Jewell call for strong ownership
IT’S a wonder a job as a Championship manager does not automatically come with a P45 as the casualty rate spins into overdrive.
Neil Critchley’s QPR dismissal took the number of managerial changes this season to 18, just one short of the 19 in 2014-15.
Three clubs – Cardiff, Huddersfield and Wigan – have sacked two managers in one campaign.
Just 10 clubs have stuck with the same manager as the pressure to either chase Premier League riches or to avoid the drop to League One ramps up in boardrooms. Only Coventry have bucked the trend with Mark Robbins still in situ after being appointed in March 2017.
Paul Jewell, who took Bradford and Wigan from the Championship to the Premier League, believes today’s managers are on a hiding to nothing.
Not all clubs have an understanding chairman like Dave Whelan who was prepared to bite the bullet in Jewell’s tempestuous early days with some fans calling for his head.
“When I first went to Wigan they were in League One,” Jewell said. “People were expecting us to get promotion but I knew the team wasn’t ready. We were almost bottom, lost 5-1 to Wrexham and we’d been knocked out of the FA Cup by Canvey Island.
“He walked into the dressing room and said anyone who doesn’t want to be here to leave their boots and they would be sorted out but the boss was staying. I followed him out to thank him.
“He said make sure I kept them up that season but if we weren’t in the top six by Christmas next season, I wouldn’t be here.
“It allowed me to make long-term decisions and not going week-to-week knowing I needed a good result to keep my job. By the amount of sackings that support isn’t around now. The game needs strong owners who won’t pull the trigger if fans are on the manager’s back.”