“You’re Gonna Be Sacked In The Morning” Top 5 European Leagues RANKED On How Long A Manager Lasts In Their Job

David Tully

2 years ago

Categories: Galleries, Manchester City News

Tags: Arsenal, aston villa, Celtic, Chelsea, Everton, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Newcastle United, Rangers, Sheffield United, Southampton, spurs, West Ham, wolves

Sir Alex Ferguson was famously on the brink of the sack during a pivotal period in the1989/1990 season when Manchester United lost four out of five matches.

He had been in the job for over four years at that point and, yet, he turned the situation around, and won numerous trophies over the next two decades.

It is not something that would ever be repeated these days with the average time a manager spends at a club now at an all-time low. Patience is rare with so much at stake for teams.

Press the next page as we rank the top five European leagues based on the length of a manager’s tenure (data taken from CIES Football Observatory).

5) Serie A – 384 Days

Considering the number of eccentric owners in Italian football, it is not a surprise that managers at Serie A teams last the shortest length of time out of the top five European leagues.

Marcelo Bielsa famously spent just two days at Lazio back in 2016, but that was the Argentinian’s decision after he felt that the Biancocelesti could not sign the players he wanted.

4) Ligue One – 385 Days

The French top tier very narrowly edges out Serie A with their managers lasting (on average) one day longer in the job. It is still a very short period of time, though, and it shows the lack of patience some Ligue One club owners have when appointing coaches.

Monaco hireed former player and Arsenal legend Thierry Henry in October 2018. He was sacked just three months later after only 20 games in charge.

3) La Liga – 617 Days

The average tenure of a manager in the Spanish first division is nearly double that of Italy and France, which demonstrates a very different attitude in terms of giving coaches time to implement their ideas.

Legendary Real Madrid manager Miguel Muñoz lasted a very impressive 13 years at the Bernabeu between 1960 and 1974, winning 14 major trophies for the La Liga side in the process.

2) Bundesliga – 628 Days

Managers of German clubs last slightly longer than in Spain, with the longest-serving head coach currently being Freiburg’s Christian Streich, who has spent a decade in the job.

With his side fifth in the Bundesliga table, just three points off the Champions League places, Streich is showing that stability can lead to success on the pitch.

1) Premier League – 772 days

The English top-flight comes out on top by a country mile. While owners have been more willing to sack managers in recent years, the tendency to keep faith with coaches remains.

Three Premier League managers have been at their clubs for five years or more. Those are Manchester City head coach Pep Guardiola, Liverpool’s Jurgen Klopp and Burnley boss Sean Dyche.