As we enter the last month of the English football (soccer, to Americans) season, it is time to look at a disturbing trend; the ridiculous turnover of club managers as a result of the quest for instant success. Even within the last two weeks, Manchester United's manager David Moyes lost his job without even completing a full season at Old Trafford.
I did a little research, and compared the current season against a previous one. I chose 1970/71 because that is really the first season I can remember in any real detail (I was just a wee lad), and I can recall many of the legendary managers of the time. Sure, football managership has always been a somewhat risky business, but nothing like it is today.
The Football League in England and Wales consists of 92 clubs. Since 1971, the names of the divisions have changed, the number of teams in the top two divisions has changed, and several of the teams have changed, but we are still looking at 92 league clubs.
At the time David Moyes lost his job (April 22), that left five teams without a manager, and taking all 92 clubs into account, their managers had been employed in their current job for a total of 1,559 months, or an average tenure of of 16.95 months per team. On April 22, 1971, the 92 league managers had a combined total of 3, 371 months, for an average tenure of 36.64 months per team.
That is a big drop, but is nothing compared to the Premier League (or old First Division). In 1971, there were 22 teams, and there are now 20, but that's why we have averages...
On April 22, 1971, the 22 First Division managers combined had a total of 1,606 months in position, for an average tenure of 73 months - over six years - per team!
On April 22, 2014, the 20 Premier League managers combined (19, plus managerless United), had a total of 446 months in position, for an average tenure of just 22.3 months per team.
Of today's bosses, only two (Arsenal's Arsene Wenger and Newcastle's Alan Pardew) have kept their job for more than three years, whereas fourteen of those in 1971 exceeded that figure. Seems that the Premier League is little more than a temp agency now...
Sad, eh?
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