This weekend, both bottom teams decided to fire their coaches. Although there are 22 games left that could affect survival in the Premier League, Gary O’Neil and Russel Martin were singled out as the problem, at Wolverhampton and Southampton respectively. Had the club management read up on history in the world’s toughest league, they would have realized that dismissing the coach halfway through the season is rarely the salvation.
The BBC reports that there have been 91 clubs who have sacked the coach when the club is below the relegation line halfway through the season.
And how many have prevented relegation by firing the coach? Only 36 of the 91 clubs, i.e. around 40%, have succeeded with the strategy of changing coaches. When you add in the fact that we don’t know if the 91 clubs would have come out as well or better with keeping the manager for the rest of the season, then this weekend’s decision at Wolves and Southampton doesn’t seem like an obvious decision.
The BBC brings up yet another statistic that makes the dismissal of O’Neil and Martin more for the sake of management and supporters.
The English media adds that no club has saved their place when hiring a new coach in the first half of the season with nine points up on the relegation line. Southampton are nine points up, Wolverhampton five points up.
We’re just mentioning it.
