Championship gaffers feeling the heat
The Championship is rightly regarded as one of the toughest leagues in the world and this is often reflected in the high casualty rate of its managers. This season the axe has been swinging with disturbing regularity, with the managerial blood-letting showing no signs of letting up. Gaffers are going down like flies.
Earlier this month in the space of five days, four Championship bosses were told their services were no longer required. Or to use the correct technical term, they were “given the boot”.
First to go, on March 10, was Alex Neil at Norwich, closely followed by Steve McClaren, sacked for the second time by Derby. Next up was Warren Joyce at Wigan and then Gary Brazil, fired after only 59 days in the hot seat at troubled Nottingham Forest.
Earlier Championship casualties in 2017 were Owen Coyle at Blackburn Rovers and Philippe Montanier at Forest (who was replaced by Brazil).
There were another nine “casualties” before the New Year, meaning there have been 15 managerial changes in the Championship this season. There is still a little way to go before beating the 2014-15 season which saw 20 managers depart.
Kicking off proceedings on Oct 1 was Roberto Di Mattio at Aston Villa. October turned out to be a wicked month, with five more Championship sackings: Paul Trollope (Cardiff ), Nigel Pearson (Derby), Alan Stubbs (Rotherham), Walter Zenger (Wolves), Gary Caldwell (Wigan), Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink (QPR), and Kenny Jackett (Rotherham). Gary Rowett left Birmingham in December.
The departures, whether they be dismissals, resignations, or that ghastly expression “mutual consent”, reflect the growing demands by club owners for their teams to reach the coveted Premier league with its financial riches and prestige.
But each season only three teams can make the giant step. As a result, there are always a lot of disappointed owners who vent their frustration on the managers. Admittedly some of them deserve the chop, but all too often they look like scapegoats.
Of the most recent sackings, those at Derby and Norwich involved teams which were seeing their promotion hopes fading, while the departures at Wigan and Forest were prompted by very real relegation fears.
Last weekend’s game between Forest and Derby highlighted the alarming turnover in Championship bosses.
It was the fifth successive match between the two clubs in which both teams had a different manager to their previous meeting. When Mark Warburton took over last week he became the eighth Forest manager since the 2012 takeover by Fawaz Al-Hasawi.
McClaren was very unhappy at being sacked by the same club twice in 17 months. “I’m shocked and hurt,” he said, admitting: “I didn’t see it coming.”
Unlike McClaren, it looks like Neil knew his days at Norwich were numbered. The day before he was sacked he admitted: “There was an expectation from everybody at the club that we would have a better season than we have had.”
Another Championship manager under pressure is veteran Mick McCarthy whose Ipswich side are in a disappointing 16th place amidst growing fan unrest, not helped by the embarrassing third round FA cup defeat by non-league Lincoln City.
However, McCarthy is a survivor. Last week marked his 25th year in management at Millwall, Sunderland, Wolves and the Tractor Boys, along with a 52-game stretch with the Republic of Ireland.
Just four club sides in 25 years is quite an accomplishment by today’s standards and a tribute to the Irishman’s reliability. McCarthy spent four years at Millwall, three at Sunderland and six at Wolves. His period with Ireland also lasted six years while he has been with Ipswich four years.
After Saturday’s 3-1 loss to Cardiff, McCarthy knows he is in a relegation fight, admitting: “I’m looking over my shoulder at teams behind me, not those in front.”
As the Championship race turns into the final straight, Newcastle and Brighton appear to have the automatic promotion spots sewn up, although there is quite a battle going on for the play-off places.
Currently in third place are Huddersfield, six points behind secondplaced Brighton, but with a game in hand. They are followed by a resurgent Leeds United and Reading, with Sheffield Wednesday completing the play-off spots.
Three other clubs could squeeze into the play-offs, with Fulham having the best opportunity, being only one point adrift of the Owls. Norwich and Preston still have an outside chance but will need a very strong showing in their final games.
It is hard to predict what will happen week after week. Last weekend, supposedly in-form Huddersfield were thrashed 4-0 by relegationthreatened Bristol City. Out of form Reading then surprised play-off rivals Sheffield Wednesday away 2-0.
At the bottom of the table Rotherham are gone, having won only four games all season. Unless there is a massive turnaround, Wigan Athletic also appear doomed, seven points away from safety. However, their new manager Graham Barrow could spark a revival, but he will have to hit the ground running.
Currently in the third relegation spot are Blackburn Rovers, but they are only one point behind Burton Albion, Forest and Bristol City. Five points above the drop, Birmingham, Ipswich and Wolves should be OK, but a bad run could still see them dragged into the mire.
With average gates last season of more than 17,000, the Championship is an undoubted success and regarded as the seventh richest league in Europe.
It might gain even more respect if there were fewer knee-jerk reactions by club owners as soon as their side loses a couple of games in a row. The managerial casualty rate is not something to be proud of.