New sacking record set in English leagues

Chris Hughton was controversially sacked by Newcastle last season

The latest edition of LMA’s (League Managers Association) Manager magazine has revealed that a staggering sum of over £99 million was spent by clubs in all four divisions in England on sacking managers. The LMA has taken a swipe at club owners and questioned the patience of the men at the top.

The figure arrived at by the LMA consists of the costs incurred in paying compensation to the sacked managers, legal fees and double contracts. A double contract means the sacked manager’s contract is honored for a particular time after he has been let go.

The LMA’s chief executive, Richard Bevan, said,

“This defies the principles of building for stability and success and, more worryingly, is an expense that clubs, certainly in the lower leagues, can ill-afford.

“As the squeeze on finances, from the global institution to the man in the street, continues, we hope 2012 will not see a repeat of the vast sums of money wasted from the game.”

The report also goes on to suggest that Premier League managers last, on an average, just two years. Despite the presence of Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger and David Moyes in the league, this is a worringly low figure and shows the lack of patience being exhibited by club owners. Results have taken priority over time given to build a squad. According to the report,

“The figure for the length of manager tenure are equally worrying, with the average tenure of a manager in the Championship now having fallen to below 12 months.

“The figures are only slightly better for the other divisions, with League Two managers lasting, on average, for 1.33 years, League One enjoying 1.67 years and Premier League managers lasting 2.07 years.”