Neil Warnock was one of the recent managerial casualties following a string of poor results and leaving former club QPR dangerously close to the drop zone. Joey Barton recently expressed his thoughts on his former boss and highlighted the mess the dressing room was in before every game. Of course, it’s interesting to be given a small window into what goes on in the team’s dressing room prior to a match, but is there more to a struggling manager than simply his own shortcomings?
A manager will regularly be the first line of defence for his club against the media and fans following a poor result. As was proof this weekend following Manchester United’s late winner against Arsenal after what appeared to be a managerial slip-up on the part of Arsene Wenger. The introduction of Andrey Arshavin arguably favoured United and the Arsenal manager has since had to answer to critics why he made such a poor decision. In the grander scheme of things, decisions like this can often haunt managers in the long-term, affecting the owner’s choice of whether to keep him in the job or switch things up. But the question is why should such decisions be solely looked at based on the performances of the man in the dugout?
It seems like such an easy route to take to simply accuse a manager of not performing and producing results. Much was the case with Carlo Ancelotti’s dismissal at Chelsea last year. It was heavily reported to be Roman Abramovich’s decision to bring Fernando Torres to the club, and in turn place the burden of the £50 million price tag on both the manager and the player. It’s also clear that Chelsea’s performances started to go sour following the turn of the year and into the January transfer window, where the fee paid for Torres almost made him a certainty for every starting XI, regardless of his last performance. Should Ancelotti—an extremely capable manager who could have done well for Chelsea well beyond his two seasons in charge—have been shown the door when it was arguably the owner’s introduction of a player who had played a hand in producing such poor performances?
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Equally, the transitional period Chelsea are going through at the moment with current manager Andre Villas-Boas has raised questions about the Portuguese’s future at the club. And yet he was brought in to oversee the change in playing style and quality on the pitch, on the request of the owner. Naturally changes such as this will need time to take affect, but it’s the time that many are saying Villas-Boas should not be afforded due to a string of disappointing results—especially at home. However, there is not enough criticism shown toward the players, bar Fernando Torres, for not producing the kind of performances that warrants a place in Chelsea’s squad.
It’s particularly harsh on managers but it has become the norm. The media, fuelled by fan reaction and expectation, allow managers to become the sole target for blame, in spite of the individuals on the pitch.
Does Kenny Dalglish persist with the misfiring Andy Carroll in the hope that he’ll come good? What of the sacrifices of results in order to give the former Newcastle striker the opportunity to find his form? Yes Dalglish would have been the one to identify Carroll as a player he deemed good enough to bring to the club, but he could not have foreseen this year-long dip in form; does that make him ultimately accountable for the player? Perhaps, but is the player doing enough to deflect criticism away from his manager?
All football supporters would love to know their club are tracking the next big thing to emerge in Europe; the player that will take them to the next level regardless of poor showings from current players and he manager. It’s more of a need than a want. However, from the perspective of the boardroom it’s so much easier to replace the man in the dugout than give a facelift to an entire squad. It’s a disappointing fact that managers who are at the height of their profession and who clearly command the respect and admiration of their peers are the first to feel the heat when results don’t go their club’s way. Sadly it’s a trend, and we may never see reigns such as Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger’s again because of it.
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