The English Premier League Manager termination conundrum

The current season of the English Premier League (EPL) kicked off in mid-August 2021 and three months down the road, five Managers (out of 20) have lost their jobs. That’s neither a random nor an arbitrary statistic. Interesting to note that all 5 of them were relieved of their duties after a 6 week post season kick off period that started off (with Watford’s Xisco Munoz) on 3rd October 2021. More twists in this tale are on the cards. Not sure whether this is the beginning of the end or the end of the beginning. The Damocles sword hangs perilously over the heads of more Managers, and I would be surprised if more heads don’t roll soon. Of the bottom 5 teams in the table, possibly only Sean Dyche of Burnley has retained his job. Thus far. It is a roller coaster in English football Management

Why is this happening?? Is there more to it than meets the eye??  Here’s my two bit on the same:

1.     Playing in the Premier league: Every year three teams make it into the Premier league and three teams are relegated. There is a world of difference playing centre stage in EPL and at some of the lower divisions. Over the years, some promoted clubs have not been able to keep pace with highest professional standards in English football which is extremely intense with stiff competition. It’s one thing to aspire to be in EPL, its completely a different proposition to play and remain in the EPL. What got these teams into the EPL may or may not keep them there. This must be recognized.

2.     Performance alone matters: Nothing else does. This is the brutal fact. Track records of Managers like Jurgen Klopp, Pep Guardiola, Thomas Tuchel and the like are impressive, and it is little wonder they are held in such high esteem. All of them have clear game plans of what needs to be done which then gets executed in a near blemish less fashion consistently. Performance triggers recognition, recognition leads to respect, respect leads to power. The better you perform, the more powerful you are. From both an individual and a team perspective.

3.     Team performance over individual performance:  Classic example is the woeful situation at Manchester United now. Brilliant, incredibly talented individual football players who can walk into good clubs round the world hands down. But their outings in the recent past have been dismal, to say the least. The strength of the wolf is the pack, and the strength of the pack is the wolf! Team objectives, team goals, team priorities supersede everything else. Cohesiveness as a team is important, arguably more so in contact sport. Individuals score goals, teams win matches and titles.

4.     Managing stakeholder expectation: One cannot undermine the importance of managing expectations of stake holders – owners, the fans etc. Important to be aware that the knowledge and understanding of the fans of all aspects of the game including some technical aspects is amazing. The stake holders have a voice which cannot be undermined or ignored. Walking the fine line between optimism and reality, playing and winning games week in week out and keeping a calm head is critical to succeed.

5.     Entertainment:  the mind-blowing viewership and the humongous fan base of the EPL is a heady success recipe in terms of entertaining football. With stadiums now slowly being filled with spectators (after the COVID lull), the EPL could easily be the most watched football league in the world. Add to this the sponsorship and TV deals which generate huge revenues, which then gets deployed in buying star players, building state of art infrastructure like stadiums etc. Playing in such an environment keeps you in the spotlight day in, day out. Everything is under constant scrutiny here – what you do, what you don’t do, what you do well, what you say.

6.     Dark horses: The 2015 / 16 season saw Leicester city winning the title from some of the other fancier teams. Can West Ham under David Moyes be title contenders this season?? Who knows what is in store ahead? Hats off to David Moyes for marshalling his resources well and galvanizing them into action. The EPL in my reading has always backed and rooted for the underdog. 

Interesting times and games ahead. More so given that the EPL does not have a winter break. Look forward to some entertaining footballing times ahead – both on and off the field!!