The sacking of Paulo Sousa by Leicester City after just nine games in charge reflects special conditions at the Foxes, but also illustrates a more general issue. Leicester City has had 14 managers since 2004.
For current owner Milan Mandaric it will be his ninth managerial appointment in three years. As chairman of Portsmouth, Mandaric appointed nine managers in eight years. Leicester are currently in the middle of a change of ownership, with the Football League preparing to approve the takeover by Thai-based Asia Football Investments.
The sacking of Paulo Sousa by Leicester City after just nine games in charge reflects special conditions at the Foxes, but also illustrates a more general issue. Leicester City has had 14 managers since 2004.
For current owner Milan Mandaric it will be his ninth managerial appointment in three years. As chairman of Portsmouth, Mandaric appointed nine managers in eight years. Leicester are currently in the middle of a change of ownership, with the Football League preparing to approve the takeover by Thai-based Asia Football Investments.
Richard Bevan, chief executive of the League Managers’ Association, told BBC Sport: ‘How can a chairman expect to deliver success at a football club when a talented manager is recruited and dismissed within two months? Knee-jerk dismissals, and the chopping and changing of managers will not deliver success on the field and it is incredibly destabilizing to the whole club.’
Although Leicester is an extreme case, the problem is a more general one. Average managerial tenure is now around thirteen or fourteen months. A number of factors are conspiring to demand instant success of managers. When new owners invest in a club, they expect to see a quick return which they may have experienced in other, very different businesses. Relegation (the Foxes are bottom of the Championship) is not just a blow to a club’s prestige, it can place it in financial peril. The expectations of fans also seem to have risen. The days when they would be happy with a mid-table position have long gone.
The task faced by an incoming manager is a difficult one. They inherit players they would not necessarily have chosen themselves. They have to persuade the team to adopt their style of play. Turning things round can take time. And, in any event, half the clubs in any league are going to be in the bottom half of the table.
Although this will depend on the particular contract, paying compensation to a departing manager can add to a club’s financial woes. This money could have often been better spent. But no there are no easy solutions given the pressures in the modern game.