Give bosses a break
Be successful pressure on top level bosses to ROBERT J WILSON says the is getting too much… in the mega-bucks Premier League
The pressure keeps increasing
tHE colossal amount of money being spent during the transfer window has become repulsive to the average fan, but unfortunately it is something we are having to stomach in modern day football.
When clubs are prepared to pay over £50 million for full-backs, it appears that the ultimate ceiling on transfer fees and wages has not yet reached its pinnacle.
Huge spending increases the expectation level on managers, who are often seen as the ones conducting the buying and selling.
A top level manager may well have his own targets in mind, but more and more clubs now employ recruitment committees, a director of football or agents to secure transfers.
In the modern era, it appears the power is slipping away from the manager.
The days of a boss putting the miles in to go out and watch a player on a cold Tuesday night are becoming a thing of the past.
They are not watching too many games in the Football League trying to unearth the next Ian Rush, Kevin Keegan, Jamie Vardy or Dele Alli.
A manager may well request a certain position or player he would be interested in and then ‘his committee’ usually present a list of players to choose from.
In truth, the manager probably doesn’t care too much about the cost factor.
But if those players are not successful and the team struggles for results, then the buck usually stops with the manager.
He is the one who is questioned and ultimately loses his job. There will those of you who will believe that is only right. That he is the one in charge of football matters and that he should be the key decision maker.
A manager lives and dies by the quality of his players and hence his recruitment.W hat is unfair is that the managers are placed under incredible pressure because of their transfer expenditure.
If Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola end the season without a major trophy then there will be calls for them to go because of the money they have spent this summer.
They cannot afford to spend £200 million only to end up outside the Champions League places.
We are blessed in this country.We have the most competitive league in the world where six elite clubs are battling it out to finish the season as champions.
We also love an underdog and would embrace the likes of say a Leicester City,West Ham or Everton upsetting the status quo and breaking into the top four. With the Premier League flush with money, we have attracted some of the best managers in the world but ultimately there can only be one winner.
Only one club can win the league title and then they have to compete against Europe’s elite to win the Champions League. Six into four Champions League places doesn’t go, so sadly there will be calls for some managers to go. That is the way our football has gone.
A manager has to produce instant results because everything in society is instant and immediate.With social interaction everyone has become a critic and pundit.
A manager will put it down to ‘white noise’ or outside influences, but owners and chief executives listen to supporter opinions.
They are, alarmingly, listening more to players and their agents. If a player is unhappy about the manager then they let their feelings known to their representative, who in turn has a word in the ear of the hierarchy.
Yes, a manager is handsomely paid and is expected to live with the pressure of football management, but the expectation levels have become unrealistic.
You watch, with the transfer window about to close, the column inches, blogs and twitter feeds will soon be bolstered with opinion concerning which manager should be sacked first. At least they will go with a hefty payoff, but how sad it would be for our game if we were to lose characters such as Jose, Pep, Jurgen or Antonio from our top league this season?