaching situation has become the norm and there is one thing to blame; the almighty dollar. Or pound. Or euro, whichever currency you would like. The fact is that money has taken over soccer and almost every sport for that matter. Every team needs to win to stay in the premiership where there is a higher chance for financial gain. They need to win to put people in the stands and to sell merchandise. And if they continue to win, they can play in a larger number of competitions like the UEFA Cup and the Champions League, creating more revenue for the club.

The media also has an effect on coaching situations, whose actions are fueled by the desire for monetary gain as well. The media speculate on every aspect of the game and put soccer under an immense amount of scrutiny. This fuels rumors, creates problems and puts pressure on teams throughout the sport. This also helps sell newspapers and keep television ratings high, increasing their advertising revenue. While these media problems can be seen at any point during the season, my least favorite time of the year to follow soccer in the media is the summer. Keeping up on soccer news in the off season is like reading a gossip magazine. The media is the fuel that keeps the fire (controversy and rumors) ablaze.

It seems that for most big soccer clubs the truth is that pleasing shareholders, selling newspapers or jerseys with players’ names on them is much more important than taking pride in the game itself. It is a business and coaches, players and a degree of pureness in the game have all become casualties in the quest for financial success. In a soccer world where the quick fix is chosen more times than not, maybe clubs should deviate from the adopted norm and look at their situation in the big picture rather than acting impulsively and with a short term view in regards to their coaches. While in some cases manager changes are needed, each manager should be given a realistic amount of time to react to their team’s situation and make the appropriate adjustments. Please, chairmen, show some patience.