Which has to change – the manager or the expectations?

By on November 3, 2014

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.

About Alex Morgan

Alex Morgan, founder of Football Every Day, lives and breaths football from the West Coast of the United States in California. Aside from founding Football Every Day in January of 2013, Alex has also launched his own journalism career and hopes to help others do the same with FBED. He covers the San Jose Earthquakes as a beat reporter for QuakesTalk.com and his work has also been featured in the BBC's Match of the Day Magazine.