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- 2017/18 Premier League Predictions!
- PSG set to trigger record Neymar Fee!
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- The Loan Ranger: Game of Loans!
- Rome(-lu) Wasn’t Built In A Day, But Hernandez Is Heading Hammers Way!
- Man United, Arsenal, and Huddersfield are all in a dash to splash the cash!
Which has to change – the manager or the expectations?
Football managers and players are people, too. In the mega-money celebrity world of the Premier League the lines often get blurred – but football is their job. For the majority of them they will need to find work once their time on the pitch is over. What the problem is, results are always needed of them. There is no place to hide and if they aren’t delivered, both players and managers will quickly find themselves at another club, with the same expectations.
Alan Pardew’s start to the season has illustrated this in a nutshell. Pardew is currently the second longest serving manager in the league and helped lead Newcastle United into European heights in his time at the club, yet one poor start to the season nearly had him sacked. Why? Because Newcastle were teetering at the bottom of the table. Yet in just three weeks Newcastle are now back solidly mid-table and Pardew is certainly safe in his job for the time being with wins over Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool, and Manchester City in recent weeks. But by Christmas Newcastle may be back down struggling and his job may be in jeopardy again. This is the merry-go-round of the Premier League. Results are a must, but impossible to always have. So which has to adapt, the expectations that fire this merry-go-round, or the managers themselves?
Major League Soccer may be the right environment for managers. There is no fret of relegation. Instead of everybody struggling not to lose everybody is in the game to win. But then again – football is a occupation. We pay for the sport because it provides incredible entertainment. It may be a religion, but is supported by the followers. Thus, we like to constantly be able to support our club’s. The media and expectations that drive the merry-go-round are fired up because of its popularity and mega-money aspects, but then again, that’s what keeps the game the most popular in the world.
Thus, a paradox is created. Managers would have to change their style for more immediate results, but it would be far fetched to say they could. It’s a manager’s job, so of course he wants the best results immediately and is doing everything he can to get them. There may not be a way out of the merry-go-round, expect changing the structure that makes the game so popular. But obviously, that can’t and won’t happen, so then what? The merry-go-round continues.