Stability breeds success in football

The football managerial merry go round seems to be in full swing. Since the end of the season (18/5), David Moyes has left West Ham, being replaced by former Wolves manager, Julen Loptegui. Mauricio Pochettino has departed from Chelsea. He has been replaced by manager of promoted Leicester City, Enzo Marescu. Manager of relegated Burnley, Vincent Kompany has gone onto bigger and better things, taking charge at Bayern Munich. There will no doubt be more changes before the new season starts in August. Many of these changes, though, are difficult to understand. Over five seasons, Moyes has saved West Ham twice from relegation. The club finished sixth and seventh in the Premier League (PL). They have got into European competition for the past three seasons, winning the Europa Conference League in the season 2022/23. In the last season, West Ham got to the quarter final of the Europa League and finished ninth in the PL. Arguably, they would have done even better, if he had been financially backed and so much effort had not gone into undermining him. The new manager will expect better support and the financial backing that was notably lacking for Moyes Pochettino picked up a chaotic club, obsessed with buying success. He managed to achieve sixth place in the PL, qualifying for the Europa League next season. Chelsea also got to the final of the League Cup and the semi finals of the FA Cup - a good return by most people's estimates but not those who run Chelsea apparently. Kompany bucked the trend, seemingly elevated to a bigger club on the basis of getting a smaller one relegated. It is difficult to understand how the football business operates. The successful clubs are those who get a good manager and back them over a sustained period. Generally, constant change is a menu for failure. Moyes seems to have become a victim of social media. Several outlets seemed to devote themselves to getting him sacked. The pressure was relentless, whether this reflected supporters views is debatable. Supporters were said to not like the style of football.But this could prove to be a case of be careful what you wish for. Managers also seem to only be in partial control of the playing side of clubs. Most are overseen by directors of football, who are responsible for signing players and managers. The relationship between manager and the director of football needs to be harmonious. At West Ham it deteriorated to the extent that director of football, Tim Steidfen, was reportedly banned from the dressing room by manger, Moyes, in the latter stages of the season. It is also odd how clubs sign players seemingly independent of the team manager. The way some players who were out come in when a new manager arrives and via versa is surely testimony to the need for a predominant input from the guy working direct with the team. It is all very odd. Football seems to remain as popular as ever, yet the business model of so many seems doomed to failure. The club's that succeed in the long term are those who make the right choices and stick by them. Pep Guardiola at Manchester City and Jürgen Klopp at Liverpool are good examples in the present era. Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United over 20 odd years provides testimony from a past era. Arsenal had a similar approach with Arsene Wenger and now appear to be doing the same with Mikel Arteta. The other clubs need to look and learn from these examples, if they too want success.