Why Are Football Managers Sacked?
In the world of football, managers are sacked on a regular basis. These days, it’s not uncommon for clubs to sack one or two managers in a single season. So why are football managers sacked? We’re going to explain the potential reasons why in this detailed article.
Table of Contents
Four Reasons Why Football Managers Are Sacked
Here are the four main reasons why footballer managers are sacked on a regular basis:
- Poor performance
- Financial reasons
- Internal affairs
- Survival
1. Poor Performance
The most common reason why a football manager gets sacked is due to poor performance. If a football team goes on a run of bad results, the first person people look to is the manager.
With the manager being responsible for team selection, the formation they play and the in game tactics they use, you can understand why they are most at threat.
Football managers are hired by football owners, who tend to be shrewd and demanding business people. Positive results are good business for owners, and if their team is not winning, they’ll want to find a manager who can change that.
2. Financial Reasons
Another reason why a football manager can be sacked is for financial reasons. There is so much money involved in football that the difference of just one place in the league table can equate to millions.
Lots of football teams have shares being traded on the stock market. When a club is doing well, they’ll interest more people, increasing their stock. On the other hand, a club not doing very well will see their stock prices decrease.
It’s important to remember that it can also cost a lot of money to sack a manager. If they still have a long time left on their contract, the owners will usually have to stump up a substantial fee to pay off the contract in order to sack them.
This means that football club owners have to weigh up whether the money needed to sack the manager is worth it or not. Antonio Conte was paid a staggering £26.2 million by Chelsea when he was sacked in 2018, following a successful stint with the club.
3. Internal Affairs
When we ask ‘Why are football managers sacked?’, internal affairs isn’t the first reason we think of. Like at any other workplace, arguments can take place within football clubs, and they often result in the manager getting sacked.
Internal affairs can arise from a number of different factors. Here are some of the main reasons why a manager might fall out with the ownership of a football club:
- Insufficient funds available for transfers
- Owners getting involved in the recruitment process
- Disagreements on team selection between owners and manager
- Not agreeing on new contract terms
Managers can also fall out with the players at a club. Here are some reasons why this might happen:
- ‘Losing the dressing room’ – players disagreeing with a manger’s tactics or training style
- Not picking players, leaving them unhappy
- Manager not making the effort to ‘connect’ with the players, making them less likeable
4. Survival
Why are football managers sacked? A simple reason why this might happen is to try and ensure survival in the league they are playing in. In the Premier League, managers such as Sam Allardyce, Steve Bruce and Roy Hodgson have been associated with this kind of appointment.
Teams who look likely to get relegated may hire someone like Allardyce in the interim to try and avoid the drop. They’ve somewhat earned this reputation in the game, however the strategy doesn’t always work.
