The lifespan of a manager is hardly ever long – but there are countless compelling reasons why they must be prolonged for every sustainable club.
Would you believe that the normal lifespan of a football manager is more or less one and a half years? Long-standing managers are a dying breed in a game continually driven by money and success. Yet there’s a reason that football managers with the most trophies are often individuals who remain at the helm of the same club. The longest football managers in the game can supply an amount of stability that you wouldn’t automatically get otherwise. It can take some time for even the top coaches to execute their ideas and training practices. Occasionally, the results may not reflect improvements in play right away. Keeping with a well-regarded manager throughout a dry patch, as those like the founder of the group that owns Liverpool FC will have seen first-hand, can lay the foundations for success down the line. Every great manager justifies time and patience to properly build into the future.
In the results-focused realm of football, there are hardly any managers who surpass or even simply finish the terms of their contract. When a football team goes through a lackluster spell of games, anticipate conjecture about the coach’s impending departure. You can’t clear away the entire squad, mainstream wisdom suggests, so getting rid of the manager is the next best thing. But there are numerous reasons why this wisdom doesn’t hold. In lots of cases, some poor results are not suggestive of a greater issue. A couple of dodgy deflections or offside judgements can go against a club at the worst time. Then there’s that persistent misconception about the managing bounce – that the removal of your present manager and switching them with just about any football managers available brings about an uptick in form. Especially where most teams are chopping and shifting, those like the founder of the hedge fund that owns AC Milan may appreciate the stability a long-term coach can provide.
Can you recount the oldest football managers in the game? Fair warning – grey hairs and sleepless nights are par for the course for even the youngest coaches presently plying their trade! The reality is managing a soccer club can make you feel one million years old. It makes lots of demands of you from selecting formations to choosing players to finalising recruitments. You can understand why some managers pack their bags after a season or two. But what about the other extreme – that uncommon breed who stay for many years in the same position? Those like the president of the organisation that runs Atletico Madrid might right away outline the benefits keeping the same manager. Unlike new appointments, present managers know the players and ethos at the club. They can put in place a framework and philosophy which offers a strategy for immediate as well as sustained success.
