As the Premier League season draws to a close it is natural for transfer rumours to start making the rounds on social networking sites and in the media, but it seems to me that the managers are the most talked about this year as everyone starts to speculate on who will be sacked and hired come May. It seems no job is safe any more and with rumours surrounding certain top flight bosses – are we about to see the end of long-term managers in the Premier League?
I found from my research that the top four most discussed managers at Football Fancast this season are Andre Villas-Boas, Arsene Wenger, Brendan Rodgers and Sir Alex Ferguson and on Twitter and Facebook it was Jose Mourinho, David Moyes, in addition to those above.
David Moyes is currently in his 11th year at Everton but he hasn’t signed a new deal and his contract runs out in May. While David Moyes hasn’t won any trophies at Everton he has been successful in building a better team. Even though the Merseyside team had a great start to the season and are still in the mix for European football next season, it seems a fair amount of Toffees fans are hopeful that the fiery Scot will leave Goodison Park in the summer.
Sir Alex Ferguson has been at Old Trafford for 26 years and is their longest standing manager as well as as the longest league manager ever and is currently leading Manchester United to yet another title. The rumours surrounding Fergie are based on the departure of chairman David Gill who is going to join UEFA this summer. It has been said that Ferguson might choose to step down from management to replace David Gill or take a seat on the board – with Mourinho suggested as a possible replacement. Ed Woodward is poised to take the role in the summer and it seems unlikely that Ferguson will go upstairs but will he choose to leave on a high this season?
Arsene Wenger is in his 17th year at the North London club and is their longest serving manager. The Gunners boss hasn’t won a trophy in eight years and the fans are growing increasingly impatient with the Frenchman who is suffering his worst season since taking the helm. His philosophy and principles have been vastly criticised by the footballing world this season as his team bowed out of the League Cup and FA Cup to lower division sides and he is heavily under pressure to achieve a Champions League spot. There is plenty of talk of Wenger leaving Arsenal in the summer but it is likely that he will see out his current contract and leave in May the following year.
Football has changed so much over the last few years and the need for immediate and short-term success has become all-encompassing. Owners and chairmen no longer want to wait for the couple of years it takes to build a team and 3-4 years to win a trophy, if the managers don’t achieve anything in their first two seasons it jeopardises their job (unless you manage Chelsea in which case your job is always on the line) and often leads to being sacked before your contract is up.
Fergie, Moyes and Wenger are something of an enigma when it comes to longevity of management careers and when they leave their clubs they will almost certainly be leaving behind one of the last Premier League traditions that’s still intact.
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