This week Paul Ince became the eighteenth manager to have lost his job this season following a set of poor results that has left Blackburn Rovers second from bottom in the Premier League.
Much has been made of the support, or lack of, that Ince and other young managers receive and the short time with which they are provided to make an impact.
At one time or another this season, in the Premier League especially, there has always been a spotlight on at least one manager at any one time. At the very start of the season it was Alan Curbishley at West Ham United and Kevin Keegan at Newcastle United, they both left as a result of diminished responsibility (not the legal term) with team affairs.
Only last week, as a result of mounting pressure, Roy Keane left his post as Sunderland manager following a string of below-par results. The baffling thing with this though is the fact that it was Keane who, ultimately, became the victim of his own success as it was the standard that he set to which these 'below-par' performances could be compared. Much was made of the amount of money he had spent since his arrival, in the region of £80 million, and the fiscal angle is one which always attracts a fair bit of scrutiny. It cannot be ignored that Sunderland were not playing as well as they had been but the swiftness of the media to focus the spotlight on any manager showing a glimmer of under-achievement puts undue pressure on club management to act upon this.
It is a sad indictment of the state of the beautiful game when new managers are given what appears to be a two-game bedding in period and managers with a proven track record are overlooked for hire because of one poor stint somewhere down the line.
Take Tony Adams, the Portsmouth manager, who after narrowly losing 1-0 to Liverpool at Anfield in his first match in charge, found himself under pressure when he lost his second game at home to Wigan 2-1. Although no side is guaranteed their place in the Premier League, it would be a surprise if Portsmouth found themselves in the relegation 'dog-fight' come April given the foundations that Harry Redknapp, their former manager, had built at the club. With regular internationals in the squad and a reported £20 million bid from Real Madrid for their midfielder Lassana Diarra, Adams will have some money to start shaping his own squad.
It should be noted that since them winning the Premier League in the 1994/95 season, Blackburn Rovers have tasted little success. The fan base at Ewood Park isn't huge and if there was a real possibility of them being relegated to the Championship they have all the ingredients of becoming the next Charlton Athletic. Ince, although having the same squad that finished 7th in the league last season under Mark Hughes, never really replaced David Bentley who was an influential player for Rovers last term. He was also unfortunate in that Roque Santa Cruz, their main goal threat, was absent through injury for most of his reign as boss.
The main concern now is that Ince will contract the English disease that blights managers who show promise but who are, ultimately, remembered for what is, in simple terms, a blip but in managerial and media terms as a disaster.
One key example of this is Sam Allardyce who coincidentally has been linked with both vacancies at the Stadium of Light and Ewood Park. Allardyce is a manager with a proven track record from plying his trade at Limerick, in the League of Ireland, in which he topped the league in his first season in charge. After brief stints at Preston North End and Blackpool, he then won promotion at the first attempt by finishing top of Division Three at the end of the 1997-98 season with Notts County, breaking several club and national records in the process, subsequently winning the title by a 19-point margin and becoming the first post-war side to win promotion in mid-March.
He then went on to become manager of Bolton Wanderers and gained promotion to the Premier League in his second season after a 3-0 win over Preston in the play-off final. He, with the help of the chairman, Phil Gartside, made Bolton into a stable Premiership club - later leading them into the UEFA Cup. But if asked today if Allardyce is the man for the job, people would probably scoff. Why? Probably because he tried to make Newcastle United into a successful team but failed where plenty others have too.
On the continent managers are given chance after chance to prove themselves and they usually ply there trade at lower league clubs before moving on to the bigger clubs. The likes of Rafa Bentiez, Arsene Wenger and even Juande Ramos are examples of this approach and they come here with a well-earned reputation.
This is the route that Ince was prepared to take, but the questionable motives behind his appointment and the lack of managerial experience cost him and, sadly, he won't be remembered for his achievements at Macclesfield and MK Dons.
Much has been made of the support, or lack of, that Ince and other young managers receive and the short time with which they are provided to make an impact.
At one time or another this season, in the Premier League especially, there has always been a spotlight on at least one manager at any one time. At the very start of the season it was Alan Curbishley at West Ham United and Kevin Keegan at Newcastle United, they both left as a result of diminished responsibility (not the legal term) with team affairs.
Only last week, as a result of mounting pressure, Roy Keane left his post as Sunderland manager following a string of below-par results. The baffling thing with this though is the fact that it was Keane who, ultimately, became the victim of his own success as it was the standard that he set to which these 'below-par' performances could be compared. Much was made of the amount of money he had spent since his arrival, in the region of £80 million, and the fiscal angle is one which always attracts a fair bit of scrutiny. It cannot be ignored that Sunderland were not playing as well as they had been but the swiftness of the media to focus the spotlight on any manager showing a glimmer of under-achievement puts undue pressure on club management to act upon this.
It is a sad indictment of the state of the beautiful game when new managers are given what appears to be a two-game bedding in period and managers with a proven track record are overlooked for hire because of one poor stint somewhere down the line.
Take Tony Adams, the Portsmouth manager, who after narrowly losing 1-0 to Liverpool at Anfield in his first match in charge, found himself under pressure when he lost his second game at home to Wigan 2-1. Although no side is guaranteed their place in the Premier League, it would be a surprise if Portsmouth found themselves in the relegation 'dog-fight' come April given the foundations that Harry Redknapp, their former manager, had built at the club. With regular internationals in the squad and a reported £20 million bid from Real Madrid for their midfielder Lassana Diarra, Adams will have some money to start shaping his own squad.
It should be noted that since them winning the Premier League in the 1994/95 season, Blackburn Rovers have tasted little success. The fan base at Ewood Park isn't huge and if there was a real possibility of them being relegated to the Championship they have all the ingredients of becoming the next Charlton Athletic. Ince, although having the same squad that finished 7th in the league last season under Mark Hughes, never really replaced David Bentley who was an influential player for Rovers last term. He was also unfortunate in that Roque Santa Cruz, their main goal threat, was absent through injury for most of his reign as boss.
The main concern now is that Ince will contract the English disease that blights managers who show promise but who are, ultimately, remembered for what is, in simple terms, a blip but in managerial and media terms as a disaster.
One key example of this is Sam Allardyce who coincidentally has been linked with both vacancies at the Stadium of Light and Ewood Park. Allardyce is a manager with a proven track record from plying his trade at Limerick, in the League of Ireland, in which he topped the league in his first season in charge. After brief stints at Preston North End and Blackpool, he then won promotion at the first attempt by finishing top of Division Three at the end of the 1997-98 season with Notts County, breaking several club and national records in the process, subsequently winning the title by a 19-point margin and becoming the first post-war side to win promotion in mid-March.
He then went on to become manager of Bolton Wanderers and gained promotion to the Premier League in his second season after a 3-0 win over Preston in the play-off final. He, with the help of the chairman, Phil Gartside, made Bolton into a stable Premiership club - later leading them into the UEFA Cup. But if asked today if Allardyce is the man for the job, people would probably scoff. Why? Probably because he tried to make Newcastle United into a successful team but failed where plenty others have too.
On the continent managers are given chance after chance to prove themselves and they usually ply there trade at lower league clubs before moving on to the bigger clubs. The likes of Rafa Bentiez, Arsene Wenger and even Juande Ramos are examples of this approach and they come here with a well-earned reputation.
This is the route that Ince was prepared to take, but the questionable motives behind his appointment and the lack of managerial experience cost him and, sadly, he won't be remembered for his achievements at Macclesfield and MK Dons.
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