Is it viable to look for a 'long term' manager?

R

robbo_gills

Vital Squad Member
For me, there is something depressingly circular about today's news. A new manager is appointed, the outlook improves for a bit before results start slipping and we are back to square one.

Add to this the often cited 'managerial merry go round', and it seems that the role of managers at football clubs has changed in recent years. Looking into this, the average tenure of managers is now about 1.3 years, with not far off half of all PL and FL clubs changing manager during a given season (http://www.leaguemanagers.com/documents/37/LMA_End_of_Season_report_and_statistics_2015_-_16.pdf)

When most of our recent managerial departures have occurred (thinking Stimson, Hess, Taylor in particular), there's been a clear hope of a 'new direction' in the form of a manager capable of building a team and bringing real progress to the club. Indeed, the early indications of JED's reign appeared to show promise in this sense.

With managerial tenures now so short; do clubs continue to make 'long term' appointments? I'd be interested in others' views. Have I been overly optimistic in previous years in hoping for a manager that clicks with the club and really brings about a degree of success? Perhaps I'm finally being worn down by my life as a Gills fan...

Does the question of 'will this applicant deliver a long term strategy' form a key part of Scally's thinking, or are Chairmen likely to be coming round to the idea that a mangerial appointment willbe for 1-2 years and that a succession of managers able to make a quick impact (eg the Martin Allen mould) is the way forward?

Thoughts...

 
I think most managers in the lower leagues have a limited lifespan. If they are successful then they get snapped up from above, if they are not they get the boot.

Why would a successful manager stay with a smaller club if he can earn more, play in bigger tournaments and have better resources available to them ?

There is very little loyalty in football and that comes from both sides.
 
Mark makes a good point. Wasn't JED being linked with higher division clubs last season when we were top of the league, and even rumoured to have had interviews at a couple of clubs? I think he would have gone if offered a position elsewhere.
 
I do think the merrygoround and short-termism must also be inspired a theory of management which is really situation specific, along the lines of -once things go wrong, they cannot recover quickly enough, so he has to go. It's not that the fellow is a bust and can't succeed elsewhere. In short, the Mad Dog, Fire Brigade, approach is becoming the norm rather than the exception.
 
We need a short term manager who can resurrect our existence in the first division beyond next year.

That individual may or, may not be the person to lead the team to promotion (or potential) next season.

There is still a big time warp to resolve this season before we attack promotion with a new set of players next year.

As fa as 'over-achieving' we should have been 'struggling in the Championship this year!
 
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