Football: More boardroom than bootroom
Gareth Southgate has become the latest casualty of the changing face of football
Wednesday, 21, Oct 2009 03:09
By Michael Younger.
In the last 17 years, football has changed dramatically. There's been an influx of foreign players, the introduction of the Premier League and more importantly and most recently, football clubs are being run more as a business by foreign sugar daddies - a business which demands instant success and silverware at any cost.
When Roman Abramovich ploughed his millions into Chelsea, trophies were expected to come rolling in at Stamford Bridge. But when the silverware stopped, heads rolled.
First Jose Mourinho left the club by "mutual consent", then his successors Avram Grant and Luiz Felipe Scolari were sacked by Abramovich.
How many other bosses get sacked while in the top five in their division though?! Judging by this season alone, it could become a regular occurrence. The equation 'new owner + influx of money = instant success or heads roll' is becoming a prominent feature in the English leagues.
During the summer, Notts County were taken over by Middle East consortium Munto Finance.
The takeover prompted huge interest in the press, as the nearly extinct club appointed former England manager Sven Goran Eriksson as director of football, signed former England defender Sol Campbell, but kept County hero Ian McParland holding the reins.
McParland was Notts County through-and-through. He spent eight years at Meadow Lane as a goalscoring winger and had seen County at its lowest ebb two years ago when, saddled with colossal debts, the club narrowly escaped going to the wall.
This season, in his 12 games in charge, he'd led the club to fifth in the league - not a bad start for a club who had few new signings and, if media rumours were to be believed, some degree of turmoil behind the scenes. But this didn't stop the board showing poor 'Charlie' the door two weeks ago.
Following the club's decision to remove McParland from his role, chairman Peter Trembling said: "Everyone at the football club is genuinely sorry to part company with Ian.
"We are all aware of the commitment and service he has given to the club both as a player and a manager.
"It is an inescapable fact that the hopes and ambitions of the football club have been totally transformed in the past few months.
"Up until this summer the club's principal objectives had been financial survival and maintaining its status in the Football League.
"Now we have a five-year project to deliver sustainable success to the club and our focus is to reach the Championship and beyond.
"Ian has been manager of the football club for the past two years and during that time his passion and commitment has never been in doubt. However, as a board, for footballing reasons we felt a need to make a change to the current situation.
"Our next appointment is going to be extremely vital to the project we are endeavouring to deliver here."
A speech that, whichever way you look at it, implies the club want instant success and will do whatever it takes to achieve it - damning anyone who stands in the way.
Last night, it seemed that history was repeating itself as another young English manager was shown the door, despite seeing his club sitting in fourth place in the Championship and one point off top spot in a tight and hard-fought division.
The manager on the chopping block this time was former Middlesbrough captain Gareth Southgate, who'd been in the hotseat for over three years after taking over in the summer of 2006 from then England manager Steve McClaren.
Boro have endured an indifferent start to the Championship season following relegation from the top flight last term and the news was announced after a 2-0 win over fellow former Premier League side Derby.
Chairman Steve Gibson may have a reputation as a loyal, patient chairman, but when the turnstiles are not ticking and the cash is not coming in - even in an economically challenged area like Teesside - something has to give.
The sacking of Southgate, for those who have been following the situation at the Riverside, wouldn't have come as much of a surprise.
In recent weeks, the atmosphere at the Riverside Stadium during Boro's home games has veered from poisonous against Southgate to, crucially last night, one of apathy. But perhaps more damaging for Southgate was that the Riverside became a haunted stadium full of empty seats - the Boro faithful hadn't even turned up to boo, jeer and have a go. They'd just stayed at home.
Shortly before being fired, Southgate stated: "The margins are fine. We are a point off the top but it would have been very different if we had not won against Derby.
"You wonder about the consequences of defeat. You know four home defeats on the bounce would have been difficult for everyone involved with the club to accept."
Following the announcement that Southgate had been relieved of his duties, Gibson said: "I appointed Gareth in a situation that was greatly unfavourable to him. He is a good man and has all the qualities and integrity that we wanted in a manager.
"However, the time is right for change and that change has had to be made. Gareth will always be welcome at our football club. English football needs people of his stature and we feel certain that this experience will serve him well.
"Gareth deserves another opportunity once he has had the chance to rest and refresh himself."
It is a sad fact that Southgate has been sacked - he was following in the footsteps of some of the game's current great managers, such as Martin O'Neill, Arsene Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson, by building and nuturing a young team.
But success wasn't coming quick enough for either the board or the fans.
The culture of football is changing in line with the 'instant gratification' society and becoming more boardroom than bootroom - even the chairman most lauded for his patience couldn't resist his twitching trigger finger.